Rhetorical Analysis for English 3 AP
Rhetorical analysis essays are multi-paragraph responses to the author’s message /
argument, tone, diction, detail, point of view, or use of appeals. Rhetorical Analysis
essays are an essential component throughout the year.
Student Name / Period
_______________________________________________ ____
Day
8/18
8/20
8/22
*Assembly
Schedule
8/25
8/27
8/29
9/3
9/5
Assignment
Literary Terms to Know
Style Analysis Outline
Tone and Attitude
The Duty of Writers by E.B. White
Writing a Thesis
Writing an Introduction
Writing a Diction Paragraph
Homework: Introduction and Diction Paragraphs
for the MacWhirr passage
Writing a Detail Paragraph
Homework: Introduction, Diction, and Detail
Paragraphs for the Henry James passage
Writing a Point of View Paragraph
Homework: Write a rhetorical analysis essay of The
Prison Door by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Writing an Organization Paragraph
Homework: Write a rhetorical analysis essay of The
Gettysburg Address by Abraham Lincoln
Writing a Syntax Paragraph
Homework: Write a rhetorical analysis essay of The
Frederick Douglass passage.
Writing a Conclusion
*Timed Write
Homework: Revise one of the partial essays into a
complete 6 paragraph essay. Be sure it is typed and
ready to turn in on Monday.
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Literary Terms to Know
Literary terms can be confusing because there are many names that may mean the same
thing. This chart will help you understand what the prompt is asking and give you
vocabulary to use in your essay
Literary Term – Please define
Words that mean the same or can be
used in conjunction with the term.
Style Analysis
Author’s use of style
Author’s use of language
Author’s use of rhetorical strategies
Mood, Attitude
Tone
Diction
Detail
Word Choice, Language, Figurative Language, Figures
of Speech (simile, metaphor, personification,
hyperbole, allusion, paradox, analogy)
Loaded Language
Imagery, Sensory Language
Point of View
Narrator, Perspective, first person, third person
limited, third person omniscient, speaker’s
creditability, speaker’s ethos
Organization
Narrative Structure, Chronological Order, Cause and
Effect, Order of Importance, Flash-Forward, Flashback,
Pros and Cons, General to Specific, Inductive, Deductive
Sentence Structure
Syntax
Please Note: diction, detail, point of view, organization and syntax are all devices that
the author uses to make the tone of the story evident to the reader. Your commentary
should consistently link your evidence to the tone of the story.
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Literary Analysis Outline:
The Chart Version
Paragraph 1: Introduction and Tone
Sentence 1-3
Introduces the author, message, occasion, intended audience,
title and names two different but complimentary tones.
Sentences 4
Thesis Statement
(The author) speaker uses ____, ____, and ____ to convey
(message)
Paragraph 2: Diction
Sentence 1
Topic Sentence: It includes the word diction and links it to the
tone words.
Sentence 2
Evidence: This sentence will use 3 words or short phrases from
different parts of the beginning of the passage that have strong
connotations – they will be good examples to support the tone
words in your thesis and topic sentence.
Sentence 3
Explain the significance of one or two of the words you quoted.
Sentence 4
Explain the significance of the other word or words you quoted.
Sentence 5
Evidence: This sentence will use 2 or 3 words or short phrases
from different parts of the end of the passage that have strong
connotations – they will be good examples to support the tone
words in your thesis and topic sentence.
Sentence 6
Explain the significance of one or two of the words you quoted.
Sentence 7
Explain the significance of the other word or words you quoted.
Sentence 8
This concluding sentence ties the ideas together and leads into
the detail paragraph.
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Paragraph 3: Detail
Sentence 1
Topic Sentence: It includes the word detail or imagery and
links it to the tone words.
Sentence 2
Evidence: This sentence will use 2 phrases from early in the
passage that describes the sensory details – sight, taste, touch,
smell, and sound.
Sentence 3
Explain the significance of one of the phrases you quoted.
Sentence 4
Explain the significance of the other phrase you quoted.
Sentence 5
Evidence: This sentence will use 2 phrases from later in the
passage that describes the sensory details – sight, taste, touch,
smell, and sound.
Sentence 6
Explain the significance of one of the phrases you quoted.
Sentence 7
Explain the significance of the other phrase you quoted.
Sentence 8
This concluding sentence ties the ideas together and leads into
the point of view paragraph.
Paragraph 4: Point of View
Sentence 1
Topic Sentence: It includes the words first person, third person
limited, or third person omniscient point of view and links it to
the tone words.
Sentence 2
Evidence: This sentence will use 1 or 2 phrases that explain the
narrator’s perspective from the beginning of the passage.
Sentence 3
Explain the significance of one of the phrases you quoted.
Sentence 4
Explain the significance of the other phrase you quoted.
Sentence 5
Evidence: This sentence will use 1 or 2 phrases that explain the
narrator’s perspective toward the end of the passage.
Sentence 6
Explain the significance of one of the phrases you quoted.
Sentence 7
Explain the significance of the other phrase you quoted.
Sentence 8
This concluding sentence ties the ideas together and explains
how the point of view or perspective either remained constant
or changed.
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Paragraph 5: Organization
Sentence 1
Topic Sentence: The sentence includes the word organization
and defines it (chronological, flash-back, flash-forward, cause
and effect etc.)
Sentence 2
Evidence: Summarize the beginning of the story/essay.
Sentence 3
Explain why the author began the story here.
Sentence 4
Evidence: Summarize the middle of the story/essay.
Sentence 5
Explain why the author used this as the turning point or climax.
Sentence 6
Evidence: Summarize the end of the story/essay.
Sentence 7
Explain why the author ended with this event/idea.
Sentence 8
This concluding sentence discusses the flow of the entire piece.
Paragraph 6: Syntax
Sentence 1
Topic Sentence: The sentence includes the word syntax and
relates it to the tone.
Sentence 2
Evidence: Cite the type of sentences the author is using simple, complex, commands, fragments, dialogue, repetition,
colloquialism, slang, etc.
Sentence 3
Explain why the author uses this style of grammar.
Sentence 4
Discuss the placement of this punctuation and link it to the
tone.
Sentence 5
Evidence: Cite the type of punctuation the author is using –
dashes, capital letters, question marks, exclamation points,
colons, semi-colons.
Sentence 6
Explain why the author uses this type of punctuation.
Sentence 7
Discuss the placement of this punctuation and link it to the
tone.
Sentence 8
This concluding sentence discusses the flow of the entire piece.
Paragraph 7: Conclusion
Sentence 1
Connect the tones in the story to the theme or main idea.
Sentences 2-4
Explain why the theme is important to readers.
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Tone and Attitude
1. What does the word “tone” mean? Please define it in your own words .
________________________________________________________
2. What does the phrase “tone of voice” mean? Please define it in your own
words.
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3. List six words that could describe a person’s tone of voice.
__________________ __________________ __________________
__________________ __________________ __________________
Look at the example below, and highlight or underline the words or phrases that
tell how Jeff feels.
Jeff clenched his fists tightly and closed eyes. Nevertheless, his face turned red
as his enemy strutted by him.
4. Choose one of the words from question three, and write two to three
sentences that convey that tone without using the word or any synonym of the
word.
