Rhetorical Analysis Of Edward Snowden

Making yourself an enemy to one of the most powerful countries in the world is quite a feat not many have accomplished. Only the worst of felons – terrorist leaders, drug kingpins, snitches who reveal classified information that the government is spying on its people – deserve this title. Edward Snowden has been criticized and praised for revealing the confidential information that the NSA was infringing on the privacy of Americans. Branded as hero, traitor, whistleblower, and a patriot, Snowden was forced to flee to Russia, eventually seeking asylum. After having little to no contact with the outside world, two years later, on September 29, 2015, the tattletale spoke five simple words – “Can you hear me now?”. Despite Snowden’s brief and semi-poetic sentence, his use of pathos and rhetorical tools – such as allusion and irony – help illustrate that he is a man that will continue to fight for the People, and that people should no longer stay ignorant to the government’s actions.
Snowden’s post on the social media website Twitter, “Can you hear me now?”, can be inferred as an allusion towards him now having a “voice”. In 2013, his “voice” was silenced when Snowden was forced to flee the United States after disclosing several highly classified information held by the United States’ Central
After having been pursued halfway across the globe for his “traitorous” actions, Snowden was forced into hiding. For a while, he was unable to comment on his actions. With him being pushed into silence by the government pursuing him, his first words to the public reflect back on the effects of his actions. His use of this short sentence is used in order to make a strong point; it gives the reader time to consider what is being said. It also enables the reader to easily remember what the person said. This combination allows the writer to instigate a bigger impact on his or her