Man's Search For Meaning Rhetorical Analysis

Critical Analysis of Man’s Search For Meaning

Existentialists believe that “to live is to suffer; to survive is to find meaning in the suffering”. Despite all the horrific experiences in the concentration, Viktor Frankl is determined to not lose the significance of his life and succumb to the cruelty of his situation. With the use of three literary techniques- argumentation, rhetoric, and style- Frankl gives his proposition warrant that a man will not find meaning in his life by searching for it; he must give his life significance by answering questions life asks him.

In Man’s Search for Meaning, Viktor Frankl uses argumentation in the form of evidence throughout his text to prove his proposition that a man will not find meaning in his

life by searching for it; he must give his life significance by answering questions life asks him. Frankl, an educated doctor and Holocaust survivor, uses evidence in the form of personal anecdotes from his experiences in the concentration camps. In the case of the general practitioner who faced severe depression due to the death of his wife, Frankl uses augmentation to explain it to the depressed practitioner that a man must keep answering life's questions to give meaning to his life, as he continues to writes, “Now how could I help him?

What should I tell him? I refrained from selling him anything, but instead confronted him with a question, “What would have happened, Doctor, if you had died first, and your wife would have had to survive without you?:”” (Frankl 112). Whereupon hearing this query the practitioner morosely responds, “Oh, for her this would have been terrible; how she would have suffered!” (Frankl 112). This anecdote exemplifies Frankl’s proposition that human nature is motivated by the search for purpose in life; Logotherapy is the pursuit of meaning for one’s life. In The Longman Reader, “[A] form of logical thinking in which specific cases and facts are examined to draw a wider- ranging conclusion” (653) is called inductive reasoning which this anecdote exemplifies. With the example of his wife’s death, Frankl clearly presented this anecdote and then examined it to come up with a conclusion that would be applicable to other cases—indicating a process of inductive reasoning. The logical reasoning behind Frankl’s example provides his thesis with logos, or soundness of argument (Nadell 479). Frankl logically questions the practitioner and makes him realize that the death of his wife was far easier to bare whereas if he had passed away first she

