Rhetorica Analysis

So I'm finally catching up on the blogging. It's sinking in on how to use the site, can get a little confusing navigating around, but it's coming together. Here is my rhetorical analysis. I think we are suppose to put all our analysis's together and come up with 1 for the group right? Let me know if anyone concurs.

Christian Perez
AML 4101.0m01
Prof. Lisa Logan
October 3, 2008
Rhetorical Analysis: The Power of Sympathy

The author, William Brown, opens up the novel with a short note to the women of “United Columbia”. In the opening page he states briefly that his novel is about the “fatal consequences of seduction”, and that he wishes to inspire the “Female Mind with a principle of self complacency, and promote the economy of human life.” He goes further on to describe his purpose for the novel in the following preface. Here he goes on to say how there are many novels women read that are simply for pleasure and have nothing to teach the reader. Brown warns the reader that the following novel explores some vices that women may deal with in their lives, and shows the consequences of such actions. In other words this may be a novel similar to “Charlotte Temple” in that it serves as a guide for women to see how seduction works.
The subject of the text is explained in the introduction and preface. Brown makes sure that the reader knows that the following letters have to do with seduction and the vices that it holds for women. The women of “United Columbia” are clearly written as the intended audience for the novel. The implied author is writing for the women of America.
The implied author assumes that his audience is still building itself. It is a new society that still needs to come up with its own morals and standards on how to behave in certain situations. It is then his job to show the women of America what could be the downfalls of letting oneself be seduced. Along with showing his audience a lesson, the implied author still wants to be entertaining. When he mentions in his preface how so many novels are entertaining but have nothing to learn from, I think it was a way to let the audience know that his story will not fall short of being both entertaining while promoting the advantages of female education.
The author wishes the audience to feel empowered by the purpose of the novel. He is promoting female education and wants women to know of the world around them and the dangers it may possess. He may be using the story to show the female audience how being educated may benefit their lives in society. The front matter of the novel appeals to the audience because it is short and direct. His purpose is stated clearly and the novels subject is touched upon. It gives the reader ample information about the novel.
But in being short, there is only a little pathos and ethos in the front matter. The author establishes his pathos by uses fear of seduction to catch the attention of the reader. His ethos comes from his tone of voice in the introduction and preface. The low level of formality in the introduction and preface give the author a father-like, patriarchal tone.
The front matter is set in order of the engraving, name and publisher’s information, a note to the young ladies of united Columbia, a preface, and then the actual first letter of the novel. The picture at the front of the novel is titled “The Story of Ophelia” and has a caption that I think says “O Fatal! Fatal Poison!”. The picture shows a younger woman on the dying on the floor, holding the hand of her maid as a man is coming into the room behind them. Right now after only the first two letters of the novel I have no idea how the picture will relate to the novel, but I am sure that it is an engraving of an actual scene in the story.
So far I think the novel is going to be very similar to “The Coquette” and “Charlotte Temple”. Similar to “The Coquette”, the novel is in the form of letters between people that will tell the different sides of the story. The front engraving makes me think that this novel may be a little more dramatic than the rest though. With the mentioning of Shakespeare’s Ophelia, it might suggest that the main character could be a little crazy, and with the caption under the photo, I can only imagine who is going to take the poison to commit suicide, sounds almost a little Romeo and Juliet too me.