This is an exercise in examining the persuasive power of the rhetoric of a given text.   Read these texts: Compassion

This is an exercise in examining the persuasive power of the rhetoric of a given text.

Read these texts:

• Compassion and the Individual by The Dalai Lama           (on Canvas)            
• Toward a Universal Ethic by  Gazzaniga                              (on Canvas)             
• Groundhog Day by Danny Rubin and Harold Ramis (Links to an external site.)               a movie to be screened in class
• Also read supporting material of handout and Canvas posting

The movie and the essay seem to argue that humans should act ethically toward their fellow humansthat people should treat others with respect, consideration, compassion, etc.  But which text is MOST PERSUASIVE?  Given an audience of typical humans, which of the three texts might better persuade the greatest number in the audience? Which does a better job of persuading its readers or viewers to act ethically toward others?

Length: 1100-1500 words

Take it as a GIVEN that the two essays and the movie are all arguments in favor of humans treating other humans well with respect, compassion, etc.  

Then create a two-part paper.

#1— Briefly present the major points of each text, noting (objectively) the primary methods (rhetorical strategies) each work employs to convince viewers to treat others well. (keep this section under 500 words)

#2—Then choose the one text you believe would do a better job persuading and convincing readers or viewers that humans should act ethically toward others. (Using 600-800 words for this section). Dont compare and contrast the two texts: just go into detail building a case in favor of the single text you think is most persuasive.

Section #2 should be thesis-driven. The entire paper must follow MLA guidelines,

DO NOT use of the 1st and 2nd person voices.

DO bring in quotations and events and other materials from the texts themselves to support your claims.

Remember:

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• This is not a report or a summary.  Your final version should be part objective (section #1) and part subjective/argumentative (section #2), providing your reasoned opinion about the quality of your chosen authors rhetoric.
• Movies seldom make detailed, explanatory or declarative arguments.  If they persuade, they probably do so in a more indirect and subtle way than do essays.  We can call a movie a text and we can read movies, but the language of film communicates with images as well as with words.