Rhetorical Analysis Essay March 22, 2016

Rhetorical Analysis...What is it? When you perform a deeper analysis on rhetorical strategies used in a text: Appeals- Pathos, Ethos, Logos Style- Tone, Diction, Syntax, Figurative Language, etc.) The analysis is answering why the author chose these strategies for these particular parts in the text. This is not summarizing what the author wrote.

So what do I say in the intro? Hook- (Way’s to intro topic) 1. Introduce the essential question OR Introduce the writer, his/her credentials, the title of the novel, the writer’s subject.

Hook Example The American Dream is a belief in the opportunity of prosperity and success in all avenues of a person’s life.

Intro... Background State how the author writes about the essential question. OR State the writer’s purpose to writing this text during this historical time period.

Background Example Life has a way of shaping or destroying the reality of these dreams.

Thesis statements made simple Focus (Essential Question) 2. Author(s) 3. Topic (Type of appeal or style) 4. text type (novel title, article title, poem title, etc.)

Thesis Statement 1. State the rhetorical device that all of the author’s use to demonstrate this theme. OR State the rhetorical devices the author uses in this text to demonstrate this theme.

Thesis Example Authors John Steinbeck, Maya Angelou, and Rudyard Kipling understood the reality behind achieving a dream and considered life experiences when discussing the American Dream through the rhetorical style of paradox.

The American Dream is a belief in the opportunity of prosperity and success in all avenues of a person’s life. Life has a way of shaping or destroying the reality of these dreams. Authors John Steinbeck, Maya Angelou, and Rudyard Kipling understood the reality behind achieving a dream and considered life experiences when discussing the American Dream through the rhetorical style of paradox. Putting it all together… The Introduction:

Body Paragraphs… Remember you will have 3 Your Thesis in the introduction has set up the order of your paragraphs If you chose Option 1, each paragraph will reveal a different author using the same rhetorical device If Option 2, each paragraph will be speaking about a different rhetorical device being used in the same piece of literature

Topic Sentence Focus (Essential Question) 2. Author(s) 3. Topic (First appeal/style OR text) 4. text type (novel title, article title, poem title, etc.)

Example- Topic John Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men reveals the paradox found in the belief of a dream and the reality of life.

Background 3 paragraphs: Option 1: 3 different authors/texts speaking about one rhetorical strategy Option 2: 3 different rhetorical strategies through one author/text.

Background... Connection sentence between the topic and the evidence you will offer for analysis. This connection should transition the appeal or style you will analyze to the specific place in the story/article/poem where the evidence is found.

Background Example Set during the Great Depression of the 1930s, Of Mice and Men tells of the unlikely friendship between the main characters George and Lennie, two characters in paradox with each other and with the setting of the novel.

Evidence... Must have a lead in to the quote Must be a quote that demonstrates the appeal or style of the author Must have an internal citation How many pieces of evidence do you need? It honestly depends on the rhetorical device you are analyzing...

Evidence Example At the beginning of the novel, Steinbeck is quick to compare Lennie to an animal who “...dabble[s] his big paw in the water...” and “...trie[s] not to forget” things that his companion George tells him (Steinbeck 3-4). In contrast, George is describe as a man “...with restless eyes” who “step[s] nervously...” into any situation (Steinbeck 2- 3).

Analysis Should NOT be a summary of the evidence or restate the evidence. Should explain why the author used this specific appeal or style in order to convey the essential question

Analysis This paradox between the characters represents the larger difference between George, who understands the reality of their existence as migrant workers during the Great Depression, and Lennie, who’s mental disability inhibits his understanding of the harsh world around him. Steinbeck paints this paradox between the characters in order for the readers to ponder the deeper message of life experiences shaping and/or destroying a person’s reality. George is charged with taking care of Lennie, and this charge is exacerbated by the extreme conditions of this time period, which ultimately destroys George’s chances of ever achieving his dreams.

Transition... Should include FATt 2. But in the Topic you are answering what was revealed in the deeper analysis of this appeal/style…

Transition Through the rhetorical device of a paradox, John Steinbeck uncovers the truth about life experiences shaping a person’s dream; often times, these experiences will lead to the demise of any dream before it ever has a chance to become a reality.

Putting it all together... Body Paragraph John Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men reveals the paradox found in the belief of a dream and the reality of life. Set during the Great Depression of the 1930s, Of Mice and Men tells of the unlikely friendship between the main characters George and Lennie, two characters in paradox with each other and with the setting of the novel. At the beginning of the novel, Steinbeck is quick to compare Lennie to an animal who “...dabble[s] his big paw in the water...” and “...trie[s] not to forget” things that his companion George tells him (Steinbeck 3-4). In contrast, George is describe as a man “...with restless eyes” who “step[s] nervously...” into any situation (Steinbeck 2-3). This paradox between the characters represents the larger difference between George, who understands the reality of their existence as migrant workers during the Great Depression, and Lennie, who’s mental disability inhibits his understanding of the harsh world around him. Steinbeck paints this paradox between the characters in order for the readers to ponder the deeper message of life experiences shaping and/or destroying a person’s reality. George is charged with taking care of Lennie, and this charge is exacerbated by the extreme conditions of this time period, which ultimately destroys George’s chances of ever achieving his dreams. Through the rhetorical device of a paradox, John Steinbeck uncovers the truth about life experiences shaping a person’s dream; often times, these experiences will lead to the demise of any dream before it ever has a chance to become a reality.

Conclusion Restate your thesis statement...just please state it in a slightly different way... Build on the ideas of your thesis What insight did you gain from the analysis of this author’s writing style? What did you learn about the power of words? How does all of this relate to the essential question?....stay in 3rd person

Conclusion The extreme opposite perspective delivered through the use of a paradox allowed Steinbeck, Angelou, and Ripling to express the reality of life events and the dreams people experience in a lifetime. Often times the very dream that keeps a person’s hope alive is stifled by the reality of this person’s social status, society’s expected norms of this person, and/or the very grit that this person possesses. It seems, though, that the amount of grit a person has is in direct correlation to the amount of hope and endurance necessary in making dreams become reality, no matter what life has in store for them.