Post #16: Essay #3- Rhetorical Effectiveness of a Modern Source

Bushra Zaman

English 360 Section 1

Essay #3

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Every year at Carnegie Mellon University, professors are asked to give what is called their Last Lecture, a kind of adieu to students, words of last advice. For Professor Randy Pausch this goodbye, and advice, was quite real. Pausch was diagnosed with stage three pancreatic cancer, and with so little time left, his Last Lecture had become a sinking reality. But instead of taking the expected reaction and shutting down, Pausch decided to do something proactive, for others, as well as for his own family. With three small children and a wife at home, Pausch wanted to leave something behind, showing his ongoing love and hopes and dreams for them. In doing so, the rhetoric of “The Last Lecture: Achieving Your Childhood Dreams” relied upon philosophy and humanity, playing into the hopes and dreams of others, and engaging his audience on a truly personal level.

While one may think that Pausch’s Last Lecture is only affective due to his personal appeal and the philosophic approach, looking deeper one can see that his rhetoric is affective in and of itself. To the ancient rhetoricians, premise was of high importance. The premise would set the stage for the argument, and during such times, scientific proof behind the premise ensured that it was acceptable and rang true. At the beginning of the lecture, Randy Pausch displays an image of all of his cancerous tumors, stating that, “My dad always told me if there’s an elephant in the room introduce them. If you look at my CAT scans there’s approximately ten tumors in my liver and the doctors told me approximately three to six months of good health left. That was a month ago so you can do the math” (Pausch).By showing the actual photographic evidence of the cancer in his body, Pausch is not only showing the audience the inevitability of his diagnosis, but he also shows that it is indeed scientifically real and he is not attempting to hoodwink those he is acknowledging.

The story of Pausch’s childhood dreams, and how he went about securing them, is, as a whole, a play on words. And it is because of this that one can see him using an abundance of tropes and figures to playfully prove his point. The very first trope which hooks his audience in, is his use of irony: “If I don’t seem as depressed or morose as I should be, um, sorry to disappoint you, and I assure you I’m not in denial” (Pausch).While most would say that it is natural for a person to be upset by such a diagnosis, Pausch has a somewhat humoristic awareness of this, and warrants the audience of this awareness as well. Another trope used in the Lecture is the play on sound and sense. Randy Pausch states that one of his dreams was to win large stuffed animals. Showing the audience that this was true, and that he had made sure of it, he had brought out onto the stage the various stuffed animals he had won. A figure that is easily seen by all in the lecture is the use of climax. Pausch first gives a list of his childhood dreams, and then goes on to show how he had accomplished each, or in some cases, how they had tied in to his career as an educator.

While Pausch draws upon ancient devices in his lecture, one can also see hints of 19^th century rhetoric throughout his work. More specifically, one can see evidence of Richard Whatley’s rhetoric in Pausch’s work. Whatley’s main concern over rhetoric was its inability to change in the last few eras; he believed that the 19^th century would surely bring about change. And with this change, rhetoric would form its reliance upon science. One of his core beliefs was that science and logic were the foundations of argument. This can also be seen in Pausch’s lecture, beginning with his premise of his cancerous images. By showing the scientific photographic evidence of his disease, combined with the statement that he is not in denial, Pausch shows that what he is doing is simply logical. He is aware of the scientific evidence behind his disease, even the audience is aware, but he is not stopping his life. By continuing with treatment and lectures, Pausch is doing the logical thing and showing that life does not stop, because it literally hasn’t; he is not dead yet, and he will go on living until he is. Another Whatley belief seen in “The Last Lecture,” is that scientific knowledge is based on reasoning. One of his childhood dreams was to be in zero gravity. While teaching at Carnegie Mellon University he and his team had done a project that enabled his team the chance to be in zero gravity. Unfortunately this did not include him, being the faculty advisor, so he signed on to the project for a different position. Pausch changed the reasoning in order to obtain his childhood dream.

