nineteeneightyfour andthe# rhetoricofwar#...reviewingtherhetoricalanalysis#...
TRANSCRIPT
An Introduction to Analysis: Nineteen Eighty-‐Four and the Rhetoric of War Part II: Who was George Orwell? Why was he writing? AP Language & Composi1on Fall 2014-‐2015
Unit Goals • The general learning objec1ves include: • Analyzing and interpre1ng samples of purposeful wri1ng • Iden1fying and explaining an author’s use of rhetorical strategies
• Analyzing images and other mul1modal texts for rhetorical features
• Using effec1ve rhetorical strategies and techniques when composing
• Demonstra1ng an understanding and control of Standard WriQen English as well as stylis1c maturity in students’ own wri1ng
How is the unit set up? • Mini-‐units:
• Experimen1ng with Visual Rhetoric: Adver1sements • Thursday, September 4th-‐Tuesday, September 9th
• Developing Background Knowledge: Who was George Orwell? Why was he wri1ng?
• Wednesday, September 10th-‐Tuesday, September 16th
• Deepening Your Knowledge of the Rhetorical Situa1on • Wednesday, September 17th-‐Friday, September 26th
• Delving into Themes: Fear, Manipula1on, and the Revision of History
• Monday, September 29th-‐Friday, October 10th
• The Rhetoric of War • Monday, October 13th-‐Thursday, October 30th
What are the major assignments? • Four 1-‐2 page papers • Two 2-‐4 page papers • One formally graded ICE (rhetorical analysis)
• Be ready for pop quizzes, short planned quizzes, forma1ve ICEs, and class discussions.
What is context and why does it surround a text’s composition?
Nineteen Eighty-‐Four • Dystopian • Harsh and frightening warning
• Controlling governments • Misuse of technology • Revision of history (control over its documenta1on) • Fear and manipula1on
• What would Orwell’s 1949 intended audience think of these topics?
• How do we as an unintended audience today react to these topics?
• To what extent is Nineteen Eighty-‐Four a powerful novel?
“Testify” The movie ran through me, The glamour subdued me, The tabloid un1ed me, I'm empty; please fill me. Mister anchor, assure me That Baghdad is burning. Your voice it is so soothing, That cunning mantra of killing. I need you, my witness, To dress this up, so bloodless, To numb me and purge me now Of thoughts of blaming you. Yes, the car is our wheelchair; My witness: your coughing. Oily silence mocks the legless Ones who travel now in coffins. On the corner The jury's sleepless. We found your weakness, And it's right outside our door. Now tes2fy.
With precision you feed me, My witness, I'm hungry. Your temple, it calms me, So I can carry on. My slaving swea1ng the skin right off my bones; On a bed of fire I'm choking on the smoke that fills my home. The wrecking ball is rushing; Witness your blushing. The pipeline is gushing While here we lie in tombs. While on the corner, The jury's sleepless. We found your weakness, And it's right outside your door. Now tes2fy. Mass graves for the pump, and the price is set. Who controls the past now, controls the future. Who controls the present now, controls the past. Who controls the present now? Now tes2fy. Tes1fy.
Putting it together… • How do “Tes1fy” and its music video give us a feel for Nineteen Eighty-‐Four’s current and unintended audience?
Reviewing the Rhetorical Analysis Nature is a semng that fits equally well a comic or a mourning piece. In good health, the air is a cordial of incredible virtue. Crossing a bare common, in snow puddles, at twilight, under a clouded sky, without having in my thoughts any occurrence of special good fortune, I have enjoyed a perfect exhilara1on. I am glad to the brink of fear. In the woods too, a man casts off his years, as the snake his slough, and at what period soever of life, is always a child. In the woods, is perpetual youth. Within these planta;ons of God, a decorum and sanc;ty reign, a perennial fes1val is dressed, and the guest sees not how he should 1re of them in a thousand years. In the woods, we return to reason and faith. There I feel that nothing can befall me in life, — no disgrace, no calamity, (leaving me my eyes,) which nature cannot repair. Standing on the bare ground, — my head bathed by the blithe air, and uplioed into infinite space, — all mean ego1sm vanishes. I become a transparent eye-‐ball; I am nothing; I see all; the currents of the Universal Being circulate through me; I am part or par;cle of God. The name of the nearest friend sounds then foreign and accidental: to be brothers, to be acquaintances, — master or servant, is then a trifle and a disturbance. I am the lover of uncontained and immortal beauty. In the wilderness, I find something more dear and connate than in streets or villages. In the tranquil landscape, and especially in the distant line of the horizon, man beholds somewhat as beau1ful as his own nature.
