Rhetorical Devices Used In Breaking Bad

A concept that has been present in the world for as long as the human race has been on this planet has developed into a vast field of study in its lifetime. The definitions of rhetoric have changed many times throughout history but even the classic theories are still applicable today. The study of rhetoric is a toolbox filled with intuitive tools to think about or understand a situation and/or symbols differently.

To understand how to use the tools of rhetoric; the basic terms and definitions are essential. The basic definition of rhetoric is “the use of language and other symbolic systems to make sense of our experienced, construct our personal and collective identities, produces meaning, and prompt action in the world”(Borchers 24). For our first

The creators used ethos and pathos to make the felonies he was participating in seem less criminal due to the reason as to why he was committing the crimes he was. On the complete opposite side of the influence on the audience was my artifact, which were the waist trainers promoted by the Kardashians. This first application showed just how diverse rhetoric is. All of the different definitions are unique to their time period and creator. For example, Aristotle’s definition: “the ability, in each particular case, to see the available means of persuasion” (Borchers 5), and Bacon’s definition “The duty and office of rhetoric is to apply reason to imagination for the better moving of the will” (Borchers 6). There are many more versions of what rhetors believe rhetoric is. A lot of the reasoning behind these versions is the time period in which they are created. The four main time periods are; pragmatic-dominant (200 B.C.E.- 95 C.E.), Aesthetic (1400’s-1500’s), Pragmatic- subordinate (1700’s – 1800’s) and Social (1900’s – Present). The Social era of rhetors believed in rhetoric as a social process. By definition a social process is: “the means by which