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Broxton Abercrombie

Ms. Kadri

Pre-AP English 9

19 April 2017

OBriens Speech Rhetorical Devices

The character Kathy OBrien in Walter Dean Myers Monster is a lawyer who defended

Steve Harmon, a black teenager on trial for murder, successfully. The reason for her success was

debatably because of her speech at the end of the book which showed Harmon as an innocent

human being instead of just a criminal or monster. Her speech uses the rhetorical device of

repetition and the rhetorical appeal of pathos to help prove Harmons innocence.

Firstly, OBrien uses repetition in her speech to help Harmons case when she is pacing

around and informing the jury about how Harmon wasnt involved in the crime she says, To Mr.

Evans, all that Mr. Nesbitt represented was a getover. (251) and shortly after said, The only

thing that Steve Harmon is to Mr. Evans is another getover. (251) This is repetition because

OBrien repeats the phrase getover multiple times in her speech. She did this to emphasize

how Harmon was simply used by the criminal, Mr. Evans, as a way to get away with his crimes

but at the cost of Harmons freedom and possibly life. OBrien compared this to Mr. Evans

killing Mr. Nesbitt, an innocent man, as a way to get some money. This improves her argument

because it shows that Harmon wasnt actually involved in the crime and he was just being used

similar to how Mr. Nesbitt was. OBrien using this repetition enhanced her speech and

emphasized her points.

Later in the speech OBrien uses the rhetorical appeal of pathos. As OBrien is justifying

Harmons nervousness while talking, she says that its simply because, Hes facing the
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possibility of spending his entire youth behind bars! (252) This is a great example of pathos

because OBrien is trying to make the jury feel bad for the situation Harmon has to be in and

using emotions to prove her point. She does this to make the jury believe that his nervousness

didnt have to do with him lying and that he is still very young and has a lot to live for. Using

pathos like this was a smart move because it made Harmon appear more human and less

deserving of the punishment that was presented to him.

The effectiveness of OBrien s speech in the book, Monster was greatly enhanced by

her use of rhetorical devices and appeals. OBrien used repetition in her speech to emphasize the

point that Harmon is innocent and used the rhetorical appeal of pathos to make people feel sorry

for Harmon and that he doesnt deserve what he is going through.