Rhetorical Analysis Of William Lloyd Garrison's To The Public

William Lloyd Garrison was a white abolitionist born in Massachusetts in 1805. In 1831 he established his own newspaper, the Liberator. It became very successful lasting for 34 years. In his rhetorical masterpiece “To the Public,” William Lloyd Garrison influenced and persuaded Americans that slavery should be abolished; through his comprehensive and effective use of language, along with various writing techniques, Garrison reached people’s minds. The author’s passionate attitude and radical perspective allowed him to affect people’s sets of moral values and let him initiate a significant social reform. Garrison fought for equity of treatment for slaves.
In the editorial, Garrison used powerful words and various methods of writing to express

The author stated that he “shall strenuously contend for the immediate enfranchisement of our slave population” (Garrison 770). The words “strenuously contend” were powerful enough to make a profound impression on people. In this sentence, Garrison conveyed his passionate attitude. He declared that he fought against people’s indifference and slaves’ oppressors. Garrison’s dedication and the urgency he gave to the issue touched people and encouraged them to reflect on the case. The word “immediate” made readers perceive abolishing slavery as something particularly important and

In the fifth paragraph, he said: “I am aware, that many object to the severity of my language; but is there not cause for severity?” (Garrison 770). The author asked readers a rhetorical question, implicating that those who were against him were wrong. He implicitly said that there indeed, was a cause for severity. Garrison manipulated Americans into reconsidering their views. The author also highlighted how obviously morally wrong the slavery was. He expanded this thought saying: “I do not wish to think, or speak, or write, with moderation. No! No! Tell a man whose house is on fire, to give a moderate alarm; tell him to moderately rescue his wife from the hands of the ravisher; tell the mother to gradually extricate her babe from the fire into which it has falls” (Garrison 770). Garrison condemned moderation. He foregrounded this writing that he thought, spoke, and wrote without self-restraint. The author put an additional emphasis repeating “No!” twice. Garrison indirectly called for radicalism. Furthermore, he used very clear comparisons in order to show Americans the wrongfulness of slavery. He compared it to the fire; wife represented all American slaves and the ravisher represented all of the slavery supporters. Garrison made people perceive the defenders of slavery as deleterious and bad. By comparing them to rapists, the author also made