ATAR Notes: Forum
VCE Stuff => VCE English Studies => VCE Subjects + Help => VCE English & EAL => Topic started by: hyunah on May 02, 2014, 12:57:31 pm
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I was just wondering what is the effect when the writer says 'even'... as in 'even children's rights are at risk'?
Thank you
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It undermines the assumptions of the reader and appeals to their sense of innocence, making them feel somewhat empathetic toward the children.
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No, it's using an assumed empathy and protectiveness towards children to motivate empathy and protectiveness towards something else - in this instance, it sounds like it's probably adults. The authors probably want you to care about a particular policy or law or behaviour because it affects everyone, but because you're unlikely to care too much about everyone they get you caring about *children* (because OF COURSE you care about children), and hope that extrapolates out to everyone else, as well.
The word 'even' suggests a visual continuum, in which the people whose rights we care about the least are on one end and the people whose rights we care about the most (ie children) are on the other. We may *think* that the negative effect on rights only stretches halfway or so along the continuum, only affecting those whose rights we care about the least... but NO! It stretches the whole way along, reaching as far as to hold CHILDREN in its vice-like, destructive grip.