Word: ___________
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Highlight or underline the words that convey the feeling you chose.
Common Tone Words (in adjective form)
sad
depressed
gloomy
melancholy
disheartened
sulking
solemn
mournful
angry
mocking
out-raged
vindictive
frustrated
critical
aggravated
aggressive
humble
gentle
passive
accepting
earnest
sincere
apathetic
reflective
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cheerful
enthusiastic
admiring
playful
joyous
whimsical
benevolent
surprised
didactic
astute
diplomatic
persuasive
intense
cautionary
loving
sympathetic
Original Prompt: A passage from “The Duty of Writers” by E.B. White is given in which he
describes how wrietrs are a role model for freedom. Discuss the passage’s effect and how it is created
by the author’s techniques.
Directions: Read the following article and circle the words that suggest
tone. You will use this story to write your style analysis essay.
The Duty of Writers by E.B.White
Background - This essay appeared in White’s column for Harper’s magazine in January
1939. It was a disturbing time, when it was clear that world war loomed. England and
France had just appeased Hitler by allowing him to take over part of Czechoslovakia. The
Nazis had looted and burned Jewish homes and businesses on a night that became known
as Kristallnacht. Fascist forces were winning in the Spanish Civil War, and Japan had
invaded China. In his State of the Union address, President Franklin D. Roosevelt warned
that the freedoms Americans enjoyed were in danger.
I was sorry to hear the other day that a certain writer, appalled by the cruel events of the
world, had pledged himself never to write anything that wasn’t constructive and significant and
liberty-loving. I have an idea that this, in its own way, is bad news.
All word-mongers, at one time or another, have felt the divine necessity of using their
talents, if any, on the side of right--but I didn’t realize that they were making any resolutions to
that effect, and I don’t think they should. When liberty’s position is challenged, artists and
writers are the ones who first take up the sword. They do so without persuasion, for the battle is
peculiarly their own. In the nature of things, a person engaged in the flimsy business of
expressing himself on paper is dependent on the large general privilege of being heard. Any
intimation that this privilege may be revoked throws a writer into a panic. His is a double
allegiance to freedom--an intellectual one springing from the conviction that pure thought has a
right to function unimpeded, and a selfish one springing from his need, as a bread-winner, to be
allowed to speak his piece. America is now liberty-conscious. In a single generation it has
progressed from being toothbrush-conscious, to being air-minded, to being liberty-conscious.
The transition has been disturbing, but it has been effected, and the last part has been
accomplished largely by the good work of writer and artists, to whom liberty is a blessed
condition that must be preserved on earth at all costs.
But to return to my man who has foresworn everything but what is good and significant.
He worries me. I hope he isn’t serious, but I’m afraid he is. Having resolved to be nothing but
significant, he is in a fair way to lose his effectiveness. A writer must believe in something,
obviously, but he shouldn’t join a club. Letters flourish not when writers amalgamate2, but when
they are contemptuous of one another. (Poets are the most contemptuous of all the writing
breeds, and in the long run the most exalted and influential.) Even in evil times, a writer should
cultivate only what naturally absorbs his fancy, whether it be freedom or cinch bugs, and should
write in the way that comes easy.
The movement is spreading. I know of one gifted crackpot who used to be employed
gainfully in the fields of humor and satire, who has taken a solemn pledge not to write anything
funny or light-hearted or “insignificant” again till things get straightened around in the world.
This seems to me distinctly deleterious3 and a little silly. A literature composed of nothing but
liberty-loving thoughts is little better than the propaganda which it seeks to defeat.
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In a free country it is the duty of writers to pay no attention to duty. Only under a
dictatorship is literature expected to exhibit an harmonious design or an inspirational tone. A
despot doesn’t fear eloquent writers preaching freedom-he fears a drunken poet who may crack a
joke that will take hold. His gravest concern is lest gaiety, or truth in sheep’s clothing,
somewhere gain a foothold, lest joy in some unguarded moment be unconfined. I honestly don’t
believe that a humorist should take the veil4 today; he should wear his bells night and day, and
squeeze the uttermost jape,5 even though he may feel more like writing a strong letter to the
Herald Tribune.
1. word-mongers: those who deal in words for a living.
2. Letters…amalgamate: Writing and literature do not do well when writers form groups.
3. deleterious: harmful.
4. take the veil: become a nun or here, a serious, religious person.
5. wear his bells…jape: consistently
Analyzing The Duty of Writers
1. How does E.B. white feel about his responsibilities as a writer?
2. What does he encourage other writers to do?
3. Please list six tone words that could be used to describe White’s attitude in the
essay.
__________________________ ___________________________
__________________________ ___________________________
__________________________ ___________________________
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The Thesis
1. Do not copy the prompt.
2. The thesis is the first sentence in your introduction. It will include the title
of the piece, the author (if the name is give), two different but
complimentary tones, and a focus that relates to purpose or theme.
Example using tones in adjective form:
In “The Duty of Writers”, the humorous and enlightened tones reflect E.B.White’s belief that
writers have a duty to write about the topics that come most naturally.
Fill in the blanks by using two tone words you listed on the previous page, and
then finish the sentence.
In “The Duty of Writers”, the ________________ and _______________ tones
reflect the _______________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
Example using tones in noun form (leave out the word “tone”):
In “The Duty of Writers”, the humor and enlightenment reflect E.B. White’s belief that
writers have a duty to write about the topics that come most naturally.
Fill in the blanks by using two tone words that are nouns, and then finish the
sentence.
In “The Duty of Writers”, the _________________ and __________________
reflect the _______________________________________________________
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Writing an Introduction
1. The introduction will discuss the author/speaker, message, occasion, intended
audience, title and it will name two different but complimentary tones.
Example Introduction
In “The Duty of Writers”, the humor and enlightenment reflect E.B. White’s belief that
writers have a duty to write about the topics that come to them most naturally. At a time
when fascism was increasing and war was looming, White attempts to persuade other writers
to continue to exemplify artistic freedom and express themselves in light-hearted styles,
including satire and humor. The article uses sarcastic diction, thought-provoking details,
first person point of view, and humorous juxtapositions to appeal to the authors of the 1930’s
and 40’s.
2. Please write an introduction that begins with your thesis and contains
additional information about the author, message, occasion, and intended
audience.
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Important Note: The title of a short piece should be in quotation marks.
Totally Stuck? Although College Board discourage formulaic writing (sentence starters, boring transitions,
etc.), you can think about the elements of a rhetorical précis to get started with this essay.
In ______________, the ___ and ___ tones reflect _____’s attitude toward ____. He uses strategies such as ___,
___, and ___ to (purpose).
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Writing a Diction Paragraph
1. Remember that diction means word choice. Words with strong connotations
(feelings) can help create the tone of the story.
Example: The words plump and obese both describe a person who is overweight. Their
denotation (actual meaning) is the same. But they have different connotations. The word
plump is pleasant and cute. It more often describes women and children, and is more
cheerful. The word obese is scientific. It is used by medical personnel and often suggests
that a person is unhealthy or at risk for particular diseases.
2. Look back at The Duty of Writers and make a list of at least 8 words or short
phrases you circled. You can include figurative language. Then, explain the
connotation of these words.
