Rhetorical Analysis Assignment
Point Value: 160 points (16% of course grade)
Definition: A rhetorical analysis asks you to explain how writers or speakers within specific social situations attempt to influence others through discourse (including written or spoken language, images, gestures, and so on).
Caution: A rhetorical analysis is NOT a summary. It also does NOT ask you to agree or disagree with the author’s argument.
Expectation: In 5-7 pages (excluding the title page and the reference page), make an argument about how a speaker use a speech to convey messages to a particular group of audience by 1) exploring the speaker’s goals, 2) describing the techniques or tools used, 3) providing examples of those techniques, and 4) analyzing the effectiveness of those techniques with at least 5 sources (e.g., scholarly journal articles, newspaper articles, documentaries, movies, books). Please use the APA Style & Formatting Guide (7th edition) to format your essay.
- Identify the relational components of rhetorical situations and the larger conversations, activities, and environments in which they are embedded
- Recognize and exemplify rhetorical features—including genres, language
conventions, and methods of delivery—employed in civic and professional discourse communities
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You may conduct your rhetorical analysis over four phases:
Phase 1: Reconstruct the historical context in which the speech occurred and advance claims (45 points). During this phase, you explore the rhetorical situation, namely the communicative context of a text/speech using 3-4 sources. It includes:
Audience: The specific or intended audience of a text.
Exigence: The text/speech’s reason for being, such as an event, situation, or position within an ongoing debate that the writer is responding to. It may also refer to the problem that requires change.
Constraints: The obstacles that stand in the way of solving the problem.
Phase 2: Analyze the speech by applying classical elements (60 points). You may refer to Table 15.4 Five Canons of Rhetoric, p. 281. During this phase, you examine the speech text in terms of 2-3 of the following elements:
- Organization: Arrangement; The structure or general pattern of the various components in a rhetorical speech
- Style: The language the speaker uses
- Delivery: The mode of presentation adopted by the speaker, including vocal and nonverbal behavior.
- Memory: The devices speakers use to help them remember significant ideas and illustration throughout their speeches.
Or, you may examine claim, support and warrant of the speech text:
Claim: The main idea, thesis, opinion, or belief of an argument that the author must prove. The claim should be debatable and answer the question, “What’s the point?”
Support: The statements given to back up the claim. These can take the form of facts, data, personal experience, expert opinion, evidence from other texts or sources, emotional appeals, or other means. The more reliable and comprehensive the support, the more likely the audience is to accept the claim.
Warrant: The connection, often unstated and assumed, between the claim and the supporting reason(s), or support. The warrant is the assumption that makes the claim seem plausible. More specifically, warrants are the beliefs, values, inferences and/or experiences that the writers/speakers assume they share with the audience. If the audience doesn’t share the writers’/speakers’ assumptions within the text, the argument will not be effective.
During this phase, you may analyze the invention of the speech by exploring how the speaker’s argument is supported by inartistic proofs (e.g., testimony from witness, key documents) and artistic proofs using 2-3 sources. The artistic proofs include:
The authority or credibility of the author/speaker. Can refer to any of the following: the actual character of the speaker/writer, the character of the speaker/writer as it is presented in a text, or as a series of ground rules/customs, which are negotiated between speaker, audience, and specific traditions or locations. The speaker must convince the audience of their credibility through the language they use and through the delivery, or embodied performance, of their speech.
Did you analyze ethos enough in your essay?
- Have you looked at what experiences or claims to authority qualify this author/speaker to speak or write?
- Have you considered the credibility and moral character of the writer/speaker?
- Have you considered the design or appearance of the text you are analyzing?
Does it look professional? What can you say about the author/speaker based on the appearance of the text alone?
Emotional appeals to the audience to evoke feelings of pity, sympathy, tenderness, or sorrow. The speaker may also want the audience to feel anger, fear, courage, love, happiness, sadness, etc.
Have you analyzed pathos enough in your essay?
- Have you considered how the author/speaker appeals to the emotions of the reader/viewer? How does the author/speaker establish a bond with his audience?
- How might the author/speaker change his strategy if he/she was trying to
establish a bond with a different audience?
- Have you considered your own personal reaction to the background music of this advertisement?
- What kinds of feelings do the colors that the author/speaker uses provoke?
- What other images in the text provoke an emotional response? Why would the author include these images?
