The Rhetorical Situation

Bitzer identifies that rhetoric writing deals with the context. The context can be developed through exigence, audience, and the constraints. He wants you to be able to identify the importance of a piece of writing, the target readers, and any limits the piece may have. The context can change as the piece goes on as will the audience with it. Writing is usually rhetoric because it is a response to some issue or problem.

I really enjoyed reading this piece but at times it was difficult for me to follow. Something I realized as I read that is order for the situation to work all the steps have to be done correctly. It is as if you have to meet a certain criteria to respond to an issue or problem.

Emma Watson’s Speech:

Exigence: The equality of the sexes. Ending the negative connotations that go along with the word “Feminist.” Tackling women’s rights to being paid equally and equal treatment in all aspects of life. The double standards men suffer because of their gender.

Audience: I think the audience she was targeting was really all men and women. I believe she was trying to target any person in any place because this issue touches on everyone. The misconception people have is that feminism is only about woman and it its not it deals with gender equality therefore anyone male or woman can be a feminist.

Constraints: In this speech I believe that constraint is Emma Watson herself. Many people may not take her seriously due to her profession. Also she doesn’t really discuss how to resolve this issue she just speaks about the campaign briefly.