Rhetorical Analysis Of The Introduction To Twain

The introduction to Twain’s essay includes a flashback to create the frame of the essay and establish the themes. He uses imagery to really set the scene and emphasize its importance. Twain makes it obvious from the beginning that his audience is very broad, his tone is calm and reasonable. He is using this essay to show that people rely on public opinion, and that people conform in order to be in the majority. In the introduction, he lays out his plan very clearly and proceeds to plead his case.

In the second paragraph Twain expresses that all opinions of people are never completely original and thought out. Additionally, he highlights the life cycle of a popular trend, the hoopskirt. He states that the trend comes about because of public

Twain continues on to convey that trends come about and die out frequently and it will always be that way. Twain uses paragraph four to introduce the example of the steady decrease in having drinks at dinner in England, and how that practice will slowly trickle into American culture simply due to public opinion and the fear of being viewed in a negative light. Paragraph five goes on to say that thing such as manners change occasionally, but not for reasons that anyone can explain other than conformity. The author says that we as a race only imitate the things that we see. We don’t invent new standards, only temporary fashions that will soon evolve and change. An example of literature is brought up, where for no apparent reason the historical novel became a popular genre and everyone was reading and writing them despite the fact that the genre had been around for a very long time. He used this example to give a concrete example if his idea, and it appeals to the audience’s

“Things like morals, religion, and politics, get their following from surrounding influences and atmospheres.” (pg. 4) Twain says this to show that anything you can possibly think of, even things commonly found in everyday life stemmed from some sort of opinion. Furthermore, he asserts that self-approval is achieved mainly through public approval, which is the definition of conformity. Paragraph seven states that political emergencies create the greatest example of conformity because being in the majority means that you’ll never be in the wrong. So to speak, no one will judge you for a difference of opinion because most people agree with yours. Once again Twain uses an example that appeals to logos, and can be applied to everyday life. Paragraph eight continues the issue of politics by saying men think with their parties, not their brains. No one will seek out the opposite argument because that isn’t what their party believes, therefore it doesn’t