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Essay / The imprisonment of stray cats in Cat Bill
In his veto of the infamous "Cat Bill," Governor Stevenson uses professional but deliberate diction and figurative language to both logically and sarcastically dismiss and ridicule the utter absurdity of authorizing the imprisonment of the common domestic cat . Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an Original Essay Early on in Veto, Stevenson formally explains common knowledge regarding cats and their nature so that anyone reading the statement can logically understand his reasoning. of the absurdity of the bill. He reminds the reader that cats roam freely by nature and that keeping a cat on a leash or accompanying it on its nocturnal movements would obviously be impractical. By reiterating this obvious information, Stevenson subtly mocks the rationality that led to the decision that harmless roaming of cats should be illegal and forces the reader to understand the utter futility of banning cats' natural behavior. He also uses phrases such as "fighting rodents" and "helpful service" to paint a positive image of cats in order to persuade readers to think that cats cause no constitutional harm. Later in the statement, Stevenson's argument becomes progressively more satirical, maximizing personification and hyperbole as he becomes increasingly frustrated with the Cat Bill. He describes the implementation of this law as a "small game hunt carried out by zealous citizens", which encourages an imaginative approach to visualizing the effects of the bill. This statement may humorously lead the reader to imagine ordinary citizens eagerly patrolling suburban neighborhoods, wearing safari hats and khaki shorts while waiting for predatory felines to fall into their metal traps. The simple exaggeration and mockery of these vivid images introduced by Stevenson allows the reader to take the situation lightly and, therefore, understand that he should not take the bill itself so seriously either. Stevenson also sarcastically refers to cat homelessness as "feline delinquency", which begs the question, since there are feline delinquents, whether there are also feline citizens. There may even be a feline justice system with feline judges and feline juries. The inclusion of the phrase "feline delinquency" further ridicules the absurdity of the bill in order to help Stevenson prevent the imprisonment of cats from spilling over from state federal prisons..