Rhetoric is commonly used to win debates and prove points. This form of persuasion is commonly found the political fiction in All the King’s Men by Robert Penn Warren. The majority of the debates in the novel involve a big idea of some sort, such as politics or morality. One example is an argument between Anne Stanton and her brother Adam about whether or not he should accept a job at the new hospital being built by Governor Talos. Their friend, Jack Burden becomes involved as well.
Anne Stanton thinks wants her brother to accept the job. For her, this debate is moral. She believes Adam can “do good” by working there, which she calls “his duty” (Warren 344). Here, Anne uses the rhetorical strategy of ethos, which is by definition “argument by character” (Heinrichs 40). She believes it is morally right for Adam to work at the hospital, and she is trying to convince him to believe the same thing. …show more content…
For him, this argument boils down to politics. He tells Anne that he “owes himself something” (Warren 344). He does not approve of the way Governor Talos run the state and thinks so low of the governor that he considers him dirt; he does not want to work for someone he despises. During the argument with Anne, he uses rhetoric in the form of definition jujitsu, by accepting Anne’s word, then “defending it as a positive thing” (Heinrichs 118). He recognizes it is his pride stopping him from working at the hospital, but says his pride is what is stopping him from touching “filth” because he thinks lowly of Willie (Warren 344). To Adam, this debate is political because it is against Willie and the type of person he is, as well as against the way he abuses his power as