Sample Analysis Comparisons such as similes and metaphors effec1vely
communicate to the reader to importance and depth of experiences in nature. The author claims that out in a natural semng, “a man casts off his years, as the snake his slough.” With this simile, he compares man to a snake, which becomes s1fled and unable to grow in a city; he needs to go back to nature and shed his skin, so to speak, in order to grow. The skin might symbolize all burdens we carry as we age and when we are not in nature. The “return” to nature thus becomes a rebirth and a restora1on of “reason and faith.” The phrase “at what period soever of is always a child” reveals the metaphor of a person in nature always being a child, implying that nature allows us to experience innocence, trust, and virtue again, even if they seem to be lost. Nature is more than beauty; it presents us with a deep experience of renewal and allows for the vulnerability that can unite us with the divine.
Political Geography in the world of Nineteen Eighty-Four
Setting: Where are we?
• London=the capital of the Oceania
• In the province of Airstrip One (the renamed England)
The Ministries of Oceania Oceania's four ministries are housed in huge pyramidal structures
displaying the three slogans of the party on their sides.
The Ministry of Peace Minipax is the newspeak name for the Ministry of Peace, which concerns itself
with making war
The Ministry of Plenty Miniplenty in Newspeak, it is the ministry involved in maintaining ubiquitous
poverty in Oceania
The Ministry of Truth
Minitrue is the propaganda arm of the Ingsoc State. They distribute the leaflets, porno, and of course the telescreens. Winston Smith spends his daytime hours
“correcting” historical records in Minitrue.
The Ministry of Love Miniluv is a gigantic windowless building devoted to torture and brutality. The
home of the thought police, it is surrounded by a maze of barbed wire and machinegun towers.
Parody of the 1941 "Four Freedoms” The structure of the government resembled a parody in reverse of the famous 1941 USA State of the Union speech by Franklin Delano Roosevelt. In that speech before the assembled Congress, the president outlined Four Freedoms:
1984: The Basics • In what ways is Winston in bad health? Why? • What does Winston dream about in Chp 3? Why is it important for readers to know his dreams? • “Winston woke up with the word “Shakespeare” on his lips” (chp 3).
• How has Winston’s society become this way? • “Perhaps it was the 1me when the atomic bomb had fallen on Colchester” (chp 3).
• “Since about that 1me, war had been literally con1nuous” (chp 3). • What is Newspeak and how is it a mode of control? • “But you could prove nothing. There was never any evidence” (chp 3) • Can memories be evidence? Can firsthand accounts? If not, what does that mean about history?
• How doe we recognize what is the truth? Winston, at his job, notes that things “become truth.” Is that possible? (chp 4)
Excerpt from Chp 3 Suddenly he was standing on short springy turf, on a summer evening
when the slan1ng rays of the sun gilded the ground. The landscape that he was looking at recurred so ooen in his dreams that he was never fully certain whether or not he had seen it in the real world. In his waking thoughts he called it the Golden Country. It was an old, rabbit-‐biQen pasture, with a foot-‐track wandering across it and a molehill here and there. In the ragged hedge on the opposite side of the field the boughs of the elm trees were swaying very faintly in the breeze, their leaves just s1rring in dense masses like women’s hair. Somewhere near at hand, though out of sight, there was a clear, slow-‐moving stream where dace were swimming in the pools under the willow trees.
The girl with dark hair was coming towards them across the field. With what seemed a single movement she tore off her clothes and flung them disdainfully aside. Her body was white and smooth, but it aroused no desire in him, indeed he barely looked at it. What overwhelmed him in that instant was admira1on for the gesture with which she had thrown her clothes aside. With its grace and carelessness it seemed to annihilate a whole culture, a whole system of thought, as though Big Brother and the Party and the Thought Police could all be swept into nothingness by a single splendid movement of the arm. That too was a gesture belonging to the ancient 1me. Winston woke up with the word ‘Shakespeare’ on his lips.
Which have you chosen? • “Shoo1ng an Elephant” by George Orwell (p. 40 of the Course Companion)
• “A Hanging” by George Orwell (p. 47 of the Course Companion)
• “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. (p. 55 of the Course Companion)
• The beginning of Chapter 1 of Nineteen Eighty-‐Four (“It was a bright cold day in April…Only the Thought Police MaQered”—the first four paragraphs)
• Winston’s diary entry in Chapter 1 of Nineteen Eighty-‐Four (“April 4th, 1984. Last night to the flicks…what the proles say typical prole reac1on they never—“)
Context: “A Hanging” • Published in 1931 • Bri1sh Literary magazine The Adelphi • Set in Burma (Myanmar)
• Orwell had served in the Bri1sh Imperial Police • Britain succeeded in conquering Burma in 1886 • Was an Indian province un1l 1937 when it became a self-‐governing colony
• Independent in 1948
• As you read, take notes on the following: • Orwell’s argument • How the essay appeals to the intended audience • Whether or not the piece fulfills the purpose of an essay, which is to either explain something or make an argument about something
• Stylis1c elements
Argument: Life is valuable, and it is horrible when
others are treated
inhumanely.
