While making his argument, Stevenson uses one tone toward the legislature and another tone toward the bill. He uses “the Honorable” to address the members of the Senate, and ends with “Respectfully” to keep his statement formal. His use of this respectful tone enhances his ethical appeal so that the audience is more apt to accept his veto despite the fact that he attacks them for passing this legislation. While using a respectful tone toward the audience, he utilizes a tone of mockery toward the bill. Stevenson asserts how they have to take sides in problems “dog versus cat, bird versus bird, bird versus worm” if they passed the Cat Bill which would not benefit the country in any ways. Stevenson illustrates that the Cat Bill and the people…
In his passionate and inspiring speech given to the Lesly University graduating class of 2018, award-winning author Jason Reynolds clearly articulated and emotionally persuaded the audience through his use of recalling personal experiences and a direct comparison in order to highlight his message of being grounded. Jason Reynolds tells a story from when he was in high school and uses this personal experience to add substance to his message and help the crowd visualize the point he is making. The story Jason Reynolds talks about is from a Global Studies class he took with a teacher named Mr. Williams. In this story, the teacher makes it so you get suspended for doing the morally right thing and when this rule is broken he sends the two girls…
In his emotionally charged speech given to the 2018 graduating class at Lesley University, Jason Reynolds inspires and encourages his audience through the telling of a personal story and the repetition of similar sounds to share the importance of being there for others while still striving to be their best. Jason Reynolds tells a personal story in order to catch the interest of his audience. He tells the story of a high school teacher who taught him that “sometimes doing the right thing has consequences” through the use of a fish. Reynolds tells this story in order to keep the audience invested in his speech and the lesson he was trying to teach. Similarly, while finishing his story, he says that he and the others in his class had to “sit through…
The Ted Talk by Julian Treasures’ reflected his views on successfully speaking to engage an audience to listen and understand. To build credibility he spoke confidently about his past Ted Talk speeches and visually showed the audience his knowledge when becoming inclusively vocal. He also included images for visual representation and an acronym which showed his knowledge and research on the topic. He used Pathos methods to engage his audience by adding humour into his speech and incorporating audience participation when he presented his vocal practice. This proved to be extremely evident as the audience became more interested and positive after participating.…
In the documentary, 13th, the director, Ava DuVernay, conducts a detailed analysis of the system of mass incarceration in America. More specifically, how the prison structure of America affects people of color. The 13th amendment may have physically removed the shackles that enslaved African Americans, but replaced them with “mass incarceration, police brutality and policies that have continually disenfranchised people of color.”…
The Trayvon Martin case has been followed by many and used as a platform for politicians and activist on both sides of the race issue. There are very clear sides and opinions with Bill O’Reilly being of the opinion that the President has the ability to have the ability to affect positive changes in the way black male youths see themselves and interact with others. The author agrees with the opinion of Bill O’Reilly.…
Throughout Anthony’s speech, she alludes to past successful revolutions, and compares historic events to the women’s suffrage to encourage victory. References to the American Revolution and the abolishment of slavery lie throughout Anthony’s speech to establish her point. For example, Anthony discusses the dissatisfaction of women with their government by referencing the chant from the American Revolution,“taxation without representation” (Anthony 1). Incorporating this familiar chant, she established that the rights for women remained unfair, and her use of war talk encourages her audience to fight for this cause. Not only did Anthony reference the American Revolution, but she also compared the abolishment of slavery to the fight for women's rights.…
Published in 1894, “The Story of an Hour,” has endured longer than the title would indicate and is a declaration of the support of independence for women from its author Kate Chopin. Having read this story before in other courses, and having spoken at length about how Chopin was in support of the idea of woman’s suffrage even before the suffrage movement caught hold, this story leaves a lasting impression and resonates deeper with me every time I read it. Chopin uses her work to illuminate the joy of independence and the oppression that marriage can bring. Whether intentional or unintentional, her message is not only meant for women but, extends to men as well. It is a timeless theme that anyone can learn from in every age. By her use of various literary elements such as, structure, and style, and the use of rhetorical devises such as pathos Chopin creates a work that provokes deeper though and asks a reader to delve into the emotional struggle of her character Mrs. Louise…
One of the most devastating fact to me is when I think about the Juvenile Justice System / Criminal Justice System I think about being privileged and not being privileged. It’s not a hidden fact that minorities have the highest incarceration rate and it’s been that way for a very long time.…
Bryan Stevenson argues that the people of color are in despair and hopelessness. He states that 60% of all young men of color are in jail, prison or on probation or parole. This country has been very different than it was 40 years ago, there are more that 2 million people in jail today. The system is not only distorting around race but poverty. We have a system of justice that treats you better if you're rich and guilty than if you're poor and innocent. Many people are sent on death penalty for crime they have not committed or are innocent. He also points out that men of color are more likely to be trialed as guilty for crimes they have not committed.…
I had intended on going to the vigil Wednesday night (2/8) but much to my dismay, there was no vigil (or I missed it). So instead of attending a diversity event for this paper, I watched a documentary on Netflix called 13th. This film discusses the issue of racism in the United States criminal justice system; specifically relating to how the 13th amendment transformed the view of African Americans from slaves to criminals.…
In our nation today, we hardly think of discrimination as being a big issue, but Alexander shows that our prison systems are proof of discrimination. Other studies help support this by saying that, "African Americans make up 57 percent of the people in state prisons for drug offenses." This colorblindness has become a part of our daily lives. We can not see how much our nation is affected by racism until we stop and actually listen to those who have fallen victim of being placed in prison due to their skin color. Not only are African Americans racially profiled, they are also punished much worse than Caucasians by being sentenced longer in prisons and…
"We have more work to do when more young black men languish in prison than attend colleges and universities across America." President Barack Obama.…
There are over millions of people incarcerated but African Americans and Latinos make up most of the prison population. To attempt to stop certain problems, the criminal justice system just put people behind bars and expects that everything will be fine, when in reality it isn’t because now the jails are becoming overcrowded. Dealing with the drug war, racial profiling, and people growing up in low-income neighborhoods and high-poverty rates, minorities have a higher inmate ratio but the drug war is the greatest cause of why the minority inmate ratio is so high.…
In, “Beyond the Prison Bubble,” published in the Wilson Quarterly in the winter 2011, Joan Petersilia shows different choices about the imprisonment systems. The United States has the highest incarceration rate of any free nation (para.1). The crime rate over a thirty year span had grown by five times since 1960 to 1990. There are more people of color or Hispanics in federal and state institutions then there are of any other nationality. The prison system is growing more than ever; the growth in twenty years has been about 21 new prisons. Mass imprisonment has reduced crime but, has not helped the inmate to gradually return back to society with skills or education. But the offenders leaving prison now are more likely to have fairly long criminal records, lengthy histories of alcohol and drug abuse, significant periods of unemployment and homelessness, and physical or mental disability (par.12).…