Rhetorical Analysis Zeitoun

Zeitoun Essay Based on a true story, Zeitoun focuses on one family’s response in the midst of hurricane Katrina and the terror of war that follows. Dave Eggers portrays Abdulrahman Zeitoun as the man of his household and community, a hero- when Katrina hits New Orleans. Through the employment of rhetorical strategies, Eggers is able to achieve his purpose in presenting the good in his protagonist. The author appeals to pathos, and frequently incorporates anecdotes and flashbacks through the images he provides.
Through the appealment of pathos, Dave Eggers allows the audience to produce empathy and develop emotion toward Zeitoun. Like a heroic figure discovering his sense of purpose, Eggers describes Zeitoun: "Zeitoun felt again that perhaps

The fish broker in the market would pay them and sell the fish all over western Syria. Abdulrahman’s father had died a year earlier and his mother was sickly, but he loved this work enough that he’d do it for free” (4). For Zeitoun’s extensive passion, he would do anything, “[even] for free.” To support the protagonist, along with anecdotes- Dave Eggers additionally includes images of Zeitoun and his family. By introducing family and revealing background stories, it initiates the reader’s understanding and empathy for Zeitoun as a character- exactly what Dave Eggers intends to do. Here, Dave Eggers tells “He and his brother Luay and sister Zakiya were playing with their brother Mohammed, eighteen years older. They were all wrestling with him in the bedroom Zeitoun and Ahmad and all the younger boys had shared in Jableh. Zeitoun stared at his brother’s electric smile” (91-92).
Although the personality of the real-life Zeitoun is debatable after the follow-up stories and interviews that reflects his aggressive behavior toward his family, he did- in some way or another portray heroic characteristics. Dave Eggers presented Zeitoun