Text type: Essay? Short story? The author makes a clear argument, but there is a plot and the text is overall fairly stylish.
Pathe1c appeal to Bri1sh audience; text is kairo1c given the 1931
execu1on of the Burmese naitonalist
leader.
Style: simile, metaphor,
personifica1on, dialogue
Dog as human (“nswer[s]…with a whine,” “wild with glee”)
Thesis statement?
Parts of the prisoner’s body take on human behavior (“the lock of hair…danced,” “his feet printed themselves on
the wet gravel”)
Similes and metaphors: prisoner treated like an
animal (“like small animal cages,” “like men handling a fish”)
Argument: Nature gives people a sense of renewal and a oneness with
God.
Text type: Crea1ve essay The author makes a clear argument, but the text is overall fairly stylish.
Pathe1c appeal to audience—style ooen relates to pathos.
Style: simile, metaphor,
references to God
Thesis statement?
References to God: (“the currents of the Universal Being circulate through me,” “I am part or par1cle of God,” “planta1ons
of God”)
Similes and metaphors: (“the air is a cordial of
incredible virtue,” “a man casts off his years, as the
snake his slough,” “is always a child,” “I become a transparent eyeball”)
Reviewing the Rhetorical Analysis Nature is a semng that fits equally well a comic or a mourning piece. In good health, the air is a cordial of incredible virtue. Crossing a bare common, in snow puddles, at twilight, under a clouded sky, without having in my thoughts any occurrence of special good fortune, I have enjoyed a perfect exhilara1on. I am glad to the brink of fear. In the woods too, a man casts off his years, as the snake his slough, and at what period soever of life, is always a child. In the woods, is perpetual youth. Within these planta;ons of God, a decorum and sanc;ty reign, a perennial fes1val is dressed, and the guest sees not how he should 1re of them in a thousand years. In the woods, we return to reason and faith. There I feel that nothing can befall me in life, — no disgrace, no calamity, (leaving me my eyes,) which nature cannot repair. Standing on the bare ground, — my head bathed by the blithe air, and uplioed into infinite space, — all mean ego1sm vanishes. I become a transparent eye-‐ball; I am nothing; I see all; the currents of the Universal Being circulate through me; I am part or par;cle of God. The name of the nearest friend sounds then foreign and accidental: to be brothers, to be acquaintances, — master or servant, is then a trifle and a disturbance. I am the lover of uncontained and immortal beauty. In the wilderness, I find something more dear and connate than in streets or villages. In the tranquil landscape, and especially in the distant line of the horizon, man beholds somewhat as beau1ful as his own nature.
Sample Analysis Comparisons such as similes and metaphors effec1vely
communicate to the reader to importance and depth of experiences in nature. The author claims that out in a natural semng, “a man casts off his years, as the snake his slough.” With this simile, he compares man to a snake, which becomes s1fled and unable to grow in a city; he needs to go back to nature and shed his skin, so to speak, in order to grow. The skin might symbolize all burdens we carry as we age and when we are not in nature. The “return” to nature thus becomes a rebirth and a restora1on of “reason and faith.” The phrase “at what period soever of is always a child” reveals the metaphor of a person in nature always being a child, implying that nature allows us to experience innocence, trust, and virtue again, even if they seem to be lost. Nature is more than beauty; it presents us with a deep experience of renewal and allows for the vulnerability that can unite us with the divine.
Title:
Argument:
Text type: Audience:
Stylis1c Elements or Devices:
1. 2. 3.
Stylis1c Element or Device #1:
Stylis1c Element or Device #3:
Stylis1c Element or Device #2:
Create a version of this web on the board with your group. Be ready to present to the class: 1. Summary of the text. 2. Introduc1on of argument,
text type, and audience. 3. Explana1on of 2-‐3 stylis1c
elements you explored in your paper. Include several quota1ons on the board with each element of style.
