By The Times Editorial Board
The editorial, The slaughter in Las Vegas is all too familiar, yet Americans refuse to stop it, was inspired by the mass shooting that took place in Las Angeles Sunday night (Oct. 1), which has left an estimated number of over 515 people injured, with 50 already dead and the number on the rise. The author of the editorial argues that actions concerning gun control should be taken promptly to prevent less crimes of gun violence. The author's tone is indignant since he/she is angry at the fact that many mass shooting have occurred frequently, but nothing has been done about gun control to help prevent these events on happening. The author uses a connotation style of diction since his/her wording reflects his/her feelings towards the topic: intense and aggravated. Strong wording, such as "slaughter" in the title of the editorial, is used by the author to show the seriousness of the situation. The author is aggravated that these similar events have repeated themselves so often, but that that is still not enough for Americans to take the initiative and change something about it. To add emphasize on how frequent gun violent crimes are committed, the author wrote, "once again", when stating "The nation awakened Monday morning to learn that once again a man [...] has committed what appears to be the most American of acts, using military-style firearms to kill a staggering number of people". The level of emotional attachment the author seems to have is strong and devoted. The author seems to believe strongly on what he/she stands for. The diction reflects the author's indignant tone because the words used clearly reflects the author's dissatisfaction with what is going on and the actions that are not being taken to relieve those situations. A type of rhetorical device used by the author are rhetorical questions. Rhetorical questions can be found all over the editorial, but two of these rhetorical questions used are, "Paddock’s motive? Unknown at this point, but does it even matter?", and, "One of the questions police will try to answer, and that will frame the ensuing debate, is whether Paddock obtained his firearms legally. Does that even matter at this point?". These rhetorical questions are used to help readers focus on what the author thinks really matters, which is not what the shooter's motives were or whether or not Paddock got his weapons legally or illegally, but that weather or not weapons should be allowed in the hands of civilians in the first place. By using rhetorical questions, the author is aiming for a reflective effect that will make his/her reader think about the issue. The purpose of this editorial was to share the author's opinion on a gun control, a controversial topic. The author wants his/her reader to think about the serious matters at hand and convince them that actions should be done immediately. The author's position is worth taking note of because he/she does make a strong point. How many lives are going to be taken before people start to realize that these matters should not be taken lightly?
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