Rhetoric anlysis - Essay Example

Rhetoric The opening paragraph identifies the primary characters and historical setting, in order to set a patriotic tone for the essay. The patriotic and reverent tone is typical in describing generals, while the dramatic tone fits the greatness of the event that the essay wants to capture. The conclusion echoes the introduction because it binds the characters of two great generals, who, despite their differences, found strength and nobility in pursuing the common goal of peace and nationality unity for the good of the entire nation.

Rhetoric #2 The sentence that has no verb indicates that Catton’s style does not emphasize on action images, but on descriptive images that aim to illustrate the paradox of being different, and yet being alike. Another example of atypical syntax is: “Daring and resourcefulness they had too” (paragraph 15). It is a typical because the predicate “Daring and resourcefulness” was put first before the subject “they.” The unique quality of writing emphasizes descriptions of the greatness of these two generals, and how they truly captured the diverse characters of the American identity.

Rhetoric #3Catton focuses more on the backgrounds of the two generals and how they served as the metaphor of their people because they are more important than statistics and dates in representing the greatness of two people uniting for a great common cause. For instance, Catton says that “Lee…himself was the Confederacy” (paragraph 6) and Grant was “the Westerner” (paragraph 11). By making each general stand for the people they were fighting for, Catton successfully creates a patriotic tone that can unify Confederates and Union supporters because, if their generals, the epitome of who they are and what they stand for, can set aside their differences to attain common interests, then these two groups of people can also do the same.

Rhetoric #4 The single sentence in paragraph 3 provides the thesis of the essay. It argues that these two generals are truly different, but they must collide in order to pave a new direction for the country. The purpose of using a single sentence is to emphasize the thesis and to set the tone of writing and attitude of the speaker toward the values and ideals that Lee and Grant represent, individually and jointly.Rhetoric #5 These coordinating conjunctions give special coherence to the paragraphs because they provide the signal posts for talking about differences or similarities between the two generals and the lives they represent.

They also support the patriotic, conversational tone that Catton uses, so that even the common people can easily identify with the nationalistic meaning and purpose of the historical event at the Appomattox Court House, Virginia. These paragraphs assert that these generals share the same values and experiences as their people, which makes them credible leaders of their times. If typical introductory expressions, such as “in addition” and “furthermore” are used, the paragraphs would all seem that they are talking about the same content, when Catton is making comparison and contrasts among the two generals.

Rhetoric #6 Catton used similar criteria in comparing and contrasting the two generals, where the main criteria were social class (where they came from and what their experiences were growing up), government and leadership values and aspirations, and individualistic and collectivist goals. Paragraphs 5 to 12 discuss the differences of the two in terms of the mentioned criteria. Paragraphs 13 to 16 describe their similarities as generals, which emphasize that both are true-blooded Americans who worked hard for their social status.

The comparisons are effective because they included important factors when comparing two people, plus the atypical syntax provided highlight on who these people are, where they came from, and how they rose to their social positions. In doing so, these comparisons serve to highlight that these two generals are both true patriots, whose unity only launched the nation into further greatness as one people.