Chris Rieck



Chris RieckIrene PetersonEnglish 1010-089September 20, 2014When All Guns Have Been Outlawed Only Outlaws Will Have GunsIn this cartoon William Warren depicts a perfect example of a world with or without gun control. Far too often these days we hear of another shooting that took the life of innocent people. A heated debate among many politicians is for more scrupulous gun laws. Whether one is for or against gun control this cartoon says it all.Warren may not have had a specific audience in mind when he created this cartoon; however, the cartoon displays great rhetorical sensitivity in that everyone has an opinion on gun control. The audience needs no other information to understand the cartoon but in lieu of the shooting events such as Sandy Hook or the Aurora, Colorado theatre shooting one thing is clear, citizens demand justice. Politicians feel gun control is the response. Warren is not debating in this cartoon whether assault rifles with high capacity magazines should be sold nor does he convey to those who the lack the morality to choose not to kill innocent people. He is simply examining the simplicity of a world with or without gun control. Who wouldn’t want to take guns out of the hands of criminals who are culpable of killing innocent men women and children? Warren uses ethos or credibility by having five of his best cartoons published in the book, Best Editorial Cartoons of the Year, the 2011 Edition. He uses pathos or emotions in the cartoon through color, clothing and the non-verbal communication of the characters. Warren uses logos or logic in the actions of the characters occurring in the cartoon. Finally, Warren uses Kairos in his cartoon by showing that even with more stringent gun laws, criminals will still own guns.Warren explores rhetorical sensitivity in the appearances of the two men. The law abiding citizen is wearing a t-shirt, jeans and a baseball cap, something similar to what most average citizens would wear. The law abiding citizen is portrayed to be well groomed wearing clothes that fit compared to the criminal’s clothes that are baggy. Warren also displays rhetorical sensitivity by drawing the criminal with his shoe laces untied, possibly showing irresponsibility. He created the criminal wearing a black beanie and showing the man looking grungy by not being well groomed. In the cartoon Warren uses logos or logic by showing that once the guns have been removed from the citizen the criminal will still possess a gun. The criminal’s actions have changed now that gun control has been applied. He does not care what rules and regulations are established. He now sees the citizen as an easy opportunity. The citizen has no way to defend himself and is now an easy target. Warren also uses logos to show before and after gun control. He does this by showing two men and giving them titles of law abiding citizen and criminal. He reveals the law abiding citizen holding a rifle with his pistol holstered responsibly on his hip. Warren also shows the criminal wielding a handgun un-holstered in a criminalistic manner. It is suggested in the first picture even without the words before that gun control does not exist. In the second picture all of the law abiding citizen’s guns have been removed indicating gun control. The posture of the citizen is exactly the same, but now the criminal glances at the citizen with a mischievous smile on his face; suggesting he now has the upper hand in the situation. This basically shows that with gun control the law abiding citizen is abiding by the laws and does not possess any guns, whereas the criminal still does not abide by the rules and still wields a handgun. The cartoon also establishes logos by showing the law abiding citizen on equal grounds with the criminal before gun control because he has the means with which to defend himself against the criminal. The men are no longer on equal grounds and the criminal has now turned his attention to the defenseless law abiding citizen after gun control has been applied and the law abiding citizen’s guns have been removed. The citizen has done nothing wrong except follow the laws established by the government. What now is the law abiding citizen to do when he has captured the undivided attention of the criminal? Warren uses pathos or emotions in this cartoon in a few different ways. The facial suggestion of the criminal in the second picture portrays the criminal now has control over the weaponless citizen. This leaves the audience feeling helpless as if there is nothing they can do now that only the criminal has a gun. Warren also uses colors in the cartoon to suggest attitude. The brighter colors of the citizen’s clothing suggest he has no ill intent and that he is just minding his own business. The darker colors of the criminal suggest he has evil intentions. Warren may appeal to some of the audience in the sense that their second amendment right has been violated; leaving them defenseless against the criminal’s ill intentions depicted by the devious smile on the criminal’s face. Warren leaves the gun control advocates with a feeling of uncertainty-questioning whether they made the right choice and forcing them to see things from the anti-gun control lobbyist’s point of view. Ethos or credibility is established in the cartoon by having had five of Warren’s best cartoons published in the book, Best Editorial Cartoons of the Year. The publishers of the book said, “Warren’s cartoons are right on with the political issues of the day with an added dose of humor.” (Press, 2010). Warren’s credibility also comes from his major degree in political science and his minor in studio art from Wake Forest University in Winston Salem, North Carolina. Warren also used to draw editorial cartoons and comic strips for the University’s student newspaper, The Old Gold and Black. Lastly, Warren has created credibility through being a member of the AAEC or Association of American Editorial Cartoonists. The Kairos, or timing of this cartoon is exactly as the publisher was quoted earlier in the text saying that Warren’s cartoons are right on with political issues of the day. With all the recent shooting in schools, malls, shopping centers, and theatres it would appear that no one is safe no matter where they’re at. The cartoon hits the nail on the head expressing that even if the government were to pass laws disallowing possession of firearms, that there will always be those that break the laws willing to take advantage of helpless people. It is safe to say that yes, a change needs to be made. Is the change for taking firearms away from law abiding citizens really the answer though? Does this solve the issue at hand? As portrayed in the cartoon the answer is no. It just gives the criminals an edge to continue their life of crime, while taking advantage of the law abiding citizen. Are stringent gun laws for everyone really the answer? To infringe upon a person’s constitutional rights is no laughing matter. The cartoon succeeds the message intended, leaving the activists for gun control feeling like helpless targets to criminals that will possess guns no matter what the laws state. The cartoonist also succeeds with those against gun control in that they feel a sense of satisfaction knowing they have means with which to protect themselves. Warren successfully uses pathos, ethos, and logos as well as rhetorically sensitivity to connect with the audience. Pathos or emotion appears to stand out the most, leaving the viewer feeling sorry for the unimpeachable law abiding citizen and resentment towards the criminal with his transparent smirk.Works CitedWarren, William. “Net right daily”. N.d. Web. Retrieved September 20, 2014.. “ALG Cartoonist Published in Best Editorial Cartoons of the Year”. December 22, 2010. Web. Retrieved October 12, 2014. Right Daily. “William Warren”. N.d. Web. Retrieved October 12, 2014. ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download