Rhetorical Analysis

Rhetorical Analysis
This essay argues that the Globe and Mail (G&M) article, ‘Don’t Teach Until You See the Whites of Their Eyes’ (18 August 2012), is persuasive with its primary target audience of G&M readers. Clifford Orwin, the author of this article, is a professor of political science at the University of Toronto. Furthermore, the main focus of this article deals with the fact that: “Real education requires real teachers and students, not disembodied electronic wraiths.” Through the rhetorical analysis of this editorial, this paper will demonstrate that its persuasiveness can be attributed to four key aspects: through an emphasis on the use of deliberative stasis; its use of ethos and logos; and through its effective use of rhetorical imagery. Before the case can be made for understanding how and why this article is persuasive, we need to begin with setting the context of the issue or exigence to which the article was responding and whether that response was timely and appropriate. To understand the exigence of this article, the interpretation of Orwin’s implied audience is necessary to grasp how the two concepts within exigence, kairos and phronesis, both link text, context and audience together. Through an extensive analysis of the assumptions made by Orwin, the implied audience consists predominantly of instructors. Moreover, Orwin’s motto: “Don’t teach until you see the whites of their eyes.” Also used as the title, directly implies that the audience consists of instructors because they have the responsibility to teach within their profession. Specifically, the motto indicates that Orwin is commanding instructors to refrain from teaching until they look at their students in “their eyes.” Furthermore, since jazz music is a genre of music typically preferred by mature individuals, the citation of a jazz metaphor from an external source indicates that Orwin assumes his audience consists of mature individuals, such as instructors. Consequently, the data from the G&M media kit indicates that the bulk of readership consists of individuals with a university degree and up in terms of education, and approximately 51 in terms of age. “Newspaper National Media Kit 2012.” GlobeLink. The Globe and Mail, September 2012. Web. 07 November 2012. Therefore, the media kit data confirms the fact that the implied audience consists of instructors because it is certain that instructors are mature individuals who posses a university degree and up. Furthermore, Orwin uses direct implications to position the readers in a certain way. Specifically, Orwin assumes that the implied audience holds the belief that teaching online will dominate education. According to Orwin: “You hear a lot of talk about […] how the future of teaching lies online.” Therefore, in accordance with the fact that Orwin bluntly points to the audience as “you,” proves that he assumes the audience hold’s the belief that teaching online will dominate education. On the whole, the context of the issue or exigence consists of saving education by influencing the audience to overlook the common belief that the future of teaching is destined online. In other words, Orwin rhetorically positions the audience as potential advocates towards live education. Hence, keeping the exigence of this article in mind, we can assess the kairos and phronesis to analyze whether this article is timely and appropriate.
The analysis of the kairos and phronesis is executed to further contextualize the rhetoric of this article. Since the article is published in August, it’s rational in terms of kairos because it precedes September – the typical commencement of the school year. Furthermore, the timeliness of this article can be attributed to the significance of the time frame between August and September. Specifically, because school commences on September, the audience will typically be interested in school related topics due to the nature of their profession. Likewise, the publication date of this article is appropriate because the audience has an opportunity within the time frame to advocate Orwin’s exigence. In other words, provided that the audience has considered the exigence of Orwin’s article, the phronesis is sensible because the audience can inform others to consider this novel information. For example, an instructor may send out an email regarding the disadvantages of online education to his or her students before September to assist students decide on whether or not to adjust their schedule before the existence of the deadline that demands a levy on tuition. Thus, considering how the kairos and phronesis link text (article), context (exigence), and audience (instructors), we can now examine the deliberative stasis theory logically.
