Rhetorical Devices Essay

I have watched and listened to the “Charles Foster Kane Campaigns for Governor” video and it was very moving and persuasive. The information that he gave to his audience and the manner that it was given was very energetic. The information was also given in a manner that most anyone could understand. The speech did contained two areas of bias. Bias or prejudice is a preconceived opinion about something or someone. The speech contained an area of gender bias and age bias because he singles out a specific group of people when he says “The working man and the slum child know they can expect my best efforts in their interests. In this statement he specifically targeted working men as well as slum children. It also contained an area of ethnic bias when he stated, “The decent, ordinary citizens know that I’ll do everything in my power to protect the underprivileged, the underpaid, and the underfed! ” He targeted the “decent, ordinary citizens” instead of all citizens. In the speech he also gave example of fallacies, specifically by using scare tactics. Using a scare tactic is a way of using fear to persuade readers.

When he stated, “Here’s one promise I’ll make, and boss Jim Gettys knows I’ll keep it: My first official act as Governor of this State will be to appoint a Special District Attorney to arrange for the indictment, prosecution, and conviction of Boss Jim W. Gettys! ” Another scare tactic that he used was, “Now, however, I have something more than a hope. And Jim Gettys — Jim Gettys has something less than a chance. ” These two statements have the potential to place fear upon Jim Gettys and his supporters.

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A rhetorical device is a writing technique used to achieve an emotional response from its readers. The seven forms of rhetorical devices are metaphor, parallelism, euphemism, hyperbole, alliteration, paradox, and rhetorical question. In the speech he uses alliteration form a rhetorical device. The use of alliteration is use of the same consonant sound several times in the same sentence. When he states, “The decent, ordinary citizens know that I’ll do everything in my power to protect the underprivileged, the underpaid, and the underfed! The constant use of “under” indicates the use of the alliteration rhetorical device. An argument is an address intended to persuade. The entire speech is an argument trying to persuade the voters to vote in his favor in hopes of becoming the successor of Jim Gettys. One specific argument is in the statement, “I made no campaign promises, because until a few weeks ago I had no hope of being elected. ” He also argues that his intentions as the next governor he will seek out for the best interest of the ordinary citizens.

In the speech there were many areas that could be disputed or questioned. Specifically his opponent and his supporters could have questioned what type of plans or programs he planned on proposing in order to “protect the underprivileged, the underpaid, and the underfed. ” The speaker’s arguments were partially effective. The tone of his voice and his dynamic way with words was very effective but he should have given more information on his plans. In order to have made his speech completely effective, he should have included information about his plans for the interest of the people.

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