The Rhetoric Journey

This book was definitely a change in pace from Peter Elbow’s book. However, as long as it was I feel like I learned a lot. I never knew there was so much involved in the definition of rhetoric and how much it changed over time. Also, as a future English teacher I’m going to have to know some background.

To me, the Sophists were most interesting. I never heard about them before, which is surprising because they marked the origins of rhetoric. I found it fascinating how the Sophists were able to manipulate language and enable people to be victorious in court. They may have blurred to truth, but they did save lives and receive an abundance of money. I thought they were surprisingly smart and ahead of their time. Protagorus had values that reminded me a lot of our court systems today. He explains a fact as “what a majority of people (as members of a given group) agree to call a ‘fact’ until they have some reason not to” (11). This is similar to the idea that someone is innocent until proven guilty. I was intrigued that such ancient ideals are still so crucial in our society today. I, also, enjoyed Gorgias’ views. I thought it was neat how he could argue one side and then argue another side and this lead to “empty rhetoric.” This could have really influenced debates and even psychology, because you have to fully understand the other side. You really have to get in someone else’s mind and understand what he or she is thinking. He states, “ . . . the uncertain mixture of what was true and what was false that made up reality” (13). I love the way he critically analyzed every detail. It is so true that reality is a mix of truths and lies and one has to be aware of that concept. Gorgias’ ideas probably even lead the way to a lot of critical theories. He really seemed to analyze everything from a different perspective, and I’m sure it probably took on a whole new meaning for him.

After reading Williams, I feel like Plato and Socrates were too conservative. I was stunned that so many of the great minds didn’t like each other. I guess great minds don’t always think alike. I would have thought that everyone who came before would be looked at with admiration. I did not know that Plato was involved with the Thirty Tyrants. I find it very mind boggling that individuals, who are considered to be so wise and smart, can be involved in so many wrongdoings. I thought Augustine had an interesting take on rhetoric, by using it to analyze the Bible. Overall, I was most interested in what the Sophists had to say, because they formed the beginning. Everyone else had their own contributions, but they played a lot off of the people who came before them.


I feel like we have come a long way since the time of the Greeks, but apparently we have not. I couldn’t believe that 70% of freshmen college students at California State University have remedial writing skills. What are we doing so wrong? Clearly, we need to learn the history of rhetoric, but I feel like there is a huge component that must be missing.