I See a Killer Die

656 Words3 Pages
I see a killer die “I see a killer die” is an article written by Alan Hall. He writes about the experience of TV man Michael Tuck who watched “double killer” Robert Harris be killed. Robert Harris killed two innocent teenage boys; one was shot 4 times in the back and the other with one shot to the head. As a result of this crime he was sentenced to death by the means of gassing in a chamber with cyanide gas. Hall uses different techniques such as emotive language, facts and options to provoke an emotional response. Alan Hall uses emotive language to provoke an emotional response. He writes “with and die” to describe the death of Harris. The word “writhe” makes the reader see a vivid image of Harris wriggling and squirming while strapped to the chair, it implies that Harris suffered before he died, this would make the reader think the execution is just because he suffered like the two teenage boys did. The word “die” is plain and simple; there is no description involved, just that he died. The connotations of “die” imply that Harris just passed away like everyone does. The fact Hall does this might be to hide the way Harris was killed. Another example of emotive language is when one of the boy’s mother says “… when they were executed by this beast” the fact that he is described as a “beast” implies that Harris isn’t human; he is an animal with no morals or ethics. The way he is described as a monster would make the reader think the execution was the right thing to do. They would think that he is a “beast” that can’t be controlled; therefore he would be a danger to society and so it would be better this way with him killed. I agree with this representation of Harris as it makes it easier on the reader to except how he was killed, we don’t see him as a human being so he doesn’t deserve to be killed in a humane way. Emotive language is used again when the
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