preview

Coming Of Age In Mississippi Rhetorical Analysis

Decent Essays
Open Document

In the excerpt of Anne Moody’s Memoir, “Coming of Age in Mississippi,” she uses logos and ethos to strengthen her credibility of what happened at the Woolworth’s sit-in. First, she is very good at recalling the exact times that events occurred on the day of the sit-in. For example, she notes that at exactly 11:00 AM, Pearlena, Memphis, and herself enter the back entrance of Woolworth’s. From there, they browsed the store and planned to meet back and start the sit-in. Moody says, “Pearlena had given Memphis her watch. He was to let us know when it was 11:14. At 11:14 we were to join him near the lunch counter and at exactly 11:15 we were to take our seats.” This shows how the sit-in was heavily planned. They were all dispersed to avoid attention, …show more content…

That is when the sit-in came into play, with their waitress turning off the lights, causing the other waitresses to flock to the back of the store. Another key time point which adds to the memoir’s credibility is when Moody notes that a racist crowd came into Woolworth’s. She writes, “At noon, students from a nearby white high school started pouring in to Woolworth’s. When they first saw us they were sort of surprised. They didn’t know how to react.” This is a prominent time for Moody to remember, as this is when the racist crowd started to come in. These specific and important times add to the credibility, as Moody could just state in vague terms when things happened. Instead of saying that they walked in around noon and a few minutes later they sat at the counter, Moody remembers the exact times and makes the piece more believable. It is a good form of logos, as Moody informs the readers when moments occurred, while also tying in key …show more content…

It is important that the details are objective, as she never tells her feelings on the sit-in event until later in the memoir. All the facts remain to the point and never show a sign of bias, it is simply what happened. For example, Moody cleverly inserts the detail of a woman who leaves the lunch counter. Moody writes, “A middle-aged white woman who had not yet been served rose from her seat and came over to us. ‘I’d like to stay here with you,’ she said, ‘but my husband is waiting.’” The husband didn’t show any importance before, so she clearly made an excuse so she could clearly avoid the violence that would surely ensue. She is questioned by a newsman, to which she never revealed her name, but she stated that she did feel empathy for black people and their movement. This was crucial to keep in, as while it actually did happen, it serves as a foreshadow to the horrific scene that would soon occur. Leading up to the violent attack, Moody recalls a horrific sight. She writes, “The rest of the seats except the three we were occupying had been roped off to prevent others from sitting down. A couple of the boys took one end of the rope and made it into a hangman’s noose. Several attempts were made to put it around our necks.” This is a sign where the students try to symbolize white dominance, by threatening to lynch Moody and the others. The crowd was filled with so much hate, to the

Get Access
Related
Get Access