Summary Of Clarence Darrow Rhetorical Strategies

Many articles, especially those within the opinion section of a newspaper or a magazine, will often contain elements of rhetorical strategies. These rhetorical strategies help enhance the argument that is presented in the article and thus,in most cases, help the reader come to the same conclusions that the author came to while writing this article. Yet, When there is use, there is also misuse. It is through this case that even some misuse of the rhetorical strategies can lead a well balanced opinion article to become a very bias “puff piece.” One of the main examples of this, especially pertaining to the use of persuasion ( ethos, logos and pathos), is in an opinion piece written by Jason Lee Steorts for The Atlantic. This article was titled “When Should Cops Be Able to Use Deadly Force?” and for a controversial issue, the author used copious amounts of rhetorical strategies to conform to his own bias, ineffectively used supporting and opposing sources and committed fear mongering in some cases. All of which clearly indicate to the reader the poor attempts to compensate for the lack of legitimate evidentiary support in his arguments in this article.

In Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood, the author confronts the reader with the discussion of the need for the death penalty, by presenting the issue through the characters of Dick Hickock and Perry Smith. He writes, “Our state provides that the punishment for murder in the first degree shall be imprisonment for life or death by hanging. That is the law. You, gentlemen, are here to enforce it. And if ever there was a case in which the maximum penalty was justified, this is it.” (27-31) The Prosecuting Attorney Logan Green uses the law as a justification of the death penalty. This statement clarifies the penalty and proves the necessity of its use. The Attorney views this to be the prominent solution, in which anything less would be too fair to the murderers. He then states, “So gentlemen, what are you going to do?

“Complex/Capital Case.” I stared at these words typed on my local county sheriff’s inmate directory. Above was an image of a man — face beaten and showing dozens of gang-affiliated tattoos — and I attempted to see a resemblance between his face and my own. I spent hours researching what “complex/capital case” means, and once I read the words “death penalty,” and although I knew that he had yet to be tried, what I did know was that this was the end for him. On the screen in front of me was the image of a man who was convicted of seventy-one counts of assault with a deadly weapon, kidnapping, and attempted murder.

During the case one of Clarence’s associates was caught bribing a juror so that Darrow could have a greater chance in winning the case. This shows that Darrow would do anything no matter if it was illegal or risky in order to win a case. The loss of his case affected his reputation but after time he managed to get back to the way he was. The case against Darrow on jury tampering and bribery was ultimately dismissed in

The 1920s proved to be hysterical in Braintree, Massachusetts. Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti were Italian immigrants during a time period that showed great animosity to foreigners. In the presence of two crimes, one a robbery and assault, the other a holdup and murder, Sacco and Vanzetti were ultimately executed with minimal evidence to support the allegations against them. In the presence of prejudice, acts of injustice to another are inevitable. A witness arraigned Vanzetti of committing a crime based on the overgeneralization that all foreigners run the same. The judge adjudicating the trials disclosed to a friend of a noted humorist about his intentions to have Sacco and Vanzetti executed based solely on the fact that they were

Adam Clayton Powell Jr. tells them that they are behind the times and still stuck in the 19th century. He brings up the eradication of second class citizenship. He also tells them (the audience) that they are not making any effort at all to help with the ongoing race problem. The focus is mostly on how the government has failed to put laws in place and how they should get their country under control. He explains how he is a Congressman and shows how even a black man is eligible for that job which really hits home with a lot of people. “I am proud to be a member of the Congress of the United States. I am proud to be a member of the Legislative branch of the United States Government.” From what I could tell, this audience was very diverse through

This rhetorical strategy helped push Young’s view on capital punishment. Persuading the reader to see that the death penalty is the only way that this hurt and sadness will end is crucial.

1, 1910, a bomb was detonated at the Los Angeles Times building killing nearly 20 people. The explosion was planned out by James McNamara and his brother John. Originally, the plan was not to cause any human casualties, however, a natural gas line they did not know about erupted when the bomb went off greatly increasing the explosion. The DA at the time persistently tried the cases until he received the death verdict. Nevertheless, Clarence Darrow stepped in. However, during this case Darrow was prosecuted for planning to bribe two of the jury members, and he was never allowed to practice law in California again. This incident was the final transition from labor lawyer to defense. Although Darrow is an excellent attorney, one might ask why Clarence Darrow wanted to defend criminals that even he knew were guilty? It is because Darrow feels a sense of sympathy for criminals. He believed that people do not commit horrible crimes out of free will but rather an external factor. Furthermore, he thought that all criminals have a mental illness that lead them to the crime, and therefore the death penalty was a cruel and unusual punishment. An excellent example of this is the Illinois v. Leopold and Loeb trial. Two young boys, Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb, were convicted of murdering a young fourteen year old boy. When everyone thought their case to be hopeless, Darrow stepped in and proved them all wrong. Darrow miraculously got Leopold and Loeb off the death penalty.

