As you read the passage below consider how Christopher Hitchens uses evidence such as facts or examples to support claims reasoning to develop ideas and to connect claims and evidence stylistic or persuasive elements

In his article “The Lovely Stones”, Christopher Hitchens argues that the British Museum ought to return the original pieces of the Parthenon to Greece. He effectively supports his argument by mentioning the deterioration that happened to the Parthenon along the history, acknowledging the pitfalls of the Greeks in the process of preserving the Parthenon and presenting their improvements , and employing vivid language.

Hitchens begins his article with a description of how the Parthenon was damaged through the years. According to him, the Parthenon was “closed and desolated” five hundred years after Christianity emerged, used “for centuries as a garrison and arsenal” by Turkish forces, “detonated” by a “powder magazine” in 1687, and worst of all, “the Acropolis was made to fly a Nazi flag during the German occupation of Athens”. By listing several severe impairments to the Parthenon, a building considered to be one of the symbolic structures of the ancient world and a renowned indicator of magnificent architectural talents of Ancient Greeks, the author means to establish a groundwork for the audience to emotionally connect with him. When presented with the terrible damages inflicted to the Parthenon, the readers can not help to feel a sense of pity for the magnificent building of humanity. This emotional connection between the audience and what the author writes soon translates into the readers’ sympathy with Hitchens’ point of view, since they can relate to the reason why Hitchens makes his claim. This establishes a baseline for the audience to believe in what Hitchens later argues and eventually, his argument that humanity should do anything they can so that no more dilapidation will happen to the building.

Hitchens' claim is also reinforced by his mentioning of both the shortcomings and improvements of the way Greeks conserve the Parthenon. He admits that "Athens allowed itself to become very dirty and polluted in the 20th century", leading to the "remaining sculptures and statues on the Parthenon" being "nastily eroded by acid rain". This honest statement indicates that the author is prepared to oppose any counterargument, because those who disagree with him can easily mention the irresponsibility of the Greeks with regards to preserving the ancient temple to prove that his argument is not convincing. Then, Hitchens rebuts these naysayers by stating that "gradually and now impressively, the Greeks have been living up to their responsibilities" and "the endangered marbles were removed from the temple, given careful cleaning with ultraviolet and infra-red lasers, and placed in a climate-controlled interior". By not presenting a one-sided argument, Hitchens shows that he understands the issue thoroughly, and that his argument is a well-thought one. This largely contributes to the author's credibility, and as a result, the readers are more likely to agree with his claim since now there seems to be no reason for the British Museum not to give back the sculptures of the Parthenon to the Greeks.

The final rhetorical technique that Hitchens employs to further his argument is his use of distinct linguistic choices. Such phrases as "has hit on the happy idea of", and " one day, surely" act as a tool to draw the readers in the author's view emotionally. Upon noticing these phrases, the audience feel a sense of hopefulness. They feel hopeful about the "one day" that all pieces of the Parthenon will reassembled and restoration of the great temple will be completed. This evocation of the readers' feelings makes the author more relatable, adding the final piece of persuasiveness the argument he made. By writing in such a captivating fashion, Hitchens empowers the audience to have the same opinion with him that returning the original pieces of the temple to finish its restoration is worthwhile.

Responding to the case of the British Museum holding the original parts of the Parthenon, Christopher Hitchens makes an argument that these pieces should be given back to the Greeks in order to completely reassemble this beautiful temple. By utilizing techniques of describing the damages to the building, demonstrating both flaws and progress of the process of preserving the Parthenon in Greece, describing the damages to the building , and making use of vivid linguistic choices, Hitchens persuades the readers of his claim.