Words
Explanations
“sorry”
White disagrees strongly with the other author and wants
to change the direction he sees writers pursuing.
“appalled”
He is surprised at angry about the rise in fascism
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3. Before you start the diction paragraph, you need a topic sentence. This
sentence should include the word diction and focus on words that support the
tones in your thesis.
Example: The author’s diction emphasizes the importance of maintaining light-hearted texts
in a violent world.
Please write your topic sentence now.
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3. The next part of the paragraph follows a specific pattern. You will write one
example sentence with at least three words and phrases from your chart that
are connected by your own words. They must be in quotation marks and
part of a complete sentence. Then, please add two more sentences that
explain the connotation of the words. These three sentences (one sentence
of evidence and two of explanation) are called a chunk.
Example: Although White is “appalled” by the events in Europe, he is “sorry” that some
authors will “never” write from the heart if the subject isn’t “constructive and significant.”
Please write an example sentence with three quotes from the beginning of the
essay followed by two sentences explaining the connotations of the words you
selected.
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5. Next, please write an example sentence with three quotes from the middle to
end of the essay followed by two sentences explaining the connotations of the
words you selected.
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6. Your conclusion sentence should complete your thoughts about diction and
lead into the next paragraph – detail.
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Writing a Detail Paragraph
1. Remember that detail means the specifics in the text. This may include the
time and place as well as any details that appeal to the sense of sight, hearing,
taste, touch or smell. Try to choose details from all parts of the passage and list
them in the order they appear.
Look back at The Duty of Writers and underline 6 details.
Then, write an explanation that connects the details to the tone.
Detail (usually 2-8 words)
Explanation
“America is now liberty-conscious”
Americans are afraid of losing their basic freedoms.
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2. Before you start the detail paragraph, you need a topic sentence. This sentence
should include the word detail, sensory detail, or imagery and focus on how the
author’s description contributes to the tones in the story.
Example: The detail increases the sense of urgency the narrator feels to persuade writers to
express themselves freely.
Please write your topic sentence now.
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3. The next part of the paragraph follows the same pattern as the diction paragraph.
You will write one example sentence with two phrases from your chart. They must
be in quotation marks and part of a complete sentence. Then, please add two more
sentences that explain the connotation of the words.
Example: Although “America is now liberty-conscious,” writers should not be “[thrown]
into a panic.”
Special Note: Sometimes you will need to change one or more of the words
in your quote so that it can make sense in the example sentence. In this
case, put the changed word in brackets [ ].
Please write your first detail chunk below.
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4. Next, please write an example sentence with two quotes from the middle to
end of the essay followed by two sentences explaining the value of the details.
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5. Your conclusion sentence should complete your thoughts about detail and
lead into the next paragraph – the point of view.
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Writing a Point of View Paragraph
1. Remember that point of view means the perspective of the person telling the
story. First person and third person limited points of view usually have stronger
tones than third person omniscient.
Look back at The Duty of Writers. Draw a box around the phrases that explain
the author’s credibility and perspective on this subject. Then, write six of these
phrases below. Try to choose phrases from all parts of the passage and list them
in the order they appear.
Phrases
Explanation
“I didn’t realize they were making any
White knows writers may want to use their talents to
benefit others, but doesn’t feel this is the only reason
resolutions to that effect”
they should write.
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2. Before you start the point of view paragraph, you need a topic sentence. This
sentence should include the specific point of view in the story and focus on how
this type of narrator contributes to the tones.
Example: As a writer himself, White’s point of view reflects his responsibility to his creative
freedom even when it contrasts his responsibility to his country.
Please write your topic sentence now.
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3. The next part of the sentence is a chunk similar to the diction and detail
paragraphs. You will write one example sentence with two phrases from your
chart. They must be in quotation marks and part of a complete sentence. Then,
please add two more sentences that explain the how the point of view is
important for the tone. Remember to put any words that you change in brackets.
Example:
E.B. White claims, he “didn’t realize [writers] were making any resolutions to” create pieces
only for “divine necessity.”
Please write an example sentence with two phrases that show the narrator’s
feelings at the beginning of the essay followed by two sentences explaining the
narrator’s perspective and credibility.
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4. Next, please write an example sentence with two quotes from the middle to end
of the essay followed by two sentences explaining the narrator’s perspective at the
end.
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5. Your conclusion sentence should reflect on the narrator’s development.
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The Organization Paragraph
1. The concept of an author’s organization, structure, or form is difficult to
master because there is no set formula to follow. As you read, watch for a
broader pattern in the piece of writing. Then, when you notice a framework or
structure, you must identify it and analyze why the author chose to write it that
way.
2. The following is a starting point to learn to recognize organization. Watch
for the following.
a. The beginning or ending of the passage
b. A particular sequence (order that is important)
c. A noticeable chronology
d. Any literary techniques that stand out
e. An emphasis on any one part
f. A shift in tone from one section to the next
g. Any transitions the author uses to make the organization evident to the reader
3. The process of studying organization is different from the earlier sections of
the unit. First, you will divide the passage into three parts: beginning,
middle, and end. There is no one right place to divide it as long as you can
support the division logically.
4. Look over The Duty of Writers. Put slashes (/) to divide the piece into three
sections. Then, fill in the chart below.
Section
What happens?
Tone
Beginning
Middle
End
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4. Before you start the organization paragraph, you need a topic sentence. This
topic sentence is different from the others you have written so far. It will
follow this pattern:
The organization moves the piece from _____ to _____ and finally to _____.
The words that go into the blanks will describe the content or tone
of each section.
Example: The organization of the piece moves from troublesome world events that cause a
sense of patriotism to the effects of these events on the writing community and finally to
Whites’s argument for creative freedom.
Please write your topic sentence now.
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5. Once you identify the author’s organization, you will summarize or
paraphrase each section in your example sentence. Quotes are not necessary.
Example: In the beginning, White describes how fascism pressures American writers to focus
on themes such as patriotism.
6. Follow your summary of the section with two sentences of commentary. In
the organization paragraph, the commentary analyzes the significance of the
summary and discusses why the author uses this organization. For organization
paragraphs, you will need three chunks because there are three sections in the
story.
Example: In the beginning, White describes how fascism pressures American writers to focus
on themes such as patriotism. During troubled times, courageous people are less likely to
focus on the trivial and mundane details of everyday life. Unfortunately, neglecting the
everyday dilemmas people face can also have negative consequences for literature and life.
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Please write your chunk for the beginning below.
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Please write your chunk for the middle below.
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Please write your chunk for the end below.
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7. Your conclusion sentence should be a final thought about why the author
uses this organization.
Example: The organization of “The Duty of Writers” helps contemporary readers
understand the creative struggles of writers during war time.
Please write your conclusion sentence below.
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The Syntax Paragraph
1. In syntax analysis, you will be looking for the following:
a. Specific phrasing patters (parallel structure)
b. Length of sentences (long or short)
c. Divisions within the piece with different syntax for each section
d. Different sentence types (simple, compound, complex, periodic)
e. Specific kinds of punctuation (dashes, parenthesis, semicolons)
f. Repetition
g. Rhetorical questions
2. Like in the organization paragraph, you will divide the story into three
sections. You may use the same divisions if you want. Then, make note of an
important element of syntax for each section.
