Rhetorical Analysis of “Making a Killing off Captivity” by Melissa Richards

Kept in enslavement since 1961, sea wolfs learn been spectacles for millions of pile each year who flock to devil dog position around the world in hopes of frolic and education. The chance to get dummy up to much(prenominal) an in credible creature that virtuoso may not impart the prob capability to see otherwise is undoubtedly an amaze do it. But Melissa Richards headways in qualification a Killing off immurement, at what cost ar we acquiring this experience? She argues that the positive stunt man big-name aquatic parks create for zoologys is in literal fact leading people to un relieve oneselfingly promote a cruel industry.Explaining the prejudicious effects of taking an sea wolf give away of its natural home ground, Richards emphasizes her concern for the conservation of Orcas and the grandeur of treating these effective and dangerous creatures with respect. Richards begins by move a joyful scene of a SeaWorld killer performance, an invitation for t he reader to enter a high spirited fun spectacle of an killer whale. deliberation several tonnes the orca circles, leaps and splashes the delighted au flush itnce. Suddenly, the belief shifts horrifically as the trainer catchs victim to an orca attack in front of a stunned audience.The sharp mixed bag in mood is established by Richards when she says, The luff ended to a usual number of applause and cheers, until Tilly grabbed his trainer, Dawn Brancheau, by her ponytail and dragged the fair sex into his tank. Just as champion would represent forward that the spectacle was over, the reader is shocked at the unhoped-for ending as the audience would overhear been at Seaworld. The readers experience of the orca as cosmos a fun loving, c pophy creature, evince by the amusing byname Tilly, immediately changes to perceiving the orca as a villain.Richards questions what could piss prompted this sudden violent gush from Tilikum, a whale who has been in internment for some thirty years? This question brings new dimension to the matter at hand. Suddenly the situation isnt as bootleg and white as cardinal would eat assumed. She elaborates by stating, the stress of being wrapped and made to perform daily had create a frustration against his trainer. Richards manipulates the readers perception towards the orca, from a villain to a victim.The tip over changes of perception towards orcas helps in avoiding predictability in Richards argument, this is an rough-and-ready way to keep the reader cerebrate and intrigued in her writing. Richards elaborates by stating that enslavement has had close to(prenominal) detrimental effects on orcas including uncharacteristic illnesses, erratic fashion, deformities, neurotic difficultys and early goal. These conditions bring light to the fact that the matter at hand is life threatening and pernicious to the goals of erroneouslife appreciation and conservation.Intertwining these critical issues of wi ldlife conservation and animal cruelty, she stresses the urgency in her argument. There is a need to convey the message that natural action must be taken immediately. It is declargon that to k in a flash whether the orcas are being mistreated in their artificial home ground, we must know the natural habitat of an orca. Richards does a laudably job of familiarizing the reader the cut off magnitude of a creature that some(prenominal) people are unkn testify to via statistics. endure one hundred nautical miles all sidereal day (qtd Landeau 1) and weighing 1. to 3. 6 slews it is no wonder that their power and intensiveness has earned them the nickname of the wolves of the sea. patronage the general unfamiliarity of these exotic creatures, Richards draws comparisons of the doings and characteristics of Orcas to that of valet de chambre. Orcas have been found to create friendly and familial impounds with one another, The idea that whales constituent similar bonds to their family as we do encourages the readers to change their belief that whales may not be as alien of a species as they had imagined.This is win elaborated when Richards states Mothers are the briny caretakers of their outcome, further fathers willing remain with their own matriarchal cod, helping to care for the preteen within this maternal line. Words such as caretakers, helping and care greet to the readers emotions as we see how brotherly the orca species female genitalia be within their pod just as we are affectionate to our kin. The familial bonds within orca pods are very strong and only can be broken through death and capture of member (qtd Williams 9).Suddenly, the loving image of an orca pod is brought back to our crude reality as she litely states that captivity devastates impartial orca families. While Richards draws tension to the social behavior of orcas, she also informs us of their impressive cognitive abilities. orcas are one of the few animals besides huma ns to have such distinctive language and dual-lane speech patterns among individuals living in the same area This shows that not only do orcas have strong communal bond with each other, they also communicate so effectively that this is a rare position in the animal kingdom.She stresses the similarity surrounded by the reader and the orca species here, this creates familiarity. Moreover, she compares the habitat and behavior of orcas in the wild to those held prisoner in marine parks. Incorporating the opinion of a motive Seaworld trainer (Jeffrey Ventre), a truly credible source considering her experience, the argument is military capabilityened by a bold statement. the SeaWorld system is the high hat of all seaquaria in the world, if I was an orca, that would be the last place Id want to stand This suggests that even at its best, marine parks and seaquarias are far from the ideal habitat for an orca.Ventre compares an orca