Aguilar, Shultz, Fountain 1

Aaron Fountain, Maria Aguilar, Erika Shultz

Professor Hiser
ENG 110 TTH 11:00AM
31 October 2015
A Portrait of an Inescapable Fear

In the United States and the world today, domestic violence remains in high numbers
against mainly female victims. This occurs in a home mostly torn apart by anger and suppressed
hatred that boils over into violence, or death. Domestic violence troubles many, especially the
victims who deal with fearing over their lives at any given time. Many women in society do not
know how to escape a situation of physical, mental, and sexual abuse. The victims have to deal
with many different aspects of these events, such as emotional problems, and thoughts
concerning ethics of this kind of abuse. In Aristotles rhetorical triangle, an audience may take
the issue of domestic violence with emotional appeal, or a moral sense of right or wrong. The
image produces a powerful demonstration of the trials and tribulations that female domestic

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violence victims face; the picture offers a silent plea for help, hoping a concerned audience will
advocate for future victims.
In a pathological sense, domestic violence is an occurrence that relates to negative
emotions, such as fear, depression, and loneliness. From the image, one can assume that the lady
has endured more than enough physical abuse, as well as mental. The image itself also pulls
together a tapestry of sympathetic feelings from the audience in order to achieve one main goal;
the problem of domestic violence needs to be eradicated. The picture uses a black background
that conveys a sense of depravity and disparity, black is a color that can allude to fear. In
hospitals, domestic abuse systems have common symptoms.. These symptoms can be of
patients showing serious fear, apprehension, and panic, (Domestic Violence 14) of which the
medical field has responded to as being a clue that doctors utilize to help their patient escape
imminent danger at home. The photo suggests that the female exemplary has stuck herself into a
corner, shrouded from the rest of the world simply because her life, liberty, and well-being are
struck down by a tormentor. In total, the effects of the picture are that of fear and mortifying
anxiety that can only find solace in a caring audience.
The young lady in this image creates an appropriate picture for setting a scene of
credibility. The girl shows a purple eye, and purple dry lips. As you look closely at this image,
the girl seems to be looking away, which shows a sign of fear. The validity of this image can be
supported with the fact that it came from a lawyers website. Using this image of a woman
brutally beaten gives an outlook on how serious domestic violence can be. This website is
created by lawyers who are experienced with different types of domestic violence. These
lawyers know how to distinguish when someone is being abused such as: name-calling, threats,
intimidation, isolation, sexual abuse, economic abuse, and using the children. Most people will

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trust this website because it gives information on what to do if anyone is experiencing or has
experienced any sort of domestic violence such as putting a restraining order which protects men
and women from physical, emotional, verbal abuse and from stalking and harassment. This is
issued to the abuser and if the abuser does not stop, then the abuser will face serious
consequences. Overall, the use of the photo by attorneys Batch, Poore & Williams conducts a
thought within the mind as though the image was intended for any possible use; yet this photo
from a law firm gives a credible feel when being used to analyze certain violent events, such as
domestic abuse.
The girl in the photograph appears to be turning away from the camera and hiding. This
may symbolize the connection of her being abused in the past and wanting to hide and be
cautious when someone is talking to or approaching her. The bruises and marks on her face
might represent the abuse she may have previously endured. By using this girl it helps to get a
better feeling and understanding of what she might have gone through because of the fear in her
eyes. She is in what one could assume a dark place emotionally which is portrayed by the
darkness of the background. There might be a silent understanding in the picture that could be
that she is stuck in this dark place because of the person that is abusing her. From an outsider
view, one might just tell the girl to leave her partner and seek help. Not actually being in the
position she is makes it harder to understand how stuck she might be in the relationship.
The message in the photo of a girl hiding in a dark corner with tears in her eyes compels
a reader to believe that a traumatic event ruined her. By using three balancing elements to the
philosopher Aristotles rhetorical triangle, a person can utilize sources and logic to rationalize
the mysterious meaning of an image in order to make a better supported guess. In emotional
terms, the photograph provides a sense of fear, loneliness, and chaos with a black background. In

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total, the image suggesting an act of domestic violence is unanswerable to just one person; the
sole responsibility lies on the weight of the people.

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Works Cited
"Batch Poore & Williams." Raleigh Divorce and Custody Lawyers. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Oct. 2015.
Gibbons, Lynda. "Dealing With The Effects Of Domestic Violence." Emergency Nurse19.4
(2011): 12-17. Academic Search Complete. Web. 22 Oct. 2015.

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Grading Rubric
Copy and paste this rubric to the end of your writing project. Failure to attach the rubric will
result in receiving only the grade on your paper.

Learning Outcome
Rhetorical knowledge
Text demonstrates awareness of audience, purpose,
and context
Text assumes an appropriate stance
Text adopts an appropriate voice, tone, style, and
level of formality
Development and critical thinking
Text has a clear purpose that meets assignment
guidelines
Text expands on and supports a compelling idea
through relevant and thorough exploration of topic
Organization
Text presents an identifiable structure, including
introduction, coherent paragraphs, and conclusion
Text demonstrates appropriate conventions for
structure and paragraphing
Conventions of Style and Usage
Text demonstrates appropriate mechanics and
format
Text demonstrates effective use of syntax,
grammar, punctuation, and spelling
Use of sources

Text documents the work of others when

appropriate
Text uses a standard documentation format (MLA)
as needed

Questions:

Evaluation

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1.

2.

Response to questions/other comments: