Jehovah's witnesses and the published truth : A rhetorical analysis on Awake! magazine

This bachelor’s degree will examine the Swedish translation of the publication Awake! a religious monthly periodical published by the Jehovah’s witnesses as a way to complement their primary magazine The Watchtower. The purpose of this examination is to do a rhetorical analysis on how Awake! Magazine takes part in spreading the witnesses’ message and to examine what is being communicated towards its readers and what sort of language and arguments is used. One of my primary goals during this paper will be to also examine what sort of messages the periodical is sending towards its younger readers. The gathered empirical material will be examined through Berger and Luckmanns theories about social constructs and institutionalizations and Bourdieu’s Doxa theory. This study will show that the language that the periodical uses is constantly laden with religious meaning, every aspect of the everyday goings on that Awake! Magazine writes about is combined with excerpts from the Bible or other material published by Jehovah’s Witness. There is also a clear distinction in the way the magazine communicates with its readers. The language used to older readers is often aimed at their sense of logic, reason and at times meant to evoke the reader’s feelings towards different subject matters. The language and arguments aimed at the younger readers is instead focused on warnings and the importance of keeping chaste and obedient. The final summation shows that the periodical mostly uses a language and argument that is meant to bolster the readers pride and loyalty towards Jehovah’s and to underline the importance of innocent and obedience in teenagers and the seductive and corrosive nature of society outside of the confines of their faith