Essay Question 2 (Analysis)

The way Americans are portrayed in this essay by J. Hector St John de Crvecoeur in
his collection of essays, Letters From an American Farmer, is rather interesting. They are
described as people of nothing, who were poor and worthless while in Europe, but once in
America, has turned into better, stronger, people. Crvecoeur uses rhetorical strategies, such
as analogies, repetitive syntax, and rhetorical questions to further enhance his portrayal of
Americans.
Crvecoeurs use of analogy was very strong, being very descriptive of how before the
men had gone to America, they were useless plants, wanting vegetative mold, and that when
they had become Americans, they [took] root and flourished. This strengthens the contrast
between the men while in Europe, and the men while in America. His use of repetitive syntax,
along with rhetorical questions worked well together, by helping to emphasize certain points by
using consecutive questions. From whence proceed these laws? From our government.
Whence the government? The rhetorical question and answer, as well as the similar sentence
structure worked out well to help explain how the people followed and created laws and
government.
How Crvecoeur used rhetorical strategies to make his argument more appealing
worked out well. They worked with each other to create a better flow, thus creating a better
argument overall.