In classical rhetoric, logos is the means of persuasion by demonstration of the truth, real or apparent, the reasons or supporting information used to support a claim, the use of logic or reason to make an argument. Logos can include citing facts and statistics, historical events, and other forms of fact-based evidence.
Do you analyze logos enough in your essay?
- How does the author/speaker back up his argument in this text? Does he incorporate facts, statistics, or numbers?
- Have you considered how logical the author/speaker’s argument is?
- Are the claims this author/speaker is making realistic?
- Does the author/speaker consider alternative arguments?
Phase 4: Finally, you will need to create a conclusion for your rhetorical analysis (15 points). Your conclusion should briefly restate your main argument. It should then apply your argument on a higher level. Consider the following questions as you develop your conclusion:
- Why does your argument matter?
- What does it mean in the real world?
For example, the conclusion of the rhetorical analysis of the Nacirema article may point out Miner’s underlying message of tolerance and appreciation of other cultures and how his authorial choices influenced the delivery of that message.
References
Howe Center for Writing Excellence of Miami University. (n.d.). Rhetorical Analysis. https://miamioh.edu/hcwe/handouts/rhetorical-analyses/index.html
Illinois Writers Workshop. (n.d.). Rhetorical Analysis. https://writersworkshop.illinois.edu/resources-2/writer-resources/academic-writing/rhetorical-analysis/
University Writing Center of Texas A&M University. (n.d.). Rhetorical Analysis. https://writingcenter.tamu.edu/Students/Writing-Speaking-Guides/Alphabetical-List-of-Guides/Academic-Writing/Analysis/Rhetorical-Analysis
Solution
Rhetorical Analysis of “The Perils of Indifference”
Elie Wiesel, a Holocaust survivor, gave a speech, “The Perils of Indifference,” where he defines indifference, highlights some consequences of indifference, and urges his audience to avoid it. Through this speech, Wiesel gives a logical argument about his view of indifference, refers to past experiences as a victim of indifference, and appeals emotionally to his audience to convince them indifference is not the way to move into a new century.
Phase one
Wiesel delivered the speech “The Perils of Indifference” in April 1999, in the Millennium Lecture Series held at the White House. This event was hosted by the First Family, President Clinton, and his wife Hillary, where they had brought various speakers to address important issues before welcoming a new century. Wiesel’s speech on indifference and why it should stop was addressing not only the powerful leaders such as the top officials in the government but also to Americans who need to avoid indifference (Schlicher, 2018). However, this speech was a wake-up call to President Clinton and other world leaders to protect those being treated inhumanly rather than watching.
Moreover, Wiesel’s speech was delivered at a very highly influential and tense time especially because there an ongoing war in Kosovo where there were evident crimes against humanity similar to those of the Holocaust (Webber, 2009). He was very aware of these issues and circumstances, and he was made sure to use his speech and platform to highlight the need to intervene and stop such acts of inhumanity before it’s too late. Based on his experiences as a Holocaust survivor and referring to some of the most horrific violent times in history, he explains that indifferences can be harmful to humanity. Through the speech, Wiesel emphasizes that although due to indifference, it is easy to ignore the injustices and inhuman acts going on in some parts of the world, world leaders need to do the right thing of protecting and helping innocent people, especially children who do not deserve harsh and horrific treatments …………for help with this assignment contact us via Email Address:consulttutor10@gmail.com
Phase 2
In “The Perils of Indifference,” Wiesel uses ethos, logos, and pathos to support his stance on indifference. Regarding ethos, he builds his credibility on this issue by showing that he is knowledgeable, believable, and trustworthy. By mention that “I stand before you, Mr. President-Commander-in-Chief of the army that freed me, and tens of thousands of others and I am filled with a profound and abiding gratitude to the American people,” Wiesel (1999) shows that he respects the audience, the American people thus they are likely to agree with what he presents. Additionally, aiming to reveal his background and experiences as a child, he states that “Fifty-four years ago to the day, a young Jewish boy from a small town in the Carpathian Mountains woke up, not far from Goethe’s beloved Weimar, in a place of internal infamy called Buchenwald” …………for help with this assignment contact us via Email Address:consulttutor10@gmail.com
FAQs
What rhetorical analysis does Elie Wiesel use in the perils of indifference? ›
Wiesel's speech is a harsh indictment against those who choose to be indifferent to the suffering of others, invoking compassion by utilizing various rhetorical devices including ethos, logos, pathos and charged language, rhetorical questions and parallelism, and repetition.
