Chief Seattle uses figurative language and rhetorical devices in his speech to Governor Stevens to accomplish several purposes. He aims to educate Stevens about Native American culture and beliefs, while also subtly mocking and warning the White man about arrogance through comparisons between the two groups. Seattle employs imagery, metaphors, sarcasm and contrasts between the peoples to persuade Stevens not to purchase more land or create more reservations, and to understand the Native American perspective.

1. Chief Seattle Speech
Rhetorical Devices Analysis
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2. Chief Seattle’s purposes
• To persuade Gov. Stevens not to buy land and
make more reservations even though that is
what Washington DC (the US govt.) wanted
• To persuade Gov. Stevens that he and his
people are educated, wise, and aware of the
exploitative situation

3. Chief Seattle’s purposes
• To elicit sympathy
• To connect with Stevens through shared
experiences, for example, they have the same
government and they are both leaders

4. Chief Seattle’s purposes
• To educate the governor about Seattle’s
culture, traditions and belief system
• To contrast the two peoples by way of their
numbers, god vs. God, the afterlife, and
concept of land ownership

5. Chief Seattle’s purposes
• To establish himself as the leader and a force
with whom to be reckoned.
• To mock the White man via subtle and sly
sarcasm
• To warn the governor (Whites) about hubris

6. Some Rhetorical Devices found
in Chief Seattle’s Speech
• Persuasive Appealsethos, logos, pathos
• Diction choices
• Syntax choices
• Figurative languageimagery, especially
color imagery and
death imagery
• Metaphors and similes
• Sarcasm, anger
• Comparisons and
contrasts
• Personification
• Alliteration
• Allusion
• Rhetorical questions
• Tone shifts

7. What we need to work on …
• _____ is just _____. Avoid qualifiers. Make
your argument with confidence.
• Incorrect- Chief Seattle is just trying to …
Correct- Chief Seattle argues that …

8. What we need to work on …
• It is better to have a weak supported
argument than to hedge around an opinion
with insecurities and no support.
• Incorrect- Same issue- Chief Seattle begins
to, starts to, goes to, Its kind of, Its like,

9. What we need to work on …
• Spelling- Chief- “I” before “e” except after
“c”, exceptions- neighbor and weigh
• You shouldn’t misspell words in the promptgovernor, Isaac, Seattle, rhetorical, oration,

10. What we need to work on …
• Their, there, and they’re (spell out the
contraction)
• Quotes- Denzel Washington says, “Context, open
quote, text, punctuation, close the quote.”
• Use the present tense to make the argumentsays, argues that, details, explains, compares, etc.

11. What we need to work on …
• Attributions
– First reference- Chief Seattle
– Second reference- Seattle
– Third reference- he
– First reference- Governor Isaac Stevens or
Isaac Stevens, governor
– Second reference- Gov. Stevens
– Third reference- Stevens
– Fourth reference- he

12. What we need to work on …
• LOL Speak- spell out the word
and, two, to, and too
• Casual register- kinda, sposta, a lot,

13. What we need to work on …
• References to diction, ethos, logos and pathos.
– Incorrect- He used diction or He used logos.
– Correct- His diction reflected his sadness. His
sarcastic diction reflected his dual purpose.
– Incorrect- He used ethos.
– Correct- Seattle’s appeal to ethos included a
contrast between the two peoples’ gods.

14. What we need to work on• Contextual quotes- Seattle’s “sympathetic”
language included “ …” – the quote marks are
confusing.
• Chief Seattle wants Stevens to understand his
point of view. (This is your task --to
describe, explain, and analyze Seattle’s POV.)

15. What we need to work on• Seattle wrote a great speech. (Don’t
complement the prompt, analyze it.)
• Seattle spoke with Stevens on numerous
occasions. (We don’t know this from the text.)
• He ranted and raved. Did he do both? Seattle
compared and contrasted.

16. What we need to work on• Over-writing- “… speaks to his people in a
way, leaving them yearning for more as a cub
to its mother.
• Identify Seattle’s metaphors- there were
many. You don’t need to write a rhetorical
analysis with metaphors. Your reader (me)
understands the context of the
communication; so will the AP reader.

17. What we need to work on• A metaphor is a figurative language device
used to compare or contrast two unalike
things so that a reader/listener can make a
connection to the writer/speaker.
• You don’t need to define rhetorical or literary
devices for the reader. They are experts. Label
it, provide an example and then get to the
commentary.

18. What we need to work on• He uses a sanguine-like tone. Great word.
Wrong usage. Sanguine means “ruddy or
cheery” It comes from a blood reference. It is
great to take a vocabulary risk but make sure
you receive the pay off.
• One big gigantic paragraph. Use a paragraph
mark to denote paragraph breaks.

19. What we need to work on• If you say something is “abstract” follow it
with an example that demonstrates abstract
diction (whatever that is …)
• Whenever you argue a claim, you must always
provide evidence and then analysis/
commentary to support your claim.

20. What we need to work on• Pronouns when you have more than one
male. Who is the he? Who is the him? In this
case, stay with Seattle and Stevens.
• Avoid clichés- (a cliché, She uses clichés. Her
statement was clichéd. A person cannot be
cliché.) Seattle’s argument was heard loud and
clear. Could you really hear it?

21. What we need to work on• In my perspective, in my opinion, I think, I feel
that- avoid all personal references
• You- this is for “how to” manuals and
cookbooks
• Use the why, why, why technique.

22. If you need a frame …
• Topic Sentence- Chief Seattle’s use of
figurative language enabled readers to paint a
picture in their mind and feel his sadness.
• Label it- Seattle uses a color imagery …
• Provide the text reference- In line 14, Seattle
says, “…”
• Analysis and commentary- He did this
because …

23. The Why, Why, Why technique
• Chief Seattle uses a simile to set up a pattern of
comparisons (Why?). Seattle states that “My words are
like the stars that never change.” (Why?). By comparing
his words to stars, he is teaching his audience the value
that his word is his bond. Yet, the history of Native
Americans is a string of broken promises. (Why?). Since
Governor Stevens had just returned from Washington
with the intention of buying land, Seattle knew that he
had to show his intelligence, his awareness and his
culture with carefully crafted diction that could evoke
Native American imagery and White American
pragmatism. (Example now connects to the purpose
and my claim)

24. The Why, Why, Why technique
• Chief Seattle uses a simile to set up a pattern of
comparisons (Why?). Seattle states that “My words
are like the stars that never change.” (Why?). By
comparing his words to stars, he is teaching his
audience the value that his word is his bond. Yet, the
history of Native Americans is a string of broken
promises. (Why?). Since Governor Stevens had just
returned from Washington with the intention of
buying land, Seattle knew that he had to show his
intelligence, his awareness, and his culture with
carefully crafted diction that could evoke Native
American imagery and White American pragmatism.
(Example now connects to the purpose and my claim)