Rhetorical Analysis on the article “Together, You Can Redeem the Soul of Our Nation” by John Lewis
John Lewis had a very powerful and important message in “Together, You Can Redeem the Soul of Our Nation”. By using imagery, metaphors, and similes, that convey pathos and ethos, John Lewis successfully conveys his message to the people fighting for equal rights and for a better nation. It’s time for everyone to be treated equally and to feel safe in the place they call home.
John Lewis was an outstanding person who fought for civil rights for 65 years. He was a public figure for the civil rights movement and never gave up on his goals. While he wrote this right before he passed away, he felt accomplished in what he had done and felt confident in our generation to keep this movement alive. He said, “You filled me with hope about the next chapter of the great American story when you used your power to make a difference in our society” (Lewis). He truly believed in what he fought so hard for and knew that our generation feels the same way. He knew that there is hope for our society that can inspire us to keep fighting.
He expressed this by talking about the Black Lives Matter movement that is going on right now. We are fighting for the same rights and equality that he was all those years ago. Even though he knew he didn’t have much time left he still visited the Black Lives Matter Plaza in Washington and had talked about how we are starting to fight again and make our voices heard. By using the metaphor, “I just had to see and feel it for myself that, after many years of silent witness, the truth is still marching on”, he effectively uses pathos by making us truly feel how important this movement is. While he did see change many years ago, we are now fighting for similar causes again and through his use of saying the truth is still marching on he really makes readers feel the weight of this movement on society.
He then goes into even more detail about how our movement now is connected to when he was fighting. He talks about the people who were killed when he was young and about the people who were killed recently and says “In those days, fear constrained us like an imaginary prison, and troubling thoughts of potential brutality committed for no understandable reason were the bars” (Lewis). Through the use of this simile, he uses ethos to prove his credibility about this. He himself lived through this fear and experienced what it was like to have to live life not knowing what could happen to you. This is connected to present day because these incidents have been happening for years and are still happening. This truly shows that what happened in the past doesn’t only happen in the past.
John Lewis specifically talked about situations that made him afraid that really show what happens in the past isn’t only in the past. He said “Unchecked, unrestrained violence and government-sanctioned terror had the power to turn a simple stroll to the store for some Skittles or an innocent morning jog down a lonesome country road into a nightmare” (Lewis). This directly connects to present day. For example, Breonna Taylor was shot eight times and was killed by police while she was sleeping. She wasn’t doing anything suspicious, she was quite literally asleep in her bed but was shot eight times and killed. How are people supposed to feel safe during the day if they can’t even feel safe when they’re sleeping. John Lewis knew this fear and effectively used pathos to describe how real that fear is growing up as a black man. Simple tasks like going to the store, which is something people do all the time, made him afraid. The use of pathos is effective because the use of imagery of this situation is so strong. Imagining simply walking into a store to buy something but seeming suspicious to someone or to a policeman.
While having to fight for civil rights and equality is extremely hard, he had Martin Luther King Jr. giving him even more motivation to continue to fight. “I heard the voice of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on an old radio. He said each of us has a moral obligation to stand up, speak up and speak out. You must do something. Democracy is not a state… it is an act” (Lewis). The use of imagery and the metaphor really emphasize the use of ethos. MLK Jr. is known worldwide for doing amazing things for civil rights. His use of imagery by having us imagine him listening to MLK Jr. on an old radio probably sitting in his living room or kitchen, it shows us that he was there to truly witness the greatness of MLK Jr. He got the chance to participate with MLK Jr. in real time in the real world and not just getting to hear stories of the past. The use of the metaphor that says democracy is not a state but an act, is using ethos because he told us about how he acted instead of just sitting by.
He then continues to explain ways to make democracy an act. Voting, using the rights we do have is an important way to use democracy for the better. He states, “The vote is the most powerful nonviolent change agent you have in a democratic society” (Lewis). This is very important because this is being said in present day. All across the United States posters and commercials are trying their very hardest to get people to register to vote so they can use their voice to make changes. The only way we can see change is by doing something. This is a way we can do something.
John Lewis also makes it very clear that you should know the background and the history of what you are fighting for. “People on every continent have stood in your shoes, through decades and centuries before you. The truth does not change, and that is why the answers worked out long ago can help you find solutions to the challenges of our time” (Lewis). He uses a very common metaphor, standing in someone else’s shoes. While this metaphor is quite popular, it normally succeeds with its message. The use of this metaphor is a good use of pathos because it gets people to really think about what people have gone through and the hardships they have faced. Learning the history of what you are fighting for is learning about these hardships and where they come from. This teaches us that if we don’t know the history, we don’t know the true meaning of what we’re fighting against and how it started.
John Lewis then starts to explain how he’s essentially passing the torch on to us. To spread light on the Black Lives Matter movement and social injustices. He does this by saying, “In my life I have done all I can to demonstrate that the way of peace, the way of love and nonviolence is the more excellent way. Now it is your turn to let freedom ring” (Lewis). His use of this metaphor really resonates with pathos by telling us that there will eventually be a positive outcome and that what we’re fighting for is worth it. He’s motivating the readers and the people fighting for this movement to continue, to bear the hardships, but to overcome them. It will be worth it in the end.
In his last paragraph, John Lewis is very confident that our generation will finally be the ones to truly make changes in our society that will last forever. “When historians pick up their pens to write the story of the 21st century, let them say that it was your generation who laid down the heavy burdens of hate at last and that peace finally triumphed over violence, aggression and war. So I say to you, walk with the wind, brothers and sisters, and let the spirit of peace and the power of everlasting love be your guide” (Lewis). This metaphor seems like one of the most powerful ones he has used in his writing. It conveys pathos and tells us that by being peaceful but resilient, you can accomplish anything. It isn’t always easy and there will always be setbacks, but overcoming them is where people will thrive. If we keep going and pushing, we will eventually see a peaceful society.
John Lewis was a very powerful person and still is even though he isn’t physically with us anymore. Just like Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X and everyone else who has fought for social justice, change does come. The teachings and writings of people like John Lewis and everything they convey is the reason people keep fighting and keep believing. They know that there can be a positive outcome. We have to continue with this fight so we can keep making changes for the better and so everything the people mentioned above did for us, sticks with us forever and lasts a lifetime.