The Political and the Personal • Why might Orwell juxtapose ideas or events that should be very personal with those that are poli1cal? • Winton and Julia’s first rendezvous in the Golden Country
• “It was a poli1cal act.” • Winston holding Julia’s hand while he looks into the eyes of the condemned Eurasian prisoner
• Winston’s diary • The Junior Spies and family rela1onships • Friendships
"Propaganda tries to force a doctrine on the whole people... Propaganda works on the general public from the standpoint of an idea and makes them
ripe for the victory of this idea.” -‐Adolf Hitler, Mein Kampf (1926)
“A gravestone somewhere in France or somewhere in Europe”
• Context • Argument • Strategies
Mass Communication and Media
• MEDIA: plural of MEDIUM
• MEDIUM: the means or instrument of communica1on. Society at large ooen refers to “the media” as the broad collec1on of ins1tu1ons that, through a variety of media, communicate informa1on to the public.
• How does language differ depending on the medium? • How does the tone differ? • What are the limita1ons of each medium? • Must a story or message always change when transferred from one medium to another?
Think about it!
• How are news stories communicated differently on television, in a major newspaper, or through its online playorm?
• Is our level and dura1on of aQen1on different when approaching different media?
Print Media Sound and mo1on picture recording Broadcast media New media
• Bias • Adjec1ve: biased
• Subjec;vity : internal reality; of, rela1ng to, or emana1ng from a person's emo1ons, prejudices, etc: subjec2ve views • Subjec1ve language
• Objec;vity: external reality; of or rela1ng to actual and external phenomena as opposed to thoughts, feelings, etc • Objec1ve language
Terminology Review
Bias in the News • Bias is clear from words like “perhaps”, “it would seem”, “could”, “should”, “in our opinion”, “most likely”—But bias goes beyond these obvious word choices!
• What about poli1cal, social, or theore1cal bias? • Codes • Assump;ons • Poli;cal affilia;ons • Context
Word Choice: How many ways are there to tell one story?
Thursday, September 25th • Today’s Goals:
• Examine bias in the news.
• DO NOW: • Examine the front page of the newspaper featured on p. 83 of the course companion.
• Add a post-‐it note: What do you no1ce about its layout? How do you imagine it would be different if it were a German newspaper?
• With a partner, try rewri1ng a couple of the headlines as though they were in a German paper.
Word Choice: How many ways are there to tell one story?
Iraq forces suspension of U.S. surveillance flights
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) -‐Iraqi fighter jets threatened two American U-‐2 surveillance planes, forcing them to return to abort their mission and return to base, senior U.S. officials said Tuesday.
U.N. Withdraws U-‐2 Planes
WASHINGTON (AP)-‐U.N. arms inspectors said Tuesday they had withdrawn two U-‐2 reconnaissance planes over Iraq for safety reasons aoer Baghdad complained both aircrao were in the air simultaneously.
Word Choice: How many ways are there to tell one story?
St. Petersburg Times (Florida) 3/25/2003
The Red Cross, one of the few aid groups with staff opera1ng in Iraq, hopes to nego1ate access to the main power sta1on, which is said to be under control of U.S.-‐led coali1on forces. But neither local staff nor specialists in neighboring Kuwait have been cleared to go because of con1nued clashes.
Dar Al-‐Hayat 4/1/2003
Iraq said its troops were baQling U.S.-‐led invasion forces inside Nassiriya and on the city's outskirts on Tuesday and inflic1ng heavy casual1es.
Activity: Bias in the News • Compare and contrast the two news ar1cles. (p. 77-‐81) • What evidence is there of bias in each ar1cle? • What does the bias reveal about the context and authorship of each ar1cle?
• Record your findings in notability.
Questions to Ask Yourself • Who are the sources? • Is there a lack of diversity? • From whose point of view is the news reported? • Are there double standards? • Do stereotypes skew coverage? • What are the unchallenged assump1ons? • Is the language subjec1ve or objec1ve? • Is there a lack of context? • Do the headlines and stories match? • What known biases exist for the par1cular mode or medium of publica1on?
An excerpt from “Subjectivity and Objectivity: An Objective Inquiry” by D. C. Phillips
A person does not have to read very widely in the contemporary methodological or theore1cal literature pertaining to research in the social sciences and related applied areas, such as educa1on, in order to discover that objec1vity is dead. When the term happens to be used, it is likely to be set in scare-‐marks—”objec1vity”—to bring out the point that a dodolike en1ty is being discussed. Or “there is no such thing,” authors confidently state, unmindful of the fact that if they are right, then the reader does not have to break into a sweat—because if there is no such thing as objec1vity, then the view that there is no such thing is itself not objec1ve. But, then, if this view is the subjec1ve judgment of a par1cular author, readers are en1tled to prefer their own subjec1ve viewpoint—which, of course, might be that objec1vity is not dead!