What rhetorical devices does Elie Wiesel use in his acceptance speech? ›Rhetorical Devices In Elie Wiesel's Speech
Paradox, parallelism, personification, repetition, rhetorical question, pathos.
One of the most common literary devices Wiesel uses is the rhetorical question. In The Perils of Indifference, Wiesel asks a total of 26 questions, not to receive an answer form his audience, but to emphasize a point or focus the audience's attention on his argument.
What is the analysis of the perils of indifference? ›Throughout "The Perils of Indifference," Elie Wiesel talks about how choosing to be indifferent to the suffering of others only leads to more suffering, more discrimination, and more grief—and it also threatens the very humanity of the people that are so busy being indifferent.
What rhetorical strategy does Wiesel use? ›Elie Wiesel uses rhetorical devices such as personification, metaphors, and rhetorical questions to emphasize and establish the theme of losing faith. One of the rhetorical devices that Elie Wiesel uses to create and further emphasize the theme of losing faith is personification.
What rhetorical strategy is Wiesel using in this paragraph? ›The main rhetorical strategy used by Wiesel is disconnected of then stream of sentences. Wiesel uses broken grammatical structures and unfinished sentences to highlight the emotional content in this passage. This heightens the shock element in the story and the readers can understand the disbelief of Jews in Sighet.
What rhetorical strategies does Elie Wiesel use in night? ›These would include personification, metaphors, similes, irony, allusion, as well as foreshadowing.
What is the purpose of the rhetorical question at the end of the novel? ›A rhetorical question is used to create dramatic effect or make a point rather than elicit an answer. Instead of telling the reader how the character feels or inserting information into the story, you have the character wonder about the information instead.
How does Wiesel advance his purpose through his rhetorical choices? ›Determine how Wiesel's use of rhetoric advances his purpose (e.g., Wiesel's use of parallel structure advances his purpose because it reveals that though some documents of survivors are “unpublished” they are equal in importance to those that are “known throughout the world” (par. 18).
What is Wiesel's message about indifference? ›Wiesel warned of the lure of this indifferent mindset. He explains that the temptation of inaction and apathy allows us to focus solely on our own desires and goals. Empathy and engagement with people is what makes us human and Wiesel shows that by embracing indifference we would betray our humanity.
What is message of the essay the perils? ›
Summary Of Elie Wiesel's The Perils Of Indifference
Wiesel's purpose is to urge the audience to not be indifferent to what is happening around the world, but to see how society could all help.
Figurative Language
Personification: "Their eyes told him what he needed to know." Hyperbole: "They were dead and did not know it." Symbolism, descriptive language: "That the leaders of the free world did not know what was going on behind those black gates and barbed wire."
Elie Wiesel uses the technique of pathos in his speech in the beginning when he talks about his life when he was younger. This is pathos because he was starting to tap into people's emotions, and he brings up things from his childhood that definitely made the crowd mellow, by telling that.
What are some of the rhetorical and literary devices used in the I Have A Dream speech by Martin Luther King Jr? ›In “I Have a Dream”, Martin Luther King Jr. extensively uses repetitions, metaphors, and allusions. Other rhetorical devices that you should note are antithesis, direct address, and enumeration. Rhetorical devices are language tools used to make speakers' arguments both appealing and memorable.
Why did Elie Wiesel use metaphors? ›The novel uses metaphors to convey the experience of surviving the Holocaust. Metaphors are comparisons of two things that are not similar. For example, when being led away from their town. Eliezer notes the buildings make the town look like an open tomb.
What are the 3 main rhetorical strategies? ›Aristotle taught that a speaker's ability to persuade an audience is based on how well the speaker appeals to that audience in three different areas: logos, ethos, and pathos. Considered together, these appeals form what later rhetoricians have called the rhetorical triangle.
How is ethos used in the perils of indifference? ›Ethos is conveyed by using “my friends” to show how Wiesel is attempting to persuade the trust of the audience (Wiesel, 1999/16, p. 80). The author uses historic facts to show how much indifference there is in the world and why there is a need for vigilance in the face of evil.
What is the theme of the perils of indifference? ›The central theme of this speech is Wiesel's claim that indifference is more dangerous than hatred. He sees indifference as a sin. He takes us back to the camps and brings us into the belief, shared with his fellow prisoners, that if only people knew what was happening they would intervene.
