Cassie Lagner: The Rhetorical Situation

Throughout the reading from Lloyd F. Bitzer he is talking most of the time sharing his thoughts on what rhetoric means to him. His main theme throughout this whole reading was him stressing that rhetoric is situational. This means that based on the conversation you are having or based on the situation that took place right before something is the type of rhetoric used. We have come to see in society that rhetoric is used in majority of the conversations that take place from day to day. Whether these conversations are persuasive or just two people talking about how their days went. The point that is being stressed here is exactly that, it’s the point that depending on the conversation is the type of rhetoric used that is most appropriate. The audience, I feel, that best suits this reading is most likely writers, colleagues, or even professors that already have some knowledge of the term rhetoric. I do not feel it is directed towards younger people learning about rhetoric because of the fact that there are many intelligent words and phrases used. I also do not feel they are the best audience because this is a very dense piece and does not exactly give a clear understanding of what rhetoric means. I feel the people with more experience with rhetoric is the best audience because they can read his work to expand on their thought or to see it from a different perspective. “The situation controls the rhetorical response” that is Bitzer’s main theme throughout the reading. As said before the main argument that he is trying to stress is that a certain situation must happen before any kind of discourse can take place. The main lesson about rhetoric I got from this reading was that it has many different forms depending on the situation or conversation that is taking place.