Gillin's Opening Statement In Her Article example essay topic

The Title of the article 'give the lady a gun' automatically suggests that the author Neil Mitchell is all for the use of women in combat as displayed by the opening paragraph - which bluntly states that women are better than men. As soon as the reader comprehends these initial first words, there leaves no doubt that the rest of the article will follow suit in its pro women in combat slant. Whilst it is clear from Mitchell's title and opening that he is bias toward women in this issue it differs entirely from the other two respective articles. When first reading the title of Pamela Bone's 'The sexes of the battle', it does not give the impression that she is pro or con on the issue but rather neutral and simply stating the facts regarding the debate on whether or not women should be allowed in combat. This is also apparent in Beth Gillin's 'Women's place in battle queried'. These titles are not as seductively impressive as Mitchell's title but their opening paragraphs of both articles impresses the reader with the writers stance on the issue, which in both instances are fairly impartial with Bone's article leaning more toward a question of choice.

The opening statement of Bone's 'the sexes of the battle' questions the irony of allowing women in battle, but restricting them from the battle frontlines. This gives the reader the impression that Bone finds this ruling as contradictory and condescending in terms of women's equality in terms of soldiering abilities. Gillin's opening statement in her article ' Women's place in battle queried', plays on the anti women in combat slant by using sympathetic tones by contrasting the actual situation with the supposed. In analysing the tone of each article, starting with Mitchell's, where throughout most of the article he demonstrates a pro women in combat opinion, by comparing their abilities to men's, using statements such as " women are smarter, more intuitive, less aggressive and better decision makers" and " they are more likely to be clear headed in a crisis". These statements are indicative of the whole tone of his article as there are many more points he uses to impress upon the reader his bias toward women being just as good a soldier as men and should be treated as an equal in war. Quite the contrary to Gillin's tone which is mostly reproachful of using women in combat, whilst still just stating the facts.

Her attitude is vividly displayed in her statement which follows the plight of three women soldiers in the iraq war, one of whom died, the others were prisoners of war. The statement says" All three were in harm's way, but their maintenance jobs were presumed to be safer than front-line positions". Bone's article is more equilibrated in its tone, and this is demonstrated by her use of data and quotes from many sources, which allows the reader to form their own opinion. In comparing the photos used in the two articles of Gillin's and Mitchell's, we see the use of images that are more emotional than informative to the reader.

The photo used for Beth Gillin's article shows the women Lori Piestewa, that was shot in combat, of american indian descent, and a mother of two young children, by using this photo added to the data it engages the readers sympathy and attention and draws a negative response toward using women in battle. Mitchell's photo on the other hand shows strong fit attractive and intelligent Australian female Liue tenant on board the HMAS Kanimbla this woman clearly displays great capability and strength in combat. Bone's article had no photo or cartoon, leaving the reader to establish an opinion based on facts, and data that she has gathered and presented, rather than blindly following the writers stance on the issue. All three articles have used examples to present their arguments, in the case of Mitchell and Gillin they both used the subject of Private Jessica Lynch a prisoner of war who underwent torture and finally rescued, glorifying her strength and courage.

In Mitchell's article he presents her as a national hero who is an exemplary figure to all women in general, but specifically to women soldiers. In Gillin's article she presents her as a victim who should not have been in the firing line at all, but nevertheless courageous in her stand against the enemy and later on in her survival even after hideous torture. Again raising the status of Private Lynch to that of national hero. In the case of Bone she mentions Private Lynch briefly in her first paragraphs, working with facts and statements from army officials. Bone comments on her being pretty, blonde, 19 and destined to become the symbol of women fighters in the war in Iraq. This is more a statement on the public need for war heroes than her own opinion.

Bone prefers to quote Bloomsbury feminist Virginia Woolf and other feminists, politicians and authors using their opinions and quotes to deliver a more balance view of the issue. Having analysed all three articles and considered the validity of their content I believe that if a women is physically, mentally and emotionally equipped for frontline battle as a man is then I don't see why the military restrictions apply. I believe women should be given a choice whether they want to serve in the military, which in turn means the possibility of involvement in frontline combat. Since women are avidly active in the political arena, which can govern the destiny of whether a country goes to war or not, they should also be prepared to fight for their decisions their government has made even if it means going to war.