Rhetorical Analysis Of He Showed Us The Way

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Through nonviolent protest, the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s achieved the most important breakthrough in equal rights legislation and fought against racial discrimination. Ten years subsequent to Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination and in a form of honor, Cesar Chavez, a labor union organizer and civil rights leader, delivered his speech in 1978, “He Showed Us The Way,” in time where equality for African-Americans was overlooked. Due to a rise of hatred and conflict between those who fought for civil rights and the government, Chavez attempts to prove that nonviolence is the better alternative compared to violence in resolving conflicts. Chavez makes it appear that nonviolence triumphs violence and leaves little to no doubt …show more content…
By using this side by side comparison, he asserts that “nonviolence is more powerful than violence” (lines 15-16). Rather than preaching that nonviolence is better, Chavez connects it to power which is used to appeal the reader since many believe power is valuable and uses juxtaposition to further convince the Christian public. He resumes his strategic use of juxtaposition when stating, “Nonviolence supports you if you have a just and moral cause… if we resort to violence… violence will be escalated and there will be many injuries and perhaps deaths on both sides…” (lines 16-21). Targeted to those who believe in God, this is crucial since the Christian public would not want to cause people to suffer and cause deaths. Juxtaposition opens the eyes of the audience allowing them to see why nonviolence surpasses violence and that it is right morally and …show more content…
It effectively pulls the audience towards his side especially with the religious allusion he added, “..Human life is a very special possession given by God to man…” (lines 12-13). The reference to God with his Christian audience states that a person’s life shouldn’t be taken for any reason which strengthens his argument by showing that nonviolence is right to God which instills credibility and appeals to the audience. He also demonstrates that he is not the only one advocating for nonviolence, “The boycott, as Gandhi taught, is the most nearly perfect instrument of nonviolent change, allowing masses of people to participate actively in a cause” (lines 56-59). Such a statement provides trustworthiness since Gandhi is a leader of independence and nonviolence, a highly respected figure, and his successful story of nonviolence proves Chavez’s case. To add, it proves that Chavez is not the only one that thinks this way since many people look up to Gandhi and it also serves as proof that nonviolence can lead to positive events, for example, Gandhi leading India to independence. Already eliminating any type of doubt to why nonviolence is the better alternative to violence, Chavez brilliantly ties in his first religious allusion with diction in stating, “When you lose your sense of life and justice, you lose your strength...Violence does not work in the long run… People suffer

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