Hello, my name is Jakob Koehn, and I am a freshman this year at the college. Today I will be doing a rhetorical analysis on the article Ahmaud Arbery and the America That Doesn’t Exist, written May 10, 2020, by Dr. Esau McCaulley of Wheaton College. In the article, McCaulley talks about the death of Ahmaud Arbery and relates his situation to his own life. I will discuss what I believe MCaulley is trying to tell people and what I think of his use of words, tone, and emotion in this article.
Dr. McCaulley begins his article by making you think deeply. He uses an analogy about football, which we all can relate to, and his words grab our attention. For example, in paragraph 1, he states that football does not prepare its athletes for a life of fitness. Its drills and exercises are meant to harden the body for collisions. After our playing days are over, we must find new ways to keep our bodies in shape. McCaulley’s purpose in using this statement is to be relatable. He also played football and then switched to jogging just like Ahmaud, who was killed. Going into the next paragraph, he ties in his statement and relates to Ahmaud’s life. His wording in this statement draws the audience to relate to both himself and the life of Ahmaud. His language throughout the article is what makes this article so meaningful and powerful to read. An excellent example of his words being powerful is in (paragraph 4), where he says Ahmaud is not a social or political issue but a person with family and friends.
Throughout this article, we can see one general tone, and that is fear. Mccauley fears for himself, others, and, most importantly, Ahmaud. One good example of this is in( paragraph 2) when he says that he had to change his wardrobe to all bright-colored clothing so people would see him as exercising. He fears if he had not worn bright clothing while jogging, people would see him as a threat and not just a man excersing. He shows his fear for fellow African American people and shares his thoughts on how white people should view black people. Overall I think McCaulley does a great job portraying a tone of fear throughout this article. His technique also ties in with his emotion toward the topic he is discussing. In the article, McCaulley uses both an expository and a persuasive tone. He explains the issue of Ahmaud’s death, and then he persuades us to follow his opinion. I would say he uses more of a persuasive tone in the second half of the article and an expository style in the first half. Either way, he is persuading us in the second half to go along with his opinion, which is that an African American should be able to run in a neighborhood regardless if it’s theirs and not fear for their welfare. The first half is strictly expository because he tells us about the topic, and then he backs all that up by using persuasion in the second half of the article.
The last technique Is emotion. In this article, emotion ties in with tone and wording, but overall, the report has three types of emotion. McCaulley wants us to feel the same feeling he is feeling: sympathy for African American people. He does this by describing his opinions on what happened to Ahmaud and how he feels about the topic. For example, he says in paragraph ten that black people need to be viewed as fully human beings made in the image of God. McCaulley sharing his opinion here makes you stop and think that this tragic event is a big deal, and it helps you understand that black lives matter to him, and he views Ahmaud’s life the same way. The second emotion is frustration or more what I would call justified anger. He is frustrated because he believes that you should be able to run in a neighborhood regardless of race and not fear for your life, however in America right now, this is not a true statement. The last emotion that can be seen in McCaulley’s article is hope for the future. McCaulley describes how he hopes America will change its rights for African Americans in the future, and he encourages Americans to do better. The last sentence is an excellent example of hope as he says that, Another way to honor Amaud’s life is to find room for joy, knowing that we are not alone in our struggles.