Tan 1

Lash Tan
Professor Ogbara
English 1A
4 March 2015
A Rhetorical Analysis Synthesizing Articles (Midterm)
Acceptance is a general term that is sought by all. Everyone wishes to be accepted by
their peers, their families, and their environment. But what is acceptance? Bharati Mukherjee and
James Baldwin experience the trials of being ethnic minorities in America: Mukherjee as an
Indian immigrant in the modern era and Baldwin as an African-American in the mid-twentieth
centure. In Mukherjees Two Ways to Belong in America, she draws the examples of her
experience in America compared to those of her sisters in order to highlight different ways to be
a citizen. On the other hand, Baldwin argues that black Americans are treated as inferior citizens
in his debate, The American Dream and the American Negro. These two authors examine the
acceptance of ethnic minorities in America through their strong usage of detailed illustrations,
sentimental language, and personal point of views.
Mukherjees argument stems from her own personal experiences in America. She
explains how she and her sister, Mira, find themselves on different sides in the current debate
over the status of immigrants despite coming from the same family, the same country, and the
same background. This alerts the reader to a sense of how she and her sister have had vastly
contrasting viewpoints on the status of immigration despite having been given the same
opportunities throughout their upbringings. The intimate level of personality in her example not
only proves her validity in her argument, but also draws attention to how influential this issue
can be for many Americans today. By comparison, Baldwin cites a more hypothetical example of

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how in the in the Deep South, white Americans view black people as an unknown quantity
(Baldwin para. 9). This example is something that can be drawn only from personal experience.
He paints a picture of a hypothetical situation where both black Americans and white Americans
can imagine as these scenarios take place on a regular basis on a day-to-day scale. In both
Mukherjees and Baldwins experiences, their personal examples are an entryway to draw the
audiences in toward their own personal lives.
Both Mukherjee and Baldwin utilize language as another useful tool to strengthen their
arguments. These authors use strong, emotional language to emphasize their viewpoints. In
Mukherjees case, she flaunts her cultural and psychological mongrelization (Mukherjee
para. 5). This word is typically a strong, derogatory term used to describe the mixture of different
entities. It is a word that she seems to have chosen carefully, possibly as a way of showing how
she accepts that she is the result of a mess of different cultures. Just because she does not follow
typical traditions does not necessarily mean she is wrong. Baldwins strategy is nearly identical.
He provides phrases, such as rape or murder and the bloody catalogue of oppression to
describe the abuses that black Americans have suffered. These words are used as a way to shock
the listeners. By illustrating some of the most ghastly ways in which his people have been
treated, he appeals to the emotional sides of the audience in hopes that they will feel sympathy
for his cause. The use of strong language in these cases shows how passionate the authors are in
their respective subjects and also attempts to bring the audience to a higher level of
understanding and indignation.
Additionally, the point of views in which each author employs provides a personal level
in which they appeal directly to their audiences. In Mukherjees case, her repetition of me and
I promote her sense of individuality compared that of her sisters: America spoke to me I

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married it I embraced the demotion from expatriate aristocrat to immigrant nobody
(Mukherjee para. 11). She emphasizes that this was her choice, not anyone elses. She
experienced America this way, but others may not follow the same path. Her sister does not see
her experiences in the same manner. Baldwin uses a few forms of perspective in his argument,
one of those being in the same exact manner as Mukherjees. He describes how black labor has
been a large part of Americas progress by stating, I picked the cotton, I carried it to the market,
I built the railroads under someone elses whip (Baldwin para. 7). While he may or may not
have had personal experience in these exact forms of labor, he emphasizes his point that black
contributions to society are not to be ignored. By his repetition of I, he distances himself (and
the black demographic in America) from white Americans to force the audience to accept his
position. By contrast, he switches his point of view to change his strategy through his repetition
of you (Baldwin para. 6). This paragraph is devoted to explaining how America has rejected
black Americans and how it brings a sense of helplessness, especially when it applies to young
children. This strategy is meant to put the listener in his shoes, or in the shoes of a black
American. This allows for a change of view on how other people live, how they perceive the
world, and how the world affects them. By implementing a particular point of view, these authors
are able to modify their strategies accordingly to help further their arguments.
Both of these authors plead to their audiences to understand how acceptance in America
comes as a challenge for ethnic minorities. Through personal experiences, sentimental
persuasion, and strategic point of views, they draw the readers in to the highest level of
understanding. While it may be a difficult and exceedingly lengthy task to eliminate these issues
of racial conflicts, both Mukherjee and Baldwin help lay the foundation for a better future.