According to the United Nations, a child dies of hunger every ten seconds. Likewise, millions of people worldwide live in poverty and do not know when they will eat again. While the typical American throws away leftover food, children are dying across the world from starvation. To put this into perspective: By the time you have started reading, a child has died of hunger. Bioethicist and utilitarian philosopher, Peter Singer, in his argumentative essay, “The Singer Solution to World Poverty,” asserts that it is the individual 's responsibility to save children in poverty. Singer utilizes many rhetorical strategies-- including appealing to pathos, repetition, and comparison of statistics-- to defend his argument: “Whatever money you’re spending on luxuries, not necessities, should be given away.” He adopts an analytical and indignant tone in order to convince Americans to donate money to save the lives of millions of children.
Through the utilization of pathos, Peter Singer introduces the reader to Dora, a woman in an unfortunate situation-- having to choose between a new television and a child’s life-- that makes the reader morally unsettled. For example, Dora receives a thousand dollars by bringing a homeless boy to an address, later discovering that the child was sold to organ peddlers-- he will be killed if she does not intervene. Singer appeals to pathos because he wants the reader to instantly wonder what they would do in Dora’s position, along with making them feel