I am doing well in my class but having trouble with a particular assignment. I don't really understand bias, fallicies and rhetoric.
Here is my assignment, any help or enlightenment would be appreciated. I am not asking for my assignment to be done for me, I am just having problems with this.
The speech is :
Campaigner: There is only one man who can rid the politics of this State of the evil domination of Boss Jim Gettys. I am speaking of Charles Foster Kane, the fighting liberal, the friend of the working man, the next Governor of this State, who entered upon this campaign --
Kane: with one purpose only: to point out and make public the dishonesty, the downright villainy, of Boss Jim W. Gettys' political machine -- now in complete control of the government of this State! I made no campaign promises, because until a few weeks ago I had no hope of being elected.
Now, however, I have something more than a hope. And Jim Gettys -- Jim Gettys has something less than a chance. Every straw vote, every independent poll shows that I'll be elected. Now I can afford to make some promises!
The working man -- The working man and the slum child know they can expect my best efforts in their interests. The decent, ordinary citizens know that I'll do everything in my power to protect the underprivileged, the underpaid, and the the underfed!
Well, I'd make my promises now if I weren't too busy arranging to keep them.
Here's one promise I'll make, and boss Jim Gettys knows I'll keep it: My first official act as Governor of this State will be to appoint a Special District Attorney to arrange for the indictment, prosecution, and conviction of Boss Jim W. Gettys!
Answer the following questions in a minimum of 500 words: Identify examples of bias, fallacies, and specific rhetorical devices in the speech. How did the speaker address arguments and counterarguments? Were the speaker’s arguments effective? Explain your answers.
4 answers
I believe that Kane’s example of an argument was when he informs the public that he will make a promise to help “the working man, the slum child, ordinary citizens, the underprivileged, the underpaid, and the underfed” as opposed to what Jim Gettys has been offering to the people.
Charles Foster Kane’s counter argument is that after elected he promises to help the working man, the slum child, ordin ...
at these people need him to rescue the political state of the government.
Moreover, Kane uses several fallacies in his speech. He begins his speech by simultaneously using the poisoning the well fallacy and a personal attack ad hominem to address the issues that he has with Jim Gettys. He opens his speech by using the poisoning the well fallacy, which attempts to discredit what a person might say in advance by saying unflattering things about the person. Kane attempts to discredit anything that Gettys would have to say by relating unfavorable information about him. Kane calls Gettys a “dishonest” person. In the same opening statement, Kane uses a personal attack ad hominem to critique Gettys character, rather than crit ...
One rhetorical device is to shift himself from third person (when referring to himself as having not chance) to first person during the speech (when he promises to prosecute Gettys when elected). Instead of bragging directly, he makes up claims about how the poor and the working class respect and support him. One of his fallacies is to assume he will win and Gettys will be convicted of a crime. Is strikes me as an effective campaign speech, but devoid of substance.
mind your own business!!!!