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Youkhanna 1 Linda Marie Youkhanna Professor Altman English 115 October 17, 2013 Imagine Through Rhetoric In our

world, especially analyzing our country, persuasion is a huge concept. Even an aspect as large as the American government stands hand in hand with persuasion. Political party members use persuasion to obtain what they want in regards to politics, usually a vote. In order to achieve those goals, large numbers of people need to be made aware of the cause, therefore, media is used, as it is used in any other areas relating with persuasion. Media is a medium by which people communicate. Typically, the communication occurs among large masses of people with the tendency being that the smaller group targets the larger group. In many places of society, communication through media predominantly includes rhetoric to persuade the audience of one thing or another. Rhetorical strategies of pathos, logos, and ethos enable sympathy, logic, and reasoning to achieve a specific reaction from a targeted audience: the people who are aimed to being swayed. The persuasion is open to a variety of things, whether that is the beginnings of a movement, selling product, or politics. These medium can exist in the form of writing in magazines and newspapers, to visual representations such as television and pictures, and even audio representations such as music and lyrics. The possibilities of rhetorical strategies know no bounds; they are infinite. John Lennon made an effort to spread the idea of a peaceful world using rhetorical styles of ethos, pathos, and logos in his song Imagine.

Youkhanna 2 The song Imagine by John Lennon uses its tone and rhythm to strengthen the rhetoric he uses throughout the lyrics. The song, while trying to sway the listener into ideas of world peace, is very calming. The rhythm is light and soothing. The whole piece itself sounds like a lullaby. This being so, it is much easier for the writer/singer to convince his audience to follow him on what he projects to be a very wonderful experience; it is easy to convince a listener of peace while sounding peaceful. Also, it makes sure the listener does not feel pressured into the message and therefore potentially defensive instead of cooperative. With the tone set, Lennon is able to send a convincing message with the rest of his rhetorical devices. John Lennon uses pathos to draw the audience into his idea of peace by constructing an image or scenario the listener can sympathize with. Emotion tends to be an aspect that is easily sold in regards of persuasion regardless of age, socioeconomic status, gender, or any other discriminating factor; therefore, it can be used as a powerful tool. When a person sympathizes, he or she is much more likely to react, due to feeling sympathetic, and give in to what is being asked of him or her. Lennon uses that sympathy factor immediately in the first versus of his song. In lyric accompanying calming music, he asks the audience to picture a peaceful world with particular descriptions: imagine all the people living for today.Nothing to kill or die for.Imagine all the people living life in peace (Lennon lines 5-6). Considering the hectic world of hate, war, danger, greed, and so forth that many people unfortunately witness in our world today, the idea he projects can hit close to home for many listeners emotionally. Thus, causing them to wish that what he is saying could possibly be true. Through calling on sympathy, this desire is exactly the rhetoric Lennon needs to capture the audiences attention to continue making his point: the ultimate goal in mind being to actually create a world of peace. Now that

Youkhanna 3 Lennon has triggered sympathy to produce desire, desire will flourish into the reaction that is being sought after. Later into the song, logos plays its part of logic to show the listener that what Lennon is saying does indeed makes sense; the message has clarity which furthers the process of persuading the audience. A peaceful world sounds great, but many people may question how that could be possible. It may seem complicated to create such a general feeling over such a large population. Lennon covers that doubt mid-song by providing cause-and-effect logic, imagine no possessions.No need for greed or hunger. A brotherhood of man (lines 17-20). Not only was an image provided earlier in the song, but now Lennon gives the audience an actual base for how peace can be achieved. His explanation being that peace will exist if greed and hunger end. He says that this will create a brotherhood which conflicts with the original diverse and opinionated population the listener was likely picturing. This negates the possible argument against Lennons motion that the targeted audience is too dissimilar from one-another too comply to forming this force. With the idea that not enough people will work collaboratively refuted, the cause-and-effect logic of how peace can be achieved when possessions cease to exist provides logos and therefore further persuades the listener that the motion for world peace is not only ideal but strategically possible. With a strategy in place and other arguments already disproved, the sympathy that Lennon drew upon earlier in the song can finally take action and the goal of attaining the help to accomplish peace can progress. At this point, the intended audience has sympathized and cogitatively considered the message. To officially tie the knot in his motion, Lennon uses ethos to give the listener a reason to believe he is trustworthy enough to follow him on his journey to create world peace. Trust, when stepping outside normal boundaries during the time of change, is necessary. An audience will not

Youkhanna 4 be likely to jump into gear on an idea that they cannot trust or are even slightly skeptical about, this being so, they must be given a reason to trust the message and the leader! Lennon tells the audience that world peace is not solely his idea, in fact, its rather popular: you may say Im a dreamer, but Im not the only one (Lines 13-14). Indicating that there are many other people who believe in the same thing and working toward the same goals provides the ethos needed to convince the audience that there is credibility behind the idea. The potential thought that a random man with a large dream is stretching farther than he could possibly reach is negated because now it is not only one random man, but it is a fair group of people. The more people swayed into a belief, the more realistic it can seem to the targeted audience. They must stand a chance; now its not just an idea, its worth putting effort into! Furthermore, creating the image that there is a larger group focused on this motion credits Lennons idea and ties the knot in persuading the listeners to join forces with him. The goal that originally may have jerked a tear caught a strategy and finally has the credibility to advance. John Lennon uses rhetoric to convey the message of world peace in his song Imagine. This song presents world peace as a blissful, approachable concept. It transforms from a concept to a reality when Lennon applies ethos, pathos, and logos to give it the goal-oriented twist it needs to persuade the audience into focusing on it. When making the listeners feel toward the cause and following up by giving them a plan, the goal is much more achievable. To ensure the listeners feel the cause is realistic enough to put their time and effort into, Lennon credits the idea to make the listener believe that there is enough force to power the idea into reality. This is the same strategy that anyone successfully convincing an audience into anything will follow. The power of rhetoric is overwhelming and unnoticeably effective. A subject may not even realize the tactics that have been enabled in order to get them to act on something. Pathos and logos

Youkhanna 5 create a sense that what is being projected is unquestionable. Ethos takes the unquestionable concept and turns it into something credible and realistic. The three acting together elegantly and eloquently triumph; the audience no longer has a reason to reject the approach or even argue it. With no reason to say no, there would be no reason to not say yes. This power, rhetoric, constantly exists everywhere due to medias use of rhetoric. In our society, we constantly want something, and we always want to bring people into our endeavors. Our own desire is not enough to create the desire and drive in someone else, and that is where rhetoric plays its part. Rhetoric destroys the possibility of receiving a no, and its everywhere being used by everyone. Imagine that.

Youkhanna 6 Works Cited Lennon, John. Imagine. Imagine. Abbey Road Studios, 1971. CD.

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