"Bring Back Flogging"

Taylor Effling
6/8/07

Title: Jacoby's title "Bring Back Flogging", grabs the attention of the reader with his use of the term "flogging". It is a word that brings with it connotations of a past time in history. Many readers will associate the word "flogging" with the punishment style of earlier centuries. So according to Jacoby’s title, "Bring Back Flogging", we know he supports physical punishments as a form of discipline for criminals . The title also gives us hints to his persona: He is a no nonsense guy, someone who seeks immediate results, and has no sympathy for criminals.

Thesis: The Thesis of Jacoby's essay simply stated is that he wants to bring back corporal forms of punishment. By the end of the fourth paragraph his readers know Jacoby believes that imprisonment, the present form of punishment used by the criminal justice system, is ineffective in deterring crime.

Purpose: The purpose of Jacoby's essay is to persuade the reader to adopt his view that using jail time as punishment for most crimes is costly and ineffective. Jacoby's essay does not show it is argumentative or persuasive by using any of the usual key terms. None of his statements are labeled "my reason" or "my conclusion". He never uses "therefore" or "because" to connect any sentences or clauses in his essay. Jacoby uses no key verbs such as verifies, accounts, confirms, disproves, or implies.
The argumentative nature of his essay is uncovered by the statement he makes at the beginning of paragraph five: "We cage criminals at a rate unsurpassed in the free world, yet few of us believe that the criminal justice system is a success."

Method: Jacoby's first method of argument is to cite examples of corporal punishment used by our forefathers, the Puritans. He gives no sources for these instances, but most people are aware that corporal punishment was used by certain groups of people in early American history. Jacoby uses these examples in the hope that the reader will see our forefathers' wisdom in choosing this method of punishment. Jacoby does not provide the reader with evidence that corporal punishment deterred crime.
When comparing todays method of punishment to corporal punishment, Jacoby uses sarcasm when he says, "Now we practice a more enlightened, more humane way of disciplining wrongdoers: We lock them up in cages." He wants the reader to question the humanity of incarcerating criminals. Society would like to believe that human kind has advanced not only technologically, but also in terms of human interaction.
Another method of argument Jacoby uses is to appeal to the readers emotion of fear. He cites statistics that say, "Fifty-eight percent of all murders do not result in prison term. Likewise 98 percent of all burglaries." He gives no source for these statistics, but Jacoby is relying on the reader being outraged by criminals receiving no punishment. Jacoby does add credibility to his argument by quoting a noted criminologist, John Dilulio, who states, " About three of every four convicted criminals are on the streets without meaningful probation or parole supervision." Jacoby raises the issue of the cost of incarceration. He uses to his advantage the adage, "If you want someones attention, hit them in the pocketbook." Jacoby puts the price tag of incarceration at around $30,000 per inmate per year. He counting on the reader to be outraged at such a high cost. He then reminds the reader that corporal punishment is much less expensive, and may be a more effective deterrent of some crimes. He compares the cost of incarceration to a whipping, which would cost almost nothing. Jacoby appeals to the reader's human nature of wanting something for the least amount of money.
Jacoby uses a retrial question in paragraph 12 as his last argument. Jacoby asks,
"Why is it more brutal to flog a wrongdoer than to throw him in prison--where the risk of being beaten, raped, or murdered is terrrifyingly high?" He does support the issue of rape with a statistic from the Globe, that stated, "more that two hundred thousand prison inmates are raped each year." Jacoby hopes the reader will realize that a quick flogging may be more humane than a prison term, which can result in the ongoing brutal physical abuse of prisoners.

Persona: Jacoby presents himself as a no-nonsense, conscientious, tax paying citizen. He gains the readers respect by appearing knowledgeable and concerned. This persona does not add authority, but rather he appears as an average American citizen presenting a suggestion to his fellow Americans.

Closing Paragraph: In the closing remarks of Jacoby's essay, he again asks the reader to question the effectiveness and humanity of incarceration. He wants the reader to conclude that the present way of doing something is not always the best, and sometimes we can learn from our past experiences.

Impressions: Jacoby's essay made me question our present justice system. The daily news is filled with stories of criminals getting minimal sentences or no jail time. It makes me angry when I think about the cost of incarcerating one prisoner for a year. There are many Americans who make less than that a year. If we spent less on our penal system, our government would have the funds to help more Americans. I would be in favor of corporal punishment, but it would be difficult to decide for which crimes corporal punishment would be most effective. If our penal system adopted any form of corporal punishment, it would raise an enormous amount controversy among the American public.