Rhetorical Analysis

Rhetorical Analysis is a huge part of our lives. It’s so much a part of our lives that most of the time it takes conscious thinking to even recognize we are being using it. Rhetoric is everywhere from the commercials we watch, conversations with our parents or others, to school. Developing the skill of rhetorical analysis will help us to not be manipulated by the speaker into seeing what they want us to see.

Advertising is all about rhetoric. Rhetoric is their pathway for their success. As we have learned with one of our previous assignments, you can write a two to three page paper on almost any thirty second commercial. Advertisers have become experienced in what appeals to people and how to target things to make them more appealing to the general public. Without good use of rhetoric companies would have a much more difficult time selling products (both the bogus ones and the legit ones alike) to the public.

In the nineteen years of my young life I have become expert in the art of convincing my mom to see what I want her to see, which has become very convenient when I want things. By knowing my parents backgrounds and the things that are important to them I have learned which parent to ask for certain things from and how to explain the situation to get my desired results. Although this process doesn’t work one hundred percent of the time, I have been fairly successful at getting my way. The method I use to do this is rhetoric. It’s interesting to learn that I was using this skill before I even knew what it was.

Rhetoric is used not only by advertising geniuses or children on their parents but also by peers and teachers in schools everywhere. Teachers find ways to use rhetoric to make sure that you do your assignments or pay attention in class. One way is by telling you stories of how you might use the education that you are gaining that day in the future. They might scare you into paying attention by using pathos to make you think if you don’t learn this concept the rest of your life will be doomed for failure. Peers use rhetoric much in the same way as children use it on their parents to get other peers to do what they want. Crazy that you can’t even escape in the place where you learn how to analyze it.

During this semester in English 150, as we have learned about rhetorical analysis it almost makes me feel guilty. We have learned the techniques of good rhetoric and the three different aspects to appeal (logos, ethos and pathos). We have analyzed the way that people use it on us both good and bad. As one can learn from observing the way Hitler used it, rhetoric is a very powerful thing. Rhetoric is a good thing to be able to analyze but this newly developed skill might just drive me nuts for the rest of my life. I am a very naive person and now instead of just enjoying commercials I find myself trying to figure out how the speaker is trying to scam me. Useful? Yes. Annoying? Time will tell. So, thank you Mr. Keeley for teaching me a skill that will serve a good purpose in my life but just might drive me crazy as well.