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Rhetorical Analysis Of Speech By William Lyon Phelps

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Not everyone reads, but those who do understand the value the hold. American Educator, William Lyon Phelps, asserts in his speech that books give wisdom and knowledge to those who take the time to read. He first supports this claim by first using analogy and parallelism, then amplification, then diction, and finally pathos. Phelps purpose is to inform the Nazi German people and German students that books have a value in this world.
To begin with, Phelps begins his speech about books by appealing to pathos by using analogy and parallelism. Ge begins by comparing a book to a guest. For instance, Phelps states, "A borrowed book is like a guest in the house; it must be treated with punctiliousness, with a certain considerate formality." Everyone knows what it feels like to have a guest; you have to make sure to attend to their every needs, making sure they feel comfortable, and , most importantly, making sure they leave unharmed. Just like the guest, the book has to be taken care of with such ease. In other words, "[y]ou cannot leave it carelessly, you cannot mark it, you …show more content…

To elaborate, '[b]ooks are of the people, by the people, for the people." He is saying that we should honor books and the devotion put into they as he alludes to The Gettysburg Address, by Abraham Lincoln. There are different types of books out there for everyone because they are for us, for our enjoyment, for out pleasure. William Phelps even mentions this by saying, "They wrote the for you. They 'laid themselves out'...you look into their innermost heart of heart." He wants everyone to know that it is because of us that authors write; they do not write for no apparent reason. It is a matter of only understanding what they are trying to say. To sum it all up, Phelps alluded Abraham Lincoln to show that books have meaning but that they are also for anyone of any level of

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