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Rhetorical Analysis Of George Johnson's Letter

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In his letter Johnson rejected a mother’s obscured request for her sons help into a university. His denial to her is best used by his strong use of logos, pathos and tone. With these three devices combined Johnson was able to convey his unwillingness to complete the task ask of him while allowing him to still stay cordial. In the beginning, Johnson reveals pure emotion to the mother waiting for the letter. He states “I hope you will believe that my delay in answering your letter could proceed only from my unwillingness to destroy any hope….”. Johnsons begins this letter using emotion tactics because he knows that it will be hard for the mother to accept the fact that he is refusing her request. By beginning the letter in such a manner he is not pampering her for the rest of the letter but also letting her down softly as possible. Oppose to accusing her of being wrong for having this feeling and attempting to change her son’s fate, Johnson defines hope as being “a pleasure immoderately enjoyed” and as an “expectations improperly …show more content…

The use of this rhetorical device (logos) helped Johnson force the mother to admit there was no reason why he should write the letter. He states “You ask me to solicit a great man, to whom I never spoke of, for a young person whom I never seen”. Johnson tone shifts and becomes harsher allowing room for the mother to think about her faults. Johnson feels that the evident faith the mother has for her son is not enough for him to recommend her son into the university. He then goes on to simply tell her that there is no accurate reason why her son deserves this position. Less harsh then the beginning statements Johnson states “Madam, you must allow, that there is no reason why the Archbishop should chuse your son”. Using logic in this letter may help her understand the common sense side to his

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He bases this on the notion that he has no “particular relationship both to the Archbishop and the lady.” Johnson’s effective use of reasoning could best be defined as the way he responded to “Madam”. Stated previously it was mentioned that Johnson’s request was based on position and respect. Using factual statement we are able to understand why the author bases his ideas on the relationship and position of himself and that of

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Although she had several proposals and prospective suitors, she never married and never had children. While Johnson continued a relationship with McRaye, it was made to seem a business relationship, although one doesn’t know of what their relationship consisted behind closed doors. In the time period in which Johnson lived, in was almost unheard of for an English woman, let alone a First Nations woman, to not marry and instead make a career for herself. This not only causes Johnson to stand out from the crowd, but the focus she put on her work instead of herself, showcases her obsession and passion for her heritage and her desire for others to understand her

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John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963, leaving his Vice President, Lyndon B. Johnson, in charge of a hopeless and disbanded country. Shortly after he was sworn in, Johnson attempted to ease those emotions in his speech, "Let Us Continue." In his speech, "Let Us Continue," Johnson's purpose is to persuade his audience that the country needs to be united again in order to move on and to ease the hopelessness and emotional tension after Kennedy's assassination. Johnson first addresses his audience, and then starts out with the usage of an antithesis, stating that "The greatest leader of our time has been struck down by the foulest deed of our time," creating an empathetic mood in order to soothe the emotional tension within the audience.

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“We shall overcome” is a speech by Lyndon Baines Johnson on March 15, 1965. This speech took place one week after Selma. “We shall overcome” was created to convince the Members of Congress, into joining him in his fight against racism by approving a bill meant to abolish racist voting restrictions. Lyndon Johnson’s speech to convince Members of congress to help him pass a bill to abolish racist voting restrictions by using a strong tone to create the sense that what he was saying was important, and in his speech he used Pathos and Logos to make the crowd feel sympathy for the black community because of the harsh truth.

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In a heartfelt tone, Dowe expresses within the second portion of the letter how much he misses his wife whom he calls "Sukey" and children. He expresses his feelings upon leaving his family by stating that "You know very well that I should not have left you behind me, if I had money to have took you with me.". This shows that the writer was forced to leave his family behind, and it pained his heart. This must be why his wife is heartbroken, because he left her and their children behind. Although, he expresses that he had no choice, but if he could have taken them, he would have.

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To explain this further, he walks her through what the request would have resulted in. The situation, in his eyes, is that he was asked to “solicit a great man, to whom [he] never spoke, for a young person whom [he] had never seen, upon a supposition which [he] had no means of knowing true.” He does this to show that he is willing to share his perspective and that he respects her enough to walk her through it, instead of blatantly saying no without any reason. The mother’s request is logically reasoned inductively to be irrational, leaving him no possible reason or possible procedure to accomplish the task at hand. While it may not have been this extreme, Johnson effectively and logically convinces the mother that she made a mistake in drafting such a letter.

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