Rhetoric and Persuasion —— An Analysis of the 2016 American Presidential Televised Debates_英语论文

摘要

2016年的美国总统竞选吸引着全球的目光。作为全国投票日前的最后冲刺，特朗普和希拉里在三场电视辩论中表达了各自的政治立场和政策方针，极力拉拢选民。事实上，双方运用了大量修辞来以说服观众，展现了各自强大的说服艺术。

本文以亚里士多德修辞学中的三种劝说方式，即人品诉求（ethos）、情感诉求(pathos)和理性诉求(logos)为理论框架。通过研究特朗普和希拉里的第三场电视辩论，文章将分析两位总统候选人如何运用三种劝说方式以及其使用效果。论文认为人品诉求吸引听众，随后，情感诉求动之以情，理性诉求晓之以理，从而形成递进的关系。纵观第三场辩论，希拉里在劝说策略的使用和三种劝说方式的结合上更为出色。本研究旨在为修辞重要性的理解及修辞在日常交际中的应用提供新的视角，从而达到成功说服的目的。

关键词:  美国总统电视辩论   修辞学  劝说  

Abstract

The 2016 American presidential election drew the attention of the whole world. The three dramatic presidential televised debates between Donald Trump and Hilary Clinton were their final sprints before the Election Day, during which they expressed their political stands and principles so as to pry more voters. Actually, two candidates used a large amount of rhetoric to persuade the audience, displaying their art of persuasion.

This thesis takes the three modes of persuasion in Aristotle’s Rhetoric, namely ethos, logos and pathos as theoretical foundation. By examining the third televised debate between Trump and Hilary, this paper analyzes how they used the three modes of persuasion and the effects of using them. It holds that ethos attracts audience first, pathos then touches audience and logos enlightens them, which forms a progressive relationship. Throughout the third debate, Hilary performed better in terms of persuading tactics and combination of the three modes. This thesis aims at offering new insights to the understanding of the significance of rhetoric and its application in communication for the purpose of successful persuasion. 

Keywords;  American presidential TV debates  Rhetoric  persuasion  

Contents

1 Introduction 1

1.1 American Presidential Televised Debates 1

1.2 Literature Review 2

1.3 Thesis Structure 2

2 Theoretical Framework 5

2.1 Ethos——Establishment of Credibility 5

2.2 Pathos——Evoke Emotional Resonance 6

2.2 Logos——Reasoned Discourse 6

3 Analysis Based on Triad Persuasion Approach 8

3.1 Ethos-centric Analysis 8

3.2 Pathos-centric Analysis 10

3.3 Logos-centric Analysis 13

4 The Importance of Ethos, Pathos and Logos in Communication 17

Conclusion 19

Acknowledgements 21

References 22