Exam 5: Rhetoric,the Art of Persuasion

Isolate and discuss the rhetorical devices that appear in the following passage: Voting is the method for obtaining legal power to coerce others. -From a commentary on a grocery bag urging citizens not to vote and thus not to encourage the majority to take away the life,liberty,and pursuit of happiness of the minority.

Isolate and discuss the rhetorical devices that appear in the following passage: To study the epidemiology of deaths involving firearms kept in the home,we reviewed all the gunshot deaths that occurred in King County,Washington (population 1,270,000),from 1998 through 2003....A total of 743 firearm-related deaths occurred during this six-year period,398 of which (54%)occurred in the residence where the firearm was kept.Only 2 of these 398 deaths (.5%)involved an intruder shot during attempted entry.Seven persons (1.8%)were killed in self-defense.For every case of self-protection homicide involving a firearm kept in the home,there were 1.3 accidental deaths,4.6 criminal homicides....Handguns were used in 70.5% of these deaths.

A)Discuss any instances of nonargumentative persuasion or pseudoreasoning and explain any slanting techniques you find in the following passage.(We'll comment on features we find obscure,unusual,or tricky. )B)Rewrite the passage in language that is as emotively neutral as possible but still retains the same informational content. "It [the feminist movement] was crazy.The lunacy,unfortunately,wasn't confined to sex.Male reviewers abased themselves before Miss [Susan] Brownmiller's book,Against Our Will,and the male editors of Time magazine,in a spasm of liberal gallantry,named her as one of its 12 Women of the Year,thereby atoning for five decades of Men of the Year." -Joseph Sobran,"The End of Feminism"

Isolate and discuss the rhetorical devices that appear in the following passage: The United States will not have an effective antiterrorist force until the army and the air force quit bickering about equipment and responsibilities.

Provide a critical assessment of the following quotation.Discuss rhetorical flourishes and slanting techniques,if any,including otherizing,demonizing,fear or hate mongering,and forstering xenophobia.Some passages may fit more than one category. "....In this 8-year period gigantic genocide was carried out over the Bulgarian nation.At the insistence of foreign,hostile to Bulgaria factors,of our people is projected to remain 3.5 to 4 million residents.This is Bulgarophobe's plan and this plan is realised in front of us.If someone asks how,I will show him:when the right of the Bulgarians to be masters in their own country became stolen,when they will be left to die in misery and lack of medicines and medical services,by being subjected to terror by Gypsy bands,who everyday disrupt,rob,rape and maltreat the Bulgarian nation,after which nobody deliberately seeks out the crimes,committed by them,because this is the directive outside,not to investigate the crimes of these minority groups.The goal is for the Bulgarians to live in fear,to be discouraged,crushed,submissive.Hundreds of thousands of chronically ill are dying right now because mob companies of the previous cabinet make dirty deals with the life and health of the Bulgarians.Because relatives of the previous Minister of Environment are trading with medicaments for cancer and therefore there are not any medicaments,and hundreds of thousands of Bulgarians with cancer face a slow,excruciating agony." -Volen Nikolov Siderov,July 11^th,2005,Bulgaria. quoted in HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volen_Siderov" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volen_Siderov

Provide a critical assessment of the following comparative general claim: "The answer to the question,'How are blacks doing in America?' is 'Better than ever before.'" -Ronald Reagan,on the first national observation of the birthday of Martin Luther King,Jr.

Provide a critical assessment of the following comparative general claim: The county unemployment rate went up 40 percent during our opponent's administration,but since we took the reins it has risen only 35 percent in the same length of time.Clearly,we have done the better job.

Isolate and discuss the rhetorical devices that appear in the following passage: "The Soviet regime [once] promulgated a law providing fines for motorists who alter their lights or grills or otherwise make their cars distinguishable.A regime that makes it a crime to personalize a car is apt to make it a crime to transmit a cultural heritage." -George Will

Isolate and discuss the rhetorical devices that appear in the following passage: A political endorsement by the Reverend Jerry Falwell,the high priest of holier-than-thou and "let's hear it for apartheid," would help a political candidate as much as an endorsement from the Ayatollah Khomeini.

Isolate and discuss the rhetorical devices that appear in the following passage: "Can [former Representative Jack] Kemp or anyone believe that $27 million in 'humanitarian' aid would replace all that South Africa has done [to support Angolan rebels]?" -Anthony Lewis,New York Times

Isolate and discuss the rhetorical devices that appear in the following passage: Handguns are made only for the purpose of killing people.

Isolate and discuss the rhetorical devices that appear in the following passage: "I was amazed when I read that frog licking has become a major preoccupation in Colorado.How could this possibly get started? It had to be this way.An environmentalist is out in the woods communing with nature.Probably some overgrown Boy Scout in little green shorts,a backpack filled with wheat nut mix.He's wearing his Walkman,skipping along some nature trail...maybe even humming.Ommmmm-Ommmmm-Ommmmm.He looks at a tree and maybe he says,'Hi Greg.' Maybe he hugs the tree.'Oh,I am at one with this tree.' Then he spies a frog and suddenly stops.'Oh,look at that frog.Maybe I should pick it up and lick it.' And gets high as a result.You see,the Colorado spotted toad secretes a hallucinogenic substance that can get you high if you lick it near the back of its head." -Rush Limbaugh

Isolate and discuss the rhetorical devices that appear in the following passage: "Some feminists edge nervously away from Andrea Dworkin and Catharine MacKinnon,who are the Al Sharpton and Louis Farrakhan of feminism...." -Time

Isolate and discuss the rhetorical devices that appear in the following passage: If the governor is so dedicated to civil rights,why is it that the black citizens of this state are worse off now than when he took office?

Isolate and discuss the rhetorical devices that appear in the following passage: Yes,of course,we must protect the rights of innocent people-up to a point.The main thing is to make the streets safe again.Something must be done to reduce crime.

Construct eight sentences,each illustrating a use of this slanter:stereotype.

Provide a critical assessment of the following quotation.Discuss rhetorical flourishes and slanting techniques,if any,including otherizing,demonizing,fear or hate mongering,and forstering xenophobia.Some passages may fit more than one category. "I think President Obama is the most radical president this nation's ever seen.And in particular,I think he is a true believer in government control of the economy and of our everyday lives.In my judgment,we are facing what I consider to be the epic battle of our generation,quite literally the battle over whether we remain a free market nation." -Ted Cruz,found at Brainy quotes

Provide a critical assessment of the following comparative general claim: The North Koreans still have a stronger military force than the South Koreans.

Isolate and discuss the rhetorical devices that appear in the following passage: "[The CIA] instructed security forces in Uruguay,demonstrating torture techniques on beggars taken off the street.These activities,and many hundreds more like them,have been thoroughly documented by government investigations,by the press,and by the testimony of former CIA employees." -Progressive Student Union

Isolate and discuss the rhetorical devices that appear in the following passage: Yes,well,in a way I agree with you.