The Rhetorical Canon

The ability to divide our attention during cognitively demanding tasks and the allure of technology creates a delicate balancing act that can at times have grave consequences. On September 22, 2006 in Utah, Reggie Shaw placed the fates of James Furfaro and Keith O’Dell, as well as his own upon this deadly scale. Tragically, the lives of James and Keith were lost, and Reggie Shaw’s future would be forever altered by the events and decisions of that day (Richtel 16). In this modern age of technological marvels our attention is vied for in a constant conflict. Frequently in our lives or particularly in our jobs we are called upon to execute mentally demanding and at times dangerous tasks.

Rhetorical Challenges: Complexity & Cultural History Controversial rhetorical evidences have existed as long as humans practiced the art of rhetoric. The ways the audience participates and conceptualizes the content of the topic depends on the complexity, cultural history and other related challenges. Our textbook had interesting incite on some of the challenges that arise from the purpose and subject of a given rhetorical context, which was something that I wasn’t formally educated in. I found it interesting that not only the subject but the purpose of a rhetorical artifact can alter the participation of the audience on a greater scale than I originally thought.

Letters to John Adams writing prompt: Write a response in which you analyze the rhetoric that Abigail Adams uses to support the opinions she expresses in these letters. Recall that rhetoric is the art of using language to influence others it can include appeals to logic, emotions and mortality. It might also include rhetorical devices such as analogies to strengthen an argument. Remember to use evidence from the text to support your response. In Letters to John Adams, Abigail uses rhetoric to help persuade the user to her points, one of the many examples is in paragraph 8 where she states “I desire you would remember the ladies, and be more generous and favorable to them than your ancestors.”

The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller, is a surprising story of a town plagued by the belief that witches have invaded the streets of Salem, Massachusetts. With the use of heavy dramatic irony, those that encounter the story experience frustration as the result of many innocent townsfolk being condemned to death. The readers of the story recognize the fictitious proclamations of witchcraft, but those in the town of Salem actually validate the accusations against the alleged witches. Falsely accused and falsely condemned, the “witches” are sentenced to the rope; all this occurred simply because Abigail Williams wanted to obtain the affection of the man she loved, John Proctor. Through crazy stories and expressive writing, Miller took the reader on a captivating journey back to 1692 where bizarre things befell those residing in Salem.

Award winning writer, George Orwell, in his dystopian novel, 1984, Winston and O’Brien debate the nature of reality. Winston and O’Brien’s purpose is to persuade each other to believe their own beliefs of truth and reality. They adopt an aggressive tone in order to convey their beliefs about what is real is true. In George Orwell’s 1984, Winston and O’Brien use a variety of different rhetorical strategies and appeals such as parallel structure, pathos, and logos in order to persuade each other about the validity of memories and doublethink; however, each character’s argument contains flaw in logic. Winston debates with O’Brien that truth and reality are individual and connected to our memories.

When Martin Luther’s sermon was first preached, it was already four years into the Reformation. The Reformation was a 16th Century movement led by Luther, a then Theology Professor. Luther, known as the man behind the Reformation, was not the first person to preach these ideas; but the first to have them acted upon due to his large audience. Although the Reformation began in Germany, it quickly swept through all of Western Europe. The audience for Luther’s sermon was Erfurt, Germany.

Upon graduating from Valparaiso University, Professor Kuhn taught middle schoolers in Hong Kong for several years. Afterward she taught high school, and then she came to teach at Concordia University. With thirty years of experience in education Professor Kuhn is without a doubt, "… the best prof ever" (Kuhn 3). In the course rhetorical approaches to literature and culture, Professor Kuhn's mission is, "To destroy how you watch movies and read books, forever" (Kuhn 1). Throughout the course, through exploration of various novels, literary analysis and class discussions we will discover the immense power behind the words and rhetoric that we use.

I was born in a family with strong cultural and poetic atmosphere. My father is a lover of Chinese traditional literature, so he has put many efforts in improving my capacity of creating graceful Chinese articles since I was a little girl. I learned the principles of various rhetorical techniques from him and enjoyed applying them into my daily writings in Chinese, ranging from private journals, language classes assignments to composition campaigns. My passion for the literary glamour has been ignited since. 　　

The Candie's Foundation is a non-profit organization that strives to prevent teen pregnancy. The Carly Rae Jepsen advertisement focuses on how teen pregnancy can change the life plans of teenage girls. The advertisement uses rhetorical appeals in order to convey The Candie’s Foundation message. The advertisement uses logos, ethos, and pathos as support for the main argument.

Jonathan Edwards was a revivalist, preacher, philosopher, and a protestant during the 18th century. During the 18th century, he wrote a sermon called Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God which is an example of The Great Awakening. The Great Awakening was a time period where they started to use descriptive language and they really started to focus on the individual. Edwards’s sermon expresses the ideology of emotionalism, persecution, and revivalism. While I was reading his sermon I realized that his sermon really expresses the ideology of emotionalism.

English 1010 was an amazing class, during the period that the class was going on I was able to develop my communication skills and become aware of the world around me and how individuals operate according to what the society wants from them. The English 1010 class helped in developing a new aspect of reasoning, analyzing and drawing adequate conclusion. Furthermore I was to know the kind of informations I can take in and avoid wrong assumptions. Most class assignment were based on distinct formats which was a little difficult for me in the beginning but eventually I was able to follow the procedures which help improve my grades in other classes too. We had a discussion on rhetorical analysis where we analyze the rhetorical strategy used, I

I am writing this Rhetorical Reflection Memo to reflect on my experiences, readings, and works and examine how my skills have developed from past to present and how to further improve them in the future. Over the course of the term there have been four papers (this being the fifth) that have made me aware of both my strengths and weaknesses in writing: “Rhetorical Analysis”, “Analytic Summary”, “Literacy Narrative”, and “Summary Response”. I struggled the most writing the “Summary Response”, and had the most ease writing the “Literacy Narrative”, but with each paper I experienced some kind of difficulty that helped me learn about my own capabilities. I was most challenged by the “Summary Response”, but my difficulties with writing the paper

The Many Powers Of Rhetoric In this section of “The UNF Guide To Writing” different authors discuss the robust powers of rhetorical writing. Nathan Thornburgh discussed “overheated rhetoric” in his writing Violent Rhetoric and Arizona Politics (52). He discussed the shooting that took place in Arizona over a political issue of immigration in which Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was killed. Thornburgh said that the over-exaggeration n that was places on the “issues” that were going on in Arizona is the reason people got angry enough and why it drove Jared Loughner, the shooter, to act out in a violent way (53).