In order to probe the cannons of rhetoric, we must analyze why this article holds the dominant genre of deliberative rhetoric. Moreover, the genre of deliberative rhetoric is defined as future orientated, and frequently speculative. As a result, since Orwin proposes a theory, his article is considered to be speculative, and thereby based on the genre of deliberative rhetoric: “My theory of education is simple: You have to be there.” Furthermore, the genre of deliberative rhetoric is dominant because Orwin structures his debate with the main assertion that: “By education I mean formation of the whole person […].” For this reason, in order to understand how Orwin desires the best course of future action, we must consider the association of the main assertion reiterated at the end of the article: “Because education addresses the whole person, it requires a real person to model it.” As we have seen, the recurrence of the “whole person” endures significance between these two quotes because Orwin subliminally implies that the best course of future action for the audience is to advocate live education or else students may not achieve the being of a “whole person.” Furthermore, since the welfare of the future generation depends on legitimate education, one could say that the audience is persuaded to advocate Orwin’s exigence for the sake of the future generation. Another instance where Orwin proves he desires a future course of action is evident when he rephrases the jazz metaphor by Mark Edmundson: “You revise your presentation as it goes, incorporating the students’ evolving reception of it […]. You don’t address students in […] cyberspace. You always teach these students, in this room, at this time.” Perspicuously, Orwin is assertively implying that live education is the best course of future action because students must be catered to on the basis of their “evolving reception” of education. Thus, the evidence above proves that Orwin’s article confirms the definition of the genre of deliberative rhetoric. In short, now that we have categorized Orwin’s article by the deliberative stasis theory, we are in a logical position to examine the relevant cannons of rhetoric.
The analysis of ethos demonstrates that Orwin established credibility through the reference of concrete teaching experiences, and by citing an external resource to avoid being perceived as biased towards live education. Specifically, Orwin refers to concrete teaching experience to gain mutual consensus with the audience: “Above all, it’s crucial for me to hear their voices as they answer my questions and ask their own [...].” As we have seen, Orwin’s precise wording of his opinion based on concrete teaching experiences indicates an intention to create rapport with the audience. For example, instructors may reminisce on similar events that take place in their classroom. Thus, one could say that gaining mutual consensus from the audience is credible because the audience can relate to the author on a personal level. Furthermore, Orwin utilizes concrete teaching experience to prove that he strongly opposes online education. According to Orwin: “Recently, someone offered me an online platform for my teaching […]. I declined.” As a result, one could say that Orwin’s rejection to teach online courses creates credibility on behalf of the audience because he is supporting his exigence. In addition, Orwin includes an external source by Mark Edmundson to avoid being perceived as biased towards live education: “He explained why teaching requires the physical presence of students.” Clearly, both Edmundson, and Orwin share identical claims regarding the importance of live education. As a result, one could say that the diverse perspectives on live education may lead the audience to perceive Orwin’s topic as thoroughly researched, and thereby, more credible. Therefore, Orwin’s use of an external source to avoid being labeled as biased toward live education, concrete teaching experience to create mutual consensus with the audience, and loyalty to his exigence, he proves that he holds ethos to support his claims. In sum, now that we understand how the implied audience derives a sense of credibility from the author, we can effectively examine the disposition of Orwin’s article. Orwin arranges his argument in an informal, pro versus con logic to persuade the audience to confirm the validity or logos of his article. Moreover, the informal tone of writing Orwin utilizes is colloquial. For example, Orwin speaks in a tone that takes the form of a spoken conversation in certain instances: “Live education is expensive you say? The best things in life tend to be.” As a result, this informal tone helps the audience gain a sense of validity because Orwin ensures his question holds valid responses. Specifically, referring to the quote above, the audience may imagine things that are expensive and make an association that the “best things in life” are literally expensive. Therefore, since Orwin confirms the validity of his claims, he is more persuasive because the audience gains trust.
