August 26, 2008, 10:25 pm by Ian

The Rhetorical Ape article use of simple rhetorical structures shows how rhetoric and good argumentation can make any claim seem perfectly reasonable and even going so far as to turning preconceived notions around. The article’s set up of an educational approach to key rhetorical ideas such as “commonplaces” and “code grooming” is a great way to pique the reader’s interest in the topic at hand. That and the easy to follow examples of apes grooming one another to doctor’s having their own handwriting club to teen “l33t speak” prepares the reader for the grand example of how the speaker’s audience is key to good rhetoric. Mr. Heinrich’s use of President George W. Bush’s rhetorical skills is a brilliant turn around for the reader’s thought process because the reader must be thinking Bush? Bush? How is he a great speaker? And in due time, Mr. Heinrich explains why in a manner that convinces me that he was writing an article that was part educational—highlighting the importance of code grooming and audience—and part satire—by way of his overt and at times gushing praise for Mr. Bush’s rhetorical skills.

What makes me think this article is part satire? Mr. Heinrich is obviously using code grooming in this very article that lets us in on the joke. Using words and phrases like “rhetorical pantheon”, “masterful”, “catapults” in contrast to “logic-free” and “sound of sense” clashes in a way that makes the article’s main example hard to take entirely at face value. Now that is not to say Mr. Heinrich’s article is bad. Code grooming, reverse words, repeated codewords, etc. are extremely important rhetorical tools that must be highlighted and reiterated, and it cannot be denied that Mr. Bush does indeed effectivly use these boiled-down-to-its-basics words that grab people’s minds, which showcases the most important rhetorical link between speaker and audience.

Though Mr. Heinrich denies writing this article in a tongue-in-cheek manner, I can’t help but notice who his audience will be (college students, most likely English majors), and how the clash of his own code grooming, repeated codewords, and oddly lofty praise for man’s unpracticed-but-perfect rhetoric creates some sort of satire that draws his audience in and in some makes the article all the more engaging and memorable.