Madam Rhetorical Analysis: Societal Expectations

Dear Madam Rhetorical Analysis When one yearns for their child to experience all the world has to offer, their decisions can effortlessly be clouded with the haze of emotion, revealing a new range of actions that had been previously obscure. This can be seen in the mother’s plea for assistance in her son’s opportunity of attending university to Samuel Johnson, who views the letter from multiple perspectives. When viewing the letter, he sees a baseless request for help, outside of the ordinary, in which a response would rarely be expected. However, he recognizes that this is simply a desperate mother, appealing to his emotions while at the same time prompting a response. When viewed as a whole, he knows that societal expectations and customs
Johnson adds, “.amongst all the great,” to question the mother as to her selecting himself out of all others that could similarly contact the archbishop. Likewise, he adds, “.among all the possible objects of his bounty,” to drive the point that her son is one of many that would desire the archbishop’s patronage, concentrating on the low odds of her son being chosen. He incorporates all of this to hide his direct thoughts in the midst of consoling tones, while at the same time being able to convey some of his initial thoughts on the matter. As Johnson’s denial builds, he reverts back to a Rogerian tone and informs her yet again that his decision had been made by the societal culture before she even wrote her letter, but asserts that, if possible, he would happily help her with the endeavor, with the intended purpose of cushioning his denial and lightening the tone to portray that he would have helped, had the situation been more adept to him doing
Johnson finalizes his denial with, “.but though he should at last miss the University, he may still be wise, useful, and happy.” This is one of the most important parts of his letter, as it is the last thing that will go through the mother’s mind, which is why Johnson chooses to end by assuring that attending the University isn’t something crucial to life, and that her son may still fulfill his purpose in life. Johnson ends his letter with a mound of consoling language in order to shift the mother’s focus while painting himself in better light. Johnson has maintained a simple goal throughout the letter, that being to deny the mother’s request while building on his image, redirecting guilt, and not being too harsh on the mother. His tone, along with the tone of certain words, shifts from Rogerian, to Toulmin, and back to Rogerian to hide the most direct part of his message amongst more consoling ones while at the same time conveying his separate perspectives