Rhetorical Analysis: Daily Collegian Cartoon

          On Thursday, March 3, 2011, the Daily Collegian published a cartoon that is loaded with rhetoric. The cartoon portrays Muammar Ghadaffi, the dictator of Libya who is recently under the spotlight due to the current revolution that is ongoing in his nation, and the cruelty with which he is putting it down. In the cartoon, Ghadaffi is seated in a chair in front of a TV. He is staring at the TV, and a thought bubble is drawn by his head, which says, "That Charlie Sheen is one wierd dude...". This cartoon appeals to pathos, ethos, and logos to convey the message that Sheen is crazy.

          The most obvious rhetorical appeal is to pathos, through the use of humor. It is obviously funny that Ghadaffi, who is considered to be one of the weirdest and craziest people in the world, is calling Sheen weird. Next, logos is used, because it is appealing to the common knowledge that Ghadaffi himself is crazy, due to his treacherous acts as a dictator along with his weird sense of style and personality. Finally, ethos is used, but in the opposite way that it would normally be used. Ethos is a person's credibility, and Ghadaffi has the credibility to call somebody weird, since he himself is weird. Although this may be different than usual, it actual makes a lot of sense. Ghadaffi has the credibility as a crazy person to call someone else crazy. After some thought, it is apparent that ethos, pathos, and logos are all at work in the Daily Collegian's cartoon, and it was able to effectively convey its message to me through the use of these tactics.