Written in 1922
and 2007 respectively, Text A an advertisement by the United Fruit Company
Steamship Service, and Text B a business article written by Benjamin Shores for
the Miami Herald, present conflicting views on America’s expansion into the
Caribbean over the past century. In keeping with the cultural norms of their
time, and by playing to the idiosyncrasies of their target audience-affluent
members of western society-both articles lay bear the wanton desire of
self-indulgence that has come to define the American dream. This argument is
made all the more apparent when cross-examining these texts under the lens’ of
audience, purpose and mood.
The message of any
text is molded and shaped around the qualities of its target audience. For this
reason one might recognize that the target audiences’ of both texts share a
number of similarities: they are of the same socio-economic standing and their
interest in the Caribbean is founded in matters of their own self-gain. Text A,
addresses it’s audience in plain fashion, the use of ostentatious statements
such as ‘only first class passenger carried,’ establish them as wealthy members
of the middle class. The reason for this detail is founded in the article’s
emphasis on value, despite promoting itself as an exclusive offer. Statements
such as ‘reduced rates,’ and ‘cost you no more than your annual vocation,’ make
it clear that the text targets members of the working class and not those of
the highest echelons of 20th century society. Text B’s identifies it’s target
audience in a similar fashion, it’s subject matter and placement within the
business section of the Miami Herald, reveals its audience to also be members
of the middle class, aware of their capability to invest abroad. Despite these
commonalities, on the grounds of material possession, one might note that the
audiences of both tests are divided by a gap of nearly 100 years. For this
reason, one might assume that the audience of Text B is more informed on the
consequences of globalization, their knowledge of the Caribbean surpassing just
that of geographical location and weather. That being said, though the audience
of Text B may seem more globally minded than their post WW1 counterparts, their
underlying need to gratify their own desires-even if it’s at the expense of
another-still persists all these years later.
As
one might suspect, an advertisement and newspaper article do undoubtedly differ
in regards to their intended purposes, one aiming to promote a product, while
the other strives to relay information about important events. An advertisement for the Great White Fleet,
Text A employs imagery and manipulative claims, to convince its audience of
their need to retreat to the Caribbean for their next break. Marketing the region
under the guise of ‘cool’ weather and affordable travel, the text draws
attention solely to the region’s physical properties and merits, rather than
that of its inhabitants. No matter how Text B contends to convey this message,
bringing to light the complications western expansion has wrought on Caribbean
society. Playing upon the pathos of its audience, the text reveals how foreign
investment has transformed a once languid haven for the ‘poor’, to nothing more
than prime ‘oceanfront real-estate,’ for wealthy American investors. While Text
A presents the matter of American expansion into the Caribbean in a
superficially attractive and acceptable light, Text B calls attention to the
depravity of the industry. The use of a first person account relays the extent
to which speculators are prepared to go to, willing to use ‘any means
necessary’ to earn that extra buck, even if it means tearing down the homes of
hundreds of impoverished islanders.
All these elements
culminate in the lasting impression the audiences of both texts are left with. While
Text A delivers on its exotic and lighthearted mood through the use of
geographical references and informal jargon, making mention of destinations
such as Jamaica and Havana, and referring to the Great white fleet as “the
coolest ships afloat,” Text B evokes a far more reflective and emotional tenor.
The Text is able to achieve this by playing upon the emotions and pathos of its
audience. As mentioned before the text’s employment of first person accounts,
most notably the plight of Jimenez and his son-in-law Santos, work to elicit
the intended sympathetic response from the article’s readers. What’s more while
Text A’s use of bold fonts and ship- related imagery, make good on it’s
intended purpose of convincing holiday to venture to the Caribbean, Text B’s sentimental
accounts and succinct structure, being divided into 9 concise paragraphs, effectively
convey the relevance and severity of it’s message. When placed together both text’s,
though polar in their intended messages, provide a rounded outlook on the
sybaritic ideal that is the American dream and its repercussions, not only an
individual but global scale.
In closing Text A,
an advertisement by the United Fruit Company Steamship Service, and Text B, a
business article written by Benjamin Shores for the Miami Herald, provide
conflicting views on America’s expansion into the Caribbean. Nonetheless in
keeping with the social norms of their times, and by playing to the
idiosyncrasies of their target audience, the wealthy western middle class, both
texts lay bear the wanton desire of self-indulgence that has come to define the
American dream.
