Trottin' with Trotsky

What a mustache.

It came to pass that I went to the temple with my ward instead of doing my blog post on time. This may or may not be a call for pity. (Is it working?)

Leon Trotsky's real name was Lev Davidovich Bronstein, but the lack of consistency in his identity didn't seem to affect his ability to stick to the truth when he predicted the future. Trotsky's The Proletariat and the Revolution is an outline for the working class to use as they rise up against the government. Political riots had broken out in 1903-4 as a result of dissatisfaction with the government (with the failed Russo-Japanese War and other general stupidness), but the working class had abandoned their revolutionary cause. So Trotsky came in to revive the efforts.

To map out the proletarian revolution, Trotsky uses a great deal of anthypophora (i.e. asking questions and then answering them himself). This format is an appeal to logos, even if it isn't as sound as a syllogism or some statistical proof. It is clear. It is concise. It is simplified. "How do we do this? Why, we do this." Very appealing.

This clear-concise-simplified-ness is backed up by pleasant pockets of lists and repetitions. Trotsky uses a great deal of "we ought"'s as nails to hammer in his message. It's an indirect way of commanding that builds Trotsky's ethos ("Hey, I've thought this through. I have enough authority to say we should do this.). It also smothers his argument in a heap of oughts, each one richer and more convincing than the one previous.

That's what I do with
my wrenches.

The most powerful of these repetitions comes at the end of Trotsky's Proletariat. He gives his revolutionary forces a name and a cause: the NATIONAL CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY! (Sounds fit for a comic book, don'tcha think?) Then he uses more oughts and more powerful directives leading up to a wonderful, flourishing finish: "We ought to carry on the most intensive propaganda in the army in order that on the day of the strike each soldier...should know that he is facing the people who are demanding a National Constituent Assembly."

AND THE CROWD GOES WILD!

Trotsky's words aren't the most pathos-sparking, but his direct, low-style speech is incredibly attractive to the logic. The proletariat must have taken his words to heart, too, because the revolution turned out almost exactly like his roadmap. I guess all a revolution needs is an outline to run with--and then the runners to run with it.

"Germany is Pregnant with the Social Revolution"

The reading that I did for this assignment was "A Call to the Workers of the World" by Rosa Luxemburg, Karl Liebknecht, Klara Zetkin and Franz Mehring. Personally, I think it is interesting to learn about the life of Rosa Lievknect in connection to this article. She was highly educated and headed various revolts against multiple governments since the 1870s. She was imprisoned multiple times and ultimately executed for her stances. In August of 1914, Rosa Luxemburg along with the other authors of this particular piece founded the Die Internationale group (or the Spartacus League), which was well-known for publishing articles criticizing the Bolsheviks and warning of dictatorship. They generally wrote to move the working class to revolt and take power. Therefore, by 1918 (when this was written), Rosa and her counterparts were well-known and accepted as leaders by a large group of the proletariat. They were trusted and admired by their followers.

Written in 1918, this marks both the end of World War One and the beginnings of the German Proletariat Revolution. "Europe has been ruined by this damnable slaughter. Twelve million bodies cover the gruesome scenes of this imperialistic crime." Specifically, this piece was written soon after Rosa Luxemburg was released from jail and while she was working to create a revolutionary working class. This piece of revolutionary rhetoric is interesting because it does not simply call for action in Germany. The authors wrote it to the worldwide proletariat class. "This great task cannot be accomplished by the German proletariat alone; it can only fight and triumph by appealing to the solidarity of the proletarians of the whole world."

The article itself is teeming with blame and a call to action. They blame the current government for all their problems--all the death and destruction that has been brought upon the working class. Furthermore, they blame capitalism: "The beast of capital that conjured up the hell of the world war is incapable of banishing it, of restoring real order, of insuring bread and work, peace and civilization, justice and liberty, to tortured humanity." Imbedded within the blame, the authors call the proletariat to action. They say, "Arise for the struggle! Arise for action! The time for empty manifestos, platonic resolutions, and high-sounding words is gone! The hour of action has struck for the International!" The whole article is filled with emotion and their desire is to not just change people's minds, but cause them to act.

Foolishness for Freedom

Jean-Paul Marat was a radical journalist in France during the time of the Revolution. He was a friend to the people and was known for his fierce tone in his writing against the new leaders in France. His speech "Are We Undone?" focuses mostly on this fierce and passionate tone to ignite fury and change in the people.

Marat is trying to stir the people up to anger as he informs the people that the King and the monarchy are going behind their backs and forming alliances with other armies that, according to Marat, will come in and destroy the French people. He uses a sarcastic tone, mocking the King as he refers to him as the "good King." Rhetorically speaking, Marat is very away of who his audience is - all the people - and calls his speech an appeal to all citizens. Because he is speaking to the general audience, he has to find a way to make his speech personal to every single member of his audience so they all feel the need to take action in Marat's cause. He uses a lot of strong figurative language to hit his point home to the heart of every man. When talking about the enemies that will soon invade France due to the monarchy's betrayal, he writes: "They will murder you without compassion, they will rip open the bellies of your wives, and in order to choke within you the love of liberty, their bloody hands will explore the entrails of your children to find their hearts." This strong language causes every single man to consider the danger his own family could be in.

Marat is also very clever in his emotional appeal to the people. He uses his words and rhetoric to make the people feel foolish in letting the King get away with this tyranny. Marat has to walk a fine line, however. If he makes the people feel too foolish, they will not want to listen to his words. But he makes sure that the people realize that it is not he that has made them feel foolish, but it is the King's fault. By making the people feel that the King has mocked them, he ignites them more quickly to anger against the King. Asking rhetorical questions helps him in this very clever rhetorical trick: "Can you believe it?" he asks his audience. "Your General, who has neglected not a single means of corruption, has just organized an entire battery of artillery, against the will of all the districts, in order to destroy you."

By using these rhetorical means in his speech, Marat rallies the people together, not to be foolish, but to reclaim their freedoms.