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Thalia Amaro

Mrs. Litle

ENG 121001

7 February 2021

Animals Are Not Clowns

“Ching Long presents Stark the flying tiger!” as stated in an advertisement for “the most

amazing circus”, by first glance it would sound like a very captivating sight to see, but have we

ever stopped to think about what the animals forced into the circus lifestyle go through? As a still

occurring issue in the world, there are multiple ad campaigns created in hopes of opening our

perception to the reality of circus life for animals. Along with the tortures of bullfighting, dog

and cockfighting circuses too put multiple animals in harm at all times which we can conclude

by the ad campaign; “Animals Are Not Clowns,” created by Accao Animal and Liga Portuguesa

dos Direitos do Animal. The image portrayed in the ad as well as the text involved already

provides us readers with enough visual literacy to tie in the meaning behind it. The ad also does a

great job in using the rhetorical devices; pathos, logos, and ethos to help emotionally, logically,

and credibly influence how we will see how cruel circuses are to animals. That being said,

circuses force animals into doing things for our entertainment, it’s harmful, mean and yes it’s

torture. Circuses need to be stopped.

Visual literacy allows us to understand the information given in an image, since this ad is

an image we have to use visual literacy to interpret the meaning of it. At first glance, our eyes are

immediately drawn to the center of the image which involves an image of a monkey though he is

seen with a clown face painted on him. He is making straight eye contact with us readers and we

can see that the clown makeup is sad, he’s trying to reach out to us, he wants out. We then
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identify the fact that the monkey is caged in behind soiled bars. This can count for how as a

circus animal he is locked up both mentally and physically, he has no freedom to be free nor to

think for himself a life he wants to live. There is also dark empty space behind him, this makes it

easy for the viewers to identify the focal point to be the monkey and depict what he stands for.

Along with the different elements of the image we are also given a quote that would usually be

stated as a very happy and joyful introduction to the circus. However, this ad it’s formatted the

same but involves a very realistic view of the circus highlighting its reality.

Once we have utilized our visual literacy on the ad, we can now see how the rhetorical

devices; pathos, logos, and ethos are used. Each device helps the writer get their point across to

the reader in different ways, pathos influences connections with the reader through emotion,

logos is the use of logic and facts for the reader and ethos is the credibility of the overall

statement being made. The most recognizable rhetorical device is pathos, this is because the use

of the image and the words create emotion within us whether it be anger or sadness. The image’s

focal point is the monkey with a sad clown face painted on it, this already draws concern to the

viewer's eye and allows us to understand better what the name of the campaign stands for

“Animals Are Not Clowns”. We can also see that the monkey is behind bars meaning that as a

circus animal he is pretty much locked up and unable to live the life he wants. The overall image

doesn't involve many different objects but the monkey, bars, dark space, and the short

description which all create emotion within us that allows us to connect better with the image

and its denotation.

Logos can also be identified within the image. We can see logos in the short description

written in a sarcastic tone. Since the targeted audience of this ad are people that promote and

genuinely enjoy circuses it’s easy to tell the tone in the description is sarcasm, sarcasm is the
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opposite of what is being said therefore since the writing on this ad points out the reality of

circuses for the animals in comparison to circus promoting ads that make them sound amazing

we can see the strong tone in the writing. By clearly stating multiple historical events, such as; “

Come and see the famed number of cages and tightly binding chains allowing no escape from

endless training sessions. Laugh, applaud and join in with the repetitive choreographed routines

typical of depressed animals under great stress.” it provides us with good reasonings to

understand their argument as to why circuses are bad.

Without all of the other visual literacy given if we were only to analyze its ethos would

we be able to trust this Campagne? The answer is yes because this isn't the only ad that fights for

the abused animals. There are hundreds of other ads which represent similar issues like this one.

All hoping for one thing; help stop animal abuse. After seeing multiple ads which represent the

same thing one can only believe the act and its trustworthiness. Ethos can also be seen as the

creator of this ad campaign. Since the credit goes to Accao Animal and Liga Portuguesa dos

Direitos do Animal one can do their own research and see if they are someone they can believe in

and trust their credibility.

“Clowning around that’s no fun at all. Animal circuses, don’t be part of the show.”, as

stated on the ad directly tells us what they wish to accomplish. There are still multiple circuses in

the world that use and abuse animals for the entertainment of people, the ad helps open our eyes

to just how bad they are. With the usage of rhetorical devices such as pathos, logos, and ethos the

ad easily allows us to make our own strong connections with this topic. The image created and

the words/description on it provides us with enough information to understand the reality of

circuses and how they need to be stopped for the sake of the animals who deserve to live the life

they want. If you continue to support or even ignore these circuses you are murdering innocent
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animals and their lives, leaving them alone, afraid, and locked up. How would you feel if you

were a clown forced to do things for the entertainment of free-living people who pay to see you

tortured, with joy?

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Works Cited

Caren, Jill. “Circus Animal Cruelty: Ads/Statistics How You Can Help!” CharityPaws, 29 Nov.

2020, charitypaws.com/circus-animal-awareness/.