Rhetorical Analysis Of Sleuthing Patriotic Slogans By Gary Sloan

Have you ever seen a sign and scratched your head wondering what it is trying to communicate? All around the Unites States, patriotic slogans are countless and in Gary Sloan’s article “Sleuthing Patriotic Slogans,” Sloan presents readers with his thoughts concerning patriotic slogans by questioning various patriotic expressions, parsing each of the words for meaning. The article sparks critical thinking about various slogans through a thoughtful writing style and use of rhetorical appeals. This rhetorical analysis shows the varied degrees of success with which the article is written using ethos, logos, and pathos: while the author’s credibility appeal is strong because of Mr. Sloan’s teaching background and use of logical appeal by breaking

The high education level of Mr. Sloan is validated by his use of references made in the article. Sloan refers to writings like Hamlet and a Delphi oracle, substantiating his high education level. In addition, the word choice to describe how the United States is covered with patriotic slogans, “scrawled on their windows a smorgasbord of venerable shibboleths,” adds to his credibility as a writer (Sloan 1). In his article, Mr. Sloan does not appear to be addressing a specific audience. He does not address it to a group of people or even a single person, but rather everyone. He is deep in thought, sharing the way he sees the world, and this writing style lends readers to think with him and not immediately go on the defensive about the subject. Therefore, the article successfully draws readers in with the writing style using thoughts and the author establishes a strong ethos with credentials early in the

The majority of the article, more than half, is written with a logical appeal. This is done by examining a slogan, looking at each word. Instead of showing readers the common thoughts about patriotic slogans, the article explores and analyzes various examples of these patriotic expressions in terms of actions or as if they were acted upon. For example, Sloan asks, “Are Let Freedom Ring and United We Stand logically compatible?” (Sloan 1). The article is broken down into these common patriotic slogans and the reality of a patriotic slogan is questioned; “If everyone exercises freedom of speech and conscience, will we all stand united?” (Sloan 1). The article is written in a way that uses the rhetoric appeal logos and answers using logos in the form of a question. This type of logical schema follows throughout the article and provides strong support for the idea that patriotic slogans may be conflicting, containing meaning beyond the words intended to bring people together on common