Making Peace Rhetorical Analysis

Rhetorical Analysis: Making Peace with the Earth

AUTHOR:  Dr. Vandana Shiva is a philosopher, scientists and in movement for peace.  Shiva was born in 1952 to an Indian family that was based on the love for forests and nature.  She took this background of naturalists and earned a B.S. in physics, M.A. in philosophy, and a PhD in nuclear physics all from separate universities.  In 1991, Dr. Shiva founded a national movement, Navdanya, which specialized in the protection of living resources and opposed the conformity of society’s laws that she says are negative functions to prevent people from being successful.  Dr. Shiva bases her thoughts on Mahatma Gandhi’s saying, “I have tried to be the change I want to see” (thegreeninterview).

TITLE:  Making Peace with the Earth

DATE OF PUBLICATION: 2012, 2013

PUBLISHER:  Pluto Press one of the world’s leading radical publishers, they specialize in critical perspectives in politics and the social sciences.  They have been operating for over 40 years and became independent in 1979.  It has publishes over 800 titles.

TONE, SYTAX, LANGUAGE:  The tone is direct and informative.  Dr. Shiva writes in a mostly layman’s terms form.  Her writing mostly focuses on informing the reader without beading around the bush.  The text is mostly made up of factual evidence.  This includes many statistics and knowledge gained from organizations.  For example, “According to the IPCC report the total area of glaciers in the Himalaya will shrink from 193,051 square miles…” (Shiva104).  She does not use any metaphorical references or figurative language but a monotone speaking voice.

INTENDED AUDIENCE:  The specific chapter, Climate wars and Climate peace, soaks its reader with proven evidence.  I would assume the entire book is written the same way.  The intended audience for this text includes environmentalists, international students, and political skeptics, and upper class radicals.  For example, in the beginning of the chapter Dr. Shiva attests her thoughts on government’s maneuvers around signing a treaty on pollution claiming, “ The Copenhagen Accord is in reality the accord of global corporations to continue to pollute globally by attempting to dismantle the UN Climate Treaty” (Shiva 101).  She’s claiming not to by pass the governments smooth actions.

CONTEXT:  This chapter starts out by describing how the governments are dealing with pollution of nations and how global warming is being dealt with falsely.  The reading then moves to start telling the reader about all the changes occurring due to global warming.  Shiva tells how the melting of glaciers are causing flooding in some Himalayan communities and how in separate communities it’s causing their water supply to divert causing springs to dry up.  The chapter ends with more occurrences that have caused or will cause tragic and drastic changes to the climate and physical landscape that will lead to the to natural disasters.  The reading closes out by telling how movements are spreading to stop this global crisis.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this chapter is to scare and inform the reader that the global warming needs to stop.  Dr. Shiva wants to move people to take action and to prevent these deaths that may occur from natural disasters or drought.

AUTHOR’S PROCESS:  After reading an interview of Dr. Shiva Vandana, it is obvious that the content in this chapter is she every day thought process.  She strongly believes in being peaceful with the earth and that we are all citizens of earth and not necessarily our separate society’s.  Shiva says in an interview on an Indian radio show (she) "has never been stronger because the crisis is deeper." She describes her personal views saying "You cannot separate the issue of sustainability from the issue of justice from the issue of access to resources and from the issues of peace.” Finally making the remark that "Making peace with the earth" is now "a survival imperative." (Commonsdreams)

Common Dreams. "Vandana Shiva: 'Making Peace With the Earth Is a Survival Imperative' | Common Dreams." Common Dreams. N.p., 20 June 2012. Web. 05 Sept. 2013. <https://www.commondreams.org/headline/2012/06/20-2>.

"Vandana Shiva." - The Green Interview. Paper Tiger Enterprises Ltd, 2010. Web. 05 Sept. 2013. <http://www.thegreeninterview.com/vandana-shiva-bio>.

Shiva, Vandana. Making Peace with the Earth. London: Pluto, 2013. Print.