In the course of the semester, rhetorical analysis was introduced to us. Rhetorical analysis is the analysis of a text separating it into three parts: message, author and the audience, and identifying what strategies are used to said author to convey his message to a particular audience. We wrote some rhetorical analysis on different texts that we read in our class, and then were able to discuss it into class and have a better understanding about these aspects that form a rhetorical analysis. We wrote on a the book “El Deafo”, an article about deaf actor Lauren Ridloff, and an advertisement from a hospital for cochlear implants.
Rhetorical Analysis: “El Deafo” by Cece Bell
In the autobiographical memoir by Cece Bell, “El Deafo”, the message that the author tries to convey is the struggles that a kid who has hearing loss goes through and the difficulties of integrating with the other kids in a community that does not share the same disability than said kid (in this case Cece herself). Through the description of certain scenarios in her daily life, Bell opens a door to what it was like for her to grow up and adapting to being deaf and her devices to listen. Her message with this book is to educate people who don’t know, or think that know but really don’t, about deafness, and how it works, particularly for her. What is known from the author is that she lost her hearing due to meningitis at the age of four, and for her to adapt was a little harsh. Cece would make efforts to be like every other kid, before realizing her disability was a “superpower”. The audience that this book is intended for is children of third or fourth grade, but I would say that it is also everyone in particular, from people that share the same or a similar experience, to people who don’t have any knowledge about the deaf community. The book represents a small amount of teaching about deafness for those that are in need of it. The way that Bell presents her story, in a easy to read and understand, make the book more appealing to children and also to people with little understanding, as previously said, to realize the way that people who are deaf feel. I believe that the strategies that Bell used to tell her story in this book work perfectly for the audience it is intended to because it is an easy reading, and the panels and drawings are appealing to children. Also the message the well carried throughout the book, and the purpose of it (to tell a story to those who might feel the same, and even to those who don’t understand it) is very present.
Cochlear Implant Ad
The creator of this advertisement for cochlear implants was the Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin. Which means they are based in kids and their health. The audience which the video is intended for is people who have kids that are deaf, people who know kids that are deaf, and as an overall audience, people in general who could get educated on cochlear implants and who could expand the message on this video. The message that this video transmits, rather than being just to advertise, is to emphasize the quality of life that kids who are deaf have. They are limited because they cannot hear, they are propense to delayed speech, and are also supposedly limited to the relations they can construct with other people, their families in specific. The way in which the video gives its intended message, is through a timeline for this girl, Saige, and the emotional appealing of the story. The creator of the video shows the emotional portion by showing her parents describing how they felt when first learning about their daughters’ hearing disability, saying that they were not educated on this matter. Followed by some explanations given by physicians about the cochlear implant. And ending the video talking about the ways in which the cochlear implant bettered the life of their daughter.
“Lauren Ridloff’s Quiet Power” by Michael Paulson
The article by Michael Paulson, about Lauren Ridloff’s career on Broadway, praise the actress’s journey to become a recognized Broadway actress, who happens to also be deaf. Paulson presented Ridloff throughout the article as a person who despite her little experience in that industry, has made her way through the scenario and have gain the recognition of many different journals and newspapers. Although, the tone used by the writer seems to put Ms. Ridloff as if it was such an achievement for someone who is deaf. He presented her as if it were a miracle that she landed the project and was able to succeed on it. The article is more of a discussion on how Ridloff got the part because she is deaf, and less of a praise about her talent, despite being deaf. Through the article, Paulson targets people with disabilities, as hearing loss, and also people who like Broadway shows, I think this is easily understood based on the emphasis given to both of these aspects on Ridloff’s life. The message that one would think is being conveyed is the importance of integration for people who are not included on many aspects of society such as this one, and the beautiful impact that had for Ridloff, and that can have for many others after given a part into something of this magnitude. But rather is a discussion about Ridloff’s personal life, and her deafness, rather than a recognition for her talent and achievement. The strategies that the author is using to combine these aspects and to make them work together, is making the reader feel different emotions for the person presented on this article. Paulson makes the reader a part of the celebration of the integration of Ridloff, who is a someone that has been deaf her whole life, and describes the importance and the good outcomes that it had specifically on Ridloff’s life. I think Paulson’s strategies are convincing because he integrate the reader and tells the story almost on a personal line, which make you sympathize with the actress.
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