The Connection Between Rhetoric And Attitude

I found this passage very interesting because when I typically think of rhetoric, my mind automatically associates it with the goal of persuasion; I never made, or at the least acknowledged, the connection between rhetoric and attitude. I particularly like Burke’s use of the words move and bend in order to textually describe the change from viewing rhetoric as just a means of persuasion, to perceiving it as a means of shaping one’s inclination. After reading this passage, I have come to realize that music, poetry, and even art can be forms of rhetoric because of their primary tendency to influence attitude, with a lack of responsive action, in some cases. However, the passage also urges me to remember that a change in attitude can still be …show more content…
I automatically thought of the physical enslavement of African Americans in America and of people enslaved in general. Similar to the imprisoned man given a death sentence in Burke’s example, enslaved individuals’ lives were determined by their enslavers. Although they had the choice to either run away or commit suicide in order to escape, their fate was primarily confined to their conditions. During their enslavement, African Americans found comfort in music. Although many were persuaded by religious songs to run away from their enslavers, many solely found comfort in the fact that the music could change their attitude, but not necessarily their actions. Many felt that they had no freedom and therefore, no available means of action they could take, similar to the imprisoned man, so the music simply served as an opportunity, similar to my situation above, to either enhance their current emotion or attitude, or change it to a more positive one, giving them hope for the