In addition to strong
appeals to pathos and ethos, Bob Dylan also utilized logos as a rhetorical tool
to persuade the audience that the death of Emmett Till was unlawful and
unpardonable behavior that galvanized the rise of the Civil Rights movement.
Although this song does not have statistics as facts, Dylan explains the exact
situation of how Emmett Till is murdered. Dylan states that “twas down in
Mississippi, not so long ago, when a young boy from Chicago town walk in a
southern door…men dragged him a barn and there they beat him up…” By thoroughly explaining that he was dragged into the barn, Dylan opens the public's eyes to the negligent behavior that took place. Dylan also
describes the trial by saying “these United States of yelling for a trial, two
brothers they confessed that they killed poor Emmett Till. But on the jury
there were men who helped the brother commit this awful crime…” He explains the
trial to show the unjust jurisdiction of the outcome in hopes that people will
speak up more and noticed how unfair it was. Also through these vivid and accurate
examples of what happened, Dylan foreshadows how this one discriminatory act
gave a rise to many other protests, racial groups and an entire movement. Bob Dylan fortified his argument with
tangible evidence, providing detail of how Emmett Till was murdered, to convince the readers that the death of Emmett Till
was a despicable course of action.
-Nidhi Kalaria
-Nidhi Kalaria
I like how you explain that despite the fact that there aren't any statistics, the narrative alone is enough. You demonstrate that logos does not have to just be established with graphs and hard facts, it can be lyrical and poetic.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Shira and really enjoyed your analysis of Logos. I also liked how you used specific quotes from the song to prove that the writer did make specific references to Emmett Till's life. I also thought it was a great idea to include the link to the biography of Emmett Till because it adds to the logos analysis and allows the reader to get a full grasp of who Emmett Till was.
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