Melting Pot of America

If a person were asked to describe the population of the United States of America, a possible description would include the diversity of races and cultures throughout the nation. They have made up the population of this country for centuries. In “Lecture on International Flows of Humanity” by Kofi Annan, he presents to an audience of students at Columbia University, that immigration has actually helped the United States’ economy. There have been many lectures, speeches, and other forms of media that have argued the different viewpoints of this controversial issue. However, Kofi Annan uses different rhetoric tools in order to encourage the audience to believe as he believes. He is well-known as a Ghanaian diplomat and also served as a United Nations’ Secretary General. The incredible knowledge and experience that he has, can relate to the students at the University level His use of allusions, metaphors, and rhetorical questions become extremely powerful with the insight he gives combined with the life that he has lived.
Allusions that relate to the audience’s personal level create an appeal that will influence their perception on the message; especially when the allusion can directly apply to each individual. Kofi Annan uses an allusion at the beginning of his lecture in order to capture the audience’s attention and remind them of earlier times in the United States. He quotes Emma Lazarus’s famous words that are written on the base of the Statue of Liberty. Lazarus said, “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free” which welcomes all that come into the United States. When Annan uses this quote, the reader can easily ponder when immigration brought many people into New York and when so many were seeking to come to this country. The allusion becomes especially intriguing when the reader realizes that the author of this lecture was not born in the United States, yet he realizes the great impact that immigration had on the nation. Although Annan does not have ancestors that experienced this and he cannot personally relate to this allusion, it becomes more powerful because he observed the benefits of immigration through an outsider’s viewpoint. This quote puts a positive perspective on the idea of immigration. Many people that live in the United States today have ancestors that immigrated from a different country. When the author uses this allusion, the reader will have a more positive outlook on immigration because it might be how they came to live in this country.
Kofi Annan also compares the result of immigration in New York to a brilliant success story that applies to the University students and the time of life at which they are at. College is generally a struggle for most students, and the idea of a brilliant success story will be one that they will be able to personally relate to themselves. The use of the metaphor comparing New York to a successful story is an image that even a general student audience can understand and appreciate. Many people enjoy reading a book that has a happy ending. They can relax when the characters find a solution to their problems or realize their mistakes. The metaphor of a brilliant success story will enable the reader to understand that immigration is not only a good thing for the United States, but that it will give the country success. Writing about this issue in a positive manner will persuade the reader to think that immigration is a good thing for the United States and that it will affect the economy in a positive way. If students are graduating, they will be very concerned with the economy and their personal job prospects. They will want the economy to be as good as possible, and will encourage those things that will enable that to come true. Happy endings give the reader a sense that everything will be alright and that all is well in the world. Annan tries to convey that same feeling to the students he is sharing his beliefs with. The metaphor that he uses definitely gives the reader that peaceful feeling that maybe immigration is good for the United States after all.
Encouraging the reader to think about the issue is also an important part of appealing to the audience that the problem is presented to. Throughout this lecture, Annan attempts to get the audience to think using rhetorical questions. His audience is University students and by this point in their lives, they have been taught to think for themselves and the different possibilities about each issue. Annan however uses certain rhetorical questions in order to lead into his argument. He asks questions that the reader themselves might ask. These questions include: “Can we absorb large numbers of new people? Will they take our jobs or absorb our social services?” These are both valid reasons as to why immigration may not be the best for the United States. However, Annan then goes on to answer those questions that he put into the reader’s mind. He uses those counterarguments to strengthen his ideas that immigration is in fact a positive issue for the country. Later in the article, the author talks about what the Commission could think about, for the issue of immigration between countries. He lists a series of questions that surely plague at least one person’s mind. With this tool, thoughts are provoked and the audience can begin to form their own ideas concerning immigration. The questions are written in a way though, that would encourage the audience to think the way that the author wants. The use of particular tools throughout “Lecture on International Flows of Humanity” help Kofi Annan convince the audience that immigration does not hurt the economy, but that it indeed helps the economy in many ways. His tremendous background and experiences combined with the use of powerful allusions, metaphors, and rhetorical questions allow the audience of university students to immerse themselves in the author’s way of thinking. Although it is not very direct in the way that the author attempts to get the audience to believe a particular way, it works because the tools he uses cause the reader to stop and think about the issues that the author brings up. The most powerful portion of the article is at the conclusion of the lecture when Annan refers back to the allusion at the beginning. When he does this he refers the audience back to their roots and where they really came from. Many that are reading or listening to this lecture will appreciate their family and where their family is from. The concluding sentence, “Send these the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door,” reminds the audience of the principle upon which this country was founded. The original pilgrims came to this country seeking religious freedoms, and they found it in America. With the tools that Kofi Annan uses, he reminds the audience that they should not forget about those who founded the country. The metaphors and rhetorical questions also will allow them to ponder how they feel but their feelings are guided by these particular tools. Throughout the lecture, Kofi Annan captivates the audience’s interest using tools that help them relate to the words that are being shared. Through these techniques, the author has portrayed his ideas in a way that the reader can understand and believe.