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Analysis Of Coates Two Texts Masquerading As One

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Dhruv Sheth Coates Many Americans have a deep rooted pride in the fact that they are American. One major reason for this pride is the opportunity that our country represents. People from all over the world come to start a new life in America chasing the opportunity to earn the fulfilment of their dreams. This leads to those whose families have lived in the country for generations to have pride in their nation and even their heritage. This is Coates' audience despite overtly claiming that the novel is a letter to his son. Tressie McMillan Cotton recognizes this in his article "Two Texts Masquerading as One." Cotton correctly identifies this to be a rhetorical move. Rhetoric is defined as "the art of speaking or writing effectively." (Merriam Webster) Coates uses the apparent audience of his son to reduce the amount of political …show more content…

“Coates goes for that audience’s throat. He wants them to feel the strangulation of struggle, to rob them of breath for one heartbeat longer than is comfortable.” (Two texts) Coates' rhetoric is overpowering. He evokes an emotional reaction from his readers by forcing them to look through his eyes and see the injustices against black people as a victim and not a third party observer. Coates means to impress his point by making his reader feel rather than convince them with hard facts. Saying things like “If the streets shackled my right leg, the schools shackled my left.” (25) Are primarily emotional appeals because instead of backing them up with statistics Coates draws on personal anecdotes and experience. He is enabled to do this because the letter format allows him to move away from concrete statements. Less certainty, however, doesn’t weaken his use of rhetoric, it in fact enhances and

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