Empty Rhetoric In A Restaurant

Not-so Empty Rhetoric If you were to tune into the news in the past few weeks you most likely have heard someone saying something along the lines of "It's just empty rhetoric." However, if you really analyze at this statement, it does not necessarily make sense. According the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, rhetoric is defined as "the art of speaking or writing effectively." How could someone's ability be "empty" if rhetoric is being able to write or speak efficiently? It does not make sense. I believe, however, that rhetoric goes beyond being able to just speak or write effectively. Rhetoric consists of the skills we use to help us convey our ideas to a specific audience. It is something we use whenever we communicate. The fundamental roots …show more content…
In saying the restaurant has been happily serving their customers for thirty-five years, it begins to develop a sense that this restaurant is credible. One begins to think that since they've been open for thirty-five years the food and service must both be pretty good, resulting in a trust built for this restaurant. In that way it is attempting to attract more business to the establishment. Since it is appealing to the actual credibility of the Waffle Wagon, it is appealing to our sense of ethos. Another location of these rhetorical devices is in Kate Ristau's memoir Legos for a Child With a Hole in His Heart. The story being told is that of her son, Rowan, who was born with two holes in his heart, he is now a few years older and only one of the holes remain. Rowan loves Legos and is always asking for some when going to the store. Kate discusses the difficulty of saying no to her son who could potentially pass away from his condition. She continues with the various struggles of the situation and end on, "It's …show more content…
In various scenarios, it may be more beneficial to use one over the other. Determining what tool to use is dependent on both the message and the audience. An author may be trying to inform, persuade, advocate, defend, or basically anything else they are trying to get their point across. While all of the rhetorical appeals can be and are used in an author's message, deciding which to use can be critical in achieving their goal. In a speech given by former President Barack Obama on immigration. The former President discusses the importance of immigrants, discussing historical importance of immigrants, "Our history and the facts show that immigrants are a net plus for our economy and our society" (Obama). In this statement, he is appealing to both a sense of logos and ethos. In saying that immigrants have had a positive impact on our economy and society, he begins to appeal to our sense of logic. It makes us ask "If immigrants have been beneficial to our country, why should we impede them form coming into our country?" appealing to logical side of our brains. In appealing to our ethos, the fact that the President of the United States is saying this, it inherently rings credibility. Not only that but with the statement of the how our history has shown the benefits of immigrants, it also seems credible due to the fact of historical backing. Later in the speech he then begs