Benjamin Banneker Rhetorical Analysis Essay

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In 1791, Benjamin Banneker wrote to Thomas Jefferson. He wrote to convince, rather than to plea. As a presumably respected man as himself, he would not beg. After all, this was the son of former slaves, now a farmer, astronomer, mathematician, surveyor, and author. What an attainment, considering most slaves could not even read nor write. As a reputable man to another, his civil manner is one to consider and makes him taken all that more seriously. In this land that declares the unalienable rights to be “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness,” they are not observing the value of life and freedom that also people should be able to be happy to have. Banneker uses rhetorical devices, respectful tone, and logic to prove his point to Jefferson. Banneker does not only use emotion to convey his point, he uses his words to make his point stronger. He repeatedly uses the world “sir” in the introduction of a paragraph. He uses this repetition to show reverence because respect is much more pleasantly received than a tone of insults and pointing fingers. The tone of his writing I think is a hint of infuriation with a touch of confusion. He is displeased that this country can claim to have endured “a time in which you clearly saw into the injustice of a state of slavery and in which you had just …show more content…
How can a country claim to be a “free” country when they have imprisoned their own brothers? After going through similar circumstances and the denial of their right to life, they are denying the same exact thing to people that very well could’ve fought side by side with the Americans for their freedom of a nation. He recalls, “…tyranny of the British Crown were exerted with every powerful effort in order to reduce you to a State of Servitude,” which is indeed a state of slavery. A former slave holding an alternative slave in captivity seems to deny the nature of humanity and compassion
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In writing my rhetorical analysis of Benjamin Banneker’s letter to Thomas Jefferson, I would have been more successful and possibly earned a higher score if I would have, gave more elaboration and support within each paragraph, used better structuring of paragraphs and elaborated vocabulary and transitions, and took more time to connect with the prompt. In the opening of my first body paragraph, I gave basic reasoning of how Banneker used emotional diction while writing to Jefferson. I successfully…

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