A rhetorical situation consists of the speaker/writer, the issue they are speaking or writing about, a way the issue can be publicized, and an audience. There are many creators in the world and each one of them have their own issues to talk about and their own way of writing or talking about it. Through the use of persuasive language, a creator can get through to their audience. More specifically using ethos, logos, and pathos. Ethos is when a creator uses ethics and credibility to get through an audience. Usually someone with years of experience has lots of credibility. The audience tends to lean more towards that. Logos is the use of logic and reasoning. Creators use hard facts, data, and appeals to the brain. Pathos is when the audience’s emotions are used for persuasion. A creator appeals to the heart because if we feel something, we do something.

Superman and Me by Sherman Alexie is about Alexie and how he learned to read from Superman comics. Alexie is the rhetor. He is the creator. Alexie uses ethos to capture his audience. He starts with mentioning how he grew up on an Indian reservation. The rhetor then continues to talk about how comics helped him learn to read. He sees the action in the pictures and assume the chat bubbles is Superman saying what he is doing. An example Alexie uses is when Superman breaking down the door. Since the cartoon illustrates Superman breaking down the door Alexie can assume the dialogue is something along the lines of ‘I’m breaking down this door’. He reinforces the use of pathos saying how he didn’t get along with the other kids because they were intimidated, “A smart Indian is a dangerous person, widely feared and ridiculed by Indians.” He then concludes with a slight use if ethos alongside the pathos he has been using throughout the writing. We can say the rhetor uses ethos because he states, “I write novels, short stories, and poems… I am smart. I am arrogant. I am lucky” This gives the reader the sense that Alexie is a credible writer and knows a lot more about literature than the average person. Throughout the rhetorical situation, the rhetor uses pathos and slight ethos to resonate with the audience.

Coming into Languageby Jimmy Santiago Baca is about Baca learning how to read and write behind bars and how he used it as an escape from his situation. The rhetor, Baca, uses a lot of pathos to connect to his audience. The first use of pathos is when Baca finds a book about his heritage and looks at the pictures. When he and his friends skimmed through the book they felt pride because the book showed the long struggle against inequality. The book gave them confirmation that their culture was alive. The rhetor was in prison for a very long time and it drained him. When he first wrote on paper he felt like he “could finally rest.” He reinforces pathos by saying how writing is his escape and momentarily places him anywhere else but prison. How it gives him the freedom to imagine like nothing before. Baca connects to his audience emotionally by hinting that though writing is his escape, he could never fully get away from his demons, “writing bridged my divided life of a prisoner and free man.” Audience heavily empathize with the rhetor because of his use of pathos. Baca’s escape is writing but nonetheless life catches up to him.

In conclusion, the writing of both Alexie and Baca really hits the reader and lets them connect to the rhetor. Alexie is a minority who learned to read and when he advanced people singled him out. Baca is someone who wants to get away from his reality and uses his beautiful writing to imagine like no other. Most minorities can relate to Alexie while those who want to escape can relate to Baca. A quote that really stuck out was from Baca’s essay “I could respond, escape, indulge; embrace or reject earth or the cosmos.” This quote really opened the topic of escaping from reality even if it is for a brief moment and further gave Baca the emotional connection to his audience. To me, this quote resonates because I never really was into writing and only read or wrote because it was necessary. For Baca, a man who is isolated and is drowning from his thoughts uses writing as a life jacket that kept him afloat throughout his prison life. I think of writing as something you are obligated to do and this quote made me realize that people use it as a distraction.

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