Rhetorical Analysis - Essay Example

These techniques include; Comparisons, contrasts, and familiar anecdotes Edgar begins his article with a recent social anecdote in which a racist violently shot to death the members of a black church community. This technique helps to establish the formal standing of his essay. The true story at capturing the reader’s attention and interest. A reader also finds it easy to relate to the article since he/she already has an idea of what the writer is writing about. Shortly after capturing the attention of the reader, Edgar goes on to use the employ the comparison technique.

He focuses on a variety of similar stories from around the world that support his motion. He gives the example of the formal apology of the British prime minister Tony Blair to the Irish in 1997 for the role they played in the famine which took the lives of more than one million Irish. Similarly he explores the Vatican’s apology for the murder of the Italian Astronomer Galileo. He also compares the effects that these apologies had on people and the nations as well. He successfully uses this technique to support his cause and to give credibility to the content of his article.

Edgar also employs contrast in his essay. He compares the possible reactions of the conservatives and the liberalists towards the issuance of an apology. In his opinion, the conservatives will advocate for the past to be forgotten while the liberalists will insist for the injustices to be paid for monetarily. The use of contrast here enables a reader to grasp the huge differences between these two groups of people, especially in their moral standards. A rhetoric situation is that situation in which a rhetor persuades his audience to support his perspective a particular issues (Whately and Ehninger,68).

Rhetorical situations are particular to specific moments of communication. Five elements make up this situation; Situation of communication, writer,