English 1CMelissa Gunby

Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2011

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2UhvN0k74w

Agenda for Today

Finalize discussion on Day by Day: Armageddon

Introduction of Rhetorical Terms and Strategies

Day by Day: Armageddon

Is Frank a coward for not giving Claudia “peace?”

Does it make sense that the radiation fallout would somehow preserve the undead and make them stronger, faster, and more coordinated? Why or why not? How does this work with some of the “scientific” reasons a zombie outbreak would quickly fail?

Who would you rather be in this situation: one of the adults, knowing full well what’s happening around you and being responsible for the survival of 5 other people, or the child, innocent of everything with no responsibilities at all? What do you think Laura’s world is going to be like? Is she going to remain innocent forever?

“The others don’t seem to have the discipline, or the concept of conservation. I can’t expect everyone to act like a machine I suppose. Perhaps that is my problem lately. I have been so shell-shocked that I have reverted to logic and emotionless response to deal with the situation at hand” from April 12.

Is it simply survival that has our narrator thinking this way, or something else?

Our narrator reflects on the implications of human survivors shooting at other human survivors. Do you think that in the event of a large scale disaster people would turn on each other or band together? What examples from history can you give to support your answer?

What did you expect from the section titled “John’s Deception?”

When the fight for Hotel 23 has become a fight for survival, why would the narrator be haunted by his actions?

Would, do you think, a negotiation and compromise have worked, if either side had considered it?

Any last thoughts, questions, or comments about this text?

We may return to it as a comparison for some of the other texts we will be looking at this semester.

Essay 2Fear of “The Other” in a Post-9/11 America

Introduction of Rhetorical Strategies

Rhetoric

Rhetoric: the ability to use language effectively; the ability to persuade an audience to believe your position or argument

Three kinds of Rhetoric

Deliberation: encouragement, dissuasion: to give advice

Forensic: accusation, defense: legal action

Epideictic: praise, blame

3 kinds of means of persuasion

Character of the speaker: ethos

Attitude of the listener: pathos

The argument itself: logos

Ethos

“The character of the speaker is a cause of persuasion when the speech is so uttered as to make him worthy of belief; for as a rule we trust men of probity more, and more quickly, about things in general, while on points outside the realm of exact knowledge, where opinion is divided, we trust them absolutely. This trust, however, should be created by the speech itself, and not left to depend upon an antecedent impression that the speaker is this or that kind of man. It is not true , as some writers on the art maintain, that the probity of the speaker contributes nothing to his persuasiveness; on the contrary, we might almost affirm that his character is the most potent of all the means to persuasion.” The Rhetoric of Aristotle, page 9

Reliability of the Author

Use only credible, reliable sources to build your argument and cite those sources properly.

Respect the reader by stating the opposing position accurately.

Establish common ground with your audience. Most of the time, this can be done by acknowledging values and beliefs shared by those on both sides of the argument.

If appropriate for the assignment, disclose why you are interested in this topic or what personal experiences you have had with the topic.

Organize your argument in a logical, easy to follow manner. You can use the Toulmin method of logic or a simple pattern such as chronological order, most general to most detailed example, earliest to most recent example, etc.

Proofread the argument. Too many careless grammar mistakes cast doubt on your character as a writer.

Pathos

“Secondly, persuasion is effected through the audience, when they are brought by the speech into a state of emotion; for we give very different decisions under the sway of pain or joy, and liking or hatred.” The Rhetoric of Aristotle, page 9

Appealing to Emotion

Argument emphasizes reason, but used properly there is often a place for emotion as well. Emotional appeals can use sources such as interviews and individual stories to paint a more legitimate and moving picture of reality or illuminate the truth. For example, telling the story of a single child who has been abused may make for a more persuasive argument than simply the number of children abused each year because it would give a human face to the numbers.

Only use an emotional appeal if it truly supports the claim you are making, not as a way to distract from the real issues of debate. An argument should never use emotion to misrepresent the topic or frighten people.

Logos

“Thirdly, persuasion is effected by the arguments, when we demonstrate the truth, real or apparent, by such means as inhere in particular cases.” The Rhetoric of Aristotle, page 9

Argumentation

Arguing from logos, or using logical reasoning, relies on the use of either inductive or deductive logic.

Inductive logic: generalization from multiple examples: Fair trade agreements have raised the quality of life for

coffee producers, so fair trade agreements could be used to help other farmers as well.

Deductive logic: conclude from assumptions that something will follow Genetically modified seeds have caused poverty, hunger,

and a decline in bio-diversity everywhere they have been introduced, so there is no reason the same thing will not occur when genetically modified corn seeds are introduced in Mexico.

Other Rhetorical Terms

Syllogism: chain of argument which leads to a definite conclusion from universal truths = if, then, therefore Men are mortal

Socrates is a man

Therefore, Socrates is mortal.

Enthymeme: something that, at best, is only probably true; certainty is not possible in the realm of contingent human affairs

Endoxa: common knowledge/accepted positions

Works Cited

Cooper, Lane. The Rhetoric of Aristotle. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1988. Print.

Weida, Stacy and Karl Stolley. “Using Rhetorical Strategies for Persuasion.” Purdue Online Writing Lab. 13 July 2010. Web. 20 September 2011

Homework

Pages 64-73 in American Zombie Gothic

Chapters 1-10 in Pride and Prejudice and Zombies