English Works

Chapter 3: Exercise 23 (further)

Exercise 23, Yes, Big Brother is watching you, p. 59

Persuasive and reasoning strategies and their purpose

Fear and frustration

The author seeks to scare people by suggesting that the cameras cost a lot of money.

  • The author makes a hip-pocket appeal. She suggests that the cameras cost too much money.
  • The author makes people feel worried about the cameras.
  • The author makes people feel scared about the fact that the police are always watching the public.
  • The author arouses our fear about the fact that the police are always watching the public.
  • The author seeks to provoke anger at the Council because it is wasting money.
  • The author makes us feel frustrated at the waste of money
  • The author uses rhetorical questions that focus on other ways of keeping people safe.
  • She appeals to the rights of citizens to feel safe. However, she does not believe that the camera is the best way to keep people safe.
Other persuasive techniques
  • Attack on the council: Ms Johnson discredits the government or councils or institutions who are wasting money and spying on citizens.  According to Ms Johnson, the government or councils assume that the city will be safer with cameras. However, the camera will not make much difference to people who are extremely drunk; also the perverts will just find a way to avoid the cameras.
  • The author uses hyperbole and an intertextual reference to “big brother”: this word has negative connotations and reinforces a sense of fear. The reference to “big brother” seeks to build hostility between citizens and the government.
  • Appeal to safety/privacy: The hyperbolic reference to “big brother” reflects Ms Johnson’s point that the government is invading people’s movements.
  • Generalisation: “everywhere we go these days someone is watching us”: this generalisation seeks to scare members of the public.
  • The cliché, “in the dead of night”,  has negative connotations and implies that even when a person least expects it, they are being watched.
  • Fearmongering tactics: The author instils a sense of fear in members of the public when she refers to the fact that it is impossible to escape surveillance.
  • The hip-pocket nerve: the author suggests that the CCTV cameras are expensive and are therefore an unnecessary waste of taxpayer’s money.   “No wonder our rates are increasing at an alarming rate.”   She implies that the council is increasing rates to subsidise the cameras which would annoy many ratepayers.
  • The author’s tone is exasperated and cynical: “No wonder our rates are increasing at an alarming rate!”
  • The use of statistics and hip-pocket appeal: the reference to the cost of the machines seeks to anger concerned citizens.
  • Alliteration and cliché/informal language: “convenient cop out”: The author states that this is a “cop out” for police, which gives the impression that the police are indifferent and prefer to watch the cameras than do a decent job.
  • Her emphatic use of repetitive rhetorical questions: “what about …” reinforces her view that there are more practical solutions than spending $100,000 on cameras.  She admits there maybe some minimal benefit, although she seems to trivialise or downplay their benefits. This is because she prioritises individual privacy over intrusive state control.
  • Repetition and list of rhetorical questions: “What about improved lighting” etc.  The questions highlight preferred alternatives to the cameras that waste money.  The author seeks to reassure members of the public by referencing other practical and cheaper solutions.
  1. See Useful Metalanguage, Big Brother is Watching You
  2. Return to Better Essays Summary Page: Better Essays Summary Page
  3. Return to Better Essays: Persuasive Techniques
  4. Return to Exercise 23, p. 59: Better Essays