A Drudge’s Despair Aloud Quinoa’s story made much more of an impact on me than any of the other stories. Equation plays on people’s sentiments and morals by using rhetorical devices: ethos and pathos. His story appeals to me because I cannot conceive what it would be like to be persecuted and enslaved just because of the color of one’s skin, a trait that they cannot help. Because of the well-executed practice of rhetorical devices, can imagine the trip of the Middle Passage, aboard the ship myself.
The author, Aloud Equation, uses egos: vivid imagery and good, descriptive adjectives to aid the reader in connecting and visualizing his story. For example, in lines 81-83 Equation states, “This produced copious perspirations, so that the air soon became unfit for respiration, from a variety of loathsome smells, and brought on a sickness among the slaves, Of which many died. ” The words Equation used to describe make the reader feel and imagine the whole Middle Passage experience. Instead of just saying solely perspirations, he used the adjective copious.
Also, instead of using the word smells by itself, Equation described he smells as loathsome which bring the adjective to life on a visual level. In a second account, Aloud Equation uses sensory imagery once again (86). Using this type of imagery joins to the reader’s senses of smell, sight, hearing, and taste to aid in creating a mood. This narrative strikes my interest. Aloud underwent such trial and torture as described thoroughly by himself. According to Aloud, the trip he endured was definitely not enjoyable.
Readers develop interest in this story because it appeals to their ethos or credibility. People trust that this story stands true because it comes straight from the source. Naive and oblivious as to what occurs worldwide, Laud’s opinion and story remains unbiased. Therefore, he stands as a credible source. Ethos, along with the other two components of the triad: word choice and logos, support in creating a powerhouse of a writing. Through the use of pathos, Equation draws out the distress and hardships the slaves endured. He wants the reader to feel these painful feelings too.
In the story, Aloud includes how he and his sister felt the pain of aloneness worthy after they united again. By including this, he wants the reader to feel sympathy for his and all the other slaves involved in the trade’s situation. Equation plays on the audience’s emotions by including individual’s physical needs: health and life. The description of the conditions on the boats demonstrates how the physical needs, such as the lack of sanitation, of the slaves did not receive fulfillment. Also demonstrated in the narrative, social needs of the African Americans did not reach a state of contentment.
