Rhetoric Personally Defined

Throughout my life I have loved writing! Looking back at some of my writings, I find
myself reading them and being astonished at the fact they all are persuasive. My professor, Dr.
Michael Kleine, enlightens the class that all writing is persuasive. As I listen, I nod my head in
agreement, because every piece of writing I have read has been persuasive. Rhetoric can NOT
just be Your truth, because we are entitled to our own opinions, but we are not entitled to our
own facts. To be an effective persuader, you must believe what you are saying is true and an
unadulterated fact. Rhetoric poses the questions, What is being said? and How is it being
said? I believe that rhetoric is the vital means to achieve your purpose.
I have been inspired by a plethora of rhetoricians and rhetorical values. I place strong
value on three distinct rhetoricians over time. They are as follows: Aristotle(Adam), Dr. Martin
Luther King Jr.(me), and Dr. Maya Angelou. My core rhetoric style is attained from the
principles of these amazing dignitaries. These incredible rhetoricians empower me to write
truthfully, boldly, and effectively.
I would like to start by speaking about Aristotle. Aristotles(Adam) three persuasive
appeals- Logos, Pathos, and Ethos contain the basis for all of my rhetoric. I have learned to
address my audiences emotions by using metaphors and similes in conjunction with passionate
delivery(pathos). I always incorporate into my rhetoric the persuasive appeal, logos. Logos
provides the basis of facts. I believe it is important to address the facts in your rhetoric because it
helps support your argument. Facts are a necessary component in any form of language. One of
my favorite rhetoricians, Dr. Martin Luther King, whom I will be discussing, utilizes this appeal
very strategically. Aristotle said, three things inspire confidence in the
rhetors(speakers/writers) own character-the three, namely, that induce us to believe a thing apart
from any proof of it: good sense, good moral character, and goodwill. He adds, False
statements and bad advice come from a lack of any of these elements. I learned from Aristotle
that, exhibiting those three aspects of character in your discourse can play a significant part in
gaining credibility for your ideas. I regard Aristotle as being influential to my writing, because
his basic foundation for rhetoric is good moral character, good sense, and good will. I firmly
concur with Aristotle, that you must have good sensible knowledge about not only what you are
writing or speaking about, but also who is your audience that you are appealing too. My
rhetoric, thanks to Aristotle, has a foundation of moral competence. Moral competence is simply
knowing who you are and what you stand for, from a character perspective, before you even
begin putting your pen to the paper.
What is rhetoric, you ask? There is a man who incorporated the appeals of Aristotle so
brilliantly that even if you hated him, you did not have any choice but to stop, listen, and respect
him. This dignitary is Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. Martin Luther Kings phenomenal wisdom
regarding the chords of language is classical and legendary. Dr. Kings eloquent speeches utilize
elements of language to influence an audience. Dr. Kings writings and speeches elicited
amplification and repetition. In Dr. Kings rhetoric, he uses repetition to command your
attention, which is a very impressive and strategic way of getting the audience to not just hear
him, but to listen. Dr. Kings rhetoric taught me how to be frank and speak, not just from my
own shelf, but shelves throughout history. The way Dr. Kings demeanor comes across in his

writing is very captivating. I hope to learn to write and express myself with that same demeanor.
Dr. King knew when to sacrifice the use of pathetic appeals and let one persuasive appeal
dominate an argument. The way he grabs your attention with statements like, America has
given the Negro a bad check, a check which has come back marked insufficient funds, pierces
your soul to the core. Dr. King illustrates how words have power if structured correctly. Kings
rhetoric did not just appeal to one audience, but to three types of audiences likely to be listening
to him. He spoke to average blacks, average whites, militant blacks, and racist supremacists. Dr.
Martin Luther King in all of his writings addressed his critics directly with dignity and poise. In
Dr. Kings fight for social and racial equality he was nonviolent. Ironically, if you notice, he was
also nonviolent in his writings. Dr. King knew how to convey his tone. Such tonality is key in
every rhetoric piece. Dr. King remained true to his character, even in the face of opposition. He
inspires my writing because of his leadership stance in rhetoric and in life. For our rhetoricians
over time essay, we were asked, How would we teach this persuasive writing class? I, who was
Dr. King, would walk in the classroom and ask you to ask yourselves are you a leader or a
follower? With leadership comes adversity. Such adversity magnifies and elicits hatred. Then I
would ask, can you stand to be hated? In my writings I stand as a leader! I stand as a confident,
non wavering rhetorician, just as Dr. King did. I aspire to learn how to address my critics as Dr.
King exemplified, that is, with tact to educate and wisdom to know who and when to address.
Another rhetorician who inspires me beyond words on a page, beyond words spoken into
a microphone, my favorite, my mentor in a lot of aspects, is Dr. Maya Angelou. Maya Angelous
rhetoric is thought provoking, timeless, amazingly structured, and exceptionally profoundly
defined. Maya Angelous rhetoric is profoundly defined because she reaches deep within your
soul and touches every crevice of your heart and mind. Dr. Maya Angelous rhetoric tells a story.
She uses pathos to appeal to the emotions of the audience. Her writings are not normally
conventional. Sometimes she writes in rhyme and rhythm. Dr. Maya Angelous rhetoric
galvanizes me into action; bringing my writing to life. I aspire to write deeper and more
profoundly in my rhetoric. I hope to one day break down my own barriers in rhetoric and speak
directly from my perspective.
My definition of rhetoric will guide my own future writing, by continuing to speak the
truth, even in the face of adversity to achieve my purpose. My purpose will always be rooted on
right and wrong, facts versus assumptions, and personal growth. While maintaining my stance on
what I believe, I will speak of my truth, but acknowledge the facts. I believe in black and white,
but I also believe that there are gray areas in claims and rhetoric. I would like to reiterate that
rhetoric is the vital language to achieve your purpose. I hope to achieve purpose, by not
manipulating you, but inducing you to think on a deeper, more profound level. Dr. King spoke
his peace and allowed the audience to face the truth and believe what they concluded. Jesus does
the same. Jesus spoke THE TRUTH and you choose what to BELIEVE. What is belief? Belief,
is getting your audience to accept that your statement is real and true. The true rhetoricians did
not try to manipulate the audience, but they spoke with truth and left the words to penetrate
through you however you allowed them too. Words are just words either spoken or written, until
you, the author give them meaning and life. The Bible says, Life and Death are in the power of
the tongue.
I am now in the home stretch of my college career. For the remaining year, I plan to
sharpen my understanding of the skills that my favorite rhetoricians have so beautifully

perfected. I plan to travel in my writings. Meaning, as I am writing, I want to not only take my
audience on a journey, but I want to take the journey with the audience while writing or
speaking. Rhetoric is in itself a journey; a body of work that invokes passion and life. Your goal
is NOT to focus on winning your audience over, but getting them to discern the heart of your
cause. When I put the final period to my last sentence, walk away from my writing, and disperse
it for the world to hear and see, I want to have bled out my soul, like my favorite rhetoricians. I
want my body of works to have sung, spoken, and bled, after the final period.
--Tiffany Jones--