Ethan Walters
Ms. Karen Eisenhauer
ENG 101 (083)
6 March 2017
A Rhetorical Analysis of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
Every day, millions of animals see themselves victims of harsh treatment and cruelty. Whether this be through directly abusing animals, kill shelters, human induced fighting, racing, or even something as simple as hoarding, animal cruelty has become a growing epidemic around the world (ASPCA Animal Cruelty). Of the animals abused, household pets have especially become a strong point of sympathy in helping fight cruelty, and an estimated 2.6 million cats and dogs are euthanized every year in the United State alone (ASPCA Pet Statistics). But many people do not know how they can make a direct impact on these animals lives. Known for their willingness to defend and support various types of causes, advocacy groups appeal to potential supporters and ask them to help the cause in any way possible. Whether it be through simple donations or a more physical form of aid such as helping prevent animal cruelty, there is always a way to lend a helping hand to these groups. One specific advocacy group, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, or ASPCA, has made it much easier to make an impact by giving the common person an outlet to donate towards saving the lives of animals in distress. Donations are easily made through the APCSA’s website which captures visitors by using visual and linguistic emotional appeals, along with a strict color coordination to show them how they can take action, both through donations and the prevention of animal cruelty. In doing this, the ASPCA shows potential donators that they will not only save lives by donating, but that it is unmoral not to do so.
The pictures of animals in distress that headline the ASPCA’s website are the very first thing that the eye catches glimpse of, and act as a strong appeal to pathos. Of the multiple pictures that the audience cycles through, there are only two types of animals shown, cats and dogs, which are often referred to as companion animals (ASPCA Pet Statistics). In doing this, the ASPCA is directing this emotion strictly towards the common pet owner and lovers of cats and dogs, and relying on these people to make up a bulk of their donations. The pictures also give potential donators an actual look at what their money will be used for, to help animals like the ones pictured. These pictures give donators a sense of relief that their money is actually going somewhere and that the group is not strictly profit driven. On the surface, these pictures are the most successful rhetorical strategy that the website uses due to the amount of raw emotion that the audience of the website experiences while viewing them. People emphasize with companion animals in the first place, so by showing these animals in distress the website is exhibiting both an appeal to pathos of fear and pathos of desire. When viewing these images, the audience experiences a strong sense of emotion related to the fear of the idea that if they do not donate, they are letting animal cruelty take place and not having any impact. The audience also experiences emotion related to the desire to help these animals and deter the notion of animal cruelty all together. Although these images are rich in emotional appeals, they do not always stand for themselves, so the website also relies on the use of linguistic emotional appeals to give these pictures a voice.
The ASCPCA’s website also uses linguistic emotional appeals to help emphasize the visual pathos on the page. Right next to the pictures of animals in distress are sayings such as, “63 cents a day saves lives” and “Is there room in my heart for you?” (ASPCA). These sayings not only act as another appeal to pathos, but they back up the pictures, almost acting as dialogue for them. These linguistic appeals are so effective because of how subtle they are. Even though they are in big white letters, the claims make the audience feel as if donating a small amount of money each day is simple and that it isn’t a significant amount, but if you calculate it, it is much larger than you might expect, $229.95 a year in fact (ASPCA). Although the phrase, “Is there room in my heart for you?” is strictly another appeal to pathos, the term, “63 cents a day saves lives” downplays the actual amount of money the donator is spending, and starts to play into the idea of immorality in not donating because the assertion makes donating feel so quick and easy (ASPCA).
The appeals to pathos, both visually and linguistically, make the audience feel as if it is immoral not to donate. The way that this is done is simple, pictures of animals in distress will certainly effect many people that view the website, and playing down the actual amount of money that donators will be paying makes it seem as if it would not be right for them not to donate. The way that the ASPCA utilizes the layout of these appeals to pathos also contributes to the feeling of the immorality of not donating. Like mentioned before, the way that the linguistic appeals act almost as dialogue for the pictures makes the audience feel like the animals are talking to them directly, asking for the audiences help with their sad, watery eyes. This method is so effective that it makes you feel like a bad person after visiting the website if you have not donated, which is exactly the way the ASPCA wants you to feel. The website almost locks you into a prison cell of fear and desire, and the only way it lets the audience break free is by donating. If you do not donate, it makes you feel like you are trapped forever, and calls for your immorality. This is the entire premise of the websites rhetorical strategies, it tries to make you feel bad for not donating, and if you donate you feel like you have made a serious contribution to the lives of all animals in distress. Luckily for those that are trying to break this feeling of immorality, with or without having to pay actual money, the websites use of color coordination makes it very simple.
