Introduction
It could be stated with certainty that the phenomenon of immigration is of immensely high significance in the context of the History of the United States. In the passage under consideration, taken from the book by Oboler and González, this fact is referenced as the primary reason for discussing the current trends in the immigration process.
Since the United States, according to the authors, continues to celebrate itself as “a nation of immigrants,” the contemporary trend of increasing inflow of migrants, especially from Latin American and Caribbean cultural and ethnic backgrounds, represents an important problem, which is to be addressed by scholars. It is also worth mentioning that the book was published in 2005, and thus it is essential to take this fact into account when analyzing the piece of writing under consideration.
Evidently enough, every issue can be approached by a writer with drastically different perspectives and persuasive instruments. Therefore, in analyzing the chapter about immigration, this paper aims to address the following thesis statement. The authors approach the topic primarily from the logical perspective, dwelling upon the thorough investigation of the available data, in order to prove the fact that the recent migration wave significantly affects the structure of American society.
The Overall Purpose and Issues at Stake
First of all, it is essential to determine the purpose of the piece of writing under discussion, the issues at stake, and the overall context in which the chapter was written. In other words, the rhetorical situation should be observed in order to acquire a more profound understanding of the level of comprehensiveness with which the authors approached the subject matter. Primarily, the ultimate importance of the topic of immigration and issues related to it in the context of the development of the United States as a country is an evident reason for the investigation of the contemporary migration trends by the authors. Within this context, the increasing number of immigrants, especially from Latin America and the Caribbean, represents an important issue at stake.
Moreover, it is highly important to mention that the authors argue for the existence of substantial differences between the current situation (as of 2005) and the previous large wave of migration. In particular, the researchers compare the wave of 1880-1920 and the current wave, which began to rise in 1965. Several distinctive aspects are identified by the authors.
Firstly, they mention that the majority of contemporary immigrants are from developing countries, while in the 1880-1920 people migrated primarily from Europe. This statement is significant due to the fact that it evidently emphasizes the fact that the contemporary globalized world determines a different pattern for migration.
Accordingly, the second distinctive aspect of the modern wave of migration is that people who come to the United States are far more diversified in terms of educational level, class origins, and working skills. Additionally, the authors claim that the contemporary immigration wave surpasses the wave of the 19th century in absolute numbers (40 and 10 million people respectively) despite the fact that the previous wave was larger in terms of its percentage to the total population of the United States.
Further, as the authors focus on Latin America and the Caribbean population, they observe that this immigrant wave is far more adaptable. Due to the fact that numerous coethnic communities exist in the United States, it is considerably easier for Latin American immigrants to participate actively in social life. Also, the geopolitical impact of the Cold War is mentioned by the authors as a distinctive factor that shaped the current situation with migrants in the United States. As the authors exemplify, for the majority of Cubans, a welcoming immigration policy was implemented, as they were considered the “refugees of Communism”. On the contrary, it was considerably more difficult for such ethnicities as Salvadorans, Guatemalans, and Haitians to achieve the same protected status.
The importance of the discussed assumptions and arguments for the development of the arguments of the chapter could not be overlooked. The primary significance of the claims made by the authors is determined by the fact that the researchers are able to concisely and comprehensively identify the scope of their work in great detail. The introduction to the chapter indicates the unique status of the contemporary immigration wave. The authors make several statements, which were discussed above, that support their thesis and provide the framework for further development of the chapter. Additionally, it is not apparent that the authors have any serious constraints. Therefore, it is possible to state that the overall identification of the research scope and issue related to has been made comprehensively by the authors.
The Organization and Development of the Arguments in the Chapter
As the overall context in which the piece of writing under consideration was written, it is possible to move on to the discussion of the organization of the chapter and the development of its arguments. In general, it could be stated that the chapter is organized in a logical, comprehensive, and well-developed manner. Supported by the provision of the contextual information in the introduction, the authors elaborate on their thesis statement.
Though it is not placed distinctively in the chapter, it is possible to synthesize it in the following way. Latin American immigrant wave represents a unique situation in the context of contemporary America not only because it is the largest immigrant group in the 21st century, but also due to the fact that immensely complicated social and political processes influence its development. For example, it is figuratively stated by the authors that not only Latin American immigrants cross the border, but the border also crosses them, implying the processes of annexation and conquest.
The supporting paragraphs work toward the elaboration of specific aspects related to the overall scope of the literary work. It is argued that the supporting paragraphs are organized emphatically, as each section puts an emphasis on a particular aspect of the problem. Particularly, the authors divide the supporting paragraphs into three large sections (excluding introductory and concluding parts of the chapter). The first section elaborates on the reasons behind the increasing magnitude of the immigration wave of Latin Americans. In this section, the researchers comprehensively synthesize the evidence from various scholarly sources, acknowledging different perspectives in the given aspect of the problem.
The second section, being the largest in the chapter, deals with the topic of changes in the demography of Latin American immigrants. Arguably, this part of the chapter is of the highest importance due to the fact that the authors conduct a thorough evidence-based analysis of the demographic trends in the contemporary immigration wave. The flow of the arguments is considerably smooth, as the authors use numerous transitional words and construction along with the overall logical development of their writing. The third section elaborates on the various groups within the modern immigration wave. This part of the chapter is also very important because it exemplifies the diversity and complexity of the current immigration process.
The Use of Logos as the Primary Rhetoric Instrument
Evidently enough, the discussion of the particular aspects of the work by Oboler and González conducted in the previous section allows stating that logos is the primary rhetoric instrument of the persuasion that was used in the chapter. The authors dwell upon the use of logical methods of discussing the problem under consideration. It is apparent that the broad use of statistical data positively contributes to the overall persuading power of the chapter. The authors analyze the subject matter comprehensively, especially, in the section about the changing demography of Latin American immigrants. In this section, the majority of the numerical data and statistical analysis is concentrated. Thus, by supporting their claims with reliable evidence, the authors ensure that they develop a comprehensive argument.
Conclusion
The results of the conducted rhetorical analysis show that the piece of writing, which was the subject of this paper, is an example of outstanding work in terms of its persuasive power. Among minor disadvantages, which are few in the analyzed text, one can spot that the language used by the authors can appear stale and lacking motivation. However, it is only because the researchers do not appeal to the emotions of the audience, but rather to their logic and rational sense. In general, it is concluded that the authors were able to create a strong and well-developed argument for the discussion of the highly important topic, which is still highly relevant to this day.
Work Cited
Oboler, Suzanne, and Deena J. González. The Oxford Encyclopedia of Latinos and Latinas in the United States. Oxford University Press, 2005.