Final Paper

Boyd Reid
SCOM 341
12/12/2014

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Abstract
How important is credibility in the persuasive process? This paper aims to demonstrate
that persuasion can occur when rhetorical processes are in play. The artifact for the paper is a
blog post on Reddit by the username Cyzzle on why Activision is to blame for Destiny not
reaching its expectation. With an analysis of the master tropes, the rhetorical tools, this paper
aims to explain how an unknown member of the gaming community was able to persuade
individuals that they should scapegoat Activision for the disappointment of Destiny.
Introduction
On September 26th, 2014, the username Cyzzle posted on Reddit what he claimed to be a
crackpot theory on why Destiny isnt living up to the expectations of the gaming community.
Comparing Cyzzle and Hitler is definitely extreme but the fact that his simple post gained so
much attention in the gaming community is quite incredible. Over 800 points (and counting) and
receiving 81% upvote, meaning that 81% of the people who this posted agreed with him. This
post generated thousands of comments which created a big discussion on social media websites.
Cyzzle edited his post in October to add a statement thanking everyone for making his post such
a big deal. He goes on to say [he has] already addressed in comments that this theory isnt as
crackpot as [he] initially thought its just good to see that so much of the community is in
agreeance on this. Cyzzles crackpot theory was a theory that Bungie is not to blame for Destiny
not meeting expectation but instead the blame should be put on Activision. He blames
Activisions greedy corporate plan and their money and profit trap.
The reason this Reddit article is worth studying is for understanding how an individual,
Cyzzle, with little to no credibility can persuade the gaming community to scapegoat Activision

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for Destiny not reaching expectations. The process of scapegoating is a well-known strategy and
practiced ability to persuade. Within this Reddit article we also see the presences of Burkes
master tropes, which are persuasive tools that shape language for a person in a rhetorical
situation. The article is filled with areas worth studying. First is the lack of credibility of Cyzzle
not affecting his ability to persuade. Second is the impact of scapegoating by analyzing its ability
to persuade. Finally with Burkes master tropes we can segment the Reddit article to allow the
ability to explore how the master tropes aided in the persuasive process. My theory is that ethos
is less important to the rhetorical tools provided by Burkes master tropes in the process of
scapegoating.
Literature Review
The literature for this paper focuses on the three sections of this paper. The first section is
background information on the Reddit post which includes information on Bungie and
Activision. Because of the informal nature of Reddit, the sources from this section tend to not be
scholarly resources. The second section covers Burkes scapegoating. It is important to get
different perspectives on scapegoating to see how it can operate in different cultures and society
because of the very specific nature of the video gaming community. The third section is on
Burkes master tropes.
Activision, Bungie and Destiny are very specific topics. It would be quite the shock to
find scholarly literature on any of those topics. Therefore to provide a deeper understanding of
these key topics, the literature for these topics includes company websites and statistical based
organizations. Although these sources are not scholarly, they aid in gaining a deeper
understanding into topics that may not be known by the average reader.

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Unlike the first topics, there is plenty of literature on scapegoating. According to Brahm
(2004) a scapegoat refers to individuals or peoples who are symbolically or concretely made to
bear responsibility for the faults or problems of others. Brahm called this a psychological
defense mechanism of denial. According to Brahm the process of scapegoating as a defense
mechanism of denial works through, projecting responsibility and blame on others. The fault
does not rely on Timmy for not studying or working hard enough, the teacher represents the
scapegoat for the bad marks that Timmy has received. It is easier to blame the teacher than to dig
deeper into why Timmy is not getting good grades. According the Elwood (1999), Burke says the
scapegoat is used to place blame on a rhetorical or actual other, in order to make the world
easier to accept. Since scapegoating makes the world easier to accept, this may explain why it is
so acceptable today.
The literature also explores why people tend to use scapegoating. According to Elwood,
Burke argues that humans are always striving to reach a more perfect state of being therefore
the notion of scapegoating is necessary for human beings to strive for this perfection. When
something is generally accepted in society, this process of acceptance is inevitably persuasive.
For something to be accepted into society as common practice, persuasion must have happened
at some point to encourage people to allow a word, action or concept. George and Selzer (2007)
recognize that Burke did not coin the term scapegoat but he has been the face behind it since the
1930s (p.203). According to Brahm, the use of the term scapegoat can be found in early Judaic
ritual described in the Biles Book of Leviticus. The root of the concept of scapegoating may be
a mystery but it has been used all throughout history. According to George and Selzer, Burke
pointed to Hitlers employment of scapegoat by blaming the Jewish people for the downfall of
Germany (p.202). Hitlers scapegoating of Jews rallied an entire country to go to war. What