In order to fully comprehend the validity or logos of Orwin’s article, we must also consider the logic of the pro versus con debate he utilizes. Since the pros outweigh the cons in Orwin’s article, this logic assists the audience to accept the validity of his exigence. First, Orwin acknowledged the pros of online education in accordance to people “who lack access to a real education.” Conversely, Orwin counters his argument by stating the cons of online education: “Still, don’t mistake what’s better than nothing for what’s the best.” Furthermore, Orwin states that online education is also useful when education has met the conditions of live education. As we have seen, the significance of this pro versus con logic can be attributed to the fact that Orwin probed his topic to prove to his audience why they should support live education over online education. For this reason, it may initially seem that Orwin is contradicting his claim, but the rebuttals to his argument explicitly states why the cons of online education are relevant and useful in certain contexts. Therefore, one could say that since Orwin probed his topic, it convinces the audience of its validity because Orwin is avoiding the perception as a conservative towards live education. Finally, we must analyze how Orwin effectively displays rhetorical imagery to obtain a complete comprehension of the persuasiveness of his article.
The use of metonymies and metaphors are utilized in Orwin’s article to create persuasion through rhetorical imagery. Moreover, the use of a metonymy in relation to Orwin’s motto clearly states the main point of his article. Specifically, the historical significance of Orwin’s motto: “Don’t teach until you see the whites of their eyes.” Effectively interchanged teaching with shooting in the context of war; clearly denoting that if the teacher or solider wanted the greatest effect of their education or ammunition, they must look at their target or student in the eyes, before they teach or shoot. Therefore, the significance of Orwin’s motto can assist the audience to create an analogy between the context of war, and education, to clearly verify the exigence of his article.
In terms of metaphors, Orwin uses effective rhetorical imagery to support his exigence: “The classroom experience – live – remains the heart of real education.” As a result, this is a persuasive tool because the analogy between the words, “live” and heart, to education, is not literally applicable to education because it’s not a living thing. Also, Orwin creates a larger implication from this metaphor by associating “live” to his opinion that: “I’m only at my best with flesh-and-blood students to animate me.” Hence, the use of the word “live” in accordance with flesh-and-blood, and animate - logically refer to the whole education process as a living being. Thus, one could say that this metaphor persuades the intended audience to believe that, in order for education to “live,” students in flesh-and-blood are required to animate the teacher. Moreover, Orwin uses a more vivid metaphor to ensure that the audience grasps his exigence: “The electricity that crackles through a successful classroom can’t be transmitted electronically.” Hence, the persuasiveness of this metaphor is effective because Orwin correlates “electricity” with the means by which online education is transmitted, and also metaphorically referring to the power of live education. In addition, this metaphor implies that online education doesn’t hold the same power or “electricity that crackles” as in a live classroom. Furthermore, “crackles” is an onomatopoeia that confirms the vividness of this metaphor because it creates a rhetorical effect by creating the mental picture of electricity. Therefore, this vivid metaphor correlates with Orwin’s exigence perfectly because it distinguishes the difference in “power” between both forms of education. It’s true that all key aspects mentioned earlier must be taken into consideration while analyzing the persuasiveness of Orwin’s article. However, the author was not effective in certain instances regarding his wording. For example, when Orwin states that, “teachers are expensive dinosaurs,” it makes no sense whatsoever. Nevertheless, considering that the audience consists of instructors, Orwin may have referred to teachers as “expensive dinosaurs” to induce a sense of humor, and thereby, to create a positive impression before the audience considers his argument. In short, by considering all key aspects discussed earlier, Orwin’s article is persuasive on the basis of his intended audience.

Bibliography
Orwin, Clifford. “Don’t Teach Until You See the Whites of Their Eyes.” Globe and Mail, 18 August 2012: F9. Print.
“Newspaper National Media Kit 2012.” GlobeLink. The Globe and Mail, September 2012. Web. 07 November 2012.
Leach, Joan. Qualitative Researching with Text, Image and Sound: a Practical Handbook. SAGE: 2000. Print.

Bibliography: Orwin, Clifford. “Don’t Teach Until You See the Whites of Their Eyes.” Globe and Mail, 18 August 2012: F9. Print. “Newspaper National Media Kit 2012.” GlobeLink. The Globe and Mail, September 2012. Web. 07 November 2012. Leach, Joan. Qualitative Researching with Text, Image and Sound: a Practical Handbook. SAGE: 2000. Print.