Language is Key

Photo Credits: Number 10

Have you ever had a conversation with someone where you go in set in your ways, but when you walk away you find yourself questioning all of your opinions? It's not like you agree with the person, but suddenly their thoughts don't seem as wrong. This eloquent use of language in order to persuade someone is known as rhetoric, and after reading about it, rhetoric shows up everyday.

I had never fully understood the extensiveness of rhetoric or its actual meaning before reading the Crowley and Hawhee article, "Ancient Rhetoric". During ancient times, rhetoric was used to figure out the best possible solution for a given issue. Whether it was policy making or solving a dispute between two people, rhetoric was seen as a tool. Through the centuries, it seems that rhetoric has taken on a whole new meaning.

Today, rhetoric is usually associated with lying and deceit. Think about politicians. They tend to make many promises, convincing people to vote for them. However, many times as soon as they get the vote, they never follow through on the promise, leaving the people hurt and dissatisfied. Rhetoric doesn't just appear in political climates; take a look at your phone.

How many times a day do you find yourself checking social media? Would you have ever thought that even social media was a platform for rhetoric? Think about it for a minute. When you post a photo would you ever think about posting an unflattering photo? No, never. People tend to post photos that frame them in a certain light. This can be considered a form of rhetoric as people are convincing you to think of them in a certain way through the use of the photos they post.

Language manipulation has been around for centuries, but has evolved and changed concurrent with society. It has gone from spoken word to photos and multimedia, who knows what it will evolve into next.






Comments

  1. Norma GarciaSeptember 21, 2017 at 7:03 AM

    As someone who also seems to transition at the beginning of a paragraph using a summary and preview, I love the way you transitioned between the paragraphs of political climate and social media. It was a great way to set you up for you next point which I also enjoyed! I don't think many would even begin to consider social media as a form of rhetoric so that was very insightful!

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownSeptember 21, 2017 at 7:04 AM

    The use of rhetoric in photos is an especially salient point, as it is something we rarely, if ever, think about. The way a photo is framed, lighted, cropped, and edited are all rhetorical choices, though we rarely view them that way. On top of that, choosing which photo to post is a rhetorical strategy. By being aware of these rhetorical choices, we can tailor the photos we post to fit a certain message, for good and for bad.

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    Replies
    1. UnknownSeptember 21, 2017 at 7:17 AM

      I like your transitions between your points throughout this work as it seems to work as a transition between old and new forms of rhetoric. I also like how you gave very small mundane occurrences into this piece through the social media connection. I too hadn't really seen the full scope of rhetoric before that reading as well and through your post, you do its points justice.

      Delete
  3. Shwetanc BothraSeptember 21, 2017 at 7:10 AM

    Social media.... its uses are endless, aren't they? I was flabbergasted while reading the Ancient Rhetorics article,realizing in my head the direction we have taken today with regard to voicing our opinions and the ease with which we can do the same. We've made commendable progress, but is it entirely on the right track... i wonder.

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  4. UnknownSeptember 21, 2017 at 7:13 AM

    I think this is rarely touched upon, but photos, multimedia, and even emojis have become an integral part of communication in today's society. As such, it should be said that rhetorical devices are used with them. You definitely bring up an interesting idea about where rhetoric is seen today and how it is starkly different from ancient rhetoric.

    ReplyDelete

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