Pavly Atallah

Aaron Benedetti

UWP1

February 5 2017

Rhetorical Analysis Project

Rhetoric is its own language in literature. Aristotle defines it as the ability to

see the available means of persuasion(Rhetoric 115). All authors or rhetors write with

purpose, and in most cases their purpose is to make a point and make an audience believe

it, or be persuaded to take action. The way authors are successful at persuading the

audience is through the use of rhetorical devices such as the three appeals presented by

Aristotle; Ethos, Pathos and Logos. With the recent presidential election events

persuasion is prominent. With the need of quick and definitive persuasion of voters,

rhetoric is used through many mediums, one of which is Propaganda.

Propaganda, according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, is biased information

presented in a way to appeal to emotion in order to promote a political cause. In other

words, propaganda in a way is one of the dialects of the rhetorical language. With the

recent presidential elections, the propaganda dialect was in heavy use, especially when it

came to presidential campaign ads. The use of propaganda is generally successful

however through the use of rhetorical appeals. The propaganda dialect relies most heavily

on pathos, but also incorporates ethos and logos.

For example in Hillary Clintons official announcement for running for president,

the viewer is greeted by normal everyday people of many different backgrounds that are

putting their best foot forward and getting ready to take on a new stage of their lives for

the better. One couple is expecting a baby and are preparing their house for the new baby.

Another couple of hispanic background is opening a new business and putting all they
have together to start up their first restaurant. Similar scenes take place until Hillary

Clinton appears on the screen and informs the viewer that she too is getting ready to run

for president and that she wants to be Americas hero. Not only is she dressed in semi

casual clothing, but she says that the the stack has been in the tops hands for too long,

and that it is time for the middle class to not only live comfortably, but also get ahead.

Her simple clothing, and her simple vocabulary makes the audience see her as one of

them, a middle class citizen that only wants equality and the betterment of the

socioeconomic classes. When she identifies with her audience through her simple
clothing, vocabulary and the scenes of simple everyday middle class members putting

their best foot forward, the audience builds an emotional connection with her and

therefore trusts her. In technical terms this device would be called plain folks in

propaganda. It was evident that Hillary Clinton was presenting herself as part of the

plain folks in order to gain the audiences trust. So through the propaganda dialect of

rhetor, Hillary Clinton successfully uses pathos to emotionally connect with her audience

and gain trust.

When Hillary Clinton was able to connect emotionally with her audience and gain

their trust, she in the eyes of her audience became credible. That is when ethos comes

into play. She first gained the trust through pathos, and because of that, to the intended

audience she became a credible figure, eventually leading the audience to take action.

Since her audience now trust her and see her as a credible figure they will take action and

join her on her mission to be Americas hero. The persuasion to take action is also aided

by logos. Since Hillary Clinton is a credible figure to the audience it is logical for the

audience to take action and finally vote for her, since that is the way the audience can

help her put her best foot forward and achieve her goal or next big step in her life.

The reason Hillary Clinton was able to use the language of rhetoric successfully

was because it was obvious that the exigence, the audience, and the constraints were

taken into account. Those three components that make up a rhetorical situation were
coined by

Lloyd Bitzer. He explains that the exigence are like the occasions or events that the author

creates or responds to by composing. The audience is the intended primary audience for

the subject discussed, and the constraints are like limiting factors. The constraints can be

what the author and the audience agree and disagree upon, the time period, or the location,

which may limit the composition of the author. In this case Hillary Clinton use the

occasion of the new presidential election which worried many and therefore there was a

need for addressing the subject. Her intended audience was the majority of the population,

also known as the middle class, and that is why her simple clothing, vocabulary and

sympathising with them showed her awareness of her audience. She also knew that she

was limited by her audiences desires, which are to put their best foot forward, have

equality and be ahead instead of behind the top one percent. That is why she mentions that

it is time for the middle class to be ahead and live comfortably and included scenes of

average families taking their next big step. Her awareness and her taking into

consideration of the three components of a rhetorical situation leads to her successfully

persuading and winning over her intended audience.

In order for a composer to master the use of of the rhetorical language and its

dialects, the author or the rhetor always has to be able to tell when the rhetorical situation

is appropriate in order to successfully persuade their intended audience. Hillary Clinton

knew to use simple vocabulary and dress simply along with including scenes of middle

class families putting their best foot forward to mainly, emotionally appeal to her intended

audience in order to get them to take action and vote for her. An author should be likewise

aware of the exigence, audience and constraints. Politicians tend to be very good at

analyzing a situation in which they need to persuade an individual or a group. Hillary

Clintons politicians in this case were very aware of who they are targeting, how they will

target and why. On a larger note, all politicians are decent at following that procedure.
This goes to show that in times as such, ads can be misleading. Just as propaganda in

many cases can be used to misguide the audience or persuade a group of people by only

sharing some of the truth.

Bibliography

ABCNews. "Hillary Clinton's 2016 Presidential Campaign Announcement

(OFFICIAL)."YouTube. YouTube, 12 Apr. 2015. Web. 13 Feb. 2017.