Rhetorical Analysis Of Alexander The Great And Mahatma Gandhi

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Abstract This paper demonstrated how rhetoric was used as art of persuasion in two chosen speeches before 2000, those from Alexander the Great and Mahatma Gandhi. The overall aim of this paper was to demonstrate how the use of the same rhetorical devices—in this case, the use of a credible ethos—could have quite different effects in different contexts. The definition and the main characteristics of rhetorical devices used for the analysis and the comparison of the two speeches were based on a mix between classical rhetoric by Aristotle and modern business rhetoric by Higgins and Walker (2012). Although the speeches by Alexander the Great and Mahatma Gandhi have geographical aspects and persuasive appeals in common, they are in fact very different. …show more content…

Mahatma Gandhi. Just by hearing his name, many people think of one of the most influential public speakers in the world 's history. His profound spirituality and belief in justice inspired the world. Many people nowadays tend to cite and refer to his quotes when talking about freedom, non-violence, etc. In addition to that, there is also the physical aspect of his legacy: just looking at his picture and seeing his skinny body and the warm look on his face actually leaves the impression of a humble, modest man. This automatically tends to be associated with benevolence, which is an important aspect of a credible ethos. It is his personality and it is his life style that inspired people, brought him popularity, and let people be persuaded by him. For a speaker with a credible visual ethos it is also important to have, besides intelligence and good will, an upright character. A person with an upright character is simply a person with a positive character, which means that that person has a satisfied conscience and is calm in nature. Such a person is seen as a helper and someone who wins the hearts of people (Soomro, 2013). Mahatma Gandhi was seen as a helper who wanted to help Indian people to become independent without sacrificing people 's lives. And besides that it is not hard to imagine that he had a satisfied conscience knowing that he was doing something good for his country and people as well as promoting democracy in a