Inmate Rhetorical Analysis

Martin Luther King Jr. was an American baptist minister and activist who became the most visible spokesperson and leader in the Civil Rights Movement in 1954. He had a great impact on race relations in the U.S. and he made a great impact on many lives. He died in 1968. Dr. King wrote 2 famous works, “Dream” and “Birmingham” and each had a different audience and purpose. Both works utilizes the persuasive techniques of pathos in “Dream” and logos in “Birmingham.”

Imagine yourself throwing a plastic ring from a six pack of soda on the ground. Next, picture that same piece of plastic that was thrown on the ground wrapped around a sea otters neck, and it being trapped. Makes you want to pick up that plastic ring, doesn’t it? Frank Trippett in his article, “A Red Light for Scofflaws” argues that social order is broken when citizens who normally would obey the law become scofflaws. The author starts by explaining which laws he believes that are most broken everyday.

In the article “Even Prisoners Must Have Hope”, Richard Stratton (the author) talks about his thoughts on the federal prison system in America. Stratton himself had served 8 years in jail for smuggling marijuana. He strongly advises not to make the prisons even worse than they already are. The harsh conditions and other peoples’ vengeful attitudes toward criminals only make the violence and crime continue. According to Stratton, instead of improving the harsh conditions and trying to rehabilitate and help prisoners that could lead to peace, our society inflicts more pain and punishment, enforcing a violent cycle.

This excerpt from Samuel Johnson’s “Debtors’ Prisons (2)” puts Johnson’s thoughts and ideas on the necessity of jailing those who fail to pay back their debts forth quite plainly. In the second paragraph, Johnson describes a scene to his audience that restates how the general public would typically react to a person being arrested for that very reason. Johnson continues his anecdote with a situation that parallels the goings-on in Britain at that time - the misfortune that is befalling several people unable to pay back their debts.. It is easy to ignore it when it is only one person, but something must be done when it is happening to so many. Johnson uses another anecdote in paragraph 5 that appeals to the emotions of his audience.

In Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter From Birmingham Jail” and “I Have a Dream” speech he uses many different rhetorical devices. He uses rhetorical devices such as repetition, analogy, and rhetorical questions. In each writing, he uses the devices for many different purposes. These purposes can be similar, or different. In short, Martin Luther King Jr. includes rhetorical devices in his writing.

Rhetorical Analysis My satirical piece is called “The Amazing Benefits of Being Homeless”. This comic depicts the positive aspects associated with homelessness instead of focusing on the negatives. In the comic, there are nine frames where the characters take a favorable viewpoint on this topic.

A restaurant worker’s work is never complete: many restaurant workers feel that they are public servants because they make harsh comparisons, generalizations and arguments. Barbara Ehrenreich’s piece titled “Serving in Florida” represents the condition in which workers are treated while working in a restaurant. Ehrenreich describes this condition as unfair because she must perform duties as if they are “strictly theatrical exercises” (130). By this she means that even if there is no work left to do, the managers do not want to see workers sitting. Ehrenreich believes that she is performing in a play while she is at work because she must pretend to be doing work at all times so that the managers, who sit around, don’t yell.

Singing sensation Demi Lovato wants Congress to make mental health a top priority and she heads to Capitol Hill Tuesday. She meets the members of Congress to raise awareness of mental illness. She recently spoke out at the National Council for Behavioral Health’s annual Hill Day in Washington, D.C. She shared about her own mental health struggles.

In Michel Foucault’s Discipline and Punish, he states that “[a] real subjection is born mechanically from a fictitious relation” (202). That is, to say the gaze of those observing you is a chiasmus. Chiasmus is a verbal pattern where the second half of an expression is balanced against the first with revised. For example, the prisoners in the panopticon , which is a circular structure that has light thrust up each individual person, so it makes it extremely difficult to tell if a guard is looking at you. Basically, the idea of this structure was for the prisoners to fear and internalize the gaze.

Listeners of “A Prairie Home Companion” will be hearing a new voice in the future. Garrison Keillor, the longtime host of the program and beloved entertainer will be stepping down after the next season and there is already a replacement waiting in the wings. According to the Minnesota Public Radio on Tuesday, Chris Thile will be taking Keillor’s job after the star is gone. This bittersweet moment has people recognizing that Garrison Keillor is set to retire and there is little anyone can do to change his mind.

13th Analysis “13th”, a documentary produced by Anya DeVernay, is about racial inequality. To strengthen the argument about racial inequality, DeVernay uses pathos, logos, and ethos in the documentary. Pathos, the use of emotions, is seen numerous times in the 13th. For example, throughout the film, clips of African Americans being thrown into jail or beings harshly treated are shown. This appeals to emotions because the person viewing the film gets a real life image of what African American’s are being treated like.