Question

We learned about different types of argumentative techniques, or appeals, when we studied Thomas Paine’s from Common Sense. Read the first paragraph of Last Rites for Indian Dead. What if museums, universities, and government agencies could put your dead relatives on display or keep them in boxes to be cut up and otherwise studied? What if you believed that the spirits of the dead could not rest until their human remains were placed in a sacred area? What type of argument or appeal is Susan Harjo making in this paragraph?

Answer 1

In this opening paragraph Susan Harjo is appealing to emotion. She uses shock tactics to raise the reader's consciousness. By inviting readers to imagine an abhorrent situation that might affect them personally, she brings her argument close to home in a powerful way, Her "what if" sentences are a striking way to introduce her argument for outlawing commercial transactions in Indian artifacts.