A Rhetorical Piece of Literature Essay

Judith Ortiz Cofer’s piece entitled ‘The Myth of the Latin Woman: I Just Met a Girl Named Maria’ is a rhetorical essay that exemplifies the art of persuasion through the use of ethos, pathos, and logos that mainstream the three types of rhetorical proof. Her piece describes the life of a Puerto Rican girl who was forced to carry the culture and the customs of the Spanish, Catholic world up to the more sophisticated Western world. This appears to be a heavy burden—not only to Puerto Ricans or Latinas who end up transferring to another society and culture—but also to other races and ethnicities that can be rated as third class in the culture of the West. Race and culture can have its own prejudices (The New Georgia Encyclopedia 2006), and this presents the theme of Cofer’s ‘The Myth of the Latin Woman’. Main Body In representing rhetorical piece, Cofer uses ethos, pathos, and logos†¦ as well as the angle of vision and the inclusion of opposing views of other cultures. Ethos dictates â€Å"how the character and credibility of a speaker influence an audience to consider him (or her) to be believable† (Wikipedia 2007). This is readily seen on how Cofer mentions about her being a graduate student (203); her coming from a modest, educated, and respectable Latin family (205, 207); her friends who, despite being Hispanic, are actually medical graduates, professionals, and â€Å"feminist Hispanic scholars† (206). This also includes the portion wherein Cofer dictates how her ‘Chikana’ friend has had her doctor shake his head when she uses ‘big words’ (207). All these give the reader the impression that what the writer says is accurate and credible all because of the high standing that builds a good reputation on the writer. Pathos, on the other hand, is â€Å"the use of emotional appeals to alter the audience’s judgment† (Wikipedia 2007). This is readily seen on how Cofer uses amplification on many parts of the story, such as the following: first, the Irish man’s use of ‘Maria’ based on ‘The West Side Story’ (203); second is her storytelling of how her family’s life was in an urban center in New Jersey back in the ‘60s (204); third is her experience as a Latin highschool girl in America when they were instructed â€Å"to come dressed as if for a job interview† (204), and how they were described to be â€Å"the negative models by the nuns† (204), with their teachers and classmates looking at them distastefully (205); fourth is when she mentions how Hispanic women are usually abused by their ‘boss men’ (205); fifth is how the words ‘sizzling’ and ‘smoldering’ are used to pertain—not just the food of Latin America—but the women as well (205); sixth, how Latin girls are supposed to ‘ripen’ and not just to grow into womanhood (205); seventh, her narration on how a man of high standing sang to her ‘Evita’ (206). And, lastly, how she was mistaken to be the waitress instead of the main writer during her first public poetry reading (207). All these things give strong emotional appeals that make the persuasion more insisting and more resolute. Logos, on the other hand, pertains to â€Å"the use of reasoning, either inductive or deductive, to construct an argument† (Wikipedia 2007). In Cofer’s piece, this is seen on how she uses inductive reasoning in stating her experience and historical examples that, in turn, can be described as factual and logical (e. g. , what a Hispanic culture is, why Latin girls wear everything at once). This is also seen on how she uses deductive reasoning, especially in the use of generally accepted propositions about the Hispanic women—that they are â€Å"Hot Tamale or sexual firebrand† (Cofer 2005); second, deductive reasoning is also used in stating that Hispanic women feel free to express themselves through clothes and ornaments and be more provocative, since they are â€Å"more protected by the traditions, mores, and laws of a Spanish/Catholic system of morality and machismo† (205); third, that tropical women show off their skin to keep cool and, at the same time, appear sexy (205); fourth and final, the myth that Latina women are actually whores, domestic, or criminal (207). The logic of the argument centers on the theme that the writer acts that way because she was born that way. She was only practicing what was taught to her by her world and her culture. Conclusion Cofer’s angle of vision goes straight into defending the true nature of the Hispan ic women. She uses three main strategies in her piece ‘The Myth of the Latin Woman’: first is the use of character and credibility in giving an accurate and credible argument to her readers; second is the use of emotional appeals through amplification and storytelling that make persuasion more insisting; third is the use of inductive and deductive reasoning through generally accepted propositions and logic. There is also the inclusion of opposing views of other cultures, especially those that cover the Western cultures that see ‘too much’ as a despicable, revolting factor (Cofer 204). Cofer’s angle is one that represents the side of the Hispanic culture. In defense of her race and her ethnicity, Cofer demands some understanding that not everything that appears to be remains to be, and that not everyone who appears to be one†¦ remains to be one. Works Cited Cofer, Judith Ortiz. The Myth of the Latin Woman: I Just Met a Girl Named Maria. Spring 2007. Heather D. Harris Homepage, Northern Arizona University. 24 September http://nau.edu/