Thoughts In The Presence Of Fear Rhetorical Analysis

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Manifesto Analysis “Thoughts in the Presence of Fear” is a manifesto written by Wendell Berry, dated October 11, 2001. It is a post-September 11 manifesto for environmentalists. Berry uses terms such as “we” and “they” as he expresses his ideas, regarding how our optimism for a “new economy” was founded upon the labors of poor people all over the world. I will conduct a rhetorical analysis of four sections of Berry’s manifesto; Sections XI, XII, XIII, and XIV; and discuss his use of ethos, logos, and pathos. Berry uses pathos more often in his paper, to instill feelings of guilt and fear in his readers. While many areas of his paper can be thought of as logos, Berry makes little use of ethos. One of Berry’s topics that comes close to a use of logos is found in Paragraphs XI and XII, where he makes the case of an inescapable choice that we have to make. One choice is that we can continue to promote global and unlimited free trade, which must now be protected by a huge, expensive, and worldwide police force, maintained by several or all nations. Such a police force would only be effective as it “oversways the …show more content…

The talk we hear from politicians, bureaucrats, and commentators tends to distill the issues we must confront to those of unity, security, and retaliation. It is difficult for citizens to be aware of what is taking place in Washington in times of crisis, because of these talks. In my own opinion, Berry could have helped to prove his case by providing examples of the oratory we hear from politicians or bureaucrats. He could have also sought the thoughts and opinions of ordinary citizens, in regard to their views on what the politicians say. Furthermore, Berry could have provided politicians’ thoughts on the 9/11 attacks, and compared them to the opinions of citizens on said attacks. A use of ethos such as this would have greatly benefitted Berry’s

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