Charlton Heston was a famous American movie star, particularly of the 1950s, 60s and 70s. He almost always played heroic roles, such as Moses, Michelangelo, and Ben-Hur. He was physically strong and convincingly played a circus acrobat in one of his first movies. Toward the 1980s, he began to be involved in the National Rifle Association, and eventually became its president, which he was during this 1999 speech. Use both your book and the clips from Aristotle's Rhetoric to answer these questions:
1. How does Heston establish his good character (ethos) with this audience?
2. How and why does Heston insult his audience? Who is this audience? What are their likely political views in comparison to Heston's?
3. What pathos strategies does Heston use with this audience?
4. See if you can find these "logos" strategies:
- Comparison
- Enthymeme - a form of syllogism, with one or more steps left out
- Examples
- Quoting famous people
5. How well do you think Heston uses ethos, logos, and pathos?
6. Is there anything about his "delivery" (Canon 4) that strikes you as particularly effective or ineffective?