“Refugees Grateful For Chance To See Europe While Being Bounced From Country To Country:” The Rhetorical Triangle at Work

Though most understand that The Onion is a satirical website completely dedicated to hoaxes, part of what makes it so entertaining is its use of rhetorical strategies.  The rhetorical strategies are so effective that our imagination momentarily indulges us in the fantasy of the situation presented. The Onion uses the strategies of the rhetorical triangle to make their articles this “believable.” The recent article from September 8 titled “Refugees Grateful For Chance To See Europe While Being Bounced From Country To Country” implements the three points of the triangle: ethos, logos, and pathos.

Perhaps one of the most important contributions towards its believability is its logos or structure, including its title, quotations, etc. The article uses a structure familiar to even casual news article readers. It has a headline at the top, and begins with a location- in this case Budapest, Hungary- a structure the reader would see in news papers such the New York Times. Just earlier today I skimmed an article on wildfires in California from the that very newspaper, and it began with stating the location in the same way, (in that case, Fresno, California). Furthermore, The Onion’s article uses quotations to add a sense of credibility to its claims. In fact, just the second sentence already implements this technique. It quotes a (fake) Syrian refugee, and even gives them a name. The article continues on and adds another, even longer quotation from the same “refugee.”  The reader is more likely to find the article even slightly more believable because there is someone with a name and nationality behind the quotations.

This story also invokes pathos.  It attempts to invoke emotions in the reader through its use of quotations and stories from their “refugee” source.  The source is full of excitement, which conveys the sense of gratitude that the title mentions. He says phrases like “hopefully… we’ll be off to somewhere new!” (The Onion). The apparent excitement of the article’s source adds to the credibility of the emotional credibility of the article.

Finally, the article uses ethos to continue building trust through a confident delivery.  Other than the quotes from the source, who is perhaps a little bit too excited given his circumstances, the article is written in a relatively formal way. It contains a legitimate location, real locations that the refugees were travelling through, and expands on a legitimate problem that the world is facing about how to handle the refugees. In addition, the writer of the story never blatantly suggests that the article is false, and quotes a “real” person just as many journalists do.

Ultimately, the reader understands that the article is a hoax, especially towards the end, but regardless of the legitimacy of the article, the use of rhetorical strategies is very prevalent.