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this paper will analyze is not something so massive and serious in scale but does follow the
scapegoating formula to persuade individuals that a certain entity should carry the blame for one
reason or another.
The following section is the master tropes and Burkes approach to rhetoric. According to
Schiappa (1993) one of the central premises of rhetoric is that language embodies and
generates knowledge that is relative to specific discourse communities (p.402). Rhetoric is at
the core of language and studying rhetoric can provide reasons to why language is the way it is.
In the past, the discovery of truth was the main reason for language. Aristotle and other
philosophers searched for truth through communication and discourse. According to Schiappa,
Burke contends that the four basic tropes play a major role in the discovery and description of
the truth (p.403). These tropes play a central role in the organization of literary works and
logic structures for thought. Schiappa explains Burkes approach by separating it into two parts.
First according to Schiappa, Burke manages to maintain the integrity of each trope while
acknowledging their interrelatedness. When elaborating on the master tropes Burke is able to
explain the importance of each trope but at the same time he is able to show how they all work
together for the discovery of truth. According to Burke (1941), give a man but one of [the
tropes], tell him its possibilities, and if he is thorough in doing so, he will come upon the other
three. Each trope, although important on its own, shades onto another. The four master tropes by
Kenneth Burke are metaphor, metonymy, synecdoche and irony.
The master tropes can be used as persuasive tool to help in the process of persuasion.
Within the Reddit post, the master tropes operate to persuade that people should scapegoat
Activision for Destiny not reaching expectations.

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This paper does not claim a theory of cause and effect. The research and literature is not
to prove that the Reddit post persuaded the gaming community to scapegoat Activision. This is to
show how an individual with a lack of ethos can persuade a community to scapegoat a corporate
giant. This paper will break down the artifact with the help of the master tropes to show why this
post could be persuasive to swaying the gaming community to scapegoat Activision instead of
blaming Bungie.
Description of Artifact
Before getting into the rest of the paper, it is important to understand the background of
the artifact. Without any knowledge on the background of the artifact it will be hard to
understand how Cyzzles post was persuasive. What must be understood in this section is the
love for Bungie prior to the release of Destiny, the past of Activisions corporate strategy and
justification for studying this post.
In the gaming community Bungie and Halo are synonymous. Halo is one of the most
loved first person shooters in the history of video games and therefore Bungie is one of the most
beloved companies in the gaming community. Bungie created 6 Halo games between 2001-2010.
According to Sliwinski (2012), the games have sold over 60 million copies worldwide, with the
games alone grossing almost 3.4 billion dollars. The Halo series is now in the hands of 343
industries which is a subsidiary of Bungie. According to Cyzzle, Bungie has been working on
Destiny since 2009. From lack of funding because they have not released any game content since
the Halo 4 in 2010, Bungie was lacking the capital to fund their new project, Destiny. Destiny
was an ambitious project according to ViDoc interviews therefore they wanted to finish it and
looked towards the video gaming corporate giants, Activision, to help fund their project.

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According to Forbes, Activision is worth over 14 billion dollars. Activision is most

closely related to Call of Duty, one of the biggest gun video games in the history of video
gaming. Cyzzle touches on their history of signing major games. Cyzzle also gets into the
common corporate strategy that Activision shares amongst all of its acquisition games and
companies. Activision benefits from reputation, ad campaigns and DLC contents to keep people
buying. Critics say that Call of Duty has barely improved over the last 5 years but has somehow
reached billion dollars in sales per new release which is normally on a yearly rotation. Cyzzle
calls Activision greedy as they care more about profit by putting out incomplete games instead of
servicing the consumers needs. With deducing reasoning Cyzzle says that this probably
happened to Bungie. Cyzzle calls out some of the game mechanics to be influenced by
Activisions money and profit trap. He concludes by cursing Activision for ruining the
potentially most amazing game in a decade in the name of fucking profit and money.
The reason this article is important is because of how little ethos Cyzzle has relative to
the impact his post had on the gaming community. Scapegoating the blame of Destiny not
meeting expectations to Activision seemed to work because of the previous love for Bungie and
Activisions history of profit orientated corporate planning. With the help of the master tropes,
this paper can be an example of how scapegoating can be used to persuade.
Method
The method for analyzing this artifact is will demonstrate how the use of Burkes master
tropes led to people accepting Activision as the scapegoat. First this paper will discuss deeply
what scapegoating is setting up the master tropes to cover why the combination was success. The
master trope metaphor will be in relation to perspective. The master trope metonymy will be

