The movie, “The Great Debaters” (2007), was both directed and starred by, Denzel Washington who acted as Melvin Tolson, English and Speech Professor of Wiley College. Prior to this film’s production, many were not knowledgeable of Wiley College or its debating team. However, transformation took place when Melvin coached a four (4) member debate team of Wiley College into victory. One of the most memorable event was the moment Wiley College argued their opponent Oklahoma City College in scene two (2) of the film. During this debate, Wiley College was represented by the first female debater ever been on the school’s debating team, Samantha Booke along with her other team members. They argued in support of the moot, “Negro’s should be admitted to State Universities.”
The main idea in the argument focused on the fact that Negroes were still forced to live in the past, back when Southern
…show more content…
States had passed laws against the blacks on racial segregation. Based on this, it is clear that the author’s main purpose was to highlight to the public the racial issues that were still affecting blacks as they try to gain knowledge equally as whites in the school systems. Which is why, Wiley College challenged their opponent in support of the moot because they believed that the time for change had come. Wiley’s main message was “preventing a negro from attending State Universities is not only wrong, but absurd.” (Samantha Booke) As for Oklahoma City College, they argued against the moot. Their main message was that “society was not ready to accept negroes in State Universities” and that “negroes would not learn because they would not be happy.” Based on their arguments it was clear that it was lacking in credibility, they offered no real evidence outside of what was quoted by Dr. W.E.D. Dubois. Which could have been challenged. Both schools however, argued their views, but Wiley College with Samantha Booke giving the opening and closing statements, was better able to persuade the judges that the time for change was now. Wiley debaters used logics, pathos and ethos along with persuasive techniques and emotional appeal. These were however, lacking in Oklahoma’s team and moreover fallacies were identified in their speeches. Wiley debaters was more effective and persuasive, therefore they won the debate. The use of persuasive devices enhances and support arguments effectively. “Persuasion is a literary technique that writers use to present their ideas through reason and logic, in order to influence an audience” (literarydevices.net, n.d.). Wiley College argued for the moot, whilst Oklahoma City College argued against the moot. Wiley claimed that “not allowing negroes to attend State Universities is not only a mistake it is wildly unreasonable, illogical and inappropriate.” Wiley debaters used persuasive devices such as facts, statistics, metaphor, repetition, irony, imagery and emotional appeal just to name a few to convince the judges that the blacks should be equally accepted in State Universities, and not in the future but beginning now. Samantha stated, “the time for equality is right now”. The facts presented supported their statement which is also a metaphor that “ The negro people are not just a color in the American fabric” “ They are the thread that holds it all together.” reasoned Samantha Booke. She presented the facts that negroes have participated in wars (both civil and aboard) and the last soldier to die in the civil war was a Sgt. Crocker who died on May 13, 1865. Also, negro soldiers Henry Johnson and Needham Roberts in 1918 were the first soldiers to receive medals for bravery in France. Therefore, the process of change already began based on this evidence given. Irony and repetition were also used when Oklahoma debaters stated that “it is impossible, impossible for negroes to get a proper education at a white college” yet in defending their moot used a quote from Dr. W.E.D. Dubios who was pointed out by Wiley second debater that “W.E.D. Dubois was the first negro to receive a Ph.D. at white college”. How ironic. Imagery was also displayed through highlighting that gaining an education has allowed blacks to overcome their history of slavery and cruel treatments. Statistics was also effectively and persuasively used to communicate to the audience. This was seen during the rebuttal between the education of white and colored child from the same states by Oklahoma debaters. Another technique used was rhetorical question , which is a few question that will get the audience's responses, this was seen when the question was asked by Samantha "Well, would you kindly tell me when is that day (time for a change) going to come?
