A Rhetorical Analysis Of Our America By Jose Marti

From a young age, José Martí began dedicating his life to the promotion of liberty, and political independence for Cuba as well as the intellectual freedom for all Spanish Americans. One of his famous works, “Our America” stood as a rhetorical rally to unify Cubans from all backgrounds to come together for a common cause. To Martí, the need for a second revolution in the name of independence was evident. Throughout his work, he expresses admiration for the United States, applauding the function of democracy, while still stressing the dangers of its expansion into Latin America. One particular passage that stood out to me as being full of vivid language and alluring analogies was:

“Those who use the authority of a criminal tradition to lop

For example, the punishment for theft was severing the right hands of the offender at the wrist. In knowing the history of this ancient and barbaric punishment, I found it rather interesting how Martí used it in the way he did. He starts by saying “lop off the hands of their defeated brothers,” the defeated brothers being the people who have had their land stolen from out beneath them. This statement proves ironic in that the ones who fell victim to theft are the ones who receive punishment, rather than the thieves themselves. Martí uses this analogy to emphasize the unfairness behind their mistreatment, stating that they have been “punished sufficiently.” I believe this reference to be somewhat valuable, especially considering the similarities Cuba shares with Nigeria, for instance: music, language, literacy, and culture. However, Martí has never confirmed that this analogy was intentional, and instead, could easily be a product of an over-analysis of the

After reviewing the original version of his writing, which he had written in his native language, I have realized that much of what I had interpreted to have importance in the English translation, could not be justly supported in Spanish. I found myself paying attention to diction and the double meaning of certain words and phrases, without realizing that the language was very much different from that of the original. For example, I saw the usage of the word “lop” interesting in that it means to cut off from the main part of a tree trunk. Immediately I saw this particular play with diction as a way of emphasizes his analogy to nature. However, in the Spanish translation, Martí uses the word “cercenaron” which roughly translates to cut off, not lop. Therefore the previous connection I once made between the word and his analogy is not one that could be considered intentional in regards to Martí’s original