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analyzed in terms of the Reddits post reduction of the entire Activision business. The master
trope synecdoche will explain how Activision was represented in the Reddit post. The master
trope irony will the summarizing of the interrelation of the tropes as a Burkean ironic situation is
established from the interplay of all the terms.
To analyze the artifact, this paper will divide into segments of the master tropes being
used. Metaphor will be analyzed as how perspectives play a role in understanding something
else. This paper will analyze metonymy by how Cyzzle uses reduction to explain how Bungie is
another victim of the corporate giant, Activision. The part for the whole of Activisions plan and
Destinys failure will be analyzed through synecdoche. Then finally this paper will conclude by
showing how these master tropes were tools to help Cyzzle persuade people to scapegoat
Activison for Destiny not reaching expectations.
Discussion
All throughout life from childhood to adulthood it always seemed easier to put the blame
on someone or something else. As a kid, blaming other things just seems like a reflex in the face
of a problem. It was never the kid who spilled the juice, it was the tables or the cups fault. As an
individual got older it, the person began to make more sense. The reason Timmy got a bad mark
was not that Timmy did not study but instead it was because the teacher was not a good teacher.
Even as adults, people like to blame others instead of accepting their mistakes. It never seems to
be an individuals mistake; there is always some outside force that is in control of an individuals
wrong doing. This concept of blaming seems so common in society. Politicians blame the
opposing party for problems with governments. Athletes blame referees for making them lose a
game. Students blame teachers for having bad grades. Blaming others is very much accepted in

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our culture. People tend to put blame on others purging themselves of all wrong doing. Kenneth
Burke would refer to these others as scapegoats and would call the whole process
scapegoating.
Kenneth Burke did not create the term scapegoating but his analysis of the process is well
respected among many scholars. According to Carter (1992) Burke says that scapegoats are
found in any society that purifies itself by moral indignation in condemning them through the
ritualistic elements operating (p.11). Scapegoating is a rhetorical tool to purge oneself of guilt.
According to Elwood (1998), Burke argues that humans are always striving to reach a more
perfect state of being therefore the notion of scapegoating is necessary for human beings to
strive for this perfection (p.95).
There are references in the bible to scapegoating. According to Carter scapegoating is the
search of a sacrificial vessel who can carry away the sins (p.12). Carter goes on to express that
the scapegoat narrative culminates in the account of the Crucifixion and the Resurrection. When
analyzing the Reddit post and its process of scapegoating, this paper is not trying to relate to the
religious issue but instead on how scapegoating looks for a vessel. Cyzzle and all those who
agreed with him are not trying to make Activision perform the role of a vicarious atonement like
Jesus for mankind; the Reddit post is trying make Activision a vessel for its cognitive dissonance
and negative emotions towards Bungie and Destiny. By blaming Activision, people can continue
to love Bungie for their pass work and have now found a vessel to carry their negative emotions.
With the use of the master tropes, the Reddit post painted a negative picture of Activision that
allowed people to accept the premise of Activision being the vessel to take the blame and
unfavorable emotions from the gaming community as the scapegoat. First master trope to be
analyzed is metaphor.

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According to Burke, metaphor is a device for seeing something in terms of something

else (423). Metaphor is a language tool that provides additional information about whatever is
being communicated. Metaphors pull from the meaning of one thing to describe another.
Metaphor is a literary tool that can be used in many ways for the expression of language.
According to Lakoff and Johnson (1980) metaphor is for most people a device of the poetic
imagination and the rhetorical flourish a matter of extraordinary rather than ordinary (p.453).
For the purpose of this paper, metaphor will be analyzed through a persuasive lens. Metaphors
are inherently persuasive for two main reasons. For one, metaphors only work in the right
context combined with the proper societal meaning. Secondly, a person can be persuaded with
the special language that occur when using metaphors because of its poetic nature. In the Reddit
post, we see examples of metaphors.
Cyzzle has obvious negative feelings towards Activision. His metaphors aim to make
Activision seem like the bad guy. Cyzzle refers to the platform for creating their games as a
profit and money trap. He calls Activision greedy and care more about profit than the actual
game. This leads to releasing incomplete games promising downloadable content (DLC) in the
future. This promise of DLC coming in the future forms his second metaphor that we (the
gaming community) are chasing the carrot on the stick. Cyzzle tries to evoke negative emotion
through metaphor to back his persuasive message to scapegoat Activision for Destiny not
meeting expectations. The idea of taking something to explain another thing is a form of
reduction to help simplify a concept that may be too complex and make it understandable.
The master tropes declare that metonymy can be substituted with reduction. According to
Burke the basic strategy in metonymy is to convey some incorporeal or intangible state in terms
of corporeal or tangible (p.424). Although this is similar to metaphor, the difference is found in