would have to suffer a lot more, therefore, exhibiting soundness of argument (Nadell 479). Likewise, Frankl’s explanations also include factual statements that enhance his argument, “Another statistical survey, of 7.948 students at forty-eight colleges, was conducted by social scientists from Johns Hopkins University. Their preliminary report is part of a two-year study sponsored by the National Institute of Mental Health. Asked what they considered “very important” to them now…78 percent said their first goal was “finding a purpose and meaning to my life.”” (Frankl 100). Connecting it back to The Longman Reader, it states in it that readers will be responsive to evidence that is unified, adequate, specific, accurate and representative… or it could be gathered from outside sources, statistics, facts, examples…(544-545). Frankl reassures the audience that his proposition it more than just a conclusion based on his observations and further proves his point through the evidence he found from a valid source to enforce the validity of his argument. Once again, the logical reasoning behind Frankl’s example provides his thesis with logos or sounds of argument (Nadell 479). Through his usage of factual statements and “inductive reasoning” (Longman 490), he is able to use logos, logic, to support and further the premise of his argument; that a man will not find meaning in his life by searching for it; he must give his life significance by answering questions life asks him. In Man’s Search for Meaning, Viktor Frankl uses rhetoric throughout his text to prove his proposition that man will not find a meaning in his life by searching for it; he must give his life significance by answering questions life asks him. By the help of his reputation sympathy, and imagery, Frankl proves to have a strong and effective connection with the readers. While proving that man must find a reason to continue on his meaningless life, Frankl uses pathos to convey this point. He aligns himself with the reader’s pathos (Heinrichs 44), “I refrained from telling him anything, but instead confronted him with a question, “What would have happened, Doctor, if you had died first, and your wife would have had to survive without you?:” (Frankl 112-113). This is effective rhetoric because Frankl aligns himself with the Doctor’s feelings, “rhetorical jujitsu that uses your opponent’s moves to your advantage” (Heinrichs 21). He uses this technique to further his proposition; he uses details and pathos. In Thank You For Arguing, the author explains the importance of pathos, as he states, “Pathos can cause a mood change, make an audience more receptive to your logic, and give them an emotional commitment to your goal” (377). Frankl sympathetically explained it to the doctor that by letting his wife go first he has spared her from the suffering if he would have died before her. The doctor quickly recollects himself, “He said no word but shook my hand and calmly left the office” (Frankl 112-113); allowing him to continue with his not so worthless and meaningless life after all.
To appeal to his audience more effectively, Frankl uses a technique called ethos—appeal to ethics, and it is a means of convincing someone of the character or credibility of the persuader. An ethos is an effective form of rhetoric as it employs, “the persuader’s personality, reputation, and ability to look trustworthy” (Heinrichs 40). Frankl proves to be a person of credibility by establishing his reputation as he asserts, ““As a professor in two fields, neurology and psychiatry, I am fully aware of the extent to which man is subject to biological, psychological and sociological conditions. But in addition to being a professor in two fields, I am a survivor of four camps—concentration camps, that is—and as such I also bear witness to the unexpected extent to which man is capable of defying and braving even the worst conditions conceivable”” (Frankl 130). The German concentration camps were a place of great torture and misgivings. Many people were killed and others tortured both mentally as well as physically. Only a handful of people (1 in 28, according to Frankl) were able to survive. By describing his professional background as well as his experience in the concentration camp, Frankl is able to persuade the readers to put faith in his words as he has both experience in the concentration camp and knowledge; the readers will be inclined to put their faith in Frankl’s proposition.
Furthermore, in Man’s Search For Meaning, Frankl uses imagery, a literary device—a strategy used in the making of a narrative to relay information. Imagery means to use figurative language to represent objects, actions and ideas in such a way that it appeals to our physical senses. He expresses this literary device as he describes the death of the young woman in the concentration camp, “[P]ointing through the window of the hut, she said, "This tree here is the only friend I have in my loneliness” (Frankl 99); This imagery conveys the message of loneliness and provokes sympathy within the readers. Frankl establishes a personal connection with his reputation, use of pathos as well as literary devices that help convince the readers to have faith in his proposition and words as a credible author.
Viktor Frankl uses an autobiographical style of writing to effectively illustrate his proposition, that man will not find a meaning in his life by searching for it; he must give his life significance by answering questions life asks him. Style, in literature, is a literary element that describes the ways that the author uses words—the author’s word choice, sentence structure, figurative language, and sentence arrangements all work together to establish mood, images, and meaning in the text. Throughout Man’s Search for Meaning, Frankl discusses his personal experiences as a prisoner in the concentration camps and reflects back in time often writing in the past tense to relay his feelings and recall his behaviors as he endured this ordeal. By using an autobiographical style of writing, he provides first-hand accounts to vividly reveal a deplorable environment of suffering and death. Although Frankl acknowledges his personal experiences throughout the text, he is well aware of the fact that his experiences and perceptions were common among many prisoners. After using autobiographical style to create a foundation, Frankl moves to a more clinical style of writing where he interjects his professional beliefs and human psychology in the third person. In this manner, Frankl is able to unify his readers by receiving empathy and sympathy from the individuals who have and have not lived through similar torture in the concentration camps of Germany, in Auschwitz during World War II.
Frankl has a unique word choice and sentence structure throughout his text; Word choice also known as diction can be defined as styles of speaking or writing determined by the choice of words by a speaker or a writer. Being a psychiatrist, Frankl uses a variety of different words pertaining to psychology that is not everyday words such as “disillusionment [and] logotherapy” (Frankl 91, 108). The variety of the words shows the uniqueness and creativity in the author’s writing style as well as thought and dedication into his texts. “Logotherapy” was developed by Frankl, the theory is founded on the belief that human nature is motivated by the search for a lie purpose; logotherapy is the pursuit of that meaning for one’s life. Frankl’s theories and choice in words are heavily influenced by his personal experiences of suffering and loss in Nazi concentration camps. Additionally, the sentence structures in Man’s Search for Meaning, help the readers identify author’s intelligence level and the audience the author is conveying the message to. Frankl uses compound-complex sentences that consist of two or more independent clauses and one or more dependent clauses. This syntactic shape is essential in representing complex relationships and so is frequently put to use in various forms of analytical writing. The ability to use compound-complex sentences elevates a writer's credibility: it demonstrates that he or she can bring together in a single sentence a range of different pieces of information and order them in relationship to each other. This is not to say that the compound-complex sentence invites confusion: on the contrary, when handled carefully, it has the opposite effect--it clarifies the complexity and enables readers to see it clearly.
Frankl, being a psychologist it is expected of him to have a very scholarly type of tone-erudite, ““As a professor in two fields, neurology and psychiatry, I am fully aware of the extent to which man is subject to biological, psychological and sociological conditions”” (Frankl 130). By describing his professional background, Frankl is able to persuade the readers to put faith in his words as he sets the mood with an erudite tone. At times when Frankl is talking about life in German concentration camps and people “going to the gas chambers” (Frankl 27), the tone is set back to a dark and gloomy, but in the end Frankl connects it all to a promising ending that as long as men give their life significance by answering the questions life asks of them, they will survive.