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Rhetorical analysis of speech
Rhetorical analysis of speech
Rhetorical analysis of speech
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In a quote by John Mill, “Does fining a criminal show want of respect for property, or imprisoning him, for personal freedom? Just as unreasonable is it to think that to take the life of a man who has taken that of another is to show want of regard for human life. We show, on the contrary, most emphatically our regard for it, by the adoption of a rule that he who violates that right in another forfeits it for himself, and that while no other crime that he can commit deprives him of his right to live, this shall.” Everyone’s life is precious, but at what price? Is it okay to let a murderer to do as they please? Reader, please take a moment and reflect on this issue. The issue will always be a conflict of beliefs and moral standards. The topic Rhetorical appeal are logos, rational appeal to a reader’s capacity for reasoning logically on the basis of evidence; pathos, emotional appeal to the reader’s beliefs and feelings, such as anecdotes or “human interest” stories; and ethos, ethical appeal is the writer’s credibility and their attempt to appear knowledgeable and fair. Mr. Muhlhausen’s logos appeal is strong. He gave numerous facts, statistics from many sources, and he used expert opinions within the economic field to show the effect of the society when capital punishment is used properly. Mr. Muhlhausen’s pathos appeal is lacking, he does not offer an anecdote nor a “human interest” story. His conservative beliefs are reflected in his writing and the position he takes with his claim. Mr. Muhlhausen’s ethos appeal is credible, he acknowledges the opposite side’s concern when it comes to the death penalty. He does mention others have changed their minds on the death penalty, by stating the quality of these discoveries has brought about some legitimate researchers, initially restricted until the very end punishment on good grounds, to reconsider their case. He has maintained a neutral tone and has not used negative words or insults in his article. He has demonstrated an article full of facts to support his claim. He does not follow the line of order with his reasons, and that was a bit
Throughout the ages, death penalty has always been a controversial topic and triggered numerous insightful discussion. In Kroll’s Unquiet Death of Robert Harris, the writer employs pathos as an appeal throughout the whole article in order to convince the audiences that death penalty is “something indescribably ugly” and “nakedly barbaric”. While Mencken makes use of ethos and logos and builds his arguments in a more constructive and effective way to prove that death penalty is necessary and should exist in the social system.
What does rhetoric have to do with capital punishment? Plenty actually if you want to advance an argument as well as Edward I. Koch has in his compelling essay in support of the death penalty. Koch is introduced by the editors of the book containing his essay as “The feisty, opinionated mayor of New York City…” (handout). The editors continue describing Koch’s character and abilities as they point out that he is politician with a law degree and experience as a lawyer. More specifically that he was a leader for the Democratic Party and then a congressman (handout). Koch was still mayor of New York City in 1985 when he wrote “Death and Justice”. “[The] essay, was first published in the New Republic…” (handout) a liberal American magazine. The readers of the New Republic are primarily democrats and can therefore be assumed in general to be against capital punishment. This situation has Koch in the precarious position of arguing his point contrary to the consensus of his constituents. In spite of this daunting scenario Koch is compelled to produce his essay because he wants to make in clear to his constituents that, even in light of the recently publicized statements by convicted killers that capital punishment is wrong, he [Koch] still supports the death penalty. Koch has opened his introduction with specific and graphic testimony about the statements made by the killers Messrs. Willie and Shaw. I believe that Koch has done a good job of advancing his argument through the use of the modes of persuasion which I will now demonstrate by analyzing his use of ethos, logos and pathos in his writing.
In the book Into the Wild, Jon Krakauer wrote about Christopher McCandless, a nature lover in search for independence, in a mysterious and hopeful experience. Even though Krakauer tells us McCandless was going to die from the beginning, he still gave him a chance for survival. As a reader I wanted McCandless to survive. In Into the Wild, Krakauer gave McCandless a unique perspective. He was a smart and unique person that wanted to be completely free from society. Krakauer included comments from people that said McCandless was crazy, and his death was his own mistake. However, Krakauer is able to make him seem like a brave person. The connections between other hikers and himself helped in the explanation of McCandless’s rational actions. Krakauer is able to make McCandless look like a normal person, but unique from this generation. In order for Krakauer to make Christopher McCandless not look like a crazy person, but a special person, I will analyze the persuading style that Krakauer used in Into the Wild that made us believe McCandless was a regular young adult.
The Letter from Birmingham Jail was written by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in April of 1963. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was one of several civil rights activists who were arrested in Birmingham Alabama, after protesting against racial injustices in Alabama. Dr. King wrote this letter in response to a statement titled A Call for Unity, which was published on Good Friday by eight of his fellow clergymen from Alabama. Dr. King uses his letter to eloquently refute the article. In the letter dr. king uses many vivid logos, ethos, and pathos to get his point across. Dr. King writes things in his letter that if any other person even dared to write the people would consider them crazy.
The death penalty, a subject that is often the cause of major controversy, has become an integral part of the southern justice system in recent years. The supporters and opponents of this issue have heatedly debated each other about whether or not the death penalty should be allowed. They back their arguments with moral, logical, and ethical appeals, as seen in the essays by Ed Koch and David Bruck. Although both authors are on opposite sides of the issue, they use the same ideas to back up their argument, while ignoring others that they don’t have evidence for. Koch and Bruck’s use of moral, logical, and ethical persuasion enhance both of their arguments and place a certain importance on the issue of the death penalty, making the readers come to the realization that it is more than just life and death, or right and wrong; there are so many implications that make the issue much more 3-dimensional. In dealing with politics and controversial issues such as capital punishment.