Is it going to come tomorrow? Is it going to come next week? In a hundred years? Never? to which she responded, “No, the time for justice, the time for equality is always, is always right now.” Here she used repetition in the word “always” to emphasized her point. Samantha’s speech also shows repetition when she stuttered as an indication to highlight her nervousness in presenting her speech amongst the audience. The persuasive techniques were necessary and effective as it relates to facts which were solid information and proof that Wiley debaters arguments were real. Some people may not be persuaded by appeals from the heart, but it is more difficult for them to argue when real, genuine evidence that supports the points were made. Wiley was better able to convince the judges that “Negroes should be admitted in State
Universities.” Furthermore, according to Aristotle, there are three perquisites that are necessary to appear credible, competence, good intention and empathy (Ethos, Pathos and Logics), all three were portray throughout the speech.“While the whites are resistant to change, it is not reason enough to stop black students from receiving the same quality education as the white students,” said Wiley second speaker. Samantha in support of her statements, made a claim that, “Oklahoma was spending five times more for books to educate the white students, than what is being spent to educate a black child.” This allowed her opponent Oklahoma City College to question her credibility and use this as fallacy in their speech because she did not have enough evidence to support that claim. Oklahoma claimed that Wiley was making a general statement which have no substance. It was an effective claim however, because it still allowed the audience to think about it. Oklahoma also made some arguments without credibility. The Oklahoma debaters arguments lacked credibility; they offered no real evidence outside of what was quoted by Dr. W.E.D. Dubios which states, “It's a silly waste of money time and temper to try and propel a powerful majority to do what they determine not to do”. This quote was not effective. The strategies employed would have found favour with the whites in the audience but, outside of them it would have little appeal. However, Wiley used fallacy from it to point out that Oklahoma was generalizing this statement and ignored the fact that “Dr. W.E.D. Dubios was the first negro to receive a Ph.D. from a white college, Harvard.” Oklahoma also did not use emotional appeal during their presentation. Samantha representing Wiley uses pathos, an emotional appeal to get the audience to feel what she was feeling that it was unfair for children to suffer unequal access to education because of the colour of their skin. She was emotionally hurt and she cried. This was indeed effective because her statement brings shame to her opponent (whites) and the audience applauded her in agreement with her statements. This strategy was the most effective in the scene. Wiley debaters also used emotional appeal to bring their points across when Samantha asked “Why, if freedom and equality was being offered in other states, when then would the south be ready for this change?” She argued that often times if change is not forced on a people and one simple sits around and wait on the people to be ready to agree to a change, these changes may never take place. Oklahoma debaters agreed on this statement, but insisted that “that change is not now.” Yet, they put forward no logical reason why blacks could not be admitted in State Universities at this time. Logos established in the arguments that were being discussed and presented to the audience. Logos appeal towards logical reason. It encompasses the content and arguments of a speech. An example from the scene was when Wiley second debater uses information provided by Oklahoma City, he stated, using personal experience “ If someone didn’t force upon the South something it wasn’t ready for, I’d be still in chains, and Miss Booke here would be running from her master.” The logic of this argument was that the “Negro is good enough to go fighting” but, was not good enough to be educated.” “Why??” We saw that each of these components provided an essential link to the audience, persuading them to accept the message and in turn support the position that was established that blacks deserve the same human right to be educated in a university that whites attended. Oklahoma presentation was lacking credibility, emotion and logics to support their claims. Instead Wiley debaters was effective because they supported their claims with credibility, emotions and logics. As were identified in the debate scene two (2) “Negro’s should be admitted to State Universities” from movie “The Great Debaters”, some possible fallacies/ illogical flaws that were used in the arguments were fallacy like ad hominem, hasty generalization, appeal to pity (Argumentum ad Misericordiam) and bandwagon fallacy (ad populum fallacy). Ad hominem is shown where the Oklahoma rejects and criticizes the views of the Wiley College that blacks should be admitted in state universities. Hasty generalization was illustrated by Oklahoma that classified all blacks as becoming unhappy if they were to attend a state university. Based on this statement they are generalizing that once someone is unhappy it is impossible for them to learn. Appeal to pity was a relevant fallacy where an appeal to the compassion and emotional sensitivity of others were evident in the scene. Also, Oklahoma was seen as ethnocentric people; that whites was not merely different from blacks but fundamentally and completely superior to them. Oklahoma offered no middle ground hence, bias for or against change; it is easier for them to deal with things that they are most comfortable with based on a conservative point of view. In conclusion, the moot “Negros should be admitted in state University” was defended by Wiley College while Oklahoma City College argued against it. Oklahoma failed to employ the appropriate persuasive techniques that would have been vital for them to be successful in the debate. Their arguments were based merely on opinions instead of factual information; they incorporated the uses of fallacies which proved their arguments lacked credibility. Oklahoma also neglected the use of emotions which could have helped them to argue their point in a more persuasive manner. Due to all this, Oklahoma lost the debate. Wiley College, on the other hand, was successful in convincing the judges and audience that it was time to end prejudice and admit Negros into state Universities as they delivered a cogent speech. They were able to effectively argue the moot as they made use of many persuasive techniques such as facts and Aristotle’s elements. This left the judges with no choice but to toss out any personal biases they may have had prior to the debate and perceive the speech based on the facts and evidence that were presented.“The Great Debaters,” scene two (2), delighted the audience and of such we believe that the purpose was fulfilled.
Soon after launch on January 28th, 1986, the space shuttle Challenger broke apart and shattered the nation. The tragedy was on the hearts and minds of the nation and President Ronald Reagan. President Reagan addressed the county, commemorating the men and woman whose lives were lost and offering hope to Americans and future exploration. Reagan begins his speech by getting on the same level as the audience by showing empathy and attempting to remind us that this was the job of the crew. He proceeds with using his credibility to promise future space travel. Ultimately, his attempt to appeal to the audience’s emotions made his argument much stronger. Reagan effectively addresses the public about the tragedy while comforting, acknowledging, honoring and motivating his audience all in an effort to move the mood from grief to hope for future exploration.