Subjective or Objective? • This experiment was performed and the results were disappoin1ng. • This experiment was performed, and the results did not support the ini1al hypothesis.
• We combed the forest like Sherlock Holmes for what seemed like decades and, despite our efforts, we saw no sign of the elusive banana slug.
• Aoer four hours of close observa1on over six acres of forest floor we were unable to locate and observe a banana slug.
• A catastrophe has broken over Europe like a sudden hurricane. • September 1, 1939, Adolf Hitler gave the order for 62 German divisions, a German baQleship, and 1,300 aircrao to begin the invasion of Poland.
• We fight because we were forced to fight by the insults and demands against us, because of the brutal suppression of ethnic Germans in Poland, and because of the open announcements that they would do everything in their power to strangle Na1onal Socialist Germany through military or economic means.
• In March of 1939, Hitler, confident with his previous triumphs, ordered the annexa1on of the whole of Czechoslovakia and urged Poland to allow the establishment of road and railways to run across the country, and improve Germany’s communica1on.
Our next assignment… • Consider one of the provided texts. • In 2-‐3 pages present an explica1on of the way the text effec1vely appeals to ethos, logos, and pathos.
• Try to avoid merely devo1ng a paragraph to each appeal. • Examine the techniques or strategies that are at work in the text you’ve chosen and consider which appeal those techniques or strategies contribute to.
• Weave the appeals into your analysis as opposed to making them the focus.
• Text op1ons: • “The German Na1onal Catechism” (p. 65) • “The Poodle-‐Pug-‐Dachshund-‐Pinscher (p. 70) • “A gravestone somewhere in France or somewhere in Europe (p. 76) • “Why and for What?” (p. 77) • “Germany Invades Poland” (p. 80) • One of the propaganda posters on p. 96 • A text of your own choosing! You must have this text approved by Ms. Gelso first!
Student Exemplar… …However, Winston realizes the terrible reac1ons of the audience being amused by “refugees being bombed,” which sparks a sense of passion (ch. 1). Winston’s sentence structure in his diary entry begins to form into a massive run-‐on that starts with a lower-‐case “’f’irst you saw him” to an abrupt ending with “they never –” (ch. 1). This run-‐on, with its incorrect punctua1on and capitaliza1on, exemplifies how Winston became out of control by rapidly expressing his feelings towards the Party’s manipula1on and the horrors of his daily life. Rather than con1nuing to show no emo1ons, Winston’s sentence structure in his diary entry changes from being impassive phrases to a long run-‐on full of expression against the oppression ins1tuted by the Party in Oceania.
Exemplar In “Shoo1ng an Elephant,” author George Orwell uses imagery to
convey the terrors of imperialism, a central idea in the essay. Aoer expressing his dislike for the Bri1sh rule in India, Orwell describes the condi1on of Indian prisoners, wri1ng, “The wretched prisoners huddling in the s1nking cages of the lock-‐ups, the grey, cowed faces of the long-‐term convicts, the scarred buQocks of the men who had been Bogged with bamboos – all these oppressed me with an intolerable sense of guilt” (40). Orwell’s vivid imagery both appeals to pathos and establishes ethos. Orwell first u1lizes imagery in order to accurately portray the harshness of those imprisoned under imperialis1c rule, appealing to pathos by forcing the reader to visualize the prisoners’ submission through their “huddling” and “grey, cowed faces” (40). The image of the Indians’ vulnerability incites the reader’s emo1ons of disgust and empathy for the mistreated Indians. Moreover, the specificity of the imagery, such as in the recollec1on of the “scarred buQocks” and the knowledge that the prisoners had been “Bogged with bamboos,” cements Orwell’s credibility as someone who has witnessed the injus1ce of imperialism firsthand (40). Because of this ethical appeal, by the 1me the reader reaches Orwell’s final statement that he feels “oppressed…with an intolerable sense of guilt,” he/she is ready to agree, effec1vely persuaded to feel that same sense of guilt and to align himself/herself with the Indian people (40). As a result, many might sympathize with the oppressed Indians aoer reading Orwell’s portrayal of imperialism. His use of imagery thus plays two roles, appealing to pathos and establishing ethos, in order to successfully illustrate the harshness of imperialism.