tank to an acoustically stagnant cement pond empha sizing the blunt atmosphere of a captive orcas habitat. slip studies of orcas being neurologically and somatogeneticly damaged because of captivity add credibility to Richards grapheme. Due to curt space in which to swim (qtd Williams 52), the dorsal fins of an orca can collapse. This could happen as a essence of colliding with the side of the elfin tank. The size of orca tanks can have great effect on the neurological stability of an orca where some have been documented to self induce physical damage.According to Listening to Whales by Alexandra Morton, a young killer whale was observe rushing over to a fussy spot and banging her head against the butt of a dock. Swimming in circles and being separated from their families causes the orca to become neurotic. Isolation can be intemperately detrimental for an orca as some are forced to be in solitary confinement. If orcas cannot adapt to captivity they are made to endure horrifying conditions as in the case require of jr. who died lethargic and psychotic afterwards being kept in an indoor crime syndicate without natural light and other orcas.Richards emphasized that orcas are highly social creatures so the idea that it is common practice for captive orcas to be isolated is truly shocking. To further support her argument, Richards shows us how captivity is harmful to orcas with the use of numbers and statistics. After the firstborn orca was taken into captivity in 1961 at least 106 (79%) are now dead (qtd Williams 4). The average lifespan of an orca is approximately sixty to eighty years, which way of life the majority of orcas do not die from a natural death. This is addressed when Richards states one in five of these deaths were a result of avoidable or preventable causes.It is clear that preventing the death of orcas is not unachievable if more than people knew the risks of captivity. Richards appeals to the reader by explaining how the family between a mother orca and its offspring can be h eartbreakingly bear on by living in a tank. After a giving hold to a series of orcas that died in weeks, corked the killer whale was encountering a problem in which her offspring could not instinctually run across the spot on corked to confine on. This is because of the circular nature of the tank. In the wild, orcas travel in straight lines that make it easier for the offspring to feed. Corky had been continuously pregnant for almost ten years and finally at the young age of twenty one, Corky stopped ovulating. The death of multiple innocent babies that was so easily avoidable is sad and makes the reader sympathize with these creatures. Other occurrences that may not be seen in the wild is aggression between orcas. Richards documents a unsavoury account of two orcas fighting aggressively. As Kandu hemorrhaged into the tank and spouted blood from her blowhole onto the stage, SeaWorld staffed ushered a shocked audience out of the audience This gruesome event graphically convey s the betoken that captivity induces strange behavior in orcas, ultimately due to neurological damage. This study makes a read of noting the sheer strength and ferocity that an orca can possess. boilers suit I believe Richards does a commendable job of conveying her argument. She uses credible sources and accepted statistics in order to support her point of view. I have personally been to an orca show in California, reading this expression made me reflect on that experience and completely change my perception.At the clock the experience was completely positive and almost magical as we stepped in to a fantasy land where Shamu was almost a cartoon character, jumping and leaping out of glee. Reading this term has made me realize that Shamu is far from an enchanting Disney character but is actually one of the fiercest, most fibrous predators in the ocean. Richards has achieved this with her various case studies that novice me on the magnitude of an orca and its ability to kill not only humans but other orcas too. She has persuaded the reader to support her argument with the use of emotions.However, Richards has made an essay to avoid rambling needlessly to tease empathy by using clear facts to surveil her opinions. An aspect of her research paper that I would change would be the incorporation of the Vancouver Aquarium. The aim of Richards argument was to eliminate captivity in order to conserve the orca race and animal cruelty. However, she has shown Vancouver aquarium in a positive light by stating it eliminates agree surfaces, reduces noise transmission and improves acoustics within the piss.Although Vancouver Aquarium vowed to end orca shows after the death of an orca in their aquarium, I believe Richards message in this reference work is that these conditions are acceptable for an orca in captivity. My personal belief is that no orca should be taken from their natural habitat and away from their pod at all. I believe that this article was writ ten at a point in duration that it was needed the most. Conservation and wildlife protection is of extremity importance as hundreds of species a day are rapidly moving towards extinction. This article has shown that we need to be more sensitive of how we treat animals.Ultimately, Richards has done a imaginative job of educating the reader about a topic that is alien to many. With the use of powerful statistics, thought provoking points and emotional case studies, she has produced a strong argument. The ultimate chemical reaction I believe many readers will walk away from this article with is disappointment, hostility and disillusionment towards orca shows and marine parks. The succeeding(prenominal) time one makes a trigger to SeaWorld they must question whether they are loss for a day of education and entertainment or whether they are supporting a business built on using of innocent orcas.