Thoreau Rhetorical Analysis

P. 112, "Society is commonly..."

Thoreau’s novel addresses generally applicable life anecdotes in an extremely personal way, making his words hit home with any audience.  Here specifically, Thoreau’s deliberate structure of his paragraph, use of parallel structure, and tone attribute to his success of getting his philosophy that we do no value others to hit home in a simplistically eloquent way.

Thoreau begins his paragraph with his aphorism that “society is commonly too cheap” which grabs and holds on to the readers attention- he gets right to the point. He follows this up in a unique way- with what you would think he would use to build up to the aphorism. He gives a real life example, in this case eating meals or working in a factory, and then concludes with another philosophically loaded aphorism. Thoreau masterfully gets down to the core of his general truth, through which he is able to maintain the readers attention, and spotlight the point that we do not value others and do not recognize the deeper parts of others, without over explaining or creating a hyperbole out of it.

Thoreau also uses parallelism with “we” for the bulk of his paragraph, further pressing that men, humans, are the ones devaluing other humans and taking them “cheaply”. “We” is used to reinforce that humans create routine, and by creating routine, we don’t appreciate the true value of others. By using “we” repetitively, Thoreau manages to press that collectively as humans, himself included, we are guilty of this. 

The tone of this paragraph also weighs heavily on Thoreau’s ethos as well as his awareness of his audience. He has control of every word with his calm voice and short sentences. He nonchalantly transitions from aphorism to support for the aphorism, which through not drawing attention to it actually draws attention to it. Having such control over his words and how he says them builds Thoreau’s ethos and gives what he says a confident tone. It also keeps in mind the audience- the everyday person. By presenting such a heavy idea in such a simple and nonchalant way, Thoreau makes what he is saying accessible to the everyday reader.

Thoreau is skillful in his argument. His carefully crafted paragraphs, use of parallelism to develop his argument, and his controlled tone work proficiently to support his statement that we take each other for granted and at surface level. 

"Army, INC." Timed Rhetorical Analysis

In his article "Army, Inc.", JAmes Surowiecki explains his argument that the United States Army has become a corporation, leading him to arrive at his final claim that the military, as a business, cannot be outsourced. Surowiecki's argument is very effective due to his strong diction, authoritative and knowledgeable, yet accessible tone, and his powerful use of syntax.

Surowiecki uses strong, commanding diction to add pathos to his argument to further sway his reader. His use of "villain" and "most despised" to portray Halliburton, his proposed enemy, works to give the company itself an almost sinister human like quality, driving the readers emotions to be against the big bad monster, Halliburton, that is corporatizing our military. This appeals to the readers sense of national pride and leads into his use of logos to legitimize his argument. His scathing diction leads to his scathing facts of "multi-billion dollar contracts" and military "private contractors", which leads his readers to be more compelled to support his claims.

Throughout the piece, Surowiecki also takes on an authoritative and knowledgeable tone, revealing indirectly to readers that he knows what he's talking about and that he's sure of his claims. By using phrases such as "no serious person believes" and "an annual prize for the worlds most despised country", Surowiecki is able to build up his ethos as a knowledgeable speaker without ever addressing himself or his credibility directly. His tone does this for him and leads him to be able to convincingly make claims such as outsourcing being "the era's biggest fad" that Washington "fell for." His tone is harshly critical while still maintaining his credibility without being offensive or distasteful, which makes his claims more acceptable and accessible to the average reader. He is not making references beyond his readers understanding, yet he is not insulting them by speaking incredibly casually.

Surowiecki's powerful syntax makes his argument and claims strong, memorable, and leave the piece on a patriotic note. When delving deeper into the harshness of his argument, he expertly crafts his claims into be clearly and strongly against corporations dominating the military, while still making it digestible for the reader. His use of imagery and juxtaposition when saying "It's a tidy pictureL the Army becomes a lean, mean killing machine, while civilians peel the potatoes and clean the latrines" clearly gets across his own stance, even in a critical way, while still making it non-offensive to the reader. In the final sentence of the article, Surowiecki's syntax leaves the reader with a powerful message: "Dont outsource the iron until you can outsource the blood." He blends imagery of blood and iron and the emotional connotations that go along with those images perfectly to leave his reader deeply thinking about his point against outsourcing military needs and turns it into a profound final thought to take away.

Surowiecki's strong diction, powerful tone, and skillful use of syntax make his argument complex and thought provoking. He is able to take a strong, opinionated, even possibly controversial stance and fully express his points without putting off the reader.