Rethinking Justice: A Rhetorical Analysis Proposal

For my Rhetorical analysis project, I plan to analyze Adam Foss's TED Talk "A Prosecutor's Vision For A Better Justice System." As a Criminal Justice major, I chose a text directly related to my field. Foss delivered the talk at TED2016 and speaks from his experience as a prosecutor in Boston. His main argument focuses on whether prosecutors should always pursue the harshest consequences available or consider alternatives that may give young offenders an opportunity to improve their lives.

The intended audience seems to be broader than just those that work in the criminal justice field. Foss speaks to members of the general public in this TED Talk and he mentioned throughout about the decisions that prosecutors make affect the money of everyone sitting their through taxes because tax payers dollars are being sent to fund a year in detention for a teenager which he said was upward of one-hundred-thousand dollars. This makes the audience important because Foss has to explain issues within the justice system in a way that people without a legal background can understand. His experience as a prosecutor gives him credibility when discussing how decisions within the system can affect someones future.

The exigence or the main purpose of this talk was the concern over how people handled in the criminal justice system, particularly young people after they commit a crime. Foss raises the question of whether giving someone a criminal record and pursuing the maximum punishment is always the most effective response. His purpose is not only to inform the audience about the power of the prosecutor, but to persuade listeners to reconsider what justice could accomplish. Foss describes his argument as advocating for a system that offers opportunity rather than simple punishment.

There are also several contraints that shape how Foss communicates his argument. Criminal Justice reform can involve strongly different opinions about about punishment, accountability, rehabilitation, and public safety. Because of this, Foss has to present his ideas in a way that acknowledges the seriousness of crime while still encouraging his audience to consider alternatives methods to to traditional prosecution. Another constraint is the TED Talk format itself. Instead of writing a lengthy academic article for criminal justice professionals, he has to make his argument understandable and engaging for a broader audience.

I believe this text will be an effective subject for Rhetorical analysis because I can examine how Foss uses professional experience to establish ethos, personal examples and stories to create pathos, and reasoning about the consequences of prosecution to develop logos. I can also analyze how his choices are shaped by his audience and the setting in which he delivers the talk. This connects directly to our discussion of Bitzer’s rhetorical situation because the message is shaped by an exigence, an audience capable of responding to the issue, and constraints that influence how the argument can be presented.