Rhetorical Analysis for Literature Classes with a Case Analysis of Frederick Douglass’ “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?”

Rhetorical Analysis for Literature Classes with a Case Analysis of Frederick Douglass’ “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?”

This paper explores rhetorical analysis as a teaching technique in college-level English literature classes as it foregrounds the relationship between the author, audience, and context, thereby enhancing students’ active and close readings of the text. Focusing on the significance of rhetorical analysis as an invitation to close reading of the text from within and without, this paper presents its use in the classroom, a case analysis, and then its application to the secondary school English teacher recruitment examination. The first section observes how rhetorical analysis can be utilized in a college composition course, emphasizing writing as a step-by-step process. Activities using rhetorical analysis promote reading with purpose and aid students in engaging in dynamic discourse with previous arguments. The next section analyzes Frederick Douglass’ “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” in terms of three rhetorical foci―ethos, pathos, and logos; Douglass builds ethos through careful presentation of his qualification to present the issue, effectively influences audience detachment and engagement, and presents well-organized logic appealing to the reason of the audience. The last section applies rhetorical analysis to an item from the secondary school English teacher recruitment examination and investigates how this tool can help students read texts efficiently and with a targeted purpose.