Preview

Declaration Of Independence Rhetorical Analysis

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
574 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Declaration Of Independence Rhetorical Analysis
A document created to convince 13 whole colonies to go to war with their homeland. Although it seems crazy that document is real and it is the Declaration of Independence created 239 years ago. Most things from 239 years ago do not make sense to people today. The writing styles from so long ago are usually irrelevant now. Surprisingly, the five parts of the Declaration of Independence contain diction comparable to writers today. The document contains rhetoric devices like parallelism, logos, ethos, and pathos.
Parallelism is rephrasing and repeating a word or phrase to emphasize the importance. An example of parallelism today is reduce, reuse, recycle. The concept of recycling sticks better and seems important because it is repeated. In the Declaration of Independence parallelism is used during the grievances against the King. As each grievance is stated it starts with “He” to emphasize the fact that the King is responsible for all the wrongdoings against the colonies.
Logos is a rhetoric device that presents facts and logic. Anything that is a fact applies to logos. An example of logos is saying the sky is blue. “The sky is blue” is a fact so it is an example of logos. There are examples of logos all
…show more content…
Pathos is using emotions to persuade. Kids use pathos the most frequently by crying. If a child doesn’t get what they want they will cry making the adult feel guilty and buy what the kid wants. Pathos was a big persuading device when the Declaration was wrote because they wanted to convince people to be angry at the King, proud of their country, and in mood to fight. pathos was used the most in the Declaration of Independence when talking about human rights. Using emotions to persuade people that they deserved the rights listed in the Declaration really hooked a lot of people. Everyone believes they should have rights and the writers of the Declaration said they could make those rights

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    The writer also uses pathos to appeal to emotion throughout the writing. Vonnegut appeals to emotion when he said “I have raised six children, three my own and three adopted. They have all turned out well… I am a combat infantry veteran from World War II, and hold a Purple Heart. I have earned whatever I own by hard work.” He is use his life experiences to relate to some people on the board that has a similar life situation. This appeals to emotion because it make the audience feel the sad or angry, because they have the same or similar life style. The fact that he was in the World War II and got a Purple Heart makes the audience respect him more because of his service.…

    • 533 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Calling for military emancipation makes it difficult to declare who actually freed the slaves before the ratification of the thirteenth amendment. The slaves who ran to Union lines were freed with the document, but they ran to the military on their own will. Lincoln did not have anything to do with their running away because it has happened for centuries. It is this fact that makes the efficiency of the Emancipation Proclamation questionable. If the document did not remove the slaves from their masters and no one enforced it, how could it be efficient? Gates, Bennett, and Lincoln made the observation that the document only freed the males that joined the union. This makes it difficult to find records of exactly how many slaves the document…

    • 395 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Pathos is highly focused on emotions, feelings and psychological state of the listeners. It is the fact that we can interpret the concept of document easily when we are in good mood but we cannot interpret it when we are in hostile mood. So it is the fact that pathos-driven document concentrates on the mood, emotions and feelings of the audience.…

    • 1909 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Imagine being locked in a confined cage. No matter how much you struggle, and no matter how hard you try, you cannot escape that cage unless someone lets you out with a key. This was what life of slavery was like in 1791, and Benjamin Banneker truly expresses that in his letter of persuasion to secretary of state Thomas Jefferson. “We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal, and that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” Banneker quotes the Declaration of Independence. Using this reference is only one of his many strategies used in the letter. His persuasive tactics merge together to present a persuasive argument.…

    • 452 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In The Declaration of Independence Thomas Jefferson serves as a representative for the Thirteen Colonies by stating their grievances against King George the III. He elaborates on the complaints by giving his reasons for why it is necessary that the colonies break away from Great Britain and King George 's rule. He states that the king has neglected, restricted, and deprived the colonies of their rights. Jefferson is able to clearly get his message across by using a variety of rhetorical devices, which include allusions, anaphora, details, diction, imagery, and tone. He uses these literary devices effectively to help convey his message, although Jefferson 's most effective rhetorical device proves to be his persuasive appeal, meaning ethos, pathos and logos. With these techniques he is able to appeal to the audience 's emotions, ethics, and logic, helping Jefferson to further prove his points valid.…

