Anthony Rizkallah

Rhetorical strategies are often used in order for an author to convey their attitude or

beliefs on a subject. In the passage “National Prejudice”, Oliver Goldsmith displays his

disappointment in how people feel the need to put down another country just to boast about their

own. Oliver Goldsmith has a negative perspective of people insulting and stereotyping other

countries just to make their own country look better. Goldwin feels that all countries should be

equal, and that no country is perfect including his own. The rhetorical devices that Goldsmith

uses are tone, and pathos.

One rhetorical device that Goldwin uses to express his attitude towards the political

debate that he observed was tone. Tone makes the reader feel a certain way because of the way

the author writes, like the use of his vocabulary. In line 16 it states “the Germans were drunken

sots and beastly gluttons.” This quote is an example of what the gentlemen in the political debate

were saying about the Germans. When Goldsmith uses the words “beastly gluttons”, it really

adds a dark tone to the passage. It adds a dark tone to the passage because you can really feel the

hate and bigotry of those men. These words make the reader feel disgust from how stereotypical

and mean the men are that Oliver Goldwin are witnessing. In line 13 it states “declared that dutch

was a parcel of avaricious wretches.” A man who thought his opinions were better than everyone

else's said this, and because Oliver adds these vivid words like “wretches” it makes the reader

understand that Oliver hates this man and has a bad attitude towards this one minded mentality.

The other rhetorical device that Goldwin uses to express his attitude towards the political

debate he observed was pathos. Pathos is also a rhetorical device that makes the reader have a

strong feeling. On line 46 it states “i could easily perceive that all of the company began to
regard me with a jealous eye before I could finish my answer.” Oliver Goldsmith uses pathos to

make the reader realize that he can't stand how the other men are very closed minded. Even when

Goldwin tried to share his opinion the other men did not want to hear it. The words “jealous eye”

make those men seem cold. The diction of “jealous eye” gives the reader a very vivid image of

the stubborn men, and makes the reader feel exactly what is going through Goldsmith’s head and

his negative view of the one-minded men.

Feeling is something that can make people understand the attitude that an author is

expressing. Oliver Godwin uses Tone and Pathos to express his attitude towards the men having

the closed minded, bigoted, stereotypical political discussion. Due to Oliver's vivid vocabulary it

gives the reader the feeling that his attitude towards the men is disgust and negative.