Unit 1 Assignment :Rhetorical Analysis

Unit 1 Assignment: Rhetorical Analysis

Editorial: Urban Perspectives/ Cut the wealth gap: A civil rights fights

Acel Moore's editorial "Cut the wealth gap: A civil fight" seems to be a call for the younger generations to become more aware of their rights and of the struggle that the older generations went through to get things to be the way they are today. Narrowing the gap between rich and poor is our fight of the century. He says it "should be a civil right priority in the 21st century". Moore talks about the idealized vision of the belated Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and how things have evolved since the segregation era but points out that we are still very far from unity. His main concern is obviously fighting class disparities, which he claims, "enforce racial division". I think Moore gives us many good reasons to support his position and claims and also gives us many alternative courses of action.

Acel Moore uses many writing techniques to convey his message and to support his claims. His arguments mainly derive from ethos and logos. I think what makes the writer credible is the fact that he is black and his deep involvement in civil rights movements and in the community. Also his level of education and his talents proves his credibility and add to his trustworthiness. After all, he is a columnist at the Philadelphia Inquirer. In the ninth paragraph, he appeals to the readers' ability to judge the fairness of a situation, the ethical standards engraved in our minds. He cites a Brandeis University Professor who gives some examples of laws that had as consequences the exclusions of African Americans from "the greatest wealth-building opportunities in American History".

Moore uses a lot of numbers and proportions when appealing his audience's logical reasoning. When writing about the political involvement of race and gender minorities, he appeals to logos to make his point. It seems like nowadays, forty-three members of the congress are black as opposed to six in 1968. Also, to show the wealth gap between white households and Hispanic, Native American and Asian households, he uses percentages. He says that only seven percent of White households owned no vehicle in year 2000 when Latino, Native American and Asian households had respectively seventeen, fifteen, and thirteen percent. Moreover, he appeals to the readers' logical reasoning to show them the evolution of income or net worth by racial groups from 2001 to 2004. To sum up his analysis and to point out the inequality and unfairness of the system, he says: "Overall, whites have about $1 of wealth for every dime blacks have."

I believe, in this essay, the most effective appeal to pathos is in the tenth