The Parts of an Introduction: Classical Arrangement
• Exordium (universal opening that creates exigency for the topic) • Inquisi1ve • Paradoxical • Correc1ve • Preparatory • Narra1ve
• Narra1o (background informa1on—context!) • Proposi1o (argument) • Par11o (outline statement)
• Your epistle has cheered me greatly. • Your note has been the occasion of unusual pleasure for me. • When your leQer came, I was seized with an extraordinary pleasure. • What you wrote to me was most delighyul. • On reading your leQer, I was filled with joy. • Your leQer provided me with no liQle pleasure. • My heart was all a-‐throbbing aoer finishing your note. • Your words brought a smile to my face. • I had to grin as I read your leQer. • Your leQer was a refreshing spot of color in my otherwise black-‐and-‐white existence.
• The perusal of your epistle uplioed me from spiritual ennui. • Your leQer pleased me. • What a joy it was to read your leQer!
I liked your letter.
Turn & Talk:
Imagine that you have been working at the same job for five years. Your boss has just told you that you are on the list of people who will be “dehired” or that you are part of a program of “nega1ve employee reten1on.” What would you think was happening to you? What would you think of the language that your boss used to describe your situa1on?
Arrangement: Methods of Development
• AKA rhetorical paQerns or organiza1onal paQerns
• Illustra1on: Using examples to illustrate a point • Narra1on: Telling a story or giving an account • Process Analysis: Explaining how something is done • Defini1on: Explaining what something is • Division/Classifica1on: Dividing a subject into its parts and categorizing
• Comparison/Contrast • Cause/Effect • Argument: Using reason and logic to persuade someone to your way of thinking
“Doubts about Doublespeak” • Doublespeak: speech or wri1ng that presents two or more contradictory ideas in a way that deceives an unsuspec1ng audience
• Lutz looks out for those who use language to “mislead, distort, deceive, inflate, circumvent, and obfuscate.”
• While you read: • Pay aQen1on to the organiza1onal structure Lutz uses in his essay.
• Make a note indica1ng what Lutz’s thesis is. • Annotate the text, looking for important details that support Lutz’s thesis.
Student Introduction: What do you think?
As Germany, a once great European power, started to face profound changes and chaos in the aoermath of World War II, sensa1onalism in the media became prevalent as a means of influencing public opinion. Sensa1onalist journalists, such as those represen1ng the Bild-‐Zeitung, failed to explain the broader issues behind an event while focusing on superficial details to aQract more readers. Promo1ng biased opinion as objec1ve facts was another scope of sensa1onalism that found fulfillment in the Springer Press, having published exaggerated tales in order to sway the public against the government. In reac1on to the dissemina1on of false truths, Henrich Boell entered the scene with the drawing up of his book The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum, which is a cri1cism of the media’s power and of its use of it in shaping public opinion. The composi1on of chapter three in par1cular reveals that there can never be a single truth regarding an event due to different interpreta1ons of people involved. through the use of language, an extended metaphor, and the report -‐ like structure
Arrangement: Methods of Development
• AKA rhetorical paQerns or organiza1onal paQerns
• Illustra1on: Using examples to illustrate a point • Narra1on: Telling a story or giving an account • Process Analysis: Explaining how something is done • Defini1on: Explaining what something is • Division/Classifica1on: Dividing a subject into its parts and categorizing
• Comparison/Contrast • Cause/Effect • Argument: Using reason and logic to persuade someone to your way of thinking
Jigsaw! • “Burdens of the Modern Beast” (165) • “You Are What You Search” (169) • “Two Ways of Seeing a River” (172) • “Why We Crave Horror Movies” (174) • “What Is Crime?” (97)
• Read and annotate. • Iden1fy the primary method of development. • If applicable, iden1fy any secondary methods of development. • Write a thesis statement as though you have been given the text for a rhetorical analysis. • PROMPT: Analyze how the writer uses rhetorical strategies and devices to convey his/her argument.
• BE READY TO SHARE J
Propaganda Techniques
Triumph of the Will • Hitler said he wanted to "exploit the film as an instrument of propaganda in such a way that the audience will be clearly aware that... they are going to see a poli1cal film. It nauseates me when I find poli1cal propaganda under the cloak of art. Let it either be art or poli1cs."
• Aoer the film you will write an informal response: • How are Germany and Hitler presented? How would this film be different (including sight and sound) if it were made in the current year? How are symbols used to portray Hitler’s view of the Aryan race, women, etc.?
• Take notes while watching, paying careful aQen1on to the visual symbols, the music, and any other techniques.
The Fifth Canon: Delivery • Tradi1onally: vocal training, gestures, audiovisual • Today: the public presenta1on of discourse, oral or wriQen
• How was the text ini1ally presented? • How does the text con1nue to be presented? • Where was the text ini1ally presented? • How are the ethos and pathos of the text appropriate given its presenta1on?
