New Soil

Life started on red and green soil

Life started on red and green soil

Won the chance to move with a lottery ticket

Arriving as a bird, flying to stars with red and white

Little did I know this would be a turmoil

The start was with poor soil

The crops were not very stable

But now a new land shows more of a rich soil

And new people colored white

All I hear is chirping coming out from their mouths

“What is he saying”

I try to understand and speak with my half

“Iz ther a pro-blem”

But all I hear are laughs and giggles

I went home with their expressions stuck in my head

“Does he know English, must be an immigrant”

I told myself in the mirror “what iz wrong wit meh”

At that moment I knew how this new soil tread

I wanted to tear off the words that I pronounce

But I can’t as I was trounced

But I will continue to search that day

Where I get to say

The words I want to speak

Inglesh

Rhetorical Analysis 1

The argument for the poem, “New Soil” by Animesh Ray, is that people shouldn’t be ashamed of how they speak to others. They should be more cheerful about learning 2 languages and should be themselves regardless of they sound and feel. With this poem, the intended audience is people that are immigrants, specifically those coming over from Bangladesh. South Asian immigrants overall also have this problem coming overseas: accents, money, and language. The intended audience is a crucial part to identify the argument as it shows whom the message is reaching and leaves in the same boat as the victim of this inferiority of language. The audience is also aimed towards those who have superiority over others and makes fun of the immigrants. In this regard, it would always be the white folks. The genre I selected was a poem. I chose this genre to communicate the problems of immigrants to those who are in similar situations with improper English. Poems from my country have a beautiful establishment and history. Poems are one of our home treats of art and expression and to write one is like a cultural addition of mine.

One rhetorical strategy that I used was evidence of speech or commentary in my poem. The part where the other folks looked down on me and said they didn’t understand what I was saying with laughs to follow made my self-esteem low. The form of appeal was Logos as I provided evidence of interactions that occurred with me. It was the problem that immigrants can relate to the most. This had citations and in addition, the author’s background displayed that this poem was factual. This was a good fit as it would enhance my style of writing to where the readers would see that all the information and message coming from the poem had been through a real story. It is one of those cases where people are interested in a “based on a real story” type situation.

The evidence of commentary also had Pathos behind the poem as it made the readers feel bad about what the narrator had to go through. Hearing what others had to say about you speaking bad English would automatically make you feel empathetic. Pathos was a big aspect of this genre as the intended audience can see how they would feel emotionally or attached to the experiences of the author. The greater commentary provided the appeal of Pathos.

Another rhetorical strategy I used in my poem was the use of organized content in a linear fashion. The part where I started on my red and green home soil speaks about where I am from. I am talking about Bangladesh’s flag colors. Then, I briefly described that I came overseas to a “new soil” land which was America describing its flag as well. I then talked about seeing others and trying to communicate with the broken English I had. Another event occurred after the narrator came home and looked in the mirror and hated his form of English. The purpose was to give an idea to the readers of how immigrants’ lives are from their arrival in America. This appealed to logos as it showed the order of events that occurred and backed up the experience of the author. This also invokes a feeling of empathy as the readers see these events pan out in order and can feel the struggle of an immigrant. With the mirror part and the spark to resume his language and to improve upon it in the future proving all the haters wrong.

Rhetorical Analysis 2

The argument that Amy Tan makes is that one shouldn’t be ashamed of how they speak and to freely express themselves as they please. The intended audience of her article is those who are immigrants, specifically East Asian as well. In addition to this, Tan had the intended audience of white people as it is those in America that look down on her mother’s accents. The genre I selected is a meme, which signified the issue with speech and accents following the people of Chinese immigrants. My audience is Asian people, people who make fun of immigrant accents, teachers, and younger immigrants. I chose a meme because a lot of the media and audience get the message through memes, and it spreads it out more with you understanding the context of a problem occurring. A meme is a very simple genre to choose from compared to a poem and the message is very direct.

One rhetorical strategy I used with the meme is imagery. The picture in the background is a Chinese man that the audience with the context of the text can interpret this is coming from a Chinese immigrant perspective. This would appeal to the audience of Ethos as there is built-in credibility or trust as the background image of the meme is representing the community of Chinese immigrants and Amy Tan is part of the community as well. The context of the Text shows the speech the Chinese Immigrants say with their “broken English” and it elaborates on Tan’s experience with the language and with her mother especially. The meme and background also appeal to Pathos as the audience could feel either a comedic reaction or empathy. A meme always invokes laughter most of the time in general.

Another rhetorical strategy used was the caption or subtitle used in the meme which adds the meaning of the background with context and the main message. This would appeal to the audience which has Logos as the evidence is clear. It shows a presented scenario of how Chinese people have trouble with their broken English. It depicts the accent they contain which gives attention to the reader how this is the sort of trouble with Tan’s life. This also appeals to the audience with Pathos as it makes the audience feel more empathetic towards Tan and the problems her mother faces with the oppression of empowering English. You feel the sense that they feel bad and emotionally attached to Tan’s situation, especially at the CAT place that poor Tan’s mom had to experience.