Rhetorical skills of César Chávez (Research Paper Sample)

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Rhetorical Analysis
Introduction
Even though César Chávez was born into a powerful section of the American society, he was at the forefront of farm-labor movement and led it to unprecedented achievements. Chávez’s potent effect on his audiences is widely known and esteemed. He was an untiring writer, speaker, and non-digressive communicator who came up with a comprehensive approach to his oratorical communication. He placed his rhetoric at the core of his career (Hammerback and Richard 189). By combining his character and thoughts in his arguments and discourse, Chávez succeeded in identifying with his audience, which caused many people to back his agenda for the unionization of farm workers. This casting of Chávez offers a valuable focus and guides one in understanding the purpose and means that defined and connected his rhetorical side with his activist one.
Biography
Born César Estrada Chávez, César Chávez was a Mexican American farm laborer and civil rights activist who co-founded the UFW (United Farm Workers) with Dolores Huerta, who was also a labor leader. Chávez’s family owned a ranch and a grocery shop, but later lost both during the Great Depression of the 1930s and 1940s. When he was a teenager, Chávez, together with Rita (his older sister) assisted neighbors and other farm workers by driving those who were sick or injured to the hospital (Chavez, Hammerback, and Richard 172). He quit school in 1942 to seek full time employment as a migrant farm worker. He later enlisted with the U.S. Navy in 1944 when he was seventeen so that he could gain the requisite skills that would assist him upon returning to the civilian life (Magoon 29). Chávez co-founded the NFWA (National Farm Workers Association) in 1962, which later changed its name to UFW. The ill treatment that farm workers were forced to endure was the key event that shaped Chávez’s character. He supported Filipino American farm laborers during the 1965 Delano strike, which was organized to protest for improved wages. Chávez also led the NFWA in a strike to improve the welfare and wages of California grape pickers.
The Ideas Espoused by Chávez
Chávez fearlessly maintained that the welfare and rights of farm laborers, and indeed all workers, were his main concern, irrespective of their ethnic backgrounds. He detested ethnic profiling and racism, as was evident in his speeches:
“I hear more and more Mexicans talking about la raza – to build their pride, you know…Some people don’t look at it as racism, but when you say ‘la raza,’ you are saying an anti-gringo thing, and you won’t stop there. Today its anti-gringo, tomorrow it will be anti-negro….La raza is a very dangerous concept.” (Stavans 27).
Organizing farm workers into labor unions was the first step that Chávez took in a protracted battle against social discrimination and injustice. Such unions were instrumental in uncovering the relationship between prejudice against immigrant laborers, African Americans, and farm workers. Through the labor unions, Chávez went against a potent and versatile power structure as he sought to make better the rights and welfare of farm laborers and workers in general. Most importantly, he accomplished this goal by insisting on non-violent methods of civil disobedience. He offered a rational case for diplomacy and peacefulness as an enduring and vital instrument of fighting mistreatment and racial discrimination.
Organizing and coordinating farm workers proved extremely challenging because it meant fighting for the rights of those who were accorded the least constitutional and civil rights. While organizing the workers and coordination the operations of the labor unions, Chávez used peaceful methods to seek change. He began to gain publicity and became famous for his rhetorical and oratory skills, which he used to express the meaning of the struggle:
“We cannot seek achievement for ourselves and forget about progress and prosperity for our community... Our ambitions must be broad enough to include the aspirations and needs of others, for their sakes and for our own.” (Gutstein 166).
Among the most well known pictures of Chávez is that in which he met with Robert Kennedy, a presidