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Shannon Marquess

Mr. Wolfe

English 101

September 27, 2020

The Influential Rosa Parks

The “You, Sir, are no Rosa Parks” article was written by Sarah Vowell and printed in

Time Magazine in 2001. It is a piece whose author uses the stratagem of unique rhetorical

devices to present her point. This essay is an analysis of three of these devices. The first includes

the purpose of calling out the perceived exaggerations by the author of several individuals who

make comparison to the historical acts of Rosa Parks. The second device is the maneuver of

rhetorical appeals, using a combination of pathos and ethos which appeal to the emotional and

ethical views toward the comparisons. The third device, tone, supports the author’s purpose

through the use of mocking and cynical language, and using imagery to diminish the

appropriateness of the comparisons. The author is effective making her purpose evident with her

use of these devices.

The definition of rhetorical situation is to describe the purpose of a piece. In the case of

this paper, the purpose is to contrast the credibility of the unfounded claims of greatness of a

select few to the brave acts of Rosa Parks and compare the similarities of other greats. The

contrasts are made with a mayor, a rockstar, a dairy farmer, and a street performer which can be

referred to as “Group A.” Vowell also presents the similarities of Parks’ acts to other heroes

were loved by the masses. These include Mother Teresa, who was honored in the Catholic

Church as ‘Saint Teresa,” a nun who was dedicated to helping the poor; Joan of Arc, a Catholic
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saint known as “The Maid of Orleans,” a heroine of France that lead the French Army to victory;

and Florence Nightingale,” Lady with the Lamp,” and founder of modern nursing during the

Crimean War. These can be referred to as “Group B.”

The second device to be analyzed is rhetorical appeals. Vowell uses a combination of

ethos and pathos in “You Sir, Are No Rosa Parks” to further develop the contrast between Ms.

Parks and Group A, and the similarities of Ms. Parks and Group B. “Ethos,” or the ethical

appeal, is summed up in the quote, “it is not quite as brave as being a middle-aged black woman

in Alabama in 1955 telling a white man she’s not giving him her seat despite the fact that the law

requires her to do so”(1). Parks’ actions were her seeking justice and desegregation, two

important ethical concepts. She uses pathos, or emotional appeal because Parks’ is a formidable

grandmother figure who you want to have justice. A second example of pathos would be the

anger perceived frustration at the thought of “breathing second-hand smoke, unfair dairy pricing,

and not being able to mime through the streets” (1). She explains “though they are all tragic,

tragic injustices, are not quite as bad as the systematic segregation of transportation based on

skin color” (1). This shows the emphasis of the pathos in the article that they are trying to

compare themselves to Rosa Parks. In other words, pathos is simply convincing the audience that

creating emotion with such as anger or pity. The use of Group A, whose purpose seems much

more self-serving, contrasts the ethical acts of Parks.

The third device is the cynical language and the imagery. The use of these strategies

diminishes the appropriateness of the comparisons made by those who should not be compared

to Parks by painting a picture through words. The brave actions of a Chinese student who stared

down the tanks (imagery)uses the similarity as supporting comparison while the description of

the “well-fed white kids” act as contrasting imagery (2). Cynical language is the author is calling
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Ted Nugent deaf and his guitar something that slays the innocent, personifying him as selfish and

with a cynical attitude. A cynical person usually has very little faith in others and doesn’t have a

good point of view.

In conclusion, the author is effective in making her argument with the use of purpose in

rhetorical situation, ethos and pathos in rhetorical appeal, and in imagery and cynical language in

the tone. Vowell can draw strong similarities with heroes and persons of greatness and contrast

the lack of ethical behaviors in Group B. The acts of Rosa Parks are monumental and there are

few circumstances or people that can stand up to the greatness she exhibited.
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Work Cited:

Vowell, Sarah. “You Sir, are No Rosa Parks.” TIME Magazine. January 26, 2001 PDF File