An Episode Of War Rhetorical Analysis Essay

In Stephen Crane’s short story An Episode of War, he appeals to ethos and pathos through the use of rhetorical tropes and schemes to tell the story of a wounded Civil War Union lieutenant from both realistic and naturalistic standpoints. Throughout the story, Crane establishes his ethos by explaining a realistic Civil War event with strong historical accuracy. For example, the scene when an unknown distant enemy shooter wounds the lieutenant while making coffee contains a high amount of historical accuracy because guns during that time period possess the ability to hit targets hundreds of yards away. In this example, the lieutenant making coffee represents Crane’s literary approach towards realism because making coffee in the morning represents a regular daily life activity. However, Crane also appeals to naturalism in the scene because the lieutenant possesses no control of preventing the wound from happening. In addition, Crane utilizes rhetorical tropes and schemes in the similes “winced like a man stung” and “breathed like a wrestler” to describe the immense amount of pain the lieutenant receives from the wound. In the story, Crane expresses pathos through the utilization of various tropes and schemes to allow the reader to visualize the different emotions of the people in the story. In the beginning of the story, Crane utilizes parallelism to describe the effect of the wound on the lieutenant and his men when he states, “It is as if the wounded man’s hand is upon the curtain which …show more content…
In reference to the Aristotelian Triangle, he uses rhetorical strategies excellently to thoroughly explain to his readers the events that lead to the doctor amputating the lieutenant’s arm. In conclusion, An Episode of War exemplifies the use of rhetoric with both realism and naturalism in