Let There Be Dark Rhetorical Analysis

Why We Fight, a 2005 documentary that was directed by Eugene Jarecki synthesizes multiple sources and uses various rhetorical techniques to raise questions about America’s motivations for combat historically and in the present day. In George Orwell’s Shooting an Elephant, a british police officer experiences effects of Imperialism even as the oppressor in Burma during the time of British Imperialism. Although these two different work involves different situation, there is still an idea of imperialism that is running through. United States is acting as an imperialist country, trying to spread its policy throughout the world while Burma was going through British Imperialism. In the documentary, Why We Fight, Jarecki argues that the reason we

Seeing an increase in light pollution and a decrease in natural darkness, Paul Bogard in his essay “Let there be Darkness” uses logic to persuade the reader to preserve darkness. Opening the essay with a personal experience from the past, he convinces the reader of the danger of light pollution. The author uses statistics, pathos, and science to support his thesis.

This postcard builds suspense in the reader’s mind. Alex saying that this adventure could kill him makes the reader interested in finding out more. “If this adventure proves fatal and you don’t ever hear from me again I want you to know you’re a great man.” (Krakauer 3).

How can day exist without night; how can night exist without darkness? In Paul Bogard’s, “Let There Be Dark”, Bogard elucidates on the absence of darkness in today’s world. With authenticity, Bogard analyzes the significant elements of darkness in both a rational and factual way. In “Let There Be Dark”, Bogard creates a refined and persuasive analysis using rhetorical appeals to endorse his ideology on preserving Earth’s natural darkness.

In Holly Wren Spaulding’s essay, “In Defense of Darkness,” her main claim is that we have fallen away from darkness and immersed ourselves in a society of lightness. Furthermore, she claims this has lead humans to lose touch with basic human emotion as well as the sensual and spiritual experience true darkness has to offer. Spaulding makes this claim evident through exceptional use of personal testimony and copious appeals to value.

Award winning journalist and author, Jon Krakauer, in his book, Into the Wild, analyzes the life of Chris McCandless as well as the events that ensued his death. Krakauer’s purpose is to inform the reader about how and why Chris McCandless decided to embark on a journey into the wilderness of Alaska. He adopts an empathetic tone in order to impart to his readers that Chris McCandless was a very misunderstood young adult.

Martin Luther King Jr. once said that, “Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.” During the time period (1850s) in which Frederick Douglass gave a speech entitled “The Hypocrisy of American Slavery,” slavery was still a prominent feature of American society, especially in the Southern States. Douglass, like many others, was an abolitionist, someone who advocates the abolition or ending of something, such as slavery. Douglass’s speech was intended to shine a light on what he called the hypocritical practice of slavery within the United States of America. Lyndon B. Johnson on the other hand, was the 36th president of the United States of America (1963-1969), and he served during a period in

Krakauer’s argument is, “McCandless wasn’t “stupid, tragic, and inconsiderate,” but instead paints a sympathetic picture of a young man with a profound moral compass seeking a higher truth”. His effective case justifying McCandless’s behavior, which may include potential biases, is effective for most personages. This contretemps is feasible, but there are some personages, like Peter Christian, that see the flip side of Krakauer’s assessment. Peter, who “arrived in Alaska in 1992” with McCandless, said “Alaska is populated with people who are either running away from something or seeking themselves in America’s last frontier” he came to Alaska with the same intentions. In his article he states that he was one of those young man.

Larry Karson, of the University of Houston’s Department of criminal justice, wrote his article about how a Grand Jury gets put together in the state of Texas. He clearly explains the process of picking the members for the Grand and Petit Jury and compares these processes with each other. Like two of the other articles I have mentioned, this article also explains the historical background and how Grand juries first started. It goes into depth of how racial discrimination in the Texas juries plays a roll with the proper functioning of the juries and how this problem can be averted.

The separation of church and state is an ongoing debate that effects everyone, even if you are not aware of it. There are many arguments to this debate, and both sides are heavily supported. I will be analyzing two sources that support the separation of church and state but used two different forms of rhetoric to support the separation.

In Bj Gallagher’s article “Donald Trump Is the Epitome of Everything the World Detests -- And Admires -- About America”(Sep.2, 2015), She Implies the positive and negative attributes in Donald Trump, and whether you should vote for him or not. Gallagher first demonstrates by showing the negatives of Donald Trump and his “arrogance” in an article written by Paul Thomas; Gallagher then argued the positive, admirable side of him by comparing his life to one we would all like to live, and to conclude she suggests that Trump is a “fresh breath of air” for millions of Americans by demonstrate that he is unique compared to past presidential leaders. Her purpose is to surpass his brash ego in order to to show he is worth putting your trust in.

The audience to which this paper is directed towards is the college aged baseball fan in America. They are interested in the game and love to go to the ballpark to watch a game, and if they can’t make it to the game they will try to watch it on TV or catch some of the highlights. They hear the stories about steroids and the various scandals, but don't possess a deep understanding of them. My audience’s attitude towards my culture is admiration for the players and teams. However, likely objections could include the steroid scandals and some fans may be hesitant to accept the fact the these players makes huge salaries each year. Professional baseball players come from all over the world, so while it is likely that my audience share similar backgrounds

“Night exposes much that is wrong with human nature and reveals little that is right”. Discuss.

In today’s society, artificial light is all over the place, wherever we go, there always is artificial light. Some people wish to see true darkness again, and one of those people is Paul Bogard. Paul bogard believes that natural darkness should be preserved and it is our job to make sure it is preserved. He builds a very persuasive essay using his memories and by asking many rhetorical questions to the reader. HE starts his essay of by remembering a time when he saw true darkness, untainted by artificial light. Then he uses facts to show how much the world has changed and how the next generation may never see true darkness. Than he comes back to his emotions and how he felt and that he thinks that we aren’t realizing the worth of true darkness, and if we don’t do something now,

In Paul Bogard’s “Let There Be Dark”, he emphasizes the lack of natural darkness due to artificial lighting. Bogard uses personal accounts, effective word choice, and the three appeals to urge us to find a solution in order to allow our future generations to be exposed to the natural darkness of the night sky.