Classical Appeals Essay Feedback
• “Germans” • Is the intended audience really all Germans? • Have we generalized in the way the propaganda wants us to? (SCARY.)
• “This” as a pronoun (i.e. THIS shows… This demonstrates…) • Be more specific! Use a real noun.
• How does bias affect credibility? • The propaganda we looked at is biased (doesn’t these seem like too soo of a word? It’s racist, an1-‐Semi1c, prejudiced.)
• Which readers are affected by this? Are they affected in different ways?
• Dis1nguish between your voice and the author’s. • Titles!
Student Exemplar: Introduction and Conclusion
In the movie Captain America, a German scien1st named Dr. Erskine explains to a pre-‐superhero Steve Rogers how “the first country the Nazis invaded was their own.” As it is not possible to invade a land in which one already resides, the Nazis were forced in this invasion to abandon their tanks and take a more subtle method of invasion: propaganda. By subtly and gradually altering the ci1zens’ views and aligning them with their own psycho1c visions, the Nazis were able to manipulate thousands of ordinary ci1zens into perpetra1ng unspeakable crimes. One such tool of manipula1on was the “German Na1onal Catechism.” This pamphlet distributed to schoolchildren explained to these young, impressionable minds very clearly what the German race was, why it was superior, why their enemies were the Jews, and the glory the German race would aQain by destroying the Jewish race. With its ques1on-‐and-‐answer organiza1on and gradual shio from pure fact to opinion to bombas1c, blatant brainwashing, the “German Na1onal Catechism” reassures its impressionable readers logically, pathe1cally, and ethically that the German race is the greatest on Earth and that the Jewish race is an evil force that must be destroyed in order for that race to prosper.
Student Exemplar: Introduction and Conclusion
The “German Na1onal Catechism” very effec1vely exhibits one of the many ways the Nazis were able to invade Germany. By making ethical, logical, and pathe1c appeals to its young audience, the pamphlet indoctrinates young Fritz and Liesl into believing that they are part of a superior race and that the Jewish race is their enemy out to destroy them. It kindles in the young a fana1cal devo1on to the Nazis and their ideas. While it is difficult to imagine how such a radical transforma1on from humanity to savagery could have occurred in the Nazis’ twelve-‐year regime, texts like the “German Na1onal Catechism” reveal how these ideals were taught and enforced at every level of society, star1ng at a young age. Just as revolu1on begins with a single truth, terror begins with a simple lie.
In the movie Captain America, a German scien1st named Dr. Erskine explains to a pre-‐superhero Steve Rogers how “the first country the Nazis invaded was their own.” As it is not possible to invade a land in which one already resides,
the Nazis were forced in this invasion to abandon their tanks and take a more subtle method of invasion: propaganda. By subtly and gradually altering the ci1zens’ views and aligning them with their own
psycho1c visions, the Nazis were able to manipulate thousands of ordinary ci1zens into perpetra1ng unspeakable crimes. One such tool of manipula1on was the “German Na1onal Catechism.” This pamphlet distributed to schoolchildren explained to these
young, impressionable minds very clearly what the German race was, why it was superior, why their enemies were the Jews, and the glory
the German race would aQain by destroying the Jewish race. With its ques1on-‐and-‐answer organiza1on and
gradual shio from pure fact to opinion to bombas1c, blatant brainwashing, the “German
Na1onal Catechism” reassures its impressionable readers logically, pathe1cally, and ethically
that the German race is the greatest on Earth and that the
Jewish race is an evil force that must be destroyed in order for
that race to prosper.
The “German Na1onal Catechism” very effec1vely
exhibits one of the many ways the Nazis were able to invade Germany. By making
ethical, logical, and pathe1c appeals to its young audience, the pamphlet indoctrinates young Fritz and Liesl into believing that they
are part of a superior race and that the Jewish race is their enemy out to destroy them. It kindles in the young a fana1cal devo1on to the Nazis and their ideas. While it is
difficult to imagine how such a radical transforma1on from humanity to savagery could have occurred in the Nazis’ twelve-‐year regime, texts like the “German Na1onal Catechism” reveal how these ideals were taught and enforced at
every level of society, star1ng at a young age. Just as revolu1on begins with a single truth, terror begins with a simple lie.
Structurally, think �of the conclusion as �a mirror image of the introduction. However, you cannot just repeat yourself. Think about what the word conclusion really means. By doing your analysis, what have you concluded about your topic? What have you proven? What have you learned?�
Hmm… you learned nothing??! �
Student Exemplar: Questioning the Author’s Credibility (ethos!) The author of “The German Na1onal Catechism,” a German na1onal
extremist, skews the credibility of this book. The author uses stereotypes and biased historical informa1on to help communicate his/her point. For instance, the answer to “What were and are the par1cular characteris1cs of the Nordic race?” the answer is “Courage, bravery, crea1ve ability and desire, loyalty” (65). The book thus associates all posi1ve aQributes with the Nordic race (the Aryan Germans). This was used to make the intended reader feel like he/she came from noble lineage and is greater than the rest of the world. Also, the ques1on “What were and are the par1cular characteris1cs of the Nordic race?” presents the idea that all descendants of Nordic people have these characteris1cs, implying that they are passed down like genes, and neither of these statements is true.
As the book con1nues, the author asks the ques1on, “why must the na1onal socialist race fight against the Jew?” and answers with “the goal of the Jew is to make himself the ruler of humanity” (66). Immediately the author names and targets “the Jew.” By iden1fying the en1re Jewish people as the singular “Jew,” the author uses Othering to make the intended reader feel that all Jews are alien and the cause of human despair. It is also rather ironic that the author says “the Jew” is trying to rule humanity when they themselves, the Nazis, set out to conform the world to their standards, something that the impressionable intended reader might not realize, but a discerning adult or modern reader certainly would…
What’s the deal with the ending? The voice from the telescreen was s1ll pouring forth its tale of
prisoners and booty and slaughter, but the shou1ng outside had died down a liQle. The waiters were turning back to their work. One of them approached with the gin boQle. Winston, simng in a blissful dream, paid no aQen1on as his glass was filled up. He was not running or cheering any longer. He was back in the Ministry of Love, with everything forgiven, his soul white as snow. He was in the public dock, confessing everything, implica1ng everybody. He was walking down the white-‐1led corridor, with the feeling of walking in sunlight, and an armed guard at his back. The long-‐hoped-‐for bullet was entering his brain.
He gazed up at the enormous face. Forty years it had taken him to learn what kind of smile was hidden beneath the dark moustache. O cruel, needless misunderstanding! O stubborn, self-‐willed exile from the loving breast! Two gin-‐scented tears trickled down the sides of his nose. But it was all right, everything was all right, the struggle was finished. He had won the victory over himself. He loved Big Brother.
O’Brien: Agree or Disagree? • Aesthe1cally considered, 1984 is very much the Uncle Tom’s Cabin of our 1me, with poor Winston Smith as Uncle Tom, the unhappy Julia as liQle Eva, and the more-‐than-‐sadis1c O’Brien as Simon Legree. I do not find O’Brien to be as memorable as Simon Legree, but then that is part of Orwell’s point. We have moved into a world in which our torturers also have suffered a significant loss of personality. • (Found on p. 2 of Harold Bloom’s introduc1on to Bloom’s Modern Cri2cal Interpreta2ons:
George Orwell’s 1984 Updated Edi2on) • O'Brien's villainy is almost en1rely reliant on his intelligence. With such knowledge of the human brain, O'Brien's character is able to complement one large theme in 1984: psychological manipula1on. O'Brien easily answers ques1ons with expressive asser1ons. By doing so, he is able to persuade Winston that he is fallacious and that absurdity is truth, thus leading to Winston’s mental breakdown. Addi1onally, O'Brien uses common knowledge to contradict the brain's original beliefs. He uses an effortless math problem as an example. He empha1cally states that two plus two is equal to five, or whatever the party needs it to be (249), thereby overwhelming the mind's capability of maintaining independent thought. • (Found on p. 3 of Benjamin Ever’s essay “O’Brien: Life of the Party”)
• The rela1onship between O'Brien and Winston has all aQributes of a typical rela1on between a father and a child: the father is all-‐knowing. He teaches, punishes and educates his child, and he protects him from anything that could harm the child. But O'Brien seems to be only playing his role. • (Dr. Vicente Fores Lopez’s website Nineteen Eighty-‐Four)
Basic MLA Citation Rules • Punctua1on marks should appear aoer the parenthe1cal cita1on. • Ques1on marks and exclama1on points should appear within the quota1on marks if they are a part of the quoted passage but aoer the parenthe1cal cita1on if they are a part of your text. • According to some, dreams express "profound aspects of personality" (Foulkes 184), though others disagree.
• According to Foulkes's study, dreams may express "profound aspects of personality" (184).
• Is it possible that dreams may express "profound aspects of personality" (Foulkes 184)?
• If you add a word or words in a quota1on, you should put brackets around the words to indicate that they are not part of the original text. • Jan Harold Brunvand, in an essay on urban legends, states, "some individuals [who retell urban legends] make a point of learning every rumor or tale" (78).