A Rhetorical Analysis of Child Labor and Youth Enterprise (Coursework Sample)

A rhetorical analysis of ‘Child labor and youth enterprise’ by Susan Shepler
The effects of war and its aftermath on the population often take a grater toll on the most vulnerable within society. In this respect the children and women will bear the brunt of war and its aftermath in varied ways. Shepler sheds more light based on the premise that child labor is generally considered as an evil. However, for the case of the ‘bearing boys’ of Freetown, what is seen in the eyes of the world as child labor is the result of the "tension between child labor as an evil and child agency as a good. Therefore, Shepler opines that child labor is not necessarily all evil and in some circumstances is the result of a weak or failed state.
The war in Sierra Leone resulted in the displacement of a significant population that moved into the urban center and in particular the capital of Freetown. With this influx the existing old and depleted water sources and infrastructure was thoroughly over stretched. Hence "the parastatal Guma Valley Water Company, that draws on a dam built in 1961 and originally designed to serve a population of 300,000" was now required to serve almost two million people (Shepler, 2010, p.19).
Shepler (2010) notes that "access to clean water is a human security issue and hence human populations cannot be secure without safe, clean drinking water" (p.19). The emergence of the ‘bearing boys’ in Freetown is therefore seen as a way that the public is responding to a situation of a failed state. While the world looks at this differently, Shepler views this from a different point of view basing on the interviews and a critical background check on the enterprising youth of Freetown commonly called the bearing boys.
In fact the world view of what this article highlights is clearly captured in the opening remarks made by several people who Shepler approaches with the photos of the bearing boys. One of the respondents suggests that the photos are demeaning and showing Africa as backward. Another points to a more critical issue the need to not just view the bearing boys as a form of child labor and frown at but look at the cause that relates to a weak or failed state. One of the respondents asserts that the pictures portray the failure of the engineers that yet reveals the resourcefulness of the children. It is indicating that as much as the children in the article’s story and photos want to live a life like any other child with the basic necessities like water; they find themselves in a situation where they have to look for water without which life within the city will be in jeopardy.
Based on this context Shepler focuses on the resourcefulness exhibited by these bearing boys by highlighting the origin of this supplementary water system in Freetown. Shepler shifts the focus from the fact that most of these bearing boys are young and perhaps shouldering a demanding responsibility. Instead the focus is on logically appealing to an audience that would want to go deeper into the issue and understand how and why the children in this story are living their life in such a manner. This article attempts to persuade the readers who have a preconceived mind and condemn what they perceive as child labor without attempting to understand the root cause of this evil.
Shepler does a good job of capturing the attention of the reader by shifting the reader’s attention from the tender age of the bearing. By using their resourcefulness particularly in the assembling and operation of the bearing carts, Shepler appeals to the readers who are interested in getting a deeper understanding of what and why the bearing boys are a common phenomenon in Freetown. In fact the bearing carts demonstrate a high level of artistry among the owners. This fact is revealed in some sense of fulfillment on the part of the boys who operate these carts. While the load can be sometimes heavy, Shepler captures the children ferrying just the bearable amount of water at any particular time. It is also revealed through the intervie...