First Blog Assignment

Burke looks at Mein Kampf from a rhetorical perspective because he is aiming to portray what Hitler was communicating through this piece of writing. Hitler’s approach in this writing is to bring up the problem of the Jewish population in society with the hopes that through his language he can resolve what he believes to be a major societal issue. He aims to show the Germans that the Jews need to be eliminated because they pose a threat to society. One appeal that Burke identifies is the fact that Hitler identifies the Aryan race as being the most superior and ideal race while other races including the Jews are dubbed inferior. This suits the audience because in this case the audience is intended to be the German population, in particular those who are non Jewish and who can be convinced to think that they are superior to the Jews. Another appeal that Burke identifies is the materialization of an international “devil,” the Jews. Hitler exemplifies the Jews as being the enemy. Hitler uses sexual symbolism to prove that the Aryans are being “seduced” by the Jews, therefore intermingling with them and poisoning the pure Aryan blood. As Burke points out, the key to Hitler’s success is his repetition. He really drills on the same points over and over with the hopes of convincing the German people that the Jews are the enemy and need to be eliminated.

The multicolored Obama poster with the word “change” in big letters is a popular piece of propaganda that I don’t necessarily like. You see these posters all over the place, and the reason these are popular is because there are many democrats who believe that Obama is making big, positive changes towards improving our government. The exigence that this poster represents is the fact that Bush left our country in ruins and Obama is here to create change and transform our country into a better place for Americans. These posters most likely appeal to democrats who disliked our previous Republican dominated government and therefore seek reform and believe that this can only come through a democrat such as Obama.