Rhetorical Analysis Of Speak Your Obscure By Ralph Waldo Emerson

To begin his essay and to convey an idea, Ralph Waldo Emerson builds up the opening lines with a charismatic gusto; to which his word choice is very particular, because the words he chooses directly influences his tone throughout these three paragraphs. His tone seems friendly and wise, it could be compared to the “old man at the corner-store” type character; on a lazy summer day, always genuine and offering down to earth advice over a cup of lemonade. It creates such an atmosphere for the audience to become comfortable, and in this case the audience can be assumed to be singular in the context of the text, so it can be implied that message will be personal, which is textbook pathos, and because his proposition plays on our emotions, we take his words to heart. Emerson creates a string of beatific phrases that echoes in the labyrinths of our private minds. Our thoughts, our ideas, are indeed important. Speak your

He ties in the powerful testament to man’s survival through hard work individualistic thoughts, that only through yourself can you provide that “kernel of nourishing corn” to yourself. That analogy links to two metaphors in the opening sentence to the second paragraph, which read “envy is ignorance; imitation is suicide”. How can you survive if you lack intelligence, following in the footsteps of someone else? An interesting quote from this paragraph reads “Not for nothing one face, one character, one fact, makes much impression on him, and another none”. The quote alludes to the idea that an individual's perception is solely his own. There is no real reason for why some ides, things, or people leave an impression and why others do not - it is simply up to the individual to interpret what he sees, which justifies the irony of the