Argument about a Argument

You are walking down the Olin lecture halls on your way to class and you are discussing your up and coming plans to ‘party like a rock star’ this weekend. You look to your left and you see a startling image of a big black poster with an x-ray of a skeleton in handcuffs. You read the disheveled print above it that states, “If you drink and drive this Halloween, be afraid. Be very afraid. You may not realize it but this poster was made specifically for you. To catch your eye, draw you in, and help you relate to what is being said on the poster. This poster is displaying rhetorical strategies to help convince you to not get into the vehicle of someone who is driving under the influence of alcohol.
The audience this poster is targeting is college students because students today probably truly do not understand the implications of driving while intoxicated and how frequently students are killed by these alcohol-related incidents.“Traffic crashes are the leading cause of death in the United States for people younger than age 25.[3] Nationwide in 1996, 10,431 people ages 15 to 24 died in fatal motor vehicle crashes and 45% of those traffic deaths (4661) were alcohol-related (Hingson).” Current Health even states, “About 6 percent of college students are already alcohol-dependent, reported John Knight and his colleagues at Harvard. Meanwhile, another 31 percent meet diagnostic criteria for alcohol abuse (Kowalski).” These statistics show that college is notoriously known for heavy drinking and especially on occasions of celebration, such as Halloween.

This poster may not actually stop students from drinking and driving, but it may at least have made them stop and think. A student probably started off by noticing the huge eye-catching illustration in the middle of the poster. The x-ray of a skeleton wearing a pair of handcuffs, this image is tying in elements of Halloween with some scare tactics. The skeleton itself is representing death and this is supposed to represent how drinking and driving can impact your life on Halloween night by being killed. The image of the skeleton in handcuffs is an example of pathos used to arouse the emotion of fear. Fear of death is supposed to deter the audience from committing crimes. When the audience sees this picture they are suppose to identify themselves as the skeleton and the image of death is suppose to inspire fear so that the audience will remember the consequences of what could happen when people drive intoxicated. Just like the image of the handcuffs coupling the wrists of the skeleton the images themselves are joined together by the emotion of fear. The image of the handcuffs instills an analogy between handcuffs and legal punishment. When the audience sees the handcuffs they automatically think of law enforcement which then leads to punishment. This image will then provoke fear which is another example of pathos. The poster is trying to frighten you into staying away from drunk driving. The skeleton on the poster is connecting the audience to the message by using fear to persuade them so when they are viewing the poster they will think, “I do not want to die or go to jail” and therefore choose to not drink and drive.
While the image of the skeleton uses pathos for its argument, the text on the poster uses logos. The poster has advice on how to have a safe Halloween. It tells the audience to: make a plan in advance, designate a sober driver, call a sober friend, and get a sober ride. By giving these instructions the poster is appealing to reason by saying if you drink and drive you will go to jail. When the audience first sees the poster it provides you with these arguments about not drinking and driving, so now it is giving the audience the next step in how to actually accomplish having a safe Halloween. By giving these instructions the audience is now finally ready to make an informed decision about choosing to not drink and drive. The text also brings about the cause and effect aspect. The basic gist of the poster is, if you drink and drive, you will be caught and punished. This is shown through the fine small print at the very bottom of the poster. The small text reads, “A DUI conviction could potentially result in jail time, loss of license, and fines and penalties of up to 10,000 dollars.” This print is trying to convey to its audience that sever consequences will follow if you do not abide by the law.
While the text is using logos as its main appeal it does have some pathos associated with it. For example, at the top of the poster is some straggly print that reads, “If you drink and drive this Halloween, be afraid. Be very afraid.” The joke is not lost on you, yet you find it hard to laugh. The text is meant to be funny, but also not. This text is inspiring pathos. While this text is trying to make you laugh it is also trying to make you realize that drinking and driving on Halloween is dangerous. This text is using humor to relate to the audience so that come Halloween night when you are looking for a way to get home you will remember the poster and have a sober driver. The poster also has small print at the very bottom that says, “Halloween is one of the great holidays of the year, but if you choose to drink and drive, you could get “treated” to a DUI arrest.” Once again this is using pathos by having a pun tied into the message.
The poster has deployed many rhetorical strategies used to persuade its targeted audience into choosing not to drink and drive on Halloween. By using the illustration of the skeleton in handcuffs it is provoking emotions in the audience to establish an intimate connection between reader and writer. By using cause and effect the poster is showing you what would happen if the student was caught driving under the influence of alcohol. And finally the poster tied in appeals of pathos, and logos. By using all of these strategies the poster has presented a well rounded argument that will prevent college students from driving intoxicated.

Works Cited
Hingson, Ralph W. "College-age drinking problems." Public Health Reports. 113. 1998. 52(3). eLibrary. Proquest CSA. NEBRASKA WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY. 31 Oct 2007. .

Kowalski, Kathiann M. "ALCOHOL A REAL THREAT." Current Health 2. 01 Dec 2003. 6. eLibrary. Proquest CSA. NEBRASKA WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY. 31 Oct 2007. .