rhetoric: the art of effective communication, especially persuasive discourse. Rhetoric focuses on the interrelationship of invention, arrangement, and style in order to create felicitous and appropriate discourse
"I am filled with unutterable loathing when I contemplate the religious pomp and show, together with the horrible inconsistencies, which every where surround me. We have men-stealers for ministers, women-whippers for missionaries, and cradle-plunderers for church -members. The man who wields the blood-clotted cowskin during the week fills the pulpit on Sunday, and claims to be a minister of the meek and lowly Jesus..."
-Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
by Frederick Douglass
Douglass uses multiple techniques to communicate why slavery is evil and the Christianity of slave holders is hypocritical. In the above passage Douglass uses imagery, parallelism, and synecdoche, to name a few, to convince his audience that slavery and the Christianity of slave owners are evil. Douglass effectively communicates his message to his Caucasian, Northern Christian audience. These people would have been utterly horrified at Douglass' oration, proving Douglass' ability with rhetoric.
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