Section
Syntax
Tone
Beginning
Middle
End
3. Before you start the organization paragraph, you need a topic sentence. This
topic sentence is similar to the topic sentence for the organization paragraph. It
will follow this pattern:
The syntax moves from _____ to _____ and finally to _____.
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The words that go into the blanks will describe the overall type of writing you
observe.
Example: The syntax moves from short thoughtful phrases to longer and more complex
sentences and finally to controlled reflections.
Please write your topic sentence below.
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4. Once you identify the author’s syntax, you will write your example sentence.
You may use quotes, but they are not always necessary. Your example
sentences describe the syntax at the beginning, the middle, and the end of the
selection.
Example: In the beginning, the author relies on appositive phrases to entice readers.
5. Follow your example sentence with two sentences of commentary. In the
syntax paragraph, the commentary analyzes the significance of the grammar,
punctuation and sentence structure and relates back to the tone. For syntax
paragraphs, you will need three chunks because there are three sections in the
story.
Example: In the beginning, the author relies on appositive phrases to entice readers. These
awkward pauses help the reader contemplate the circumstances he describes.
Please write your chunk for the beginning below.
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Please write your chunk for the middle below.
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Please write your chunk for the end below.
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6. Your conclusion sentence should be a final thought about why the author
uses this type of syntax.
Example: The author’s syntax, though always controlled, jolts the reader into considering a
controversial argument.
Please write your conclusion sentence below.
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The Conclusion Paragraph
The conclusion paragraph can be short – very short. In fact, one or two sentences
is acceptable. Simply write an overall statement about the tone and style. Be sure
to show an appreciation for the author’s piece.
Example: The author’s style reflects White’s determination to protect the integrity of American
writers. His use of elements such as passionate diction, historical references, first person point
of view, cause and effect organization, and controlled syntax appeal to his target audience,
patriotic American authors.
Please write your conclusion paragraph below.
__________________________________________________________________
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Great Work!
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Analyzing Logos, Ethos, and Pathos
According to Aristotle, Logos, Ethos and Pathos are the three main forms of appeal that can be
used in making a persuasive argument.
Each of these terms can be associated with an English concept that gets at the root of its
meaning.
When you think of logos, think of logic. Logos is persuasion through logical reasoning. An
argument that depends on strong evidence that is tied together well is an appeal based in logos.
When you think of ethos, think of ethics. Ethos is an appeal based on the moral character of the
author. It is constructed through tone and style, as well as through direct references to the
author's credibility.
When you think of pathos, think of emotion. Pathos is an argument that appeals to the readers'
emotion or sympathy. An argument based on pathos often involves personal narrative or at least
anecdotes that put the reader in the speaker's frame of mind to evoke their sympathy.
A great argument has a balance of all three types of appeals. But many arguments seem to focus
more on one element over the other two. Be careful about agreeing with any argument that lacks
logos.
Questions to help you recognize and utilize logos, ethos, and pathos
The following questions can be used in two ways, both to think about how you are using logos,
ethos, and pathos in your writing, and also to assess how other writers use them in their writing.
Logos/ Logical Appeals:
argument/thesis clear and specific?
argument/thesis supported by strong reasons and credible evidence?
gical and arranged in a well-reasoned order?
Ethos/ Ethical Appeals/ Appeals to Credibility:
speaker’s qualifications? How has the writer connected him/herself to the topic
being discussed?
viewpoints by using sources in the text?
Who would benefit from this point of view? Who may be hurt? How severely?
choice) used appropriate for the audience/purpose? – If it is informal or harsh, make a note of it.
Does the speaker have any bias?
Pathos/ Emotional Appeals:
What emotions might someone feel when he hears this argument?
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The Rhetorical Triangle and Visual Arguments
LOGOS
ETHOS
PATHOS
The rhetorical triangle is typically represented by an equilateral triangle, suggesting that logos,
ethos, and pathos should be balanced within a text. However, which aspect(s) of the rhetorical
triangle an author favors in his writing depends on both the audience and the purpose of that
writing.
Ethos - The artist makes himself credible by showing that both
Barack Obama and Mitt Romney are fighting over women voters.
Considering the title says, "Prom 2012..." I feel that Dave Granlund
is trying to draw attention to younger female voters who are
idealistic and want to do the right thing for the country.
Pathos – Normally, the statue of liberty evokes feelings of pride and
patriotism. But here she is confused. This symbolizes the younger
generation of women who have no clue who they want to give their
vote to.
Logos - The artist appeals to logos by showing the idea of women
being the key to each candidate’s success. This can be seen as each
man tries to pull the Statue of Liberty a different way with some sort
of ballot in each of the candidate’s hands.
Please analyze the artists’ use of ethos, pathos and logos in the following visual argument.
Ethos
Pathos
Logos
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Ethos: Arguments Based on Morality
Please examine the cartoon and analyze its use of ethos: The character on the left is Rosa
Parks, a well-known person loved by many. The speaker is Tom Toles, a respected and awardwinning political cartoonist. The audience is made up of readers of the Washington Post and
other newspapers. The speaker can assume his audience shares his admiration and respect for
this civil rights leader.
Speaker
Occasion
Audience
Subject
Purpose
Tone
What is the argument? How does it appeal to our sense of ethos/morality?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
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Read “Civil Rights Message” by John F. Kennedy which was given on June 11, 1963 and
analyze the speaker uses ethos to persuade racist Americans to accept integration. Be sure
to discuss his use of tone, diction, detail, and point of view.
Good evening my fellow citizens:
This afternoon, following a series of threats and defiant statements, the presence of Alabama National Guardsmen
was required on the University of Alabama to carry out the final and unequivocal order of the United States District
Court of the Northern District of Alabama. That order called for the admission of two clearly qualified young
Alabama residents who happened to have been born Negro.
That they were admitted peacefully on the campus is due in good measure to the conduct of the students of the
University of Alabama, who met their responsibilities in a constructive way.
I hope that every American, regardless of where he lives, will stop and examine his conscience about this and other
related incidents. This Nation was founded by men of many nations and backgrounds. It was founded on the
principle that all men are created equal, and that the rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man
are threatened.
Today we are committed to a worldwide struggle to promote and protect the rights of all who wish to be free. And
when Americans are sent to Viet Nam or West Berlin, we do not ask for whites only. It ought to be possible,
therefore, for American students of any color to attend any public institution they select without having to be backed
up by troops.
It ought to be possible for American consumers of any color to receive equal service in places of public
accommodation, such as hotels and restaurants and theaters and retail stores, without being forced to resort to
demonstrations in the street, and it ought to be possible for American citizens of any color to register and to vote in a
free election without interference or fear of reprisal.
It ought to be possible, in short, for every American to enjoy the privileges of being American without regard to his
race or his color. In short, every American ought to have the right to be treated as he would wish to be treated, as
one would wish his children to be treated. But this is not the case.
The Negro baby born in America today, regardless of the section of the Nation in which he is born, has about onehalf as much chance of completing a high school as a white baby born in the same place on the same day, one-third
as much chance of completing college, one-third as much chance of becoming a professional man, twice as much
chance of becoming unemployed, about one-seventh as much chance of earning $10,000 a year, a life expectancy
which is 7 years shorter, and the prospects of earning only half as much.
