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Jindal's "Battle": The Cultural Logics beneath Bobby Jindal's Pathetic Terrorist Metaphor

  • J.R. Collins University of Alaska - Anchorage
Keywords: Rhetoric, Pathos, Emotion, Affect, Education

Abstract

In August of 2014 the Governor of Louisiana, Bobby Jindal, released a statement declaring his intent to sue President Obama and the Department of Education. This article analyzes the pathetic language used in that statement and finds a surprising metaphor comparing the President to a terrorist, as well as a parallel with a pattern Kenneth Burke found in his analysis of Hitler’s Mein Kampf. I include research on emotion and affect theory in my methodology and show how Jindal’s rhetoric could benefit from a more invitational approach than the extreme persuasive approach he has taken. I conclude by calling on rhetoricians to take note of discourse that follows such a pattern and for public speakers to consider invitational rhetoric as a means of opening a dialogue and working towards solutions.

Author Biography

J.R. Collins, University of Alaska - Anchorage

J. R. Collins graduated from the University of Alaska-Anchorage in May of 2015, and is currently working there as a graduate TA, planning to pursue a PhD with a focus in rhetoric after finishing an MA in English in 2017.

Published
2016-04-25
How to Cite
CollinsJ. (2016). Jindal’s "Battle": The Cultural Logics beneath Bobby Jindal’s Pathetic Terrorist Metaphor. Young Scholars in Writing, 13, 6-19. Retrieved from https://youngscholarsinwriting.org/index.php/ysiw/article/view/224
Section
Articles