Propaganda In Persuasion

Jane Austen’s Persuasion has many themes. The main theme is to think for yourself, and do not be easily persuaded by other people. This book shows how a young woman gains the ability to think for herself. This young woman was persuaded not to get married, but later in the book, she rejects another person’s opinion and gets married. Jane Austen is informing us that people need to think for themselves. You can take other people’s opinions into consideration, but you need to decide. In the 1800s, a popular belief was that slavery was acceptable. People were persuaded that slavery was acceptable because the people higher up in the social hierarchy were pro-slavery. Owning a slave was one form of slavery, but the life of women in the 1800s was compared to slavery as well. Their purpose in life was to get a husband, produce a child, and spend the rest of their lives serving the men. In this time period, the men had control over the slaves

People are persuaded by other people, but the media plays the biggest role in persuading us. Propaganda is everywhere; it is on the television, your phone, newspapers, and in stores. Johnnie Manzaria and Jonathon Bruck tell us that propaganda is, “constantly being used as a political and social means in even less obvious ways to influence people's’ attitudes” (Manzaria and Bruck https://web.stanford.edu). One example of propaganda being used was in the presidential election. The candidates would place ads on the television and billboards to persuade you to vote for them. They would try and convince you that they are the best candidate, but you have to decide if they are. Another example is when people are persuaded by others higher up in the social hierarchy. People that have money and are famous have a form of control over people who are not. They are idolized and worshipped to the point where people are in a hypnotized state and will do whatever said person asks them