Rhetorical Analysis Of Christopher Hitchens 'Believe Me, Its Torture'

In Christopher Hitchens, “Believe Me, Its Torture”, Hitchens describes his experience with waterboarding with the purpose of convincing society that this practice is indeed a torturous punishment. The maltreatment practice of “waterboarding” has been controversial for many years; therefore, in order to convince the audience that waterboarding is torturous, Christopher Hitchens undergoes this practice not only once, but twice. The author uses his personal experience to illustrate the mental, physical, and emotional stress he goes through during the process. In Christopher Hitchens, “Believe Me, Its Torture”, Hitchens effectively uses pathos and logos as well as many different rhetorical strategies to persuade society that waterboarding is not acceptable; that it is cruel and unusual punishment.

To gain sympathy from the reader, Hitchens gives an emotional description of the actual waterboarding process. Hitchens uses pathos by describing his personal experience with waterboarding. One way Hitchens expresses his emotions is through his personal experience of drowning as a child. Hitchens confesses, “A fear of drowning that comes from a bad childhood moment,” (Hitchens 617- 618). Hitchens uses

By undergoing waterboarding and detailing this event, the author appeals to the audience’s sense of emotion and logic to persuade them this form of punishment is unethical. By using a passionate tone to describe his encounter, the author appeals to the audience’s emotions and shows a strong stance against waterboarding. Hitchens also uses logic to inform society of the mental, physical, and emotional damage this matter causes. In an effort to promote a call to action against waterboarding, Hitchens voluntarily undergoes this encounter to convince society that this interrogation method is indeed