The lens of modern rhetoric can also be used to analyze Randy Pausch’s “Last Lecture”. During the modern era rhetoric had truly began to develop and a true theory of language was conceptualized. This theory stated that the importance of written and spoken word was still high, pertaining to everyday life, ensuring that people could properly communicate in their jobs and careers especially. When delving deeper into the speaker’s lecture, one can see that this is truly the center of Pausch’s lecture. He speaks about how to achieve one’s childhood dreams, and in doing so, Pausch had to truly persuade and argue for himself, showing people how exactly he would accomplish them. Modern rhetoric also vouches for the importance of education, showing the importance of logic and its application to different areas. Pausch displays this idea throughout his lecture. Firstly speaking about how many of his dreams had somehow been connected to his career as a computer science professor, and throughout the virtual reality program he had developed. But another crucial highlight in his lecture pertaining to this specific idea of modern rhetoric, is the importance of mentors and students towards one another. While Pausch had a mentor that he had relied upon since he was a student, he also had students of his own that he had looked up to. Many of them had not only inspired him, but had continued the dreams of virtual reality work that they had shared. Modern rhetoric also sheds light upon the headway of the emergence of women. It was during this time period that women had truly begun to have a voice and had begun to voice their true opinions in public. Implicitly seen in Pausch’s lecture is that one of the students that had inspired him was a woman; and in choosing computer science as her path, she continued the virtual reality Alice project Pausch had started. After his death the university had chosen to memorialize his memory by offering a scholarship in his name to women in computer science.

Randy Pausch’s “The Last Lecture: Achieving Your Childhood Dreams,” is a display of words and emotions spoken by a man with little time left, but not in denial. Instead, Pausch had chosen to give his Last Lecture as a message to all those he loved and those he undoubtedly inspired. While the lecture truly plays into the personal level, engaging the audience by truly conversing with them, it also holds true to the art of rhetoric. Pausch is heard using various concepts, from both the ancient and modern eras. What may possibly make his speech modern and viable, is his use of technology tied into his premise that life after diagnosis can go on.

Works Cited

Pausch, Randy, perf.Randy Pausch Last Lecture: How to Achieve Your Childhood Dreams.Carnegie Mellon University, 2007.Web.14 Nov 2011..

Post #15: Modern & Post-Modern Rhetoric, Mikhail Bakhtin, and Marxism & Language

In the beginning of the 20th century, rhetoric had a significant decline. However, throughout the 20th century rhetoric became valuable, and gained the new reputation as the theory of language and meaning. Around this time the study of rhetoric had become known in college, transforming into composition, and focusing on technical writing and grammar. As composition became more vigorous and independent, a rhetorical analysis of academic writing had come about. Composition had become more professional and speech communication was introduced, stressing that the ability to convey knowledge clearly and efficiently was of utmost importance. Instructors had also started to become interested in the pedagogical theory, really delving deep into the style of teaching, and the rhetoric behind it.

Mikhail Bakhtin was a language and linguist expert. He believed that language can only be understood as dialogue, real utterances in social situations. It was quite common for Bakhtin to attack others' approaches to literature. But foremost, he was a true believer in Formalism, the study of structural linguistics; the main ideas being the abolishment of simplistic literature and the differences it held from practical language.

Post #14: Delivery, Maria Stewart, and Frederick Douglas

The ARCS textbook states that although delivery is now forgotten, it is still considered a cannon of rhetoric. While modern rhetoric's delivery relies more upon a "set format," such as a certain number of paragraphs, and such. Nowadays, the distance between the audience and the rhetor has significantly increased, making delivery even more obsolete. With oral discourse, the ears are focused in on the actual words, whereas the eyes are focused in on the bodily gestures of the rhetor. That being said, one can see how important punctuation is. The ancients had developed it in order to have a better flow with the actual written delivery.

Maria W. Stewart was an African-American rhetorician and activist. To her religion and God were very important, and from a young age she had access to books on preaching, which in a sense was the only real form of rhetoric for quite some time. During the early part of her life she had met many African-American clergymen who were important to the development of her thinking. One of whom was born free and actively attacked Thomas Jefferson for his racist statements. In her work titled "Religion and the Pure Principles of Morality," she asked her people to improve morally and educationally, and to resist white oppression.

