Rhetorical Analysis: Eliza Stacey

Rhetorical Analysis When people encounter problems they can no longer face alone, they are likely to turn to the people they love or can trust. Such was the case for Eliza Stacey who turned to her father- in-law when she needed help. In 1847, Eliza Stacey decided to write a letter to her father-in-law, Edward Stacey. Eliza decides to write to her father-in-law in order to inform him of a debt her and the rest of the family have unexpectedly fallen into. Eliza is pregnant and alone, she is desperate for help. Throughout her letter, Eliza uses rhetorical appeals and devices such as pathos, ethos, personification, and anecdotes to emphasize the family’s struggle and to convince Edward to help the family. Eliza uses pathos to display the suffering the debt has brought her in order to make her father-in-law feel sympathy for the family. Her experiences establish ethos, she uses them to justify why she is deserving of the help. In addition, she uses personification to express her distress, as well as anecdotes to be able to make Edward recall the …show more content…
Eliza mentions her past experiences with her father in law in her letter to credit Edward’s generosity. She makes this evident for the reader through her use of ethos when she states “ George knows I am writing to you. I have always received so much kindness from you, it relieves my over-burdened mind to pour out my troubles to you. I cannot do so to Papa, particularly in his present weak state.” Eliza states that she has “always received so much kindness” from Edward, thus implying that Edward has a reputation of being nice to Eliza. Eliza makes sure to emphasize that having Edward in her life relieves her so that she can make him feel appreciated. By crediting Edward’s kindness and expressing her appreciation, Edward is likely to provide help because he will know that his help will not go