Chief Seattle's Oration to Governor Stevens

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Is it Red Face vs. White Face, or Red faces and White faces? Chief Seattle, in this oration to Governor Stevens, discusses the comparatives and differences between these two conglomerations of people using rhetoric devices such as similes, concession, repetition, and tone. Through the use of these devices, Chief Seattle sets in his purposes of both warning the White Faces that although they hold the current power, and although the Native Americans want to live as one, that they have some power as well, and show his fellow brothers and sisters that although they may be weak now, not only in numbers but in strength, that they have power and might and the ability to eventually seek revenge on those who do them injustice. Seattle begins his oration by using a simple sentence, which allows for the audiences to in a way set the tone of the possibility of a simple, fast, harmless speech, which was the intention of Seattle. “My words are like the stars that never change”, this simile was used to ignite the idea that his words will remain as constant as the never changing stars, and that they will remain constant with his beliefs and never change or become impacted by the outside world. When Seattle refers to the president as “the great chief at Washington” it is an act of concession to the white men, by not only calling him a chief, but a great chief it is a huge sign of respect and a great sign of concession to their power. The simile “great chief at Washington can rely upon us with as much certainty as he can upon the return of the sun” shows the amount of trust that Seattle is hoping for. To most, it is apparent that white men strongly believe that the sun will rise every day without fail, and will always return to brighten the day a... ... middle of paper ... ... a final fear, to change the light, airy, comparative, brotherly tone to one of fear, fright, and anticipation. “Let him be just and deal kindly with my people, for the dead are not powerless”. This quote is the final line of the oration; it summarizes the intent beautifully using diction to its advantage. Its the final warning, the final threat to say that all they wanted was respect and kindness, the constant concession throughout the piece was deliberate in making the audiences believe that these people were weak and powerless, but the last line is a clear statement of ethos and power.

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