Genre Analysis on Paris Attack

Stephany Rubio
University of Texas at El Paso
English 1302
Tuesday 10:30- 11:50 a.m.

Genre Analysis on Paris Attack

Genre Analysis on Paris Attack: Introduction

Recently, after the Paris attack in Charlie Hebdo and the Cosher Supermarket, rallies
have being going on throughout Europe; the reason, islamification. Europeans are furious and
tired of attacks made by the Islamic terrorists against free speech. They view this attack as a
blow to democracy by a community who is trying to change their right to express themselves.
Sharif Nashashibi, journalist and analyst from Arab affairs, wrote the article Islam and Free
Speech. Whats so funny? (2015). In here, it is explained how the media coverage is misleading
the audience by investigating the cause of the attack instead of focusing on the alienation of
Muslims throughout Europe. The article The Jerusalem Post written by Rina Bassist A month
after Paris Attacks French Jews are disappointed and disillusioned (2015) gives the point of
view of the Muslim community effort to stay in a country where they are view as terrorist and
are constantly attack. Throughout the genres we analyze the ethos, pathos, and logos used by the
authors in both articles to make their point valuable.

Audience and Purpose

Sharif Nashashibi, Islam and free speech: Whats so funny? (2015) The first genre article
targets the medias unfair cover of the attack against Charlie Hebdo cartoon editorial, and the
unjust treatment of the Muslim community being stereotype. The purpose of this article is to
inform the reader of the unjust treatment against Muslims. The second genre is The Jerusalem
Post A month after Paris attacks French Jews are disappointed and disillusioned (2015), the
intended audience is the Muslim community and also the government. The government should
be worried that their citizens are leaving because it affects their economy. By this I mean that

Genre Analysis on Paris Attack

tourists are not visiting their country anymore and if their consumers leave, no money will be
made. This article gives an insight to why French Jews are fleeing to Israel and other countries if
the attack against their community doesnt stop.
The intended audience for Nashashibi is Europe, which includes the media, young
citizens and also the older community. The author of the article knows that young people are
creating rallies to protect their right to free speech and the older community feel insecure against
terrorist attacks. The Muslim communities who now are being stereotyped are insecure and
trying to raise awareness that their right for free speech is being violated. They demand that
Muslims apologize for and condemn acts that they have neither committed nor condoned.
(2015) For The Jerusalem Post the intended audience is anyone interested in knowing the
aftermath of the Paris attack, and would like to know the effect it had on Muslims. The article
does not try to convince anyone to change their mind or change sides it only provides
information.
The audience from both articles is aware of the events from the Paris attack because they
were highly investigated all over the news. What the audience from both articles will need to
know is the violence against Muslims and what their beliefs are; they have an open mind to try to
understand that the Paris attack also was against the Muslim community because in the long run
it does affect everyone.
The time it will take the audience to read the articles differ slightly, the time will depend
on how much the reader can understand and in how much time the reader can process what he or
she is reading. The first article written by Nashashibi needs more time to be understood, because
its longer and is more like a debate against the western media that has to be carefully analyze.
The reader of this article has to read carefully what the author is trying to covey and why. For the

Genre Analysis on Paris Attack

reader of The Jerusalem Post, it will take less time to read the article because it is easier to
understand and short, but even though the article is short the audience does have to be interested
in the Muslim community to keep the readers interested in the post.
The article from Neshashibi and The Jerusalem Post do have similar topics dealing with
the aftermath of the Paris attack but do use different diction to present their articles. The first
genre form Neshashibi uses professional strong diction meaning that the article is written in a
way to be acknowledged by the audience. The diction used makes its argument more credible
and can make the reader question the media coverage of the Paris attack. In the other hand The
Jerusalem Post is more of a narration and interview done to several important Jews. The article is
professional and its diction easy to understand but at the same time slow. The only difference of
both articles is the diction used and the way they get their point through.