Frederick Douglas, another activist, was born a slave, but he had strived to continue his education. During his enslavement Douglas organized literacy schooling for fellow slaves, instilling in others the need for an education and freedom. He later on fled to New York City, where he was free to speak against slavery. Many had noted him as a profound speaker, even when he refused to change his accent and dialogue. Douglas had truly believed that in order to speak to other slaves, he had to still relate to them and walk and talk like them.

Post #13: Memory, 19th Century Rhetoric Intro, and Whatley

The textbook, ARCS, views memory as a cannon of rhetoric. It also sees memory as an almost counterpart of kairos, they both require "attunement" and recalling the events. The ancient rhetorician Quintilian saw "tappable memory" as a system of signs and symbols that would help in triggering one's memory of the argument at hand. Although the current memory systems aren't as used as the ancient ones, cultural memory is still a phenomenon. In cultural memory, the writer needs to know crucial events and knowledge pertaining to the argument. Ancient memory systems, however, contain mental construction of images, the notion of literal "place", i.e. a house or a street, and the placing of a memorable item.

The 19th century rhetoric saw a development in women's rhetoric. It was by this time that most of the population, men and women included, were literate and attended formal schooling in atleast the elementary to secondary levels. This increase in literacy led women to further their education, especially in the sense of Protestant Christianity. Women who pursued the study of rhetoric learned of the classical spirit and it's application in public and civic issues. It is this awareness and knowledge that gave women a rhetorical and public voice, however progressive it may have been.

At this time in history, the rhetoric of men of color also came about. Men of color, like Apess, called for unity against white supremacy and the abolition of slavery. Such warranted ideas called for rhetorical strategies that would help in facing hostile audiences. One African American, a man named Frederick Douglas, took his self-taught knowledge of the European American tradition to speak for African American cause, as well as women's rights. By becoming so knowledgeable, even President Lincoln was persuaded to lend him an ear.

Richard Whatley altogether changed the face of 19th century rhetoric. He viewed syllogism as linguistic reasoning. Stating that rhetoric was of Aristotelian fashion, he had also noted that rhetoric had not gone through very significant changes. Whatley stated that logic was necessary and that science and logic were foundations of said arguements. Yet funnily enough, he also claimed that logic was the basis for religious argument, and often questioned the logic and science behind the New Testament, much to the dismay of others.

Post #12: Research Essay

Bushra Zaman

English 360 Section 1

Essay #2- Final Draft

Question #1

The great thinker Aristotle defines rhetoric as the ability to find, in any given situation, the available means of persuasion. During the renaissance rhetoricians would gather in coliseums to argue and listen to each other’s speeches. During those times they did not have any official form of government, hence all stately problems were addressed in said manner. Yet as time drew on and such meetings had begun to be recorded, it was found that writing and print had started to compliment oral speech. For without it, we would not have a solid recollection of what occurred. The work titled “Orality and Literacy,” by Walter Ong, states that oral expression cannot exist without verbal expression, and vice versa.

In this day and age, it is difficult to not see how Ong’s theory strikes true in rhetoric. When a text is read out loud, it is adapted into sound, which is derived from spoken language itself. Oral culture in turn leads to verbal production, and speech is then recorded and written down. The turning of such a tide brought about a whole new way of thinking in the world, starting with the renaissance and leading into the enlightenment period. This meant that written text had been broadened in its availability to other classes, and eventually led other peoples to revolt for a chance and a say in their own history.

Oral speech and its style brings about many different interpretations. For example, tone and change in style brings about different levels of persuasion. At a young age, people are socialized to adapt to a certain way of communicating; speech becomes a learned behavior, showing the difference between the right and wrong ways of speech by society’s standards. It is from this that oral speech is recognized as the more personal form of communication. However, without its humble beginnings of written language and text, oral speech would not hold the same connotations.

In written speech, it is key to have all the ideas available; for, without it, one’s speech is incomplete, and therefore their argument does not exist or is very weak. The advantage with written speech is relative to its abundant knowledge as well as the history behind the language itself. Without such knowledge, it would be impossibly difficult to move forward. When inspecting written and oral speech’s views on rhetoric, it is key, especially, to examine which is dominant today.