    • 886 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Declaration of Independence was a document enacted in order for the thirteen colonies to emancipate from under Britain’s control. In it they speak to the king himself, the citizens of the thirteen colonies, and any other major audiences who are attentive to what circumstances have developed. The argument that is created by the newly sovereign people is supported by ethos, pathos, and logos, and is reinforced with the use of anaphora and parallelism together they all make a progressive structure that leads to their declaration of independence. Making this a strongly justifying Document…

    • 521 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The writers of the Declaration of Independence used many techniques to enhance the meaning of this historic document. The writers start off by establishing their ethical standing; that they are reasonable and honorable men (they do this by acknowledging that they need to explain to everyone the reasons for their actions.) The also state the purpose of the document; why the colonists want to separate themselves from the British Crown. They continue onto the next paragraph and state their beliefs. I noticed syntax in the second paragraph. The word “that” is repeated so their fundamental beliefs are loud and clear. They argue that when the government fails to protect the rights of the people, the people have a right to overthrow that government “But when a long train of abuses and usurpations… is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such…

    • 491 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The rhetorical device pathos is used widely in literature to provoke emotions in the reader or audience. If the speaker succeeds in creating the desired emotion towards the subject, pathos can be used as a powerful persuading device. In Atticus’s closing argument from To Kill A Mockingbird, he uses pathos to persuade the jury and audience.…

    • 359 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Pathos is the emotion used by the author or speaker; it can be shown using exclamation points, question marks, and the tone the used. Also some phrases that trigger emotions can be considered a form as pathos as well. Patrick Henry famous statement “Give me liberty, or give me death!” uses pathos because there is an emotional connection with this phrase. This statement shows he is very passionate about this subject which makes his speech more persuasive. And claiming he would die for liberty it shows he is devoted to fighting against the British.…

    • 460 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Thomas Jefferson, former president of the United States, in his document, the Declaration of Independence, establishes U.S. independence. Jefferson’s purpose is to declare that the American people were not going to stand for despotism. He adopts a professional tone in order to …in the U.S. Congress and the people of America.…

    • 271 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In the eighteenth century, colonists were subjected to the harsh mercantilist policies of the British. After many years colonist grew weary of these oppressive acts and responded with the Declaration of Independence. Written by Thomas Jefferson in 1776, the Declaration of Independence stated the natural rights of all human beings, and the countless acts of oppression on the colonist by King George III. In the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson persuades Britain to grant colonial America its Independence because George III is un-fit to hold the governmental power of colonial America.…

    • 592 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Declaration of Independence is a very important as well as a large part of our American history. Everyone in America, and possibly even a lot of people outside of America are very familiar with what the Declaration of Independence is, and how it affected our history. There were plenty of events that lead up to the writing of the DOI. Thomas Jefferson is the main person that is involved with the Declaration, he was trying to get a point across to the colonist, some other american people, and congress, even though some of them already wanted the DOI to become real. Throughout the writing Jefferson was trying to keep his point at a calm, but logical tone.…

    • 458 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    It was a document that convinced the colonists to break free from the British government was known as the Declaration of Independence. This document pursued to happiness and liberty for the colonist in the 13 colonial states of the United States of America. The Declaration of Independence by Thomas Jefferson use the rhetorical devices diction and repetition to convince the United States to declare independence from Great Britain.…

    • 427 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Stanton, Elizabeth. “Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions.” The Seagull Reader: Essays, edited by Joseph Kelly. W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. 2016.…

    • 896 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Often a single document defines and commemorates an event or a moment in time that is of importance. The Declaration of Independence is the principal document that defines and commemorates the birth of the United States and the independence of our nation. The Declaration of Independence defines the right of the people to defy the established order, to change their government, and to throw off an oppressor. [1] The Declaration of Independence expresses America's foundation and independence and the basic freedoms that this nation strives to embody, such as "life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness". The important thing about the Declaration of Independence is not the document itself. It is the feeling and beliefs of a group of people that were speaking for a whole nation. The Declaration of Independence was written in 1776, but its message is timeless and still relevant today. The purpose of the Declaration of Independence was to declare and explain why the thirteen colonies were breaking away from Great Britain's control. The Declaration of Independence had a massive significance in political, social and financial issue.…

    • 1186 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays