Jessa Bermudez

Mr. Davis
AP Language & Composition
Period 7
April 8, 2015
The Roots of Honor Analysis Questions
1. Define Honor in your own words.
a. A persons dignity and self-reputation.
2. How should honor relate to commerce? (Values of the audience)
a. The reputation merchants build on themselves have the opportunity
to attract or intimidate future customers. To have honor in the commerce
community, is to be viewed as reliable and well-respected, therefore, enticing
more consumers.
3. How does Ruskin create a logical parallel between soldier, pastor, lawyer, and
merchant? (Logos)
a. All the positions named are required to live and breathe their
profession. All these professions entail one factor: these jobs are done with
passion and dignity. Ruskin states that the soldier must die for his county, and
only then he is able to live with freedom. He then continues to name the rest of
the professions, and what they must do to obtain their sense of personal
satisfaction, which is by completing the tasks (jobs) with their utmost honesty and
passion.
4. How does Ruskin appeal to values by comparing the merchant to the captain of a
ship? (Pathos)
a. By relating the captain of a ship with his son as a worker, Ruskin
states that the captains his workers are his children. And, although they are not
blood, the fault of any harm towards his ship (business) would be his full
responsibility, and he would be liable instead of those working for him. Ruskin
compares the captain of his ship and his shipmen to a father and his son,
appealing to the value of family; due to the fact that parents are usually almost
always liable for their childs doings.
5. How can you apply Ruskin's logic beyond the obligations of a merchant? How
should the audience reconsider their behavior? (Pathos of the audience)

a. At the beginning of the text, Ruskin states the common

misconception of society believing merchants are strictly working for money. He
then continues by saying consumers often loathe merchants for their work, and
believe their only purpose of working is to earn money and deceive those who
know little to nothing about the economy. Throughout the passage, Ruskin
defends the merchants, as they are only working to earn an income like everybody
else. They are no striped of their humanity like some would think, they are simply
trying to survive, just like others are.
6. What other texts does Ruskin's philosophy relate to? (Connections beyond the
text)
a. The philosophy I believe Ruskin attempted to transfer to the

audience, is that everybody is just trying to get by, and although merchants are
often looked at with loathe, they do not receive as much credit as they should.
This philosophy relates to the hero of the Excursion from Autolycus, as he was
referenced in the passage as a merchant as well.