In unit two I felt that the reading assignment contained the essential elements that are held within a rhetorical argument. Throughout the course I have used this reading, specifically chapters four and five, as a guide. As the course has gone on I have definitely received a greater understanding of rhetoric as a whole. I do not yet, however, feel satisfied with my ability to analyze visual arguments such as signs, posters, or rhetorical cartoons and come away with an understanding of the writer’s argument. With this in mind I decided to revisit chapter four’s section on examining visual evidence and framing evidence to get a better understanding and perhaps some clarification on my shortcomings.
Visual evidence and visual arguments, as described in chapter four, are subject to the specific “values and beliefs” of the writer and the audience. These values and beliefs are built from the writer’s and audiences’ life experiences or, by the chapter’s description, the “particulars of our existence.” The chapter then puts this collected value and belief set to a term; “angle of vision.” This “angle of vision” is then likened to “perspective, bias, a lens, or filter.” I can relate to the “angle of vision” metaphors of filter and lens because I have a good understanding of photography. I understand that when you point an unfiltered camera lens at the sun the representative image is white, blown out, and distorted. The same lens with a good light filter will produce a stunning image that portrays the sun as a cool-blue idol-like subject that can do no harm but wields infinite power. The use of this kind of mindset and the understanding of the chapters’ examples helps me to grasp visual arguments and visual evidence better than ever (Ramage 94-97).
Visual evidence framing goes hand-in-hand with interpreting evidence and arguments. Chapter four describes evidence framing as “selecting evidence from a wide field of data then framing this data through rhetorical strategies that emphasize some data, minimize other data, and guide the reader’s response.” This description sums up evidence framing very well in my opinion. I return to the camera lens. When choosing a visual representation of a particular subject I am very careful to keep in mind the audience. If I apply a subject line to an image such as “Angry Sun” then I want to supply an image, or evidence, to directly support the subject matter and persuade the audience to look at the image just as I intend. An image of the sun through a cool-blue filter won’t support the charge of “Angry Sun” and would therefore cause the audience to doubt my argument. This instance of framing is a simple example and is set to highlight a trait or data of the evidence and also to guide the reader’s response (Ramage 98-100).
Chapter four yields many valuable lessons that propel rhetorical thinking forward for me. Understanding visual rhetoric and visual evidence and how to frame it is a foundation stone in the house that is the rhetorical triangle. Ethos, logos, and pathos are the binding agent that gives strength and leverage to an argument in the eyes of the reader. In my mind it is essential to tie visual representations of a view and visual representations of evidence to an argument in order to maintain the binding agent’s strength throughout the argument.
Work Cited
Ramage, John D., John C. Bean and June Johnson. Writing Arguments: A Rhetoric with Readings. 8th Edition. New York: Longman, 2010. Print.