The ASPCA’s website’s use of color coordination makes it extremely easy to donate and take action. On the website, mostly all the background is made up by pictures or just a plain black background, but there are a few key things that are highlighted with an orange background. These things are an implemented plan of how to take action, the most obvious being donating. When you go into the website, the first thing you see is the extreme and harsh nature of the pictures, and then the linguistic emotional appeals that back them up. This builds up an intense set of emotion which leads into the next thing that catches the eye, the orange donate button (ASPCA). In doing this, the website is letting the reader take in the more intense rhetorical strategies before giving them an outlet to help, because if the other strategies are utilized first, the audience of the website is more likely to take action and donate. Although it is not the centerpiece when you first see the website, the orange donate tab still stands out above most everything else. The other major thing that is highlighted in orange is the P in the ASPCA’s name, which stands for prevention (ASPCA). The website knows that all visitors are not necessarily going to be able to help out financially, even though it may aim to make people that cannot donate feel bad. Because of this, they have highlighted another plan of engagement that you can take to help the cause without having to spend money, which is simply working to preventing animal cruelty. The highlight of the P also shows the audience that even though the website is trying to get you to donate, it is not the main purpose of the group. At its core, the ASPCA is strictly what its name entails, an outlet for people to fight against and prevent animal cruelty (ASPCA). This means that by highlighting the P, they are showing the audience that they love animals just as much as anyone else, if not more. And, in saying this, their main goal is to prevent animal cruelty, not gain money to help the group stay afloat. This brings the ASPCA down to a human level, which contributes both ethos and pathos to the website. This entails ethos in the sense that the website it strictly trying to prevent animal cruelty, which adds a lot of credibility, and it entails pathos because it makes the audience feel as if they are connecting with the group on a personal level through their shared love for animals. The color coordination is the backbone of the website, and although it may be more-subtle or less strong than the other rhetorical strategies on the surface, it is the strategy that gives the website the most credibility and a strong emotional connection to its followers.
The ASPCA’s website is rich in emotional appeals, both visually and linguistically, which suck the audience in and try to get them to donate. Although these emotional appeals make the website seem as if they are trying to make you feel bad for not donating, the color coordination brings it back down to earth to describe the true values of the advocacy group. The emotional appeals are the surface layer and the color coordination is what lies beneath and holds the entire group together as a whole together. By using this dual rhetorical approach, the ASPCA is making everyone feel included in their fight against animal cruelty, no matter if they donated money or not. The ASPCA has to make the audience feel bad about not donating because of the harsh nature of what they are fighting against. By making the audience feel bad for not donating, they are making it seem as if you are letting animal cruelty happen yourself, which gives the feeling of immorality for not donating. Although this may seem harsh, it is just a ploy to try and get donations, because although getting donations is not the sole purpose of the group, it is still needed. The emotional appeals are extremely effective in the way in which they try to get the audience into donating, which definitely is necessary, but the true and kind nature of the group is not reflected until you realize that the P in ASPCA is highlighted in orange, showing that their main goal is to someday stop animal cruelty in its entirety.
Works Cited
ASPCA. “Animal Cruelty.” http://www.aspca.org/animal-cruelty. 2017. Web. 06 Mar. 2017.
ASPCA. “Pet Statistics.” http://www.aspca.org/animal-homelessness/shelter-intake-and-surrender/pet-statistics 2017. Web. 05 Mar. 2017
ASPCA. “ASPCA.” https://www.aspca.org. 2017. Web. 01 Mar. 2017.