Rhetorical Appeals
- Author of the original work: Gloria Anzaldua
- Oct 14, 2017
- 3 min read
Pathos: Anzaldua makes the most use of pathos, otherwise known as emotional appeals, because naturally she is trying to show the audience how others have always wanted to shut her out and restrict her of the way she speaks, which is the Chicano way. In one of the first paragraphs where she is introducing her topic, she recalls childhood memories, in which by talking in Spanish, she would be "sent to the corner of the classroom"(Line 14-15) or she could get hit with a "sharp ruler"(16), others would also tell her to "speak American"(19)or to "go back to Mexico where [she] belongs"(19). These are hard words to hear as a child and can be interpreted by Anzaldua as "attacks one's form expression" and a "violation of the First Amendment" and should not be spoken in an academic institution where there is supposed to be an embracing, accepting environment regardless of background or race, but what this does is show the real cruelty of others and how it was exposed to her as a child, and I feel many people can relate in some levels to being descriminated as a child if you are from a different background. There are other mentions of experiences and personal anecdotes that show how she ultimately embraces her language and identity such as mentioning the languages that are "closest to her heart" and the perspectives of others Chicanas which are causing them to have "low-self estimation" of themselves. She uses pathos to show the struggles she has faced and makes other relate to her from their experiences.
Logos: She uses logos by expressing common beliefs about Chicanos such as "because we internalize how our language has been against us by the dominant culture, we use our language differences against each other" and how they "call [themselves] Mexican, referring to race and ancestry", this is used to show how because of ancestry they naturally call themselves Mexican and since others attack them, they attack themselves by believing these facts since they are torn apart between identities and languages .Another big point of logos is that she explains everything about the different dialects of language that she has been around and even spoken herself. Things like which dialect is spoken in what region, which words are specific to a dialect or if words can be passed around and changed between dialects, and even if one dialect cannot be understood by another. These things like words in a language are logos because they are factual, like its not an opinion if a word is part of a language.
Ethos: She stablishes her credibility by revealing that she is a High School teacher that is well-read on bilingual literature and "tried to supplement the required texts by Chicanos" to her students, only for her to have them forbidden.She also describes that she was a graduate school student, that was working toward a PH.d and wanted to make Chicano literature "an area of focus". There are other examples of other experiences she has had with Chicano media that also show her to be a perfect candidate to debate the identity of Chicanos and her identity as well by being well-read and experienced by using media that are made by and represent Chicanos. This is a great example of ethos because it shows she is capable of using many facts and experiences to discuss the issue of Chicanos and their identity.
I believe Anzaldua executed these appeals well and carried her massages and main ideas across efficiently which show her purpose for writing this piece and how all these together help her work be more clear and understandable approaches when readers are looking for the work's theme and main concept.
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