Ethos
In the first genre, Islam and free speech: Whats so funny? (2015) The journalist
Nashashibi gives the reader information about the Index on Censorship in France, which is a
limit to freedom of expression on defamation and privacy laws. Nashashibi states, It is a crime
to deny the Holocaust, but not other genocides. (2015) He implies that the law had double
standards because the cartoonist in Charlie Hebdo knew that drawing cartoons against a religion
to degrade them is against the law of France but the government did nothing to stop them.
Nashashibi credibility grows in mentioning the Index on Censorship law in France, because he
backs up his statement with France law. In the second genre, The Jerusalem Post the author
emphasizes the hurt of the Jews to see their community broken, but does not provide enough
information to answer his own question which is Would million people have gone out to the

Genre Analysis on Paris Attack

streets just for the sake of the Kosher shop murders. His credibility does not go anywhere it
stays the same throughout.

Pathos
Nashashibi does not make an emotional appeal of pity or sadness; throughout the article
wee see the same emotional appeal, anger. The use of strong words and his clever way of
backing up his debate makes the whole article important and reliable. His article when read
creates wonder; the pathos depends on how the reader responds to what they are reading. For
The Jerusalem Post the author does create an emotional appeal by using narration. The post
reads, Parents with young children hurriedly enter the don Abravanel Synagoguecommunity
members coming in and out with food and beverages for these tired, young boys. The post
makes an emotional appeal of sadness by presenting little kids walking fast and tired young boys,
it does create pity for the little Jewish kids who are being attacked by anti-Jews.

Logos
The use of logos in the first genre can be seen when the author mentions how the
journalist of Charlie Hebdo knew about the Index on Censorhip. Which states that In France,
freedom of expression "is limited by strict defamation and privacy laws", and "some of the
toughest hate speech laws in the EU." (2015) The author emphasizes the use of logic when he
states that the media cannot go against any religion or offend them in any way and that it seems
as if France has double standards (2015) regarding this law. The article from The Jerusalem
Post mentions the names of people in the government and also interviews people who represent
the Jewish community who are believed to be speaking the truth, but from there it does not make

Genre Analysis on Paris Attack

an argument of reasoning that presents any evidence for logic.

Structure and Delivery

Even though the genres topic was similar, the format of each article was different. The
article written by Nashashibi was able to structure and deliver his debate in a manner that every
paragraph flows smoothly. He wanted to make people wonder if what we see in the media is
everything there is to talk about or if everything is cover by the news. Even though the
paragraphs were short and a lot of information to take in, the article is well written and
organized. There are a few pictures that show people protesting and highlights in bold letters the
important key elements of the article. The Jerusalem Post, the article is very slow not making it
interesting to read. The article is surrounded by other articles that make it hard to concentrate and
makes it hard not to want to browse other famous articles such as celebrities news.

Conclusion
Overall, the both genres discussed the aftermath of the Paris attack and how it affects the
future of Muslims and Jews, but only one got their point across and that was the article by Sharif
Nashashibi. Nashashibi article is better because every paragraph has interesting points on the
media portrayal of Muslims because they only cover what makes a minority class look bad and
dangerous. The format in which both genres were written does have an impact on the opinion of
the audience, therefore they have to be clear on what the purpose of their argument is based on
and have the facts of the issue correctly. The genres provide different types of ethos, pathos, and
logos to get their point across and communicate effectively to their intended audience.

Genre Analysis on Paris Attack

References
Nashashibi, Sharif, (2015). Islam and free speech: What's so funny? Aljazeera Online: Retrieved
February 9th, 2015 from http://aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2015/01/islam-free-speechwhat-so-funny-201511345039925211. html

Bassist, Rina, (2015), A month after Paris attacks French Jews are disappointed and
disillusioned, The Jerusalem Post Online. Retrieved February 9th, 2015 from
http://www.jpost.com/Diaspora/A-month-after-Paris-attacks-French-Jews-aredisappointed-and-disillusioned-390542