Brophy 1

Erin Brophy
Dr. Werner
ENGL 113
13 January 2015
Critical Summaries Issue 1
Losh, Elizabeth, Johnathon Alexander, Kevin Cannon, and Zander Cannon.
Understanding Rhetoric. Boston; Bedford/St. Martins, 2014. Print.
Issue 1 in Understanding Rhetoric is about the early beginnings of rhetoric
and its use throughout history. The chapter starts with how modern rhetoric is
starting to take on a negative connotation. It is used in news often before or during
elections or political debates. When reporting, newscasters have started using the
term rhetoric to mean shifty or sly, especially when discussing politics. After writing
about the current opinion of rhetoric, the authors jump back to ancient Greece
where they introduce philosophers Plato and Aristotle who had very differing
opinions on how rhetoric affects society. Plato was against teaching rhetoric
because he believed that it would be used to corrupt and deceive others. Aristotle,
on the other hand, supported the use of rhetoric in plays and education to teach
students to behave in appropriate ways.
Issue 1 also worked to break down rhetoric into three of its components:
ethos, pathos and logos. Ethos is the aspect of rhetoric that represents the
credibility of the writer or speaker. Pathos uses emotional images or words to gain
support from the audience to argue a point. Lastly, logos is the component of
rhetoric that uses logic and reasoning to argue a point and win over the reader.
These three fundamental aspects of rhetoric are used by speakers to draw in their
audiences and make stronger arguments for the topic they are discussing. (229)

Brophy 2

Plato is right when he says we should not teach our children behaviors that
will make them more likely to become criminals. In ancient Greece, Plato believed
that rhetoric was a deceitful tool that allowed people to trick others (Losh et al 39).
He stated that children should be protected from ambiguous moral messages to
avoid later becoming criminals (Losh et al 40). In modern day society, parents are
having the same problem as Aristotle, though not with rhetoric. More and more
parents are allowing their children to be exposed to all of the violence in modern
day society on TV, in videogames, and with the toys available to them. In stores, the
boys section is stocked full of guns, bow and arrows, and many other weapons that
kids are now viewing as fun toys. What happens when a child finds an actual gun in
his house and doesnt realize its not a toy? With this images of violence inundating
a growing and learning child, the child will come to believe that violence is a game
and will be less likely to view it as a bad thing. (WC: 188)