Banneker

In this piece I explained the rhetorical structures and different examples that Benjamin Banneker uses in a letter written to Thomas Jefferson regarding slavery in 1791. He uses show hypocrisy, uses the example of Britain and how they treated the colonies and he uses the Declaration of Independence to show ethos. He himself has ethos because he is the son of a slave and he is a very intelligent and educated man. I also explain the Banneker uses diction to give a pathos appeal. He uses words like suffer, tyranny, pitiable, groaning captivity and cruel oppression to show the bitterness of the situation. Finally I explain how he uses sarcasm and irony to show logos. He uses sir sarcastically and different examples to show sarcasm and also to show that it is kind of ridiculous that he would write the Declaration and then stand for this treatment of people. He also uses that same thing to show irony.

Benjamin Banneker uses many different types of persuasion and many arguments towards the subject of how his brethren were being unfairly treated. He uses personal experiences, the Declaration of Independence and other things that Jefferson was involved in. He uses all these to give examples of Jefferson’s hypocrisy and unfairness.
Banneker uses ethos in his dispatch to infiltrate Jefferson’s character regarding his actions toward slavery, immoral treatment and the captivity of his fellow Americans. Jefferson wrote in the Declaration “We hold these truths to be self evident that all men are created equal, and that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence stating our freedom as a country from England’s unfair treatment. To this Banneker asks how the slavery situation is any different. Jefferson is asked to look back at the tyranny of the British Crown was exerted with powerful effort in order to reduce you to a State of...