Rhetorical Analysis Of Scott Russel's Essay '

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In Scott Russel’s response to an essay by Salam Rushdie, Russel makes an effort to show his audience that Rushdie’s thoughts and ideas on migration are not the entire population’s stance by referencing to the united states of America. By using devices and history, Russel is able to support his argument through the United State’s past, as well as using certain words and phrases to evoke emotion in the reader.
Scott Russel relies on alluding to the past of America’s land to support his writing. For example, Russel alludes to the nation’s first heroes, using a comparison between them and the stripes that make up the flag. By setting this foundation of our nation’s morals and those who make them up, Russel has set the stage to continue his essay. He continues to counter Rushdie’s arguments with allusion in line 53-59, creating a counter argument for a quoted claim by Rushdie himself on migration and migrators. …show more content…

In the first few sentences, Russel compares the thoughts of migrating in search of open, unused land to “seduction” and “romance”. As we further read on, he continues to use his pointed word choice when listing the not-so ideal lifestyles being “trapped” in one place in “unglamorous” marriages with “dead end” jobs. While these past few choices may not reflect Russel’s ideals, he used them to summarize those of Rushdie. Towards the very end of his essay, Russel clearly states his stance, and thoughts on migration, once again using pleasant words such as “durable”, “care”, as well as appeal to the sense of tradition and family