Edward Koch, who was former mayor of New York, wrote an article about one of the most controversial talks called the death penalty. This controversial topic questions if it is right to execute a person for a crime committed or if it is wrong. He made the point that the death penalty is good, in order to conclude that murderers should be punish with this penalty. He was bias in most of the passage, yet he tried to acknowledge other people’s opinion. In this article, Koch gives his supports to the idea to convict a murderer with death penalty by using a tone of objectiveness, shooting for the individuals who opposes his position to be the audience, and have a written form of conviction for the audience.
The article I have chosen for my rhetorical analysis is #Gamergate Trolls Aren’t Ethics Crusaders; They’re a hate group because it seemed interesting. The reason I was drawn to this article was because of the title, I was interested to know what it meant. This article, written by Jennifer Allaway, is about gamergate, an online gaming community, and the hate they show towards others. Jennifer does research on sexism in videogames and how it correlates to the gamers that play these games. She was collecting data from different organizations by using a questionnaire that gathered information on diversity in the videogame community. When some gamergate members
Pollan’s article provides a solid base to the conversation, defining what to do in order to eat healthy. Holding this concept of eating healthy, Joe Pinsker in “Why So Many Rich Kids Come to Enjoy the Taste of Healthier Foods” enters into the conversation and questions the connection of difference in families’ income and how healthy children eat (129-132). He argues that how much families earn largely affect how healthy children eat — income is one of the most important factors preventing people from eating healthy (129-132). In his article, Pinsker utilizes a study done by Caitlin Daniel to illustrate that level of income does affect children’s diet (130). In Daniel’s research, among 75 Boston-area parents, those rich families value children’s healthy diet more than food wasted when children refused to accept those healthier but
The movie trailer “Rio 2”, shows a great deal of pathos, ethos, and logos. These rhetorical appeals are hidden throughout the movie trailer; however, they can be recognized if paying attention to the details and montage of the video. I am attracted to this type of movies due to the positive life messages and the innocent, but funny personifications from the characters; therefore, the following rhetorical analysis will give a brief explanation of the scenes, point out the characteristics of persuasive appeals and how people can be easily persuaded by using this technique, and my own interpretation of the message presented in the trailer.
In the article “The Penalty of Death”, written by H. L. Mencken, utilitarian principles are used to cover up for a system that wants results. All of the reasons that Mencken gives as justifications do not give concrete evidence of why the death penalty should continue as a means of punishment. The article states, “Any lesser penalty leaves them feeling that the criminal has got the better of society...” This statement alone demonstrates how he believes the death penalty brings justice and satisfaction to the people. Mencken creates the points he makes in his article in order to give society a way to make the death penalty seem less intrusive on moral principles and more of a necessary act.
Looking back at my rhetorical analysis in writing 150, to sum it up, it was horrendous. It became exceedingly obvious that I had skipped the prewriting step. Forgoing this step caused choppy sentences, multiple grammatical errors, and horrendous flow. The rough draft ended up looking like a collection of jumbled up words. The first attempted felt so bad, I started over entirely. After the review in class, I used the examples to focus my ideas and build off what other people had done. For example, the review helped me to clarify my knowledge and use of Kairos. Once done, it was peer reviewed by my group again. All the other group members commented that I had good ideas, but bad flow and grammatical errors. After revising their respective points and
... adequate support for the controversy that all killing is morally wrong and that valuing the innocent over the guilty is devaluing human dignity and humanity itself. Moreover, if not all killing is morally wrong, and some quite acceptable, then it stands that death penalty may also be acceptable. In this way, the abolitionist contradicts himself or herself by asserting equal human dignity and worth between the innocent and the convicted that ultimately led to devaluing one human being (the innocent) to another (the guilty). As such, it would only be rational and just to offer aid to the innocent than “to those who are guilty of squandering aid” (Mappes, Zembaty, and DeGrazia 141).
Capital punishment is a topic constantly debated because of moral principles and effects on society. Many would argue that the possibility of death prevents crime. Others would argue that execution is unjust. Flamehorse’s article, "5 Arguments For and Against the Death Penalty,” provides common reasons held by society with a short analysis. Other articles such as“4 Out Of 5 Texas Dentists Advocate The Death Penalty,” produced by TheOnion, promotes capital punishment through a satirical metaphor. The reasons may be factual or morally based because society operates on these principles. Once the reasons are evaluated, it may be possible to develop a stance throughout the paper. This will contribute to various hypothetical examples and the course of action to handle said example. However, individual interpretation is subjective meaning that everyone has a different idea in mind.
In the beginning of Chapter 7, Lewis Vaughn challenges us with the question “Is it permissible for a society to put one of its members to death for committing a serious crime?” (Page 348). When people commit crimes no matter how bad, they should still be given rights. That being said opposing of the death penalty doesn’t overthrow the fact the victims did indeed break the law. Stephen Nathanson argues for this position, “those who commit terrible crimes still deserve some level of decent treatment simply because they remain living, functioning human beings”. He suggests that “by renouncing the use of death as punishment, we express and reaffirm our belief in the inalienable, unforfeitable core of human dignity” (Page 354).
Capital punishment is a difficult subject for a lot of people because many question whether or not it is ethical to kill a convicted criminal. In order to critically analyze whether or not it is ethical, I will look at the issue using a utilitarianism approach because in order to get a good grasp of this topic we need to look at how the decision will impact us in the future. The utilitarianism approach will help us to examine this issue and see what some of the consequences are with this topic of capital punishment. For years, capital punishment has been used against criminals and continues to be used today, but lately this type of punishment has come into question because of the ethical question.