This is not a sectional issue. Difficulties over segregation and discrimination exist in every city, in every State of the
Union, producing in many cities a rising tide of discontent that threatens the public safety. Nor is this a partisan
issue. In a time of domestic crisis men of good will and generosity should be able to unite regardless of party or
politics. This is not even a legal or legislative issue alone. It is better to settle these matters in the courts than on the
streets, and new laws are needed at every level, but law alone cannot make men see right.
We are confronted primarily with a moral issue. It is as old as the scriptures and is as clear as the American
Constitution. The heart of the question is whether all Americans are to be afforded equal rights and equal
opportunities, whether we are going to treat our fellow Americans as we want to be treated. If an American, because
his skin is dark, cannot eat lunch in a restaurant open to the public, if he cannot send his children to the best public
school available, if he cannot vote for the public officials who represent him, if, in short, he cannot enjoy the full and
free life which all of us want, then who among us would be content to have the color of his skin changed and stand
in his place?
Who among us would then be content with the counsels of patience and delay?
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One hundred years of delay have passed since President Lincoln freed the slaves, yet their heirs, their grandsons, are
not fully free. They are not yet freed from the bonds of injustice. They are not yet freed from social and economic
oppression. And this Nation, for all its hopes and all its boasts, will not be fully free until all its citizens are free.
We preach freedom around the world, and we mean it, and we cherish our freedom here at home, but are we to say
to the world, and much more importantly, to each other that this is a land of the free except for the Negroes; that we
have no second-class citizens except Negroes; that we have no class or caste system, no ghettoes, no master race
except with respect to Negroes?
Now the time has come for this Nation to fulfill its promise. The events in Birmingham and elsewhere have so
increased the cries for equality that no city or State or legislative body can prudently choose to ignore them.
The fires of frustration and discord are burning in every city, North and South, where legal remedies are not at hand.
Redress is sought in the streets, in demonstrations, parades, and protests which create tensions and threaten violence
and threaten lives. We face, therefore, a moral crisis as a country and as a people. It cannot be met by repressive
police action. It cannot be left to increased demonstrations in the streets. It cannot be quieted by token moves or talk.
It is a time to act in the Congress, in your State and local legislative body and, above all, in all of our daily lives. It is
not enough to pin the blame on others, to say this is a problem of one section of the country or another, or deplore
the fact that we face. A great change is at hand, and our task, our obligation, is to make that revolution, that change,
peaceful and constructive for all.
Those who do nothing are inviting shame as well as violence. Those who act boldly are recognizing right as well as
reality. Next week I shall ask the Congress of the United States to act, to make a commitment it has not fully made
in this century to the proposition that race has no place in American life or law. The Federal judiciary has upheld
that proposition in a series of forthright cases. The executive branch has adopted that proposition in the conduct of
its affairs, including the employment of Federal personnel, the use of Federal facilities, and the sale of federally
financed housing.
But there are other necessary measures which only the Congress can provide, and they must be provided at this
session. The old code of equity law under which we live commands for every wrong a remedy, but in too many
communities, in too many parts of the country, wrongs are inflicted on Negro citizens and there are no remedies at
law. Unless the Congress acts, their only remedy is in the street. I am, therefore, asking the Congress to enact
legislation giving all Americans the right to be served in facilities which are open to the public hotels, restaurants,
theaters, retail stores, and similar establishments.
This seems to me to be an elementary right. Its denial is an arbitrary indignity that no American in 1963 should have
to endure, but many do.
I have recently met with scores of business leaders urging them to take voluntary action to end this discrimination
and I have been encouraged by their response, and in the last 2 weeks over 75 cities have seen progress made in
desegregating these kinds of facilities. But many are unwilling to act alone, and for this reason, nationwide
legislation is needed if we are to move this problem from the streets to the courts.
I am also asking Congress to authorize the Federal Government to participate more fully in lawsuits designed to end
segregation in public education. We have succeeded in persuading many districts to desegregate voluntarily. Dozens
have admitted Negroes without violence. Today a Negro is attending a State-supported institution in every one of
our 50 States, but the pace is very slow.
Too many Negro children entering segregated grade schools at the time of the Supreme Court's decision 9 years ago
will enter segregated high schools this fall, having suffered a loss which can never be restored. The lack of an
adequate education denies the Negro a chance to get a decent job.
The orderly implementation of the Supreme Court decision, therefore, cannot be left solely to those who may not
have the economic resources to carry the legal action or who may be subject to harassment.
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Other features will be also requested, including greater protection for the right to vote. But legislation, I repeat,
cannot solve this problem alone. It must be solved in the homes of every American in every community across our
country.
In this respect, I want to pay tribute to those citizens North and South who have been working in their communities
to make life better for all. They are acting not out of a sense of legal duty but out of a sense of human decency.
Like our soldiers and sailors in all parts of the world they are meeting freedom's challenge on the firing line, and I
salute them for their honor and their courage. My fellow Americans, this is a problem which faces us all -- in every
city of the North as well as the South. Today there are Negroes unemployed, two or three times as many compared
to whites, inadequate in education, moving into the large cities, unable to find work, young people particularly out
of work without hope, denied equal rights, denied the opportunity to eat at a restaurant or lunch counter or go to a
movie theater, denied the right to a decent education, denied almost today the right to attend a State university even
though qualified. It seems to me that these are matters which concern us all, not merely Presidents or Congressmen
or Governors, but every citizen of the United States.
This is one country. It has become one country because all of us and all the people who came here had an equal
chance to develop their talents.
We cannot say to 10 percent of the population that you can't have that right; that your children can't have the chance
to develop whatever talents they have; that the only way that they are going to get their rights is to go into the streets
and demonstrate. I think we owe them and we owe ourselves a better country than that. Therefore, I am asking for
your help in making it easier for us to move ahead and to provide the kind of equality of treatment which we would
want ourselves; to give a chance for every child to be educated to the limit of his talents.
As I have said before, not every child has an equal talent or an equal ability or an equal motivation, but they should
have the equal right to develop their talent and their ability and their motivation, to make something of themselves.
We have a right to expect that the Negro community will be responsible, will uphold the law, but they have a right
to expect that the law will be fair, that the Constitution will be color blind, as Justice Harlan said at the turn of the
century.
This is what we are talking about and this is a matter which concerns this country and what it stands for, and in
meeting it I ask the support of all our citizens.
Thank you very much.
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Pathos: Arguments Based on Emotion
Please examine the 4 world war two posters and analyze their uses of pathos.
Poster
He’s Watching You
Message
Audience
Emotion
When You Ride
Alone…
We Can Do It!
Are you doing all you
can?
What is overarching argument for all of the posters? How does it appeal to our sense of pathos?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
33
Read “The Perils of Indifference” by Elie Wiesel which was given on April 12, 1999
Washington, D.C. and analyze the speaker uses pathos to persuade Americans to continue
to fight against evil. Be sure to discuss his use of tone, diction, detail, and point of view.
