One of the beauties of rhetorical analysis is the diversity of gaze. There are multiple ways of examining the same event/situation/individual and the perspective through which it is examined alters the perceived reality of the subject itself.
From a rhetorical standpoint, this is primarily a function of, as Bill Nichols describes them, the divisions of invention and arrangement to create a direct impact on the ethos, pathos, and logos of an argument. This can be illustrated by the examples of The Central Park Five case and the contrast and convergence of two different reactions to it:
- Joan Didion’s essay “Sentimental Journeys”
- Sarah Burns’ documentary and book The Central Park Five
Both these women examine the injustice of the Central Park Five case and essentially make the same argument about the role of race in the wrongful convictions of those five men. However, their perspectives are inverted which gives them two different viewpoints towards the case.
Joan Didion is interested in the role sexism and racism played in the press coverage of the event itself. She takes these examples “facilitates incorporating that debate [sexism and racism in the media] into the life of a society” (Nichols 60). She first points out the sensationalized coverage of the event in the media with headlines like “Rape Rampage” and then pointing out that “3,254 rapes were reported that year” (Didion 686). Didion is interested in examining how the media responded to the event in the first place and she uses a wonderful combination of providing factual evidence and juxtaposing it in ways that rhetorically powerful.
On the other hand, Sarah Burns’ goal is “not just to tell the story and explain the facts…but also to try to understand the broader forces that shaped the outcome of this case” (Burns xi). Burns is also interested in the role of racism and sexism in the Central Park Five case but unlike Didon, she wants to examine how they contributed to the wrongful convictions. In the documentary, she brings in experts from several fields who have examined these phenomena regarding the role of race and drugs, race and poverty, race and media, etc for years and lets their testimoney lend ethos to her argument regarding the macro factors that contributed to the convictions of the five men.
While both these writers are interested in examining race, sex, and class in the Central Park Five case, Joan Didion analysis racism and sexism that was exposed in the public reaction to the event while Sarah Burns wants to understand how race and class played a role in how the event unfolded. Both have the same subject but wildly different gazes.
Marking Up The Margins 