Rhetoric and persuasive appeal CA102 PDF

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Rhetoric and persuasive appeal CA102...

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Browning 1 Claire Browning UCCA 102- Davis 8 March 2017 Rhetoric and Persuasive Appeal Rhetoric and Persuasive Appeal in Thank You for Smoking In this scene from Thank You for Smoking, Nick Naylor must persuade Lorne Lutch to take the “blood money” from Big Tobacco and stop bad mouthing them. This seems like quite a feat considering Lorne’s current life situation: lung cancer, a pile of medical bills, and nothing really to show for it. However, at the end of the scene, Nick is seen driving away without the cash tucked safely in a briefcase in the back seat of his car. So, obviously, he is successful in his endeavor. While Nick does pride himself on his artful persuasion, this scene was particularly impressive to me, as Nick flawlessly presented a near textbook argument including ethos, pathos, and logos as well as Monroe’s Motivated Sequence. Right off the bat, Nick shoots straight with Lorne. This appeals to Lorne’s logos, as it makes the logic of the conversation easy to follow and puts Lorne at ease that Nick isn’t trying to pull one over on him. This shooting straight tactic also pulls from the first step of Monroe’s Motivated Sequence: attention. It is almost jarring to hear Nick tell the truth and just so blatantly say, “Yes, I am in fact only here to shut you up with this big case of cash.” That’s enough to get anyone interested. Next, Nick uses pathos and appeals to Lorne’s emotions by allowing him to be angry. When Lorne asks why he should take the money, Nick simply responds with, “Because you’re mad.” This validated Lorne’s feelings and he responds back with, “Damn straight I am.” Just when Nick gets Lorne riled up, he shows Lorne the cash, creating a sense of need, the

Browning 2 second step in Monroe’s motivated sequence. Who doesn’t think they need a case of cash, and who wouldn’t get a little emotional over the possibility of that much money? So now that Nick has Lorne’s attention and Lorne is emotionally invested, Nick uses the third step of Monroe’s Motivated Sequence: satisfaction. Lorne gets to denounce Big Tobacco to the nation by making a big show of dumping out the cash and mustering a cough or two with news reporters like from the LA Times and MSNBC. However, right when it is starting to sound good, Nick drops a bomb. Even though Lorne gets to involve the press and get a whole lot of tax-free money, he doesn’t actually get to keep the money. He has to give it away charity by starting the “Lorne Lutch Cancer Foundation,” with a 5k, of course. Here, Nick get Lorne to visualize the foundation, the ranch, the 5k, using the fourth step of Monroe’s Motivated Sequence. Understandably, Lorne shifts to anger again, asking Nick, “What about my family?” Nick counters by using an ethos argument, appealing to Lorne’s ethics. He uses the term “blood money” to describe the bribe money, making it inherently bad. He also says Lorne cannot just denounce Big Tobacco one minute and then turn around and keep the money, that is just plain wrong. So, Lorne decides he needs a minute to think on this whole issue. But, Nick seals the deal with the last step of Monroe’s Motivated Sequence: action. Nick says, “News doesn’t work that way. You can’t denounce us next week.” This creates urgency and a need for Lorne to act immediately. With one last shot, Lorne says, “I don’t suppose I can denounce you for half of it?” Nick just shakes his head and says, “No, Lorne. Either you keep all the money or you give it all away.” Then all of the sudden, Nick is in his car, briefcase-less....