In 102 Minutes, Chapter 7, authors Dwyer and Flynn use ethos, logos, and pathos to appeal to the readers’ consciences, minds and hearts regarding what happened to the people inside the Twin Towers on 9/11. Of particular interest are the following uses of the three appeals.
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.
During the four decades following reconstruction, the position of the Negro in America steadily deteriorated. The hopes and aspirations of the freedmen for full citizenship rights were shattered after the federal government betrayed the Negro and restored white supremacist control to the South. Blacks were left at the mercy of ex-slaveholders and former Confederates, as the United States government adopted a laissez-faire policy regarding the “Negro problem” in the South. The era of Jim Crow brought to the American Negro disfranchisement, social, educational, and occupational discrimination, mass mob violence, murder, and lynching. Under a sort of peonage, black people were deprived of their civil and human rights and reduced to a status of quasi-slavery or “second-class” citizenship. Strict legal segregation of public facilities in the southern states was strengthened in 1896 by the Supreme Court’s decision in the Plessy vs. Ferguson case. Racists, northern and southern, proclaimed that the Negro was subhuman, barbaric, immoral, and innately inferior, physically and intellectually, to whites—totally incapable of functioning as an equal in white civilization.
The movie , “The Great Debaters”, was produced by Oprah Winfrey and directed by Denzel Washington, the movie was written based on a true story, the movie revolving around the efforts of a debate coach and his team to be recognized among white debating teams, such as Harvard University. In a time, when the Jim Crow laws were common in the South and lynching mobs were around, the debate team coach Melvin B. Tolson, helped raise his debate team of young black students to the top.
"Violence against African-Americans occurred from the first days of the Reconstruction…klansmen rode to frustrate Reconstruction and keep the freedman in subjection.
In 1729, Jonathan Swift published a pamphlet called “A Modest Proposal”. It is a satirical piece that described a radical and humorous proposal to a very serious problem. The problem Swift was attacking was the poverty and state of destitution that Ireland was in at the time. Swift wanted to bring attention to the seriousness of the problem and does so by satirically proposing to eat the babies of poor families in order to rid Ireland of poverty. Clearly, this proposal is not to be taken seriously, but merely to prompt others to work to better the state of the nation. Swift hoped to reach not only the people of Ireland who he was calling to action, but the British, who were oppressing the poor. He writes with contempt for those who are oppressing the Irish and also dissatisfaction with the people in Ireland themselves to be oppressed.
The next few paragraphs will compare blacks in the north to blacks in the south in the 1800’s. In either location blacks were thought of as incompetent and inferior. The next few paragraphs will explain each group’s lifestyle and manner of living.
The answer served to the explanation of the establishment of the Jim Crow law, which is segregation in the Southern
White southerners believed that black people should keep to themselves, socialize and go to church in different locations and work for white people in servile jobs and for low wages. After slavery was abolished Africans lost their shelters and white southerners lost their work force. In response to this, the white men became landlords that charged high rent to slave families who did not have the ability to pay with cash. The former slaves turned into indentured servants as they tried to pay off their debt through services, which was ultimately an unattainable task due to the high interest that was tacked on (Wiener). Due to the Fifteenth Amendment the Redeemers, who were southerners who wanted to prevent equality for slaves, had to sneak around to disfranchise blacks. The Redeemers developed voting rules for each state called “literacy tests,” even though they were impossible to pass and just created to get rid of African American voters. They also required a poll tax to be paid because they knew that most blacks would not have earned enough money to pay for voting. Proponents of the “New South” promoted the “Separate but Equal” motto and under this, segregation of blacks and whites became normal as long as each race had “equal” facilities (Literacy Test and Poll Tax). Even though blacks and whites
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
African Americans could not get the simple rights such as qualified education and health care. For example, North Carolina schools were racially segregated because the Jim Crow system say’s that, African American and white students should study in separate and equal schools. In fact, schools in North Carolina are separate, but not equal. By 1875, “public education in North Carolina was a legally ordained system” (Kenion, 1912). Everything was separate, such as facilities, teachers, resources, and students.
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.
Jonathan Kozol revealed the early period’s situation of education in American schools in his article Savage Inequalities. It seems like during that period, the inequality existed everywhere and no one had the ability to change it; however, Kozol tried his best to turn around this situation and keep track of all he saw. In the article, he used rhetorical strategies effectively to describe what he saw in that situation, such as pathos, logos and ethos.