Non Violence Rhetorical Analysis

In Leo R. Chavez’s ethnography, The Latino Threat: Constructing Immigrants, Citizens, and the Nation, the claimed problem of Latino immigration, specifically Mexicans, is tackled using interviews, statistics, and other works of literature. Chavez’s ethnography not only discusses Latino immigration but Latino invasion, integration, organ transplants and even Latina fertilization. One of Chavez’s big topics is on how the media influences the public to believe that Latinos are planning an invasion or take-over in order to gain the land that was originally Mexico’s. The topic of Latina reproduction and fertilization comes up multiple times through Chavez’s ethnography. Another main topic that plays a part in Chavez’s argument is the Latino role in public marches and the citizenship aspect of their actions.

What literary devices did Chavez really use for his argument about nonviolence resistance? Although Chavez uses a variety of literary terms, he uses Logos, the appeal to logic and senses, and aphorism, which is a belief that expresses a truth or principle of life. Chavez uses Logos to bring his point that violent protests not only take away or injure innocent people, but actually may end up hurting your cause in general as it can lower “morale” in those who do support your cause. It can also make those who wish to support your cause not to due to your idea’s violent reactions to your opposition and what they stand for. “If we resort to violence then one of two things will happen: either the violence will be escalated and there will be many

In Cesar Chavez’s article published on the tenth anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination, he argues that nonviolent approaches to society’s moral and ethical dilemmas can make much more of an impact and end in better terms that work more favorably for the majority. Chavez supports his claim by describing the use violence to solve issues can result in severe consequences, implementing anaphora throughout his argument to make constant repetition of nonviolence stand out to the reader, and utilizing formal diction to make his advocation for nonviolent methods more appealing to the masses through direct explanation. The author’s purpose for writing this article is to highlight and incorporate his own views on non-violent strategies

Even ten years after Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was murdered for his anti-racist actions, the battle against discrimination continued. As a civil rights activist, Cesar Chavez fights for workers’ rights. In his article, Cesar Chavez employs a convincing tone, contrasts, and allusions to convince his readers that nonviolent protest is the right way to create change in a community. Using this logos he has created, Chavez uses a convincing tone to sway his readers into agreeing with him. By stating that “nonviolence has exactly the opposite effect,” Chavez leaves no room for any argument with his strong word choice.

Comparing these reveals that with violence, even when it succeeds, it only replaces an oppressive, violent force with another one. To accomplish revolution, non-violence holds the most leverage and gathers the most people. Concluding, Chavez successfully downplays violence as a viable option for resistance to oppression by rhetorically convincing his audience

The civil right movement is what caused others to be devoted to nonviolence. Cesar wanted people to realize that violence only causes death and oppression toward the ones who want freedom while nonviolence allows you to grab the attention of many in order to solve a greater issue. Chavez’s essay uses many rhetorical choices that includes appeal to history, pride, and morality; all of these help him convey the idea that nonviolence is better than violence because violence only causes injustice and casualties. The rhetorical choices make his argument more relatable to the audience. First and foremost, Chavez uses history in order to portray to the reader that history has shown violence has potential deadly consequences.

The main points in Cesar Chavez’s speech, “He Showed Us the Way”, are that nonviolence reigns over violence in power, the aftereffects of violence vs nonviolence, and what we as humans lose through using violence to solve our problems. One of the main points in Cesar Chavez’s speech is nonviolence ruling over its opposite, violence. In the speech, Cesar Chavez compares and contrasts nonviolence and its opposite to clearly describe how nonviolence is superior. “Nonviolence has exactly the opposite effect. If, for every violent act committed against us, we respond with nonviolence, we attract people’s support.”

Nonviolence provides the opportunity to stay on the offensive, and that is of crucial importance to win any contest” (Chavez 3). He applies words such as “powerful”, “moral”, and “opportunity” to uphold his purpose. Chavez’s diction in this quote conveys nonviolence to be both a reasonable and approachable method for solution, considering the positive outlook it holds for a society’s conflicts. Accordingly, the differentiation of connotations through particular uses of diction

He also very systematically explains the thinking process of the people involved in the various nonviolent demonstrations. However, in contrast to his previously succinct and to the point sentences, paragraph 14 contains an extremely long and detailed sentence. Here, he also changes from simply addressing the reader to actually attempting to put the reader

Before Martin Luther King Jr. died his idea of nonviolent protest were being questioned. Huey Newton wrote “What good however, was nonvoilence when police were determined to rule by force? . . . We recognized that the rising consciousness of Black people was almost at the point of explosion. ”(Document 1) This statement was a result of the attack on the Watts community by the police.

For many years, there has been a lot of controversy centering on the rate at which crime and violence is happening in society. Steven Pinker, the author of “Violence Vanquished” states, “We believe our world is riddled with terror and war, but we may be living in the most peaceable era in the human existence.” This quote from the article proves to many people that our world isn’t as bad as it is made out to be. In the article “Violence Vanquished” Pinker uses Logos, and an argument of fact to support the article 's central message which stands to prove violence is at an all-time low in today’s society.

Cesar Chavez, labor union organizer and civil rights leader, took the 10th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as an opportunity to remind people about the benefits of nonviolent resistance. Chavez published an article in the magazine of a religious organization devoted to helping those in need. In this article, Chavez shares his views on how nonviolent resistance is more effective than violent resistance. Chavez contracts the outcomes of violence versus nonviolence using an if then format in order to prove nonviolence superior.

In the first paragraph Chavez mentions Dr. Martin Luther King Junior, stating that Dr. King’s “entire life was an example of power that nonviolence brings…” This reference to Dr. King causes those who know of his impact to realize that he lead a strong historical example of what nonviolence could achieve. By using Dr. King as an example it indicates that Chavez thinks that if nonviolence had heavily impacted the past, then it would most likely do the same in the present and future. Chavez also makes a reference to Gandhi and his nonviolent boycott in India, claiming that what he taught “is the most nearly perfect instrument of nonviolent change.” By using the word perfect to describe Gandhi’s teachings of nonviolence, it further supports Chavez’s stance for nonviolent resistance.

“The greater the oppression, the more leverage nonviolence holds. Violence does not work in the long run and if it is temporarily successful, it replaces one violent form of power with another just as violent.” -Cesar Chavez “He Showed Us the Way” (Lines 73-77). Chavez employs ethos and logos to help solidify his point, which ultimately helps him forge a convincing argument.

Near the beginning of his renowned essay, "Civil Disobedience," Henry David Thoreau appeals to his fellow citizens when he says, "...I ask for, not at once no government, but at once a better government. " This request serves as a starting point from which the rest of "Civil Disobedience" emerges. Thoreau 's essay is particularly compelling because of its incorporation of rhetorical strategies, including the use of logos, ethos, pathos, purposive discourse, rhetorical competence and identification. I will demonstrate how each of these rhetorical techniques benefit Thoreau 's persuasive argument. Thoreau uses logos throughout his essay to strengthen his argument with reasoning.