Blog Entry #2: Rhetorical Analysis - Just Mercy

 Hello readers and welcome back to my blog! Thank you for the support on my last post. I am starting to like the community we are building on this blogging platform. 

I have progressed even more through the novel Just Mercy written by Bryan Stevenson and have been intrigued by the style, tone, purpose, and voice Stevenson uses to portray the events that are happening in the book. Stevenson also appeals to his audience in the method of persuasion by using pathos. 

In this past week, we have learned the story of two men named Herbert and Charlie. Herbert Richardson was a retired Vietnam War Veteran. He was discharged from the war when he was diagnosed with a physiatric illness he obtained from his service and the stress that was put upon him. He was mentally ill and suffered from severe PTSD. Herbert Richardson was executed at the end of Chapter 4 because he killed an innocent young girl. He planted a bomb in an attempt to rescue his girlfriend and "save the day", but instead killed a child. He was clearly missing logic and although his intention wasn't to hurt anyone, it clearly did. 

Herbert Richardson

Charlie was fourteen years old when he was convicted and charged with the murder of his mom's abusive boyfriend. One night the boyfriend came home very drunk and hit his mother which caused her to collapse on the floor, and she began bleeding from her head. Charlie was furious and shot the drunk boyfriend without hesitation. Charlie had a very difficult time in prison, where he was raped and sexually assaulted by other inmates who were serving time. Stevenson learns of Charlie's situation and decides to represent him. 

In this blog post, I will be sharing two passages that I thought showed imagery, pathos, voice of Bryan Stevenson. 

    "One morning, Herbert completed his assembly of the bomb and placed it on his former girlfriend's porch. The woman's niece and another little girl came out instead and saw the peculiar package. The ten-year-old niece was drawn to the odd bag with a clock on it and picked up the device. She shook the clock to see if it would tick, which triggered a violent explosion. The child was killed instantly, and her twelve-year-old friend, who was standing next to her, was traumatized. Herbert knew both children" (Stevenson, 76). 

This passage incorporated a high level of imagery and pathos, which is the appeal to emotion. When I read this passage, my heart sunk for the young girl, along with the feeling of grief and anger that Herbert was feeling. I visually pictured the young girl run up and grab and shake the object to only feel the explosion against her body and the terror in her eyes. His intentions weren't to harm anyone; "Herbert loved kids and would invite them into his yard, pay them to do errands, and talk to them" (76). When Stevenson wrote that, I think he wanted to put the readers into his perspective of what he was dealing with. He appealed to the reader's emotions by sharing personal information about Herbert's life. He knew Herbert was a kind soul, that made a very terrible mistake, and he knew that he had to try and help him get off death row. This was unsuccessful in the end, although it did buy him more time. He felt a close connection to Stevenson and he did end up being executed by "Yellow Mama" (the electric chair) eleven years after the accident. 

     "'Charlie, if I were you, I'd be pretty scared and really worried right now, but I'd also want someone to help me. I'd like to help, okay?... Charlie can you speak? Are you okay?" (Stevenson, 122). 

This passage clearly shows the level of interest and emotion Stevenson gives to his clients. This occurred when Charlie and Stevenson first met at the prison. He genuinely cares for his clients and although he is very busy, he gives his all to them. He personally made Charlie feel at home when he was surrounded by strangers. He was very shy and timid too. Mr. Stevenson was truly the first person to give Charlie a chance, and through this passage, you can see the kind of voice and tone Stevenson has. He also in a way tries to relate to Charlie, by putting himself in Charlie's place. I imagine that made Charlie feel less alone.

In all, I really enjoyed this week's reading. There wasn't much new info regarding Walter McMillian's case, which I was a little bit disappointed about. We did get to learn some about his family though, which brought an interesting perspective to the table. I was fascinated by Charlie and Herbert's story, and I hope you guys thought it was interesting as well. 

See you next week fellow bloggers! 

-Cailey :)

Works Cited

Herbert Richardson. Equal Justice Initiative, eji.org/cases/herbert-richardson/. Accessed 12 Mar.

2021.

Stevenson, Bryan. Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption. 2019 ed., New York, Spiegel & Grau,

2019.