Anceint Style Revised Edition

The ancient rules of style remain just as prevalent, effective and useful today as they were thousands of years ago, when the Greeks used the rules to analyze and classify the arrangement of words. The use of uncommon sentence structure, word placement, and other grammatical devices heightens the meaning and influence of utterances. Being able to persuade other people is a powerful technique. It is important to learn how to identify these speech styles so that you can make your own intelligent opinion.

These rhetoricians studied the theory that language is more dynamic than just a way to convey a single meaning. Language indeed is very powerful and is employed to persuade people every day. These tactics are used so readily that we do not even realize that they are being used and they become melded into our collective culture. Today we use it in our everyday language, advertisements, political debates, and just about any other time where persuasion of the intended audience is required.

To identify some of these devices in action, let us examine a recent political campaign advertisement which aired on television in Alabama where the candidate was seeking the republican nomination for the Commissioner of Agriculture. Dale Peterson has received national recognition for his unique communication style. It is not only the words that Peterson uses, but the way he employs word placement along with nonverbal messages that makes the commercial stand apart.

While we are watching television or on the internet we know that we will come along some type of advertisement. We all know that the advertisements are trying to get us to do something, such as buy their product, support their cause, or vote for a certain candidate. We know it is there and as “informed customers” we pay attention to what they are saying and can typically spot the subject and the purpose. However, the underlying meaning and the pull of persuasion can sometimes be difficult to identify.

Without context there is no meaning. Through the use of nonverbal cues Peterson provides a very strong context for his political position. The movement of the video and the angles of footage created a sense of movement and action. As Peterson begins his appeal to the viewer he literally gets off of his high horse. This visual allusion to a well-known colloquialism conveys the understanding that he is on their level as an equal and as such separated from the “politicians”. Even his jeans and sunglasses convey the message that he is a member of his audience. If he wore one of his business suites in the video, he would have seemed very out of place and out of touch with the common working farmer, not a desirable position for a candidate for the state’s agricultural commissioner.

Peterson continues to associate himself with his audience by using middle and plain language, much like one would hear in a relaxed and completely unguarded conversation with a friend. His short and choppy sentences give him the appearance of being frank and straight to the point. Even his thick southern dialect distinguishes him as a decedent from that region. Although Peterson does have a history of working the field with his hands, he also has experience as a businessman. The distinct absence of business jargon in a campaign for a position which is responsible for agricultural business confirms the intentional usage of word choice and accent as devices for conveying his message.

In knowing the concerns of his audience, Peterson is able to get their attention by discussing topics that are of interest to them. Families losing their homes, illegal immigrants, and unemployment are not topics that are typically associated with the position of an agriculture commission, but they are important to the audience and work at getting and maintaining their attention. Peterson is also able to use these contemporary issues to build suspense towards his role in all of these problems. The paradox of placing the very serious issues, of employment and crime next to a trivial one, such as the theft of the yard sale signs gives the trivial issue more weight and connects Peterson even more firmly to the side that has been negatively affected. After heightening the audience’s awareness with major issues, any type of crime, petty or felonious, needs to be handled and strengthens the case and puts Peterson’s rivals and their supporters in the role of the wrong doer.

Throughout the campaign Peterson emphasizes an “us against them” attitude. His use of plain language and his long lists of relatable jobs and positions he has held (farmer, businessman, cop, and a marine) lends him a level of acceptance and credibility that allows him to call his rivals names like “thugs” and “criminals”. Ancient Greeks referred to the ability to use frank speech as parrhesia. Mr. Peterson even took liberty with referring to undocumented immigrant “illegals”. Although the ability to enter and live in the United States of America is governed by laws, the use of the word “illegals” to define all of the people without paper work would be viewed as a completely racist and inappropriate comment. However, in the context of economic hardships his statement is not an outrage but serves as a base for his political platform.

Peterson’s use of hyperbole matches the outrageous use of his previous accusations and racial statements. Five billion dollars certainly sounds like it would carry a high level of power but I seriously question his overall ability to implement and carry out major change. Portraying his rivals as criminals that fool you and steal your money is so overboard it is hard to hear the accusations without wondering what they could have possibly done to deserve this harsh of a reaction.

The one thing that certainly catches the attention of the audience is the use of Peterson’s rifle. It is unknown if the rifle in the video actually belongs to Peterson, but that is of little consequence. The rifle serves as a multi-functioning metaphor regardless of its owner. Guns symbolically carry a great deal of meaning. For some people guns represent death and oppression, but paired along with the uplifting westernized orchestral music the rifle is a much more positive symbol. It symbolizes strength, protection, and action. The audience might not pick up on the metaphor that precisely. However, they do know that to do some of the hard work we need to do the unpleasant.

Peterson’s political campaign advertisement provides obvious examples of persuasive techniques. His word choice, delivery, and selection of physical elements used in his persuasion clearly conveyed the message that he is willing to break out the Remington if necessary. Okay, so the image itself is a hyperbole. He will not really use his Remington or Browning or whatever type of rifle he possesses, but he will do what needs to be done and he will do so while keeping the best interests of the voters in mind. As is persuasion the driving force behind rhetoric, Peterson has my vote.

References

Crowley, Sharon and Debra Hawhee.  Ancient Rhetorics for Contemporary Students. Second

Edition.  Boston:  Allyn and Bacon, 1999.