In what ways does Major use rhetoric in his speech and what impact does that have on the animals?

Along his speech, Major uses rhetoric in many different ways. He uses these different rhetorical devices to be able to get his point across to the animals. But before I start making my points, I’ll explain what rhetoric is. Rhetoric is a way of using language in an effective ad persuasive way, rhetorical devices are persuasive language techniques. These techniques are really important because they help get points across to the listeners. Three of these that are important are rhetorical questions, tricolon and hyperbole.

Major uses rhetorical questions in various moments during his speech to make the animals think about the situation they live in, how they are made to work and gain nothing from it, how men take all the profit. “In return for your confinements and all your labour in the fields, what have you ever had except your bare rations and a stall?” _(p.5)  Here, Major makes them think about what they get in return after all their work, makes them think and realize it’s not what they deserve, they are barely given enough to live. The use of rhetoric devices here is to make them get to this realization. 

He also uses tricolon to highlight the state they live in, the various things that are wrong with it. “our lives are miserable, laborious and short” _(p.3) Here, he’s talking about the state their lives are in, how they don’t live happily, how they don’t live much. He uses tricolon to make his point more effectively, to make the animals see this faster, since three examples at once have more effect than only one. 

Hyperbole is a way of exaggerating statements to create strong impressions, Major uses it to express how much they have to do, how they are all abused. “forced to work to the last atom of our strength” _(p.4) What he says here is that they are abused, forced to work until they can’t do it anymore. This is also used to make the animals realize the state of the lives they live in.

To conclude, Major uses rhetorical devices in his speech to get the animals to think and come to the realization that mankind abuses them, makes them work for them while giving them nothing in exchange.