Rhetorical Analysis Essay Richard Rodriguez’s Argument

Richard being a beneficiary of affirmative explains how the policy arose in the 1960s as a way of agitating nonwhite Americans to gain more access to higher education. Richard regrets of accepting the of minority students with anger. The affirmative policy has roots has roots in the black civil rights struggle. Leaders of the movement realized that blacks were being segregated from getting higher education and advocated for improved access to black students. Richard argues that in the American South where racism had been legally enforced the affirmative actions had roots there. This paper will explain the use ethos, pathos, and logos in Richard Rodriguez’s arguments (Rivera, 7).

Ethos

Ethos is a Greek word meaning character describing the guiding ideals or beliefs that characterize an ideology, nation or a community. Ethos is also used to explain how the power of music influences behaviors, moral and emotions. Richard, a nonwhite American, clamored for access to higher education in the late 1960s becoming the principal beneficiary of the academy’s response, and its programs of affirmative actions.

The campus press office noted Richard’s presence each fall. Richard Rodriguez sought admission to graduate schools, applied for fellowships and summer study grants, wanted a teaching assistantship, the Spanish surname or the dark mark indicating Richard’s race when Richard was looking for Richard, a minority student.

During Richard’s college days, one professor of English commented on Richard’s term paper quoting the feelings for a Dickens sense of alignment it is because of being a minority student. Richard sensed that minority student refers to the Mexican American race. Richard reread the remarks severally as other students were talking and leaving. As the professor remained in front of the room collecting papers and books, Richard wanted to ask the professor of the remarks but decided to be quiet.

The primary and secondary schools blacks received was poor and usually few qualified for admission, many culturally alienated that they did not apply and could not imagine going to college. Hispanic- American offered the solution to racism in the college by demanding that Hispanic-American must be hired and students with Spanish surname to be admitted in greater numbers to the college.

Richard became a highly rewarded minority students with numerous offers of aid. Administrators started promoting any plausible Hispanic on hand to prove that they were meeting the goals of the critics. Richard received invitations to teach at community colleges, and there was freedom to travel to the world.

Richard proposed contrary ideas until the admission of colleges was a no longer a Hispanic-American who were socially disadvantaged. The admission made in the national gazettes brought Richard a greater degree of success by winning a kind of celebrity and receiving invitations to address Government officials and college administrators (Rivera, 11).

A generation of American realized with the new force that there are forms of oppression touching all levels of society from the experience of southern blacks.

Pathos. Pathos is an emotional appeal persuading an audience by appealing emotions. Pathos is used to invoke sympathy from the audience and making the audience feel what the author wants to tell them. Richard thought in 1967 that the black civil leaders were correct, but the higher education was not accessible by many blacks Americans.

The problem was solely in racial terms when the Hispanic-Americans activities started complaining of a few numbers of Hispanics in college and concluded that it was as a result of racism. Everyone in the college knew black Americans to be the minority and never recognized them at all.

The assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr in 1968 prompted many academic officials to be committed publicly to the goal of integrating the institutions. In a way, Richard was a minority leader the word which was commonly used to describe blacks, Hispanic-Americans and the American Indians.

Between 1967 to 1971 the term minority became a source of unease for Richard keeping in mind the boyhood years felt alienated from the activist claiming of becoming the gringo’s fawning pet. Members of the audience though Richard was denying racial pride, trying to deny the racial identity, rose to protest saying Richard was a minority and the reason of being a beneficiary of affirmative action was because of racial issues (Rivera, 8).

In the south, racism was legally enforced, and all blacks suffered discrimination uniformly, and black maids and black businessmen were undifferentiated by the law that forced them to the rear of the business. Americans started to take seriously the woman business executives’ claim to be the victim of social oppression becoming easily to underestimate, ignore the importance of class altogether, forgetting easily since poor education and poverty shaped those who lives and being in a position to be defend against social oppression.