Mr. President, Mrs. Clinton, members of Congress, Ambassador Holbrooke, Excellencies, friends:
Fifty-four years ago to the day, a young Jewish boy from a small town in the Carpathian Mountains woke up, not far
from Goethe's beloved Weimar, in a place of eternal infamy called Buchenwald. He was finally free, but there was
no joy in his heart. He thought there never would be again. Liberated a day earlier by American soldiers, he
remembers their rage at what they saw. And even if he lives to be a very old man, he will always be grateful to them
for that rage, and also for their compassion. Though he did not understand their language, their eyes told him what
he needed to know -- that they, too, would remember, and bear witness.
And now, I stand before you, Mr. President -- Commander-in-Chief of the army that freed me, and tens of thousands
of others -- and I am filled with a profound and abiding gratitude to the American people. Gratitude is a word that I
cherish. Gratitude is what defines the humanity of the human being. And I am grateful to you, Hillary, or Mrs.
Clinton, for what you said, and for what you are doing for children in the world, for the homeless, for the victims of
injustice, the victims of destiny and society. And I thank all of you for being here.
We are on the threshold of a new century, a new millennium. What will the legacy of this vanishing century be?
How will it be remembered in the new millennium? Surely it will be judged, and judged severely, in both moral and
metaphysical terms. These failures have cast a dark shadow over humanity: two World Wars, countless civil wars,
the senseless chain of assassinations (Gandhi, the Kennedys, Martin Luther King, Sadat, Rabin), bloodbaths in
Cambodia and Nigeria, India and Pakistan, Ireland and Rwanda, Eritrea and Ethiopia, Sarajevo and Kosovo; the
inhumanity in the gulag and the tragedy of Hiroshima. And, on a different level, of course, Auschwitz and
Treblinka. So much violence; so much indifference.
What is indifference? Etymologically, the word means "no difference." A strange and unnatural state in which the
lines blur between light and darkness, dusk and dawn, crime and punishment, cruelty and compassion, good and
evil. What are its courses and inescapable consequences? Is it a philosophy? Is there a philosophy of indifference
conceivable? Can one possibly view indifference as a virtue? Is it necessary at times to practice it simply to keep
one's sanity, live normally, enjoy a fine meal and a glass of wine, as the world around us experiences harrowing
upheavals?
Of course, indifference can be tempting -- more than that, seductive. It is so much easier to look away from victims.
It is so much easier to avoid such rude interruptions to our work, our dreams, our hopes. It is, after all, awkward,
troublesome, to be involved in another person's pain and despair. Yet, for the person who is indifferent, his or her
neighbor are of no consequence. And, therefore, their lives are meaningless. Their hidden or even visible anguish is
of no interest. Indifference reduces the Other to an abstraction.
Over there, behind the black gates of Auschwitz, the most tragic of all prisoners were the "Muselmanner," as they
were called. Wrapped in their torn blankets, they would sit or lie on the ground, staring vacantly into space, unaware
of who or where they were -- strangers to their surroundings. They no longer felt pain, hunger, thirst. They feared
nothing. They felt nothing. They were dead and did not know it.
Rooted in our tradition, some of us felt that to be abandoned by humanity then was not the ultimate. We felt that to
be abandoned by God was worse than to be punished by Him. Better an unjust God than an indifferent one. For us to
be ignored by God was a harsher punishment than to be a victim of His anger. Man can live far from God -- not
outside God. God is wherever we are. Even in suffering? Even in suffering.
In a way, to be indifferent to that suffering is what makes the human being inhuman. Indifference, after all, is more
dangerous than anger and hatred. Anger can at times be creative. One writes a great poem, a great symphony. One
does something special for the sake of humanity because one is angry at the injustice that one witnesses. But
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indifference is never creative. Even hatred at times may elicit a response. You fight it. You denounce it. You disarm
it.
Indifference elicits no response. Indifference is not a response. Indifference is not a beginning; it is an end. And,
therefore, indifference is always the friend of the enemy, for it benefits the aggressor -- never his victim, whose pain
is magnified when he or she feels forgotten. The political prisoner in his cell, the hungry children, the homeless
refugees -- not to respond to their plight, not to relieve their solitude by offering them a spark of hope is to exile
them from human memory. And in denying their humanity, we betray our own.
Indifference, then, is not only a sin, it is a punishment.
And this is one of the most important lessons of this outgoing century's wide-ranging experiments in good and evil.
In the place that I come from, society was composed of three simple categories: the killers, the victims, and the
bystanders. During the darkest of times, inside the ghettoes and death camps -- and I'm glad that Mrs. Clinton
mentioned that we are now commemorating that event, that period, that we are now in the Days of Remembrance -but then, we felt abandoned, forgotten. All of us did.
And our only miserable consolation was that we believed that Auschwitz and Treblinka were closely guarded
secrets; that the leaders of the free world did not know what was going on behind those black gates and barbed wire;
that they had no knowledge of the war against the Jews that Hitler's armies and their accomplices waged as part of
the war against the Allies. If they knew, we thought, surely those leaders would have moved heaven and earth to
intervene. They would have spoken out with great outrage and conviction. They would have bombed the railways
leading to Birkenau, just the railways, just once.
And now we knew, we learned, we discovered that the Pentagon knew, the State Department knew. And the
illustrious occupant of the White House then, who was a great leader -- and I say it with some anguish and pain,
because, today is exactly 54 years marking his death -- Franklin Delano Roosevelt died on April the 12th, 1945. So
he is very much present to me and to us. No doubt, he was a great leader. He mobilized the American people and the
world, going into battle, bringing hundreds and thousands of valiant and brave soldiers in America to fight fascism,
to fight dictatorship, to fight Hitler. And so many of the young people fell in battle. And, nevertheless, his image in
Jewish history -- I must say it -- his image in Jewish history is flawed.
The depressing tale of the St. Louis is a case in point. Sixty years ago, its human cargo -- nearly 1,000 Jews -- was
turned back to Nazi Germany. And that happened after the Kristallnacht, after the first state sponsored pogrom, with
hundreds of Jewish shops destroyed, synagogues burned, thousands of people put in concentration camps. And that
ship, which was already in the shores of the United States, was sent back. I don't understand. Roosevelt was a good
man, with a heart. He understood those who needed help. Why didn't he allow these refugees to disembark? A
thousand people -- in America, the great country, the greatest democracy, the most generous of all new nations in
modern history. What happened? I don't understand. Why the indifference, on the highest level, to the suffering of
the victims?
But then, there were human beings who were sensitive to our tragedy. Those non-Jews, those Christians, that we call
the "Righteous Gentiles," whose selfless acts of heroism saved the honor of their faith. Why were they so few? Why
was there a greater effort to save SS murderers after the war than to save their victims during the war? Why did
some of America's largest corporations continue to do business with Hitler's Germany until 1942? It has been
suggested, and it was documented, that the Wehrmacht could not have conducted its invasion of France without oil
obtained from American sources. How is one to explain their indifference?
And yet, my friends, good things have also happened in this traumatic century: the defeat of Nazism, the collapse of
communism, the rebirth of Israel on its ancestral soil, the demise of apartheid, Israel's peace treaty with Egypt, the
peace accord in Ireland. And let us remember the meeting, filled with drama and emotion, between Rabin and Arafat
that you, Mr. President, convened in this very place. I was here and I will never forget it.
