Our Wall- Essay Analysis (Assignment 4)

Bowden’s purpose in the essay is to inform people that the solution of the border wall in regards to the issue of illegal immigration is not going to work forever, if at all.

To accomplish this purpose, Bowden uses a rhetorical strategy called logos. He uses examples of how other walls have had short-lived purposes in the past and uses language which requires the reader to deduce logically that this wall will also eventually fail. One of the examples he uses is an instance with a wall called “Hadrian’s wall” which “kept the crazed tribes of what is now Scotland from running amok in Roman Britain,” (page 1014). This wall eventually failed the Roman British within 245 years, this was, of course, a long time, but it happened; that is why Bowden used this example to argue for his point, plus, (with the way he tells the story) it seems that from his point of view, the wall is already failing. He uses this example and his observations to encourage the reader to logically deduce that this wall won’t help for long, even if it is helping now.

I do agree with the point Bowden is trying to make in his essay, that the wall will not help for long, if at all. However, as of right now, the wall does seem to be the only way of keeping illegal immigrants out of our country, like many politicians want. On the other hand, I don’t really believe that illegal immigrants have a choice in coming to America in the first place (which is another point Bowden makes in his essay to argue his point that the wall is not being very useful). Bowden states “He understands a reality forgotten by most U.S. lawmakers – That simply to go through the wire instantly raises a person’s income tenfold,” (page 1016). So, in conclusion, Bowden’s point that the wall will not help for long is something I agree with, and I also agree with the underlying conceit that illegal immigrants really don’t have a choice whether to come here or not.