Posted: March 2nd, 2015

compasiosn

compasiosn

“Of Cruelty and Clemency, and Whether It Is Better to Be Loved or Feared”
Machiavelli
“Freedom from Fear” Aung San Suu Kyi

For Machiavelli, the best way to remain in power is to rule by fear rather than gain the people’s favor. For Aung San Suu Kyi, fear is the source of corruption. Write

a thesis arguing that one essay is more convincing than the other, and “prove” your thesis by analyzing through comparison the strengths of the chosen reading to the

weaknesses of the other.

Use the methods of analysis, as appropriate, discussed in class: the essay’s purpose and audience, the author’s background and credibility, facts presented, supporting

evidence, motive, appeals to emotion (pathos), logic (logos) or ethics (ethos), diction (vocabulary), tone.

“A Just and Lasting Peace” Obama
“Dulce and Decorum Est” Owen

Owen provides a brutal description of war and argues for pacifism, while Obama argues for war’s necessity in some situations. Decide which reading makes a stronger

case and develop a thesis from there. Analyze through comparison the strengths of the chosen reading to the weaknesses of the other. Your essay must go beyond the

platitudes of duty, honor, country, glory, and instead examine the readings closely, analyzing, for example, the authors’ purpose, rhetorical devices, methods of

persuasion, or other means of analysis, to support your thesis.