There is a black lawyer who told Richard there is never a day in life when one forgets about being black especially when stopped by policemen for over speeding. Middle-class blacks need to remain watchful when traveling to unfamiliar towns and when looking for jobs. Richard thinks that not all blacks are blacks those poor and uneducated remains most vulnerable to racism, in the south in the 1950s when all blacks were not equally blacks.

Less thought was given to the procession of teenagers who are unable to find decent jobs, badly taught and leave ghetto high school disadvantaged. Richard wishes to enjoy the luxury of self-pity and a kind of invisible man and becoming those who mislabeled Africans. Richard published essays admitting that Africans are not the minority, enjoyed being a minority student.

Richard knows students who could barely read, unable to grasp the function of a sentence, nonwhite graduates who were bewildered by requirements to compose a term paper and humiliated on a daily basis when unable to compete in seminars.

Among students with poor academic preparations, some completed courses of study, many dropping out, and most blaming being failures. Richard knows a case of six nonwhite students who suffered the severe mental collapse, and none of the professors who welcomed them in the graduate school was not around when taking them to the airport.

Logos

Logos is an appeal to logic convincing an audience by use of logic or reasons. Logos are used to cite statistics and facts, literal analogies and historical and citing certain authorities on a subject. In 1967 when the campaign against southern segregation began, and black civil rights turned to the North, a North they no longer saw in contrast to the black; the North realized the that although no official restrictions deny blacks access to Northern institutions of power for advancements, for most blacks the freedom was theoretical.

Richard was a minority student asked by a lady behind the counter and admitted. The sixties, minority became a synonym for disadvantaged social Americans but being primarily a numerical designation. Richard believed for seven years and accepted of being a minority by supporting the racial rights movements and the goal of broadening access to higher education.

Richard concluded that I a cultural sense when one becomes a student there is nothing like being a minority student. The segregation racism was challenged and defeated making the benefits of one becoming the benefit to all. The black movement extended to animate the liberation movements of the elderly, the physically disables, women and the Lesbians, transgenders, gays and the bisexuals (LGBT).

Americans learned to look beyond class when considering social oppression as racism rhetorically replaced poverty as the key social; oppression. Guardians of institutional America in Washington ignored the need for fundamentals social changes, universities, and colleges administrators proudly claiming institutions were yielding (Rivera 13).

Academics agreed to the goal of helping nonwhite students to join colleges and simply acknowledging that higher educations are out of reach of to minorities, disadvantaged Americans and poorly schooled. After minority students were depleted, more provisional students were hired.

The conspiracy of kindness became a conspiracy of uncaring; callously, admission committee agreed to overlook serious academic deficiency. Richard was thanked for a good time, and students shouted in the hall to show it. The Berkeley members assured Richard to work as a special counselor to minority students.

Richard became a successful teacher of white middle-class students and students could line up in Richard’s office and others calling at night. Richard continued invitations to discuss the problems of the disadvantaged. Richard remembers the minority student years and remembers white student’s protest against blacks.

In 1974 the romantic sixties came to an end and was succeeded by a pragmatic time. Students in Richard’s class became ambitious for good grades and mapped a program which enabled them to the school of law.

Richard became a coconut by bleaching white more than the anglo professors. Students started glaring at Richard seeing the position never imagined to be occupied by Richard. The sixties-era Richard became a bit comfortable because the era was not of much opposition but complementary development indicating single facts.

Richard started telling other graduate students of the outrageous good fortune smiling ironically being invited to join minority leaders. Richard was awarded thousand dollars for winning an essay contest and offered a teaching job in the English department.

Conclusion

Richard Rodriguez analyses the course of educational career talks of the disheartening and unenthusiastic factors enduring along with education as lack isolation and lack of education. Richard ends up believing that it is only a selected individual who the awful experiences. Majority of students go through un glamoured, long and demeaning process of education and pursue education for the sake of job placement rather than for the sake of learning.  By the time of publication of the book Hunger of memory in 1982, Richard had completed bachelor’s degree in English from Stanford University and a master’s degree from Columbia University.

Works cited

Rivera, T. (1984). Richard Rodriguez’Hunger of memory as humanistic antithesis. Melus, 11(4), 5-13.