Rhetorical Analysis Of Trial, The Struggle By General Romeo Dallaire

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In Romeo Dallaire’s essay “Trial, The Struggle”, he recaps the horrors of the Rwandan Genocide of 1994 that he experienced first hand. The General graphically describes what he witnessed; children forced into killing each other, churches used as slaughterhouses and in the midst of all this devastation, Dallaire plead “for help, and nobody came” (pg19). With his macabre experience, Dallaire speaks to his readers through the use of many elements and vivid descriptions of the barbarous events, proposing that his audience act in support of countries suffering the abuse of human rights. “We have got to support the suffering nations and give them a reason to believe in humanity, to regain hope, to inspire their young so they can believe in a decent future” (pg29). Throughout his essay, Dallaire uses various methods of development. Dallaire starts his essay with a comparison: “Today 80 percent of the world, of humanity, falls into a category we call “the have-nots”” (pg15) compared to “…the other 20 percent, the “haves” of the developed world” (pg15) which immediately involves the reader with the sense of being a “have” instead of a “have not”. As a former military General and through the narration of the suffering he experienced first hand, Dallaire uses the form of situated ethos to reach out to his audience and capture their compassion. Dallaire begins his essay in a melancholic tone as he outlines the history of Rwanda and this tone continues as he shifts to his involvement in the time of the genocide. Toward the end of the essay, Dallaire’s tone changes to become more hopeful and informative as he inspires the reader to display their “…belief in humanity- in human rights…” (pg29). Dallaire has effectively persuaded and appealed to the emotions of his audience through the various uses of pathos; the continuous powerful descriptions of the devastation he

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