narrative proposal

For my narrative, I would like to discuss my parent's divorce, and how their relationship has shaped my opinions, and made me the person I am today.

First Blog Assignment

Burke addresses Mein Kamp and analyzes it in order to discover the different propaganda tactics that Hitler used to appeal to society. His specific exigence is to respond to these tactics so that they will not be brought about again in America. Burke breaks down Hitler’s methods of persuasion, as well as the false ideas and assumptions that they were centered around. The specific exigence at the time was Hitler’s response to problems that Germany was facing. Mein Kamp, which is rhetoric in itself, responded to these issues by falsely blaming the Jewish population. Since Germany lost WWI, Hitler widely promoted the idea of unification. He wanted his audience to feel as if they were part of something together. As a result, he created this unified image by also creating a ‘fictitious devil’, which he said were the Jewish people. By creating this devil, people could unify and hate it together as a whole. Hitler also used repetition through propaganda. He repeated slogans as a way of spreading his idea and unifying everyone under one idea. In order to appeal to logos, Hitler created a hierarchy of race and status where he placed the Jewish at the bottom. By doing so, it then seemed logical for people to blame their burdens and issues on the Jewish of “lesser value”. The use of religion appeals to both pathos and ethos. Hitler uses God as a spiritual connection among his audience, which they can emotionally respond to. In addition, he uses religion to make it appear that what he is saying is ethical, however his words are often falsified and stray from the truth. His techniques are cleverly thought out and brought his audience to exactly where he wanted them to be.

         A current day propaganda technique that we are all exposed to is the commercial comparing PCs to MACs. Although I don’t dislike MACs, which is what it essentially promotes, I still don’t consider the commercial to be fully truthful. However, the commercial responds to the question of which type of system to buy, a common thought among many in today’s society. Thus, the audience consists of those faced with this dilemma. As a result, the commercial’s response to the question pushes toward MAC, and those unsure are given more reason to go with such an operating system. Consequently, the commercial serves as a persuasive technique to sell the product.