Hillary Clinton during a campaign event, May 25, 2016 in Salinas, California. Author: Tina Nguyen
Date of Publication: January 31, 2018 Category: Politics Tina Nguyen, reporter for The Hive- focusing on politics and the media- covers the recent controversy surrounding former U.S. President Candidate, Hillary Clinton. With the recent popularity of the #MeToo movement, more and more people are now being confronted and called out for any act of or association with sexual harassment- including Hillary Clinton. Nguyen explains the fallacies in Clinton’s attempts to justify her decision to not fire her senior advisor from her 2008 presidential campaign, Burns Strider, who was accused of sexual harassment. Nguyen utilizes formal and elegant diction throughout her piece to compliment the political and social topics at hand. No contractions are used in the article and very few generic words are used in replace of its more sophisticated alternative. For example, Nguyen uses the word, “throes,” instead of a more generic word, like “struggles,” to describe the issues that the Democratic Party currently faces with members dealing with allegations of sexual allegations. Keeping consistent formal and elegant diction throughout the article ensures that the seriousness of the subjects discussed- Clinton and the #Metoo Movement- is not undermined by a more informal, ‘relaxed form’ of diction. The tone of this article is very accusatory, since Nguyen clearly believes that Clinton is wrong for how she addressed the reports about her past campaign team.The tone can be reflected by Nguyen’s feelings towards Clinton and the scandal, which are both obvious and inconspicuous in the piece. For example, Nguyen blatantly calls out Clinton by stating, “Clinton had the chance to apologize for failing to protect her staffers from a sexual harasser. Instead, she buried her mea culpa in a late-night news dump.” Adding “had the chance” and later adding “instead” shows that the author believes that Clinton was wrong and did not handle the situation as she should have. The part that says “she buried her mea culpa in a late-night news dump” comes off as a bit harsh, but is a telling demonstration of Nguyen’s distaste for Clinton and the situation. Nguyen also shows her dislike for Clinton towards the end of the article, calling Clinton’s book, which was published post-election, as “ferocious.” The less revealing evidence of Nguyen’s feelings toward Clinton and the case is shown through her bias. Although her bias is not exactly shown, Nguyen uses accounts primarily from sources that bash Clinton’s recent tweets addressing the reports. The main rhetorical devices used in this passage are appeals to pathos and complex syntax. Nguyen incorporates a great deal of quotes and facts within the article. She presents information about the story at hand, uses quotes and tweets from Clinton and her team in regards to the controversy, includes commentary from people who have addressed the case, and includes other key information that is associated with the reports. For example, Nguyen uses the account of Anna North, who was a longtime supporter of Clinton: “I respect Clinton’s personal religious faith and the depth of her belief in forgiveness. What I can’t accept is the idea that forgiving Strider means minimizing the consequences he faced for his behavior, especially when doing so put him in a position to offend again.” Nguyen uses many sources like this to not only add insight on what is being said about the recent controversy but to also hint at her bias (as mentioned before). Nguyen incorporates many dashes in her passage to attach key details to the point that is being made. For instance, Nguyen begins presenting the story saying, “When news broke last week that Hillary Clinton failed to fire a senior adviser from her 2008 presidential campaign after he was accused of sexual harassment—and that he continued to harass women in subsequent jobs…” Adding the dash allows the author to include vital details about the results of Clinton not firing Strider, which is the fact that he continued his inappropriate behavior. Nguyen writes this article to not only inform and add personal views about the recent reports surrounding Clinton, but to also connect this controversy with another controversial topic - the #MeToo movement. Nguyen specifically informs her audience by simply reporting on the reports made, the statements made by Clinton and her team, and the reactions induced by these reports and statements. She adds her own opinion in the piece, such as saying, “But if Clinton was truly angling for a comeback, the Strider fumble might have snuffed out that possibility for good.” She connects Clinton’s scandal with the #MeToo movement by expressing, “On a broader level, too, the timing was terrible—in the throes of the #MeToo movement, a misstep on the issue of sexual harassment cuts deeper than ever before.” Nguyen writes this piece because it deals with two factors that have become increasingly influential in our society- politics and movements- especially, as of recent. The presidential election between Trump and Clinton was one of the most contentious elections thus far, and the #MeToo has garnered much support and acceptance but has been proven to be incredibly controversial as well.
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