In Kwame Appiah's, "What Will Future Generation Condemn Us For?", he addresses an issue that, historically, has proven to be a problem. The issue he addresses is that as a society looks into its past, it sees issues that are viewed as immoral or intolerable to the modern societies' views. According to Appiah, this is not just something that happened once and will not happen again. He believes that is has happened several times and will continue to happen in the future. In this essay specifically, Appiah discusses what he believes future generations will blame today's society for. The underlying problem that is evident with this issue is context. More specifically, limited context of the contemporary society and what they believe to be acceptable and not. The limited knowledge that contemporary society has on modern day issues is what causes these issues to become problems in the future. The best way to understand Appiah's essay is to identify the context, audience, and response of the essay.

The context of Appiah's essay has a major influence on his work as a whole. The main point that he is trying to introduce to the audience involves context. In his essay, he tells the reader that actions of a particular time are only justified because of the time period that they live in and what is considered acceptable during that time. For example, Appiah discusses the issue of slavery, specifically in the United States in the 19th century. During that time, slavery was legal. However, today we look back on those times with curiosity of what we did and how we saw it to be acceptable. "The case against slavery didn't emerge in a blinding moment of moral clarity, for instance; it had been around for centuries"(Appiah 32). As he says, back when slavery was around, it was not considered immoral, but today it is considered completely inhumane. The way that Appiah views the importance of context is the same way one should when looking at it in a work of literature. The context of Appiah's paper is no exception to this. This paper was written to identify and discuss what today's generation will be blamed for and why. Just like Appiah discusses, this issue has happened all through history. One generation does something controversial, then future generations are left to deal with the consequences. To bring attention to this, Appiah writes about current topics that might apply to this sequence. Obviously, Appiah sees a problem with what is going on in the world, therefore, he writes this paper to bring the issue to the light so that, hopefully, our generation will not make the same mistake.

Throughout Appiah's essay, one of the most important factors that is addressed is the audience. In his essay, Appiah is clearly trying to reach the younger generation of today. "chances are that our own descendants will ask the same question, with the same incomprehension, about some of our practices today"(Appiah 32). The question that Appiah is writing about is, "What were people thinking [during that time]?"(Appiah 32). However, another way the reader can identify this audience is through the examples that Appiah gives. First, he talks about the past and what issues today's generation is living with because of previous generations. Also, Appiah uses personal, plural pronouns which identifies the audience as individuals of the same generation as himself, or relatively close. Appiah then addresses current issues that today's generation is dealing with such as the prison system, the industrial meat production, the institutionalized and isolate elderly, and the environment. It is clear that within his essay, Appiah is trying to reach out to today's generation to assure that they learn something from the past and are sure not to repeat it. Due to this, it is clear to understand who Appiah's audience is and why. Knowing the intended audience of this essay allows one to indentify where they stand in his essay. Whether they are included in past generations or are a part of the newer generations, they can take a position on this essay which then brings the idea of response into the picture.

One of the key aspects to understand when analyzing the rhetoric situation of a work is the response. The title, in itself, "What Will Future Generations Condemn Us For" enables the thought of response. The response that future generations will have to today's society's actions and the one that we have towards our previous generations actions. In Appiah's essay, the response that he is looking for is one of understanding. His essay was written in hope that its readers would be able to take something away from it that would better the world. The understanding that Appiah is hoping to achieve from his audience is one of knowledge. Knowledge to know the past, understand the past, and learn from the past. Appiah tries to almost create this response in his essay by providing the examples at the end. By doing this, Appiah is trying to engage the audience by bringing up a personal subject, the examples of today's issues. By engaging the audience on a personal level, Appiah is able to draw a purposeful response from his audience. This response not only allows one to understand the essay, it allows one to see what Appiah was trying to get his audience to experience.

When our modern day society looks back on history with awe at some of the things that were allowed to happen, one cannot help but wonder what we will be looked at for. Kwane Appiah writes in his essay what he believes today's society will be blamed for. However, it is one thing to make a mistake if one knows what they are doing is wrong, but is it the same if that person does not know what they are doing is wrong? When the United States made slavery legal, they did not know at the time how immoral it was or how feelings about it would change over the years. The problem is not that people are doing wrong, it is the fact that they do not understand what is right or wrong at the time. Contemporary society is limited by the time period it is in which controls what they know. Appiah addresses this problem in his essay but it is not so easy to comprehend. To fully understand how contemporary society is limited and what they are limited to, one must look at the context, audience, and response of Appiah's essay. By understanding what history has shown us we can hope to prevent future generations from making the same mistake that previous generations have continued to make.
