Article commentry

My article about Fox Farms is intended for the "comment is free" discussion section on The Guardian News internet page. The purpose is to inform and argue with an informative and opinionated theme throughout. As it is an argumentative article the audience need to feel involved and questioned about their opinions yet, persuaded to have the same views as the article due to its bias presentation. I have achieved this through my use of personal pronouns for example “would you want to be skinned alive?”

The article is a discussion of fox farming which involves skinning foxes alive for their fur, despite it being highly unethical, and is a practice outlawed in many countries. My target audience is older teenagers and adults who think strongly about the subject and want to challenge it. It is also aimed at those who are not necessarily aware of fox farms and want to find out about what it is and how they can stop it. I have managed to appeal to such a wide audience by using very accessible language, (“Thousands of innocent foxes get clubbed or skinned alive every”) and a limited amount of subject specific lexis.

 It appeals to my target audience by using information along with quotes and photos to support each fact and opinion. I chose to write about this to gain the public's understanding on animal cruelty as I feel strongly that it needs to be stopped. I used language features such as hyperbole’s and direct address as the article is an opinion piece to persuade the audience to support the protest. This is shown when the article says "This will continue until enough people join and support the campaign to stop this cruelty against animals. (http://www.caft.org.uk/support.html)."

Style model

The graphology used in my article is 3 photos all with relevance to fox farming. The first photo is placed at the top of the page under the headline to stand out and catch the reader’s attention and gives them a visual aid. The second and third photos are of protesters against fox farming to support my statements and quotes and empathise to the reader that fox farming is a serious issue. By using violent images it persuades the reader to support the campaign which makes the article reach its purpose. The headline "killing innocent animals for their fur is unethical and needs to be stopped" is written in block capitals which makes the reader curious to continue reading and find out why it is unethical and in which way this process is committed.

The lexical choice of "violently" when describing how the foxes are killed it strengthens the imagery of the conditions the foxes had to go through to shock my target audience and persuade them to join to stop this act. The word "innocent" is often repeated to enforce the fact that these animals haven't done anything wrong to be treated this way. It also added to the sympathy felt by the audience as they will connect with the underlying message that these animals have no reason to go through these conditions.

Monologue commentry

"From Heaven" is a monologue intended to entertain with a reflective and emotional theme aimed at teenagers and adults who are experienced reader's and are well educated. By using complex sentences it enables my piece to flow alike how the characters thoughts are flowing and draw readers in on a personal level to reflect and feel sympathy. "I couldn't do it anymore, okay?!" is an example of the use of language features such as direct address which includes the reader whilst allowing them to understand the negative tone intended for this character who is presented as being depressed. This unpredictable change of tone keeps the stream of conciousness consistant which makes the readers increase the speed of reading which creates involvement in the piece, establishing suspense throughout.

The title "From Heaven" grips the readers attention as it creates enigma for the reader to find out what it means to be "From Heaven." The lexical choice of "heaven" instantly gives the connotation of death and the afterlife. This makes the reader feel sympathy and interest to continue reading to find out in which context the title is written about. This creates various questions for my target audience as they are well educated and in their teens/adulthood meaning they have a complex way of thinking allowing them to follow the flow of the monologue.

"From Heaven" begins with stage directions which show clearly what the character is doing at the time she is speaking. For example "[A tear falls down the girls face. The girl lifts her hands to wipe it away as if shes refusing her need to cry.]" This stage direction indicates the emotional state the character is in. This gives the audience depth in the mood the girl is in at that time. This gives the reader understanding and an insight on the body language/location of the character which allows them to feel involved which will make them want to continue reading. It also indicates the tone and expression for the character as the monologue is based on her thoughts and opinions only allowing my target audience to understand and sympathize with her situation.

An effective technique I used from my style model was stage directions which is one of the main conventions of a monologue. Originally one of the stage directions used was "Looks to window and takes a loud deep breath." I realized that the stage direction was too simplistic and didn't give enough detail to what a terrible state the character was in at that time. I then added more detail onto the stage directions and the setting and body language became more evident.

A use of provoking language is used within my monologue alike my style model which empathizes the character evoking sympathy through using a bitter tone. "You pity me, don't you?" is effective as the reader can sense the anger of the character, yet understand that she is in despair but is trying to be too strong to say so. This creates the impression I intended for this character that she feels guilty of what has happened but is trying to convince herself that what she did was right more than anyone else. Through the character saying "I love my sister" allows the audience to grasp how the girl feels towards her sister. Although she is saying a supposedly positive statement the audience are also aware that on an unconscious level the girl is feeling remorse for everything that's happened whether it was through her fault or not.