35
And then, of course, the joint decision of the United States and NATO to intervene in Kosovo and save those
victims, those refugees, those who were uprooted by a man, whom I believe that because of his crimes, should be
charged with crimes against humanity.
But this time, the world was not silent. This time, we do respond. This time, we intervene.
Does it mean that we have learned from the past? Does it mean that society has changed? Has the human being
become less indifferent and more human? Have we really learned from our experiences? Are we less insensitive to
the plight of victims of ethnic cleansing and other forms of injustices in places near and far? Is today's justified
intervention in Kosovo, led by you, Mr. President, a lasting warning that never again will the deportation, the
terrorization of children and their parents, be allowed anywhere in the world? Will it discourage other dictators in
other lands to do the same?
What about the children? Oh, we see them on television, we read about them in the papers, and we do so with a
broken heart. Their fate is always the most tragic, inevitably. When adults wage war, children perish. We see their
faces, their eyes. Do we hear their pleas? Do we feel their pain, their agony? Every minute one of them dies of
disease, violence, famine. Some of them -- so many of them -- could be saved.
And so, once again, I think of the young Jewish boy from the Carpathian Mountains. He has accompanied the old
man I have become throughout these years of quest and struggle. And together we walk towards the new
millennium, carried by profound fear and extraordinary hope.
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Logos: Arguments Based on Logic and Reason
Please examine the advertisement and analyze its use of logos.
Speaker
Occasion
Audience
Purpose
Subject
Tone
What is the speaker’s argument? What evidence does she give?
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______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Read “Still a Fast Food Nation” by Eric Schlosser which was published on March 12, 2012,
ten years after his book Fast Food Nation was published. The analyze how the speaker uses
logic to persuade Americans to reject fast food. Be sure to discuss his use of tone, diction,
detail, and point of view.
More than a decade has passed since Fast Food Nation was published, and I’d love to report that the book is out of
date, that the many problems it describes have been solved, and that the Golden Arches are now the symbol of a
fallen empire, like the pyramids at Giza. Sadly, that is not the case. Every day about 65 million people eat at a
McDonald’s restaurant somewhere in the world, more than ever before. The annual revenues of America’s fast-food
industry, adjusted for inflation, have risen by about 20 percent since 2001. The number of fast-food ads aimed at
American children has greatly increased as well. The typical preschooler now sees about three fast-food ads on
television every day. The typical teenager sees about five. The endless barrage of ads, toys, contests, and marketing
gimmicks has fueled not only fast-food sales, but also a wide range of diet-related illnesses. About two thirds of the
adults in the United States are obese or overweight. The obesity rate among preschoolers has doubled in the past 30
years. The rate among children aged 6 to 11 has tripled. And by some odd coincidence, the annual cost of the
nation’s obesity epidemic—about $168 billion, as calculated by researchers at Emory University—is the same as the
amount of money Americans spent on fast food in 2011.
Throughout both terms of President George W. Bush’s administration, every effort to reform the nation’s foodsafety system was blocked by the White House and by Republicans in Congress. During the summer of 2002,
ground beef from the ConAgra slaughterhouse in Greeley, Colo., was linked to an outbreak of E. coli O157:H7. The
outbreak killed one person and sickened at least 46. ConAgra voluntarily recalled almost 19 million pounds of
potentially contaminated meat, less than a month’s worth of production at Greeley. An investigation by the U.S.
Department of Agriculture’s Office of the Inspector General subsequently found that the plant had been shipping
beef tainted with E. coli O157:H7 for nearly two years. The Greeley recall later seemed minuscule compared to that
of the Westland/Hallmark Meat Co. In 2008 Westland/Hallmark agreed to recall 143 million pounds of potentially
contaminated ground beef after an undercover video showed downer cows being dragged by forklift into a
slaughterhouse. More than one fourth of the recalled meat had been purchased to make tacos, chili, and hamburgers
for federal school-lunch and nutrition programs. As of this writing, the USDA still lacks the authority to test widely
for dangerous pathogens, to set enforceable limits on those pathogens, and to demand the recall of contaminated
meat.
The industry-friendly policies of the Bush administration also reduced government oversight of worker safety. In
2002 the Occupational Safety and Health Administration changed the form that meatpacking companies must use to
report injuries. The new form had no space to report musculoskeletal disorders caused by repetitive trauma—thereby
preventing a whole category of serious injury from being counted. Instantly, as if by magic, the injury rate in
meatpacking dropped by almost 50 percent. “Recordable safety incident rate in plants cut in half since 1996,” the
American Meat Institute proudly announced in a press release, without ever mentioning that the decline was due to
the change in record keeping. In a scathing report on the exploitation of American meatpacking workers, Human
Rights Watch suggested that the AMI had deliberately chosen the year 1996, as a basis of comparison, to mislead
the public. “A 50 percent drop in meat and poultry industry injury rates in a single year would be implausible,” the
report noted, “but reaching back six years creates an impressive but fictitious improvement in plant safety.”
A few years later the AMI claimed that “recordable injuries” had actually fallen by 70 percent, thanks to the
meatpacking industry’s concern for worker safety. The claim was made in an AMI pamphlet commemorating the
100th anniversary of The Jungle’s publication.
38
The title of the pamphlet—“If Upton Sinclair Were Alive Today ... He’d Be Amazed by the U.S. Meat Industry”—
was perhaps its most accurate assertion. Sinclair would no doubt be amazed. He would be amazed by how little has
fundamentally changed over the past century, by how poor immigrant workers are still routinely being injured, and
by how the industry’s lies, no matter how brazen, are still said with a straight face.
Despite all the needless harm that continues to be done, much has changed for the better since 2001, when Fast Food
Nation appeared in bookstores. Issues that were rarely discussed in the mainstream media—food safety, animal
welfare, the obesity epidemic, the ethics of marketing junk food to children, the need for a new and sustainable
agricultural system—have become inescapable. A food movement has arisen across the country, promoted by
authors, activists, and filmmakers. Marion Nestle’s Food Politics (2002), Frances and Anna Lappé’s Hope’s Edge
(2003), Matthew Scully’s Dominion (2003), Carlo Petrini’s Slow Food (2004), Deborah Koons Garcia’s The Future
of Food (2004), Morgan Spurlock’s Super Size Me (2004), Franny Armstrong’s McLibel (2005), Michael Pollan’s
The Omnivore’s Dilemma (2006), Aaron Woolf’s King Corn (2008), Raj Patel’s Stuffed and Starved (2008), Robby
Kenner’s Food, Inc. (2008), Barry Estabrook’s Tomatoland (2011), the reporting of Tom Philpott, the essays of
Corby Kummer and Mark Bittman, the many books of Wendell Berry and Alice Waters, Jamie Oliver’s televised
Food Revolution—all of these works have combined to create a new food culture in the United States. That culture
rejects highly processed foods, genetically modified foods, and the whole industrial approach to food production. It
champions farmers’ markets, school gardens, healthy school lunches, and local and organic production. And it has
caused a sea change in American attitudes toward food. A decade ago, the idea of an organic garden at the White
House would have seemed inconceivable.
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Additional Practice
Read the following article by C.S. Lewis, famous author and theologist, and analyze his
argument.