What is the repetition in the perils of indifference? ›Wiesel uses repetition of indifference to emphasize the carelessness of the modern world. He emphasizes that people are only concerned about themselves, and what affects them. He uses indifference to get his audience to start realizing there are other things happening in the world, we just have to be looking for them.
What is an example of parallelism in the perils of indifference? ›-Elie uses Parallelism to shed light on the need to help victims of extreme tragedies and those less fortunate. Ex: "... to fight fascism, to fight dictatorship, to fight Hitler." -Parallelism is used to put emphasis on the discrimination and abuse occurring around the world.
What tone does Wiesel use? ›
Somber, Mournful, Honest
Wiesel's tone, as you might expect in a book about Nazi concentration camps, is serious and somber. He makes no attempt to lighten the mood with jokes—there wasn't really much happiness in the concentration camps and he doesn't make any up for the sake of the reader. The tone is mournful.
Throughout this account, Wiesel implements rhetorical questions as a way to emphasize the theme that when people lose faith, they are not only losing their God, but they are losing their hope for survival.
What is the goal of the conclusion of the rhetorical analysis essay? ›The conclusion of a rhetorical analysis wraps up the essay by restating the main argument and showing how it has been developed by your analysis.
What is the message in a rhetorical analysis? ›Message: the main idea the speaker communicated to the audience in order to achieve the purpose. inspired the communication to the broader historical, socio-economic, and political variables.
What are some examples of rhetorical questions in the book Night? ›Rhetorical devices:
For example, when Eliezer sees the babies being thrown into the fire, he asks a series of questions. “Was I still alive? Was I awake? How was it possible that men, women, and children were being burned and that the world kept silent?”
Our lives no longer belong to us alone; they belong to all those who need us desperately. What rhetorical strategy does Wiesel use in the conclusion of his speech to appeal to the emotions of the audience and leave the audience with a memorable image? He returns to the image of himself as a young boy.
How does Elie Wiesel use ethos in the perils of indifference speech? ›Ethos is conveyed by using “my friends” to show how Wiesel is attempting to persuade the trust of the audience (Wiesel, 1999/16, p. 80). The author uses historic facts to show how much indifference there is in the world and why there is a need for vigilance in the face of evil.
How does Martin Luther King use rhetorical strategies? ›King uses two main techniques, (appropriate) repetition and the rule of threes, to convey emotion through his rhetoric. And while everyone has noticed the first one – it's how the speech is known – few have remarked on the second.
What are the three rhetorical appeals that writers use to persuade their audience? ›Aristotle taught that a speaker's ability to persuade an audience is based on how well the speaker appeals to that audience in three different areas: logos, ethos, and pathos. Considered together, these appeals form what later rhetoricians have called the rhetorical triangle. Logos appeals to reason.
What rhetorical strategy does the author use to convince the reader of her argument? ›Pathos-based rhetorical strategies are any strategies that get the audience to “open up” to the topic, the argument, or to the author. Emotions can make us vulnerable, and an author can use this vulnerability to get the audience to believe that his or her argument is a compelling one.
How does Elie Wiesel use repetition in his speech? ›
Wiesel uses repetition to explain how indifference infects our history like the plague and it shows how easy it is to feel indifferent. It shows that indifference has a commonplace in our world and that its normality in society is truly dangerous.
How does Elie use pathos in his speech? ›Elie Wiesel uses the technique of pathos in his speech in the beginning when he talks about his life when he was younger. This is pathos because he was starting to tap into people's emotions, and he brings up things from his childhood that definitely made the crowd mellow, by telling that.
What figurative language is in the perils of indifference speech? ›Figurative Language
Personification: "Their eyes told him what he needed to know." Hyperbole: "They were dead and did not know it." Symbolism, descriptive language: "That the leaders of the free world did not know what was going on behind those black gates and barbed wire."
“So much violence; so much indifference”. Wiesel used logos by bringing up history in his speech. When he was in concentration camps he spoke about what happened. He also pointed out how people are not supportive when things are happening now.
What logos are in perils of indifference? ›Author and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel delivered a powerful speech at the White House in 1999 about the price society will pay for indifference to violence and injustice. Logos, in rhetoric, is the appeal to logic and reason.