Labor union organizer and civil rights leader Cesar Chavez wrote to his audience of followers of a religious organization on the tenth anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr to assert the importance of using nonviolent methods needed to incite change. Throughout the essay he explains that nonviolence is a powerful tool that should be used to incite change over the use of violence. By using logical arguments, relatable feelings through pathos, and emotionally charged words through diction, Chavez is able to convey to his audience that nonviolence should be chosen over violent means.
In the beginning of the essay, Chavez’s use of logical arguments helps the audience realize the potential and importance of nonviolence starting
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He uses logos in the form of looking at past history and analyzing the downfalls of violent resistance, to emphasize how violence has many strings attached to it, whereas the more peaceful nonviolent route allows for greater freedom and less risk to the general population. Heavy diction is used to create a separation between violence and nonviolence, shining a bright light onto violence as a negative way to deal with problems, while lifting nonviolence as a means of powerful hand to win any “competition”. It was important for Chavez to remind his audience that nonviolence is the method of choice when fighting for change as it was the 10th anniversary of MLK’s death, an important leader in the civil rights movement who used the power of nonviolence as a method to induce change for the black community. At the time of Chavez’s writing, many farmers were upset over a crash in the agriculture market, with many farmers left with little to no money and no help from the government. Chavez wanted to inform these people of the importance of nonviolence as a way to get their ideas through, as violence would resolve nothing and lead to greater disruptions which would affect the entirety of the American population. Thus by writing an article for an audience of a religious organization devoted to helping those in need, the members of the religious organization likely lobby for the farmers to not protest violently, leading many farmers to rethink their choices and decide to go the nonviolent path of protest. Chavez does a excellent job using of the aforementioned rhetorical choices to help the audience understand the power of nonviolence resistance, as time is on the side of the ones who want