Book I - Right And Wrong As A Clue To The Meaning Of The Universe
1. The Law Of Human Nature
Every one has heard people quarrelling. Sometimes it sounds funny and sometimes it sounds
merely unpleasant; but however it sounds, I believe we can learn something very important from
listening to the kind of things they say. They say things like this: "How'd you like it if anyone did
the same to you?"—"That's my seat, I was there first"—"Leave him alone, he isn't doing you any
harm"— "Why should you shove in first?"—"Give me a bit of your orange, I gave you a bit of
mine"—"Come on, you promised." People say things like that every day, educated people as
well as uneducated, and children as well as grown-ups.
Now what interests me about all these remarks is that the man who makes diem is not merely
saying that the other man's behaviour does not happen to please him. He is appealing to some
kind of standard of behaviour which he expects the other man to know about. And the other man
very seldom replies: "To hell with your standard." Nearly always he tries to make out that what
he has been doing does not really go against the standard, or that if it does there is some special
excuse. He pretends there is some special reason in this particular case why the person who took
the seat first should not keep it, or that things were quite different when he was given the bit of
orange, or that something has turned up which lets him off keeping his promise.
It looks, in fact, very much as if both parties had in mind some kind of Law or Rule of fair play
or decent behaviour or morality or whatever you like to call it, about which they really agreed.
And they have. If they had not, they might, of course, fight like animals, but they could not
quarrel in the human sense of the word. Quarrelling means trying to show that the other man is in
the wrong. And there would be no sense in trying to do that unless you and he had some sort of
agreement as to what Right and Wrong are; just as there would be no sense in saying that a
footballer had committed a foul unless there was some agreement about the rules of football.
Now this Law or Rule about Right and Wrong used to be called the Law of Nature. Nowadays,
when we talk of the "laws of nature" we usually mean things like gravitation, or heredity, or the
laws of chemistry. But when the older thinkers called the Law of Right and Wrong "the Law of
Nature," they really meant the Law of Human Nature. The idea was that, just as all bodies are
governed by the law of gravitation and organisms by biological laws, so the creature called man
also had his law—with this great difference, that a body could not choose whether it obeyed the
law of gravitation or not, but a man could choose either to obey the Law of Human Nature or to
disobey it.
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We may put this in another way. Each man is at every moment subjected to several different sets
of law but there is only one of these which he is free to disobey. As a body, he is subjected to
gravitation and cannot disobey it; if you leave him unsupported in mid-air, he has no more
choice about falling than a stone has. As an organism, he is subjected to various biological laws
which he cannot disobey any more than an animal can. That is, he cannot disobey those laws
which he shares with other things; but the law which is peculiar to his human nature, the law he
does not share with animals or vegetables or inorganic things, is the one he can disobey if he
chooses.This law was called the Law of Nature because people thought that every one knew it by
nature and did not need to be taught it. They did not mean, of course, that you might not find an
odd individual here and there who did not know it, just as you find a few people who are colourblind or have no ear for a tune. But taking the race as a whole, they thought that the human idea
of decent behaviour was obvious to every one. And I believe they were right. If they were not,
then all the things we said about the war were nonsense. What was the sense in saying the enemy
were in the wrong unless Right is a real thing which the Nazis at bottom knew as well as we did
and ought to have practised? If they had had no notion of what we mean by right, then, though
we might still have had to fight them, we could no more have blamed them for that than for the
colour of their hair.
I know that some people say the idea of a Law of Nature or decent behaviour known to all men is
unsound, because different civilisations and different ages have had quite different moralities.
But this is not true. There have been differences between their moralities, but these have never
amounted to anything like a total difference. If anyone will take the trouble to compare the moral
teaching of, say, the ancient Egyptians, Babylonians, Hindus, Chinese, Greeks and Romans,
what will really strike him will be how very like they are to each other and to our own. Some of
the evidence for this I have put together in the appendix of another book called The Abolition of
Man; but for our present purpose I need only ask the reader to think what a totally different
morality would mean. Think of a country where people were admired for running away in battle,
or where a man felt proud of double-crossing all the people who had been kindest to him.
You might just as well try to imagine a country where two and two made five. Men have differed
as regards what people you ought to be unselfish to—whether it was only your own family, or
your fellow countrymen, or everyone. But they have always agreed that you ought not to put
yourself first. Selfishness has never been admired. Men have differed as to whether you should
have one wife or four. But they have always agreed that you must not simply have any woman
you liked.
But the most remarkable thing is this. Whenever you find a man who says he does not believe in
a real Right and Wrong, you will find the same man going back on this a moment later. He may
break his promise to you, but if you try breaking one to him he will be complaining "It's not fair"
before you can say Jack Robinson. A nation may say treaties do not matter, but then, next
minute, they spoil their case by saying that the particular treaty they want to break was an unfair
one. But if treaties do not matter, and if there is no such thing as Right and Wrong— in other
words, if there is no Law of Nature—what is the difference between a fair treaty and an unfair
one? Have they not let the cat out of the bag and shown that, whatever they say, they really know
the Law of Nature just like anyone else?
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It seems, then, we are forced to believe in a real Right and Wrong. People may be sometimes
mistaken about them, just as people sometimes get their sums wrong; but they are not a matter of
mere taste and opinion any more than the multiplication table. Now if we are agreed about that, I
go on to my next point, which is this. None of us are really keeping the Law of Nature. If there
are any exceptions among you, I apologise to them. They had much better read some other work,
for nothing I am going to say concerns them. And now, turning to the ordinary human beings
who are left:
I hope you will not misunderstand what I am going to say. I am not preaching, and Heaven
knows I do not pretend to be better than anyone else. I am only trying to call attention to a fact;
the fact that this year, or this month, or, more likely, this very day, we have failed to practise
ourselves the kind of behaviour we expect from other people. There may be all sorts of excuses
for us. That time you were so unfair to the children was when you were very tired. That slightly
shady business about the money—the one you have almost forgotten—came when you were
very hard up. And what you promised to do for old So-and-so and have never done—well, you
never would have promised if you had known how frightfully busy you were going to be. And as
for your behaviour to your wife (or husband) or sister (or brother) if I knew how irritating they
could be, I would not wonder at it—and who the dickens am I, anyway? I am just the same.
That is to say, I do not succeed in keeping the Law of Nature very well, and the moment anyone
tells me I am not keeping it, there starts up in my mind a string of excuses as long as your arm.
The question at the moment is not whether they are good excuses. The point is that they are one
more proof of how deeply, whether we like it or not, we believe in the Law of Nature. If we do
not believe in decent behaviour, why should we be so anxious to make excuses for not having
behaved decently? The truth is, we believe in decency so much—we feel the Rule or Law
pressing on us so— that we cannot bear to face the fact that we are breaking it, and consequently
we try to shift the responsibility. For you notice that it is only for our bad behaviour that we find
all these explanations.
It is only our bad temper that we put down to being tired or worried or hungry; we put our good
temper down to ourselves. These, then, are the two points I wanted to make. First, that human
beings, all over the earth, have this curious idea that they ought to behave in a certain way, and
cannot really get rid of it. Secondly, that they do not in fact behave in that way. They know the
Law of Nature; they break it. These two facts are the foundation of all clear thinking about
ourselves and the universe we live in.
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