In a series of three books entitled: Rhetoric I, II and III, the great philosopher, Aristotle, critically discusses all the necessary elements of a sound persuasive message (de Wet, 2017, p. 34). This assignment looks more closely at the three artistic proofs namely, ethos, pathos and logos, and demonstrates how Mmusi Maimane used them all to great effect during his State of the Nation Address (SONA) debate in 2016. Maimane’s use of metaphor during his speech, as well as the effectiveness of it, will also be discussed.
2. Ethos (Credibility)
Ethos, which refers to the quality of credibility in a speaker (de Wet, 2017), is employed by Maimane throughout his speech. He starts by addressing all the important people who are present. He then proceeds …show more content…
Maimane achieves this by highlighting accounts of actual South Africans who are struggling to get by. The audience is struck deeply by these accounts, because they can associate themselves with their fellow South Africans.
Pathos also refers to the evaluation of the audience’s emotional state, and tailoring of the message to appeal to that state (de Wet, 2017). In this case, Maimane struck the iron while it was still hot, highlighting Zuma’s incompetence shortly after his infamous SONA 2016 presidential speech. Maimane also contrasted the lavish lifestyle of the president with that of the very poor black youth.
Repetitive use of the metaphor ‘Planet Zuma’ (Maimane, 2016) and the juxtaposition of it with the South African reality, paints a clear picture of everything that is wrong with president Zuma’s reign. This is a very effective metaphor because it emphasises that Zuma isn’t only slightly disconnected from reality, but lives in a world of his own. This metaphor carries strong emotional ties, because it serves as a constant reminder of the harsh realities that the South African people face. The metaphor also suggests that, since Zuma is living on his own planet, these problems do not affect him and therefore he cannot be bothered to address …show more content…
4. Logos (Facts)
Logos addresses the intellectual side of the audience by using statistics, examples and testimony to reach a conclusion (de Wet, 2017). In this speech, logos is eloquently intertwined with the metaphor ‘Planet Zuma’.
Maimane states: ‘It is a place where the Finance Minister flies economy class, but the president buys himself a R4 billion jet’. When examined more closely, all of Maimane’s ‘Planet Zuma’ metaphors are actually facts which are being stated in a satirical fashion. This clever use of metaphors to relay facts are one of the key characteristics of Maimane’s speech.
Maimane, who is the leader of the Democratic Alliance (DA), also provides a list of positive statistics from the Western Cape which is governed by the DA. These stand in stark contrast with the rest of the countrie’s figures. Maimane’s use of statistics function as practical evidence of his commitment to serving the people of South Africa (refer to: 1. Ethos).
5.
2. Ethos (Credibility)
Ethos, which refers to the quality of credibility in a speaker (de Wet, 2017), is employed by Maimane throughout his speech. He starts by addressing all the important people who are present. He then proceeds …show more content…
Maimane achieves this by highlighting accounts of actual South Africans who are struggling to get by. The audience is struck deeply by these accounts, because they can associate themselves with their fellow South Africans.
Pathos also refers to the evaluation of the audience’s emotional state, and tailoring of the message to appeal to that state (de Wet, 2017). In this case, Maimane struck the iron while it was still hot, highlighting Zuma’s incompetence shortly after his infamous SONA 2016 presidential speech. Maimane also contrasted the lavish lifestyle of the president with that of the very poor black youth.
Repetitive use of the metaphor ‘Planet Zuma’ (Maimane, 2016) and the juxtaposition of it with the South African reality, paints a clear picture of everything that is wrong with president Zuma’s reign. This is a very effective metaphor because it emphasises that Zuma isn’t only slightly disconnected from reality, but lives in a world of his own. This metaphor carries strong emotional ties, because it serves as a constant reminder of the harsh realities that the South African people face. The metaphor also suggests that, since Zuma is living on his own planet, these problems do not affect him and therefore he cannot be bothered to address …show more content…
4. Logos (Facts)
Logos addresses the intellectual side of the audience by using statistics, examples and testimony to reach a conclusion (de Wet, 2017). In this speech, logos is eloquently intertwined with the metaphor ‘Planet Zuma’.
Maimane states: ‘It is a place where the Finance Minister flies economy class, but the president buys himself a R4 billion jet’. When examined more closely, all of Maimane’s ‘Planet Zuma’ metaphors are actually facts which are being stated in a satirical fashion. This clever use of metaphors to relay facts are one of the key characteristics of Maimane’s speech.
Maimane, who is the leader of the Democratic Alliance (DA), also provides a list of positive statistics from the Western Cape which is governed by the DA. These stand in stark contrast with the rest of the countrie’s figures. Maimane’s use of statistics function as practical evidence of his commitment to serving the people of South Africa (refer to: 1. Ethos).
5.