Benjamin Banneker, despite being the son of former slaves, was an educated man in the sciences, math and the English language. Guided by his Christian and ethical beliefs, he wrote to Thomas Jefferson, the framer of the Declaration of Independence. When writing his letter, Banneker keeps in mind the dominance of racism in that time period and the great influence that Thomas Jefferson possesses. As he addresses Thomas Jefferson about an ever-controversial topic: slavery; Banneker 's selected diction is polite. Banneker 's diction is just one of the three elements that constitute his style of communication in this letter. Banneker 's assertive style of communication, made up of polite diction, clear and firm intentions, and a nonfluctuating
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Communicating assertively means being able to honestly and appropriately express ideas, feelings and beliefs without trespassing anyone else 's rights or feelings. Banneker 's style of communicating in this letter is assertive because although he deprecates Jefferson 's practices, he expresses himself without disrespecting Jefferson. In fact, from beginning to end, Banneker refers to Jefferson as "sir." This is one of Banneker 's ways of showing that his intentions are not to cause conflict, but to have a well-mannered communication with Jefferson. Being respectful allows others to feel comfortable and to be more willing to listen. That is why, seeing that he is being referred to as sir, with respect, would better animate Jefferson to listen to what Banneker has to say. Banneker 's polite diction forms part of communicating …show more content…
While referring to Jefferson as "sir" allows Banneker to clarify that his letter does not intended to disrespect Jefferson, the rest of Banneker 's words reveal the message of his letter: slavery is wrong. Banneker firmly tells Jefferson that he does not "presume to prescribe methods," in other words, he does not want to tell Jefferson or anyone that is in favor of slavery what to do. He states that he rather "recommend you and all others to wean yourselves from those narrow prejudices" against African Americans. Again, these statements confirm that Banneker has a polite disposition to invite others to rethink the much debated topic of slavery. Yet, the statement that most clarifies Banneker 's position on slavery is when he uses Jefferson 's own words, "all men are created equal, and are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." These words synthesize the reasons why Banneker believes that slavery is wrong. For one part, this is a statement of Banneker 's faith in God creating all men equally. For another part, it is an ethical argument that all men are created equal and they deserve to live freely and happily. Therefore concluding that slavery is wrong because it takes away all of these "unalienable
Communicating assertively means being able to honestly and appropriately express ideas, feelings and beliefs without trespassing anyone else 's rights or feelings. Banneker 's style of communicating in this letter is assertive because although he deprecates Jefferson 's practices, he expresses himself without disrespecting Jefferson. In fact, from beginning to end, Banneker refers to Jefferson as "sir." This is one of Banneker 's ways of showing that his intentions are not to cause conflict, but to have a well-mannered communication with Jefferson. Being respectful allows others to feel comfortable and to be more willing to listen. That is why, seeing that he is being referred to as sir, with respect, would better animate Jefferson to listen to what Banneker has to say. Banneker 's polite diction forms part of communicating …show more content…
While referring to Jefferson as "sir" allows Banneker to clarify that his letter does not intended to disrespect Jefferson, the rest of Banneker 's words reveal the message of his letter: slavery is wrong. Banneker firmly tells Jefferson that he does not "presume to prescribe methods," in other words, he does not want to tell Jefferson or anyone that is in favor of slavery what to do. He states that he rather "recommend you and all others to wean yourselves from those narrow prejudices" against African Americans. Again, these statements confirm that Banneker has a polite disposition to invite others to rethink the much debated topic of slavery. Yet, the statement that most clarifies Banneker 's position on slavery is when he uses Jefferson 's own words, "all men are created equal, and are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." These words synthesize the reasons why Banneker believes that slavery is wrong. For one part, this is a statement of Banneker 's faith in God creating all men equally. For another part, it is an ethical argument that all men are created equal and they deserve to live freely and happily. Therefore concluding that slavery is wrong because it takes away all of these "unalienable