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the core concept of metonymy which is reduction. The similarity comes from Burkes assertion
that the master tropes are unique but at the same time interrelated. Schiappa explains that Burke
manages to maintain the integrity of each trope while acknowledging their interrelatedness
(p.403). The purpose of metonymy is to simplify through reduction. This reduction process can
be understood through qua science. Qua science, does not go beyond the statement that when
certain conditions are met, certain new conditions may be expected to follow. Human
relationships after naturalistic correlations of qua science becomes necessarily the reduction of
some higher or more complex realm of being to the terms of lower or less complex of being.
Basic strategy of metonymy is to convey some incorporeal or intangible state in terms of
corporeal or tangible.
Cyzzle uses metonymy when touches on Activisions history to takeovers and ruining
games. The Reddit post is trying to call back memory of their audience to the previous takeovers
from Activision and paint a picture of a dominant negative process. Although Activision may
have a larger corporate plan, simplifying the plan to takeovers allows Cyzzle to draw on negative
past memories within the gaming community. These negative emotions spark affective responses
that may create negative feelings towards Activision. Through reduction, if Activision has a
history of such acts, then it would make sense that Bungie could also fall victim to Activision.
This constructs a path for the Reddit post to justify scapegoating Activision. It is not the fault of
Bungie because Activision has a history of creating games for only profit orientated goals. The
persuasive nature framing through simplifying and reducing an object, entity or message from
the master trope metonymy creates opportunity for individuals to be persuaded.

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Synecdoche
According to Schiappa, Burke maintains that the universe displays various orders of
recalcitrance to our interpretations, and we are forced to amend our interpretations accordingly
(p. 409). What this means is that interpretation is subjective but this subjective interpretation can
be altered by changing how something is represented. The master tropes declare that synecdoche
can be substituted with representation. Synecdoche has a range of definitions which is listed out
by Burke; part for the whole, whole for the part, container for the contained, sign for the thing
signified, cause for effect and the list goes on. According to Burke, with synecdoche the
disagreement comes with what part should represent the whole and how this representation
should be accomplished; in a complex civilization any act of representation automatically
implies a synecdochic relationship (p.427).
The Reddit post focuses in on the takeover aspect of Activision. Activision is much more
than a takeover company, but Cyzzles frame does not encompass anything where Activision can
be seen in a positive light. With that being said the language associated with Activision paints a
negative picture. Words like greedy, profit and incomplete are all associated with Activision. This
part represented in the Reddit post becomes the overall representation of Activision. This
negative representation allows another justification for scapegoating Activision.
Irony
Irony has many different facts of usage. It can be ironic that Cyzzle announces in his
Reddit post that he has logged over 80 hours on Destiny but complains about how the game has
not reached expectations. Irony as a master trope is different from the common usage in
mainstream language. Burke describes true irony as a sense of fundamental kinship with the

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enemy (p.435). This kinship is represented by Cyzzle continuing to log heavy hours into a game
where he is aware of the flaws and calls it incomplete. The master tropes substitute dialectic with
irony. Dialectic, according to Burke, is where the agents are in ideation (p. 431) meaning that
when people are engaging in the formation of concepts and ideas. According to Burke, Irony
arises when one tries, by the interaction of terms upon one another, to produce a development
which use all the terms. By connecting all the terms, an ironic situation can be established.
Irony as a master trope is established at the end of the Reddit post. To quote it, So if my
theory holds true, I want to give a big fuck you to Activision (and Bungie was added after the
original post) for ruining the potentially most amazing game in a decade in the name of fucking
profit and money. By cumulating the negative picture painted of their metaphoric greedy money
grabbing trap, the reduction to negative portrayals and evil representation, the Reddit post
ironically justifies scapegoating Activision.
Conclusion
How can a random blogger on Reddit persuade the game community to blame Activision
for not reaching expectations? Rhetoric is the study of language, with a critical understanding of
language it can become a tool of persuasion. Scapegoating is deeply integrated in society as a
way for human beings to achieve perfection. It is necessary to purge guilt and make sense of a
complicated world. This paper first touched on a common example of a teacher being blamed for
a students failure. A teacher has a degree in education while a student has none. Burkes
scapegoating explains that even though a teacher may have no grounds, it is easier to blame the
teacher instead of finding out the reason why a student is getting bad grades. The Reddit post is
similar to this common example. Cyzzle blames Activision for the Destiny not reaching

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expectations. The Reddit post contains Burkes master tropes to paint a negative picture of
Activision.
According to Burke, if you give a man one of the tropes and tell him to exploit its
possibilities, he will come upon the other three (p.421). The combination of the master tropes
allowed Activision to be portrayed in a negative light. The gaming community was exposed (or
re-exposed) to this negative life provoking an unfavorable affective response. This affective
response allowed Cyzzle to take the blame away from Bungie and scapegoat Activision. With the
reader cognitively viewing the negative picture of Activision, this allowed people to be
persuaded that the fault of ruining the potentially most amazing game in decade lies on
Activision and their greedy, profit hungry traps and money grabbing schemes. Therefore it did
not matter about the credibility of the Cyzzle. It did not matter that his crackpot theory could be
completely wrong. What matter was the rhetorical use of language through the master tropes to
paint a negative picture of Activision allowing people to accept them as the scapegoat for why
Destiny did not reach the gaming communities expectations.

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