Many people are controlled by fear and are made to do things that aren’t right. In the book Night by Elie Wiesel, Jews are being controlled by fear and are stripped of their rights. In the present world mainly in Syria, ISIS, the radical group that fights for terror, is doing the same to frighten the world and kill those who don’t obey them just as the Germans did to the Jews. Terrorism around the world is controlling people by fear. For instance, let’s talk about how in both situations the victims decide to realize their fate because of how bad things have gotten.

The article What Will Doom the Death Penalty by Daniel LaChance is discussing the issue of capital punishment and how to successfully get the death penalty abolished by trying a different strategy than what is most commonly used. LaChance an assistant professor of Law at the University of Emory his view of the death penalty is expressed as “an intolerable affront to human dignity” (1), LaChance is displaying the fact that he is extremely passionate towards his views on capital punishment. The first argument of the article is the support for capital punishment has greatly declined throughout the year, many would think the decline is because of the emotion factors that are present with capital punishment but in reality has more to do with the whole process. At a certain time capital punishment was wanted by Americans because of an increase in violent crimes in the mid-1960s it was easy for Americans to want justice and not in LaChance's words “time off for good behavior”(3). This option of punishment than was what Americans were looking for but had a massive downfall that would later lead it to its failure.

On August 22, 1924 the famous orator Clarence Darrow, dubbed “the attorney for the damned.” begins his 12 hour-long closing arguments, for the most covered news story since World War I. Darrow mixes ethos and logos appeals, bringing tears to the eyes of the judge and many in the courtroom, to serve justice by saving his clients, Leopold and Loeb from the death penalty. Darrow implores the Judge to spare the lives of Leopold and Loeb. As Darrow said, “I am pleading for life…I am pleading that we overcome cruelty with kindness and hatred with love.” (Placeholder1; Linder)

Orwell describes one of the prisoners as “ … a puny wisp of a man, with a shaven head and vague liquid eyes” this suggests that the prisoner was a small, thin man with distant, far away eyes. His careful word choices seem to indicate a sense of sympathy for the man. “Vague liquid eyes” suggests that the prisoner has accepted the fact that he is to be hanged; he has lost all hope and has given up on life. By making the reader feel sympathy towards the prisoners Orwell encourages the reader to think about their opinions on the subject. As the reader feels sorry for the prisoner they will be forced to consider their own views. The characterisation of the prison guards also plays an important part in allowing the reader to consider their views on Capital Punishment. When describing the prison guards, Orwell writes, “lashed his arms to his sides” this suggests that the guards are being very forceful and brutal in their treatment of the prisoner. The writer also uses similes to try and sway the reader to believe Orwell’s own beliefs, that Capital Punishment is wrong. He writes, “It was like men handling a fish which is still alive and could jump back into the water.” This suggests that the prisoner has accepted his fate and isn’t putting up a fight for the time being but that he could at any given time. Through portraying the guards as forceful and brutal Orwell further encourages the reader to think about their own opinions on the main issue the essay focuses

As I watched him during the trial I was struck by his passion and zeal to get justice for the family of the murdered Travis Alexander. At this time I had gone from being a customer service representative of a local company to being an insurance agent. In my time at these jobs I'd seen nothing like his shrewd cross-examination styles, his preparation and

As a result, Adams establishes the British prisoners as those that must be saved, those whose rights are being compromised. This ties Beccaria’s quote to an element of his central argument -- that the protection of rights is the priority -- and clarifies that is the prisoners who are being subjected to tyranny. By appealing to the jury’s pathos and beliefs, who most likely feel that they themselves are victims of tyranny, he invites them to sympathize with this argument. The provocative diction -- words such as “agonies,” “fatal,” and “tyranny” are used -- triggers an emotional response from the jury, and allows them to make a connection between their own fervent defense of liberty and the liberty of the British soldiers (Ellis 2-3). Beccaria’s quote develops the logic of Adams’s argument by supporting the protection of the soldiers’ rights; it effectively plays on the values of the jury to appeal to pathos and make his claim more convincing.

After his hanging, the major looked on in disbelief at the actions that took place as his worthy adversary hung from the gallows. Even though he was the enemy of their nation, he still carried himself with grace and dignity as no one else before him. It only takes that one person to open someone else’s eyes and make them see the cause they are fighting for is not always moral just.