Ong relates his work to Aristotle’s “Art of Rhetoric,” forming the idea that rhetoric in itself is a production of writing. “Rhetorike, or rhetoric, basically meant public speaking or oratory, which for centuries even in literate and typographic cultures remained unreflexively pretty much the paradigm of all discourse, including that of writing” (9). Here one may see that Ong is drawing a strong connection between rhetoric, oratory speech, and writing. While it may be quite clear that all of these are connected, by delving deeper, one can see that before man had even come to think of oratory speech and writing, rhetoric was above all. Similar to that of the renaissance, it was the only way in which language and thought was communicated, not leaving very much room for the thought of written texts until later in history. It was not until much later in history, somewhere around the 16^th century, that the relationship between oral and written language had built its foundation. There was no doubt that oral art was conceived without writing, whether consciously or subconsciously. Written and oral language have developed rhetoric of today to great lengths, going above and beyond by drawing upon the ideology of the technological world.

Ong explains the concept of “secondary orality,” which is the new present day orality that is sustained by the technological culture. This “secondary orality” is a new orality that relies upon the workings of telephone, radio, television, and other types of electronics that rely upon writing and print for their survival. “Today primary oral culture in the strict sense hardly exists, since every culture knows of writing and has some experiences of its effects. Still, to varying degrees many cultures and subcultures, even in a high-technology ambiance, preserve much of the mind-set of primary orality” (11). Here Ong is seen comparing today’s “secondary orality” to “primary orality,” stating that due to the world’s views on, and increasing usage of technology, no aspect of life is untouched, especially the use of oral and written language. This corresponds to “primary orality,” which Ong states is “a culture totally untouched by any knowledge of writing or print” (11).

Walter Ong’s work, “Orality and Literacy,” detail the idea that oral and written language cannot exist

simultaneously without one another. Although the world had known oral language to have been bred first, written

language slowly started to develop in and on its own. Writing and print had slowly grown to form as one, each

making a mark on the works of rhetoric.

Post #11: Style, Vico, and Sheridan

Ancient rhetors referred to style as the different arrangements of words one could have. While ancient rhetors may have used such tropes and figures of speech to exaggerate their argument, modern rhetoricians draw upon such ideals to engage the audience. In order to truly persuade a reader or audience, one must have that initial connection to them. This truly comes from the use of one's langauge, their personal style. This will have the audience walking away with an impression of what the rhetor truly wants, truly values.

The son of a bookkeeper, Vico saw himself as an autodidact, one who is self-taught and free from the prejudices of the academic world. He truly believed that he had learned more spending time in his father's shop than in school. However, Vico's goal was to unite humanism with modern science. By truly studying the origins of language, one can see the social changes coming about around us. Hence, language affects the socialization of society, as well as the individual.

Thomas Sheridan, on the other hand, believed in fixed rules for the use of language. By establishing such rules, one would see improvement in the self, as well as in education as a whole. Sheridan believed that rhetoric should be equal to that of natural conversation, citing a strong correlation between verbal and nonverbal communication.

Post #10: Arrangement, Madeleine de Scudery, and Erasmus

When it comes to rhetoric, arrangement of one's argument is almost as important as the argument in itself. Arranging one's argument consists of selecting what is to be said, and deciding what order would utilize it's persuasiveness. In modern times, arrangement, such as flow of one's argument is highly important. However, to ancient rhetors, the concern lie in the actual presentation of the argument.

Madeleine de Scudery's firsthand contact with rhetoric, as well as the development of her own style, was born in the "salon". In the salons those of wealthy and bourgeoisie background would gather for written and spoken amusement. When it came to the women of the salon, they would have to be imaginative and witty, but also have a verbal depth. Literary disputes, poetry contests, word games, and current literature were all covered in the salons. And it is from these that de Scudery found the inspiration for her works. The rhetoric of the salon was that of a natural eloquence. Birth and ranking were important, but if one could easily present and persuade others with the utmost of ease, with a natural verbal air about them, they would be set.

Although Erasmus' upbringing was centered on the ideals of the church, he had hoped to escape in order to pursue humanist studies. Erasmus wholeheartedly believed in the value of education. As a follower of Quintilian, he believed that rhetoric was the key to analyzing Greek and Latin texts. Gifted in syntactic structure, he believed in bending of language itself; there are a handful of ways in the English language alone, where one could word things differently but come out with the same result.