The Rhetorical Devices of Michelle Alexander’s The New Jim Crow
In her book The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, Michelle Alexander argues that the United States has created a new system of racialized social control that functions much like the Jim Crow era of segregation. She uses a variety of rhetorical devices to support her argument, including ethos, logos, and pathos.
Ethos
Ethos is the appeal to the audience’s sense of ethics or morality. Alexander appeals to ethos by establishing herself as an expert on the topic of mass incarceration. She is a civil rights lawyer and scholar who has written extensively on the subject. She also cites a wide range of other experts in her book, including legal scholars, historians, and social scientists. By establishing herself as an authority on the topic, Alexander gains the audience’s trust and makes them more likely to be persuaded by her argument.
Logos
Logos is the appeal to the audience’s reason. Alexander uses logos by providing a wealth of evidence to support her argument. She cites statistics, case studies, and legal documents to show that the United States has a disproportionate number of Black people in its prisons. She also shows how the criminal justice system disproportionately targets Black people, from stop-and-frisk to sentencing disparities. By providing this evidence, Alexander makes her argument more persuasive and convincing.
Pathos
Pathos is the appeal to the audience’s emotions. Alexander uses pathos by telling stories of the human cost of mass incarceration. She tells the stories of people who have been wrongly convicted, people who have been separated from their families, and people who have been denied jobs and housing because of their criminal records. By telling these stories, Alexander makes the audience feel empathy for the victims of mass incarceration and more likely to be persuaded by her argument.
Conclusion
Michelle Alexander uses a variety of rhetorical devices to support her argument in The New Jim Crow. She appeals to the audience’s sense of ethics, reason, and emotions. By doing so, she makes her argument more persuasive and convincing.
In addition to the rhetorical devices mentioned above, Alexander also uses a number of other strategies to support her argument. For example, she uses analogy to compare the current system of mass incarceration to the Jim Crow era. She also uses metaphor to describe the way that mass incarceration functions as a new form of racial control. By using these strategies, Alexander makes her argument more vivid and memorable.
The New Jim Crow is a powerful and persuasive book that has helped to raise awareness of the issue of mass incarceration. Alexander’s use of rhetorical devices is an important part of what makes her book so effective. By appealing to the audience’s sense of ethics, reason, and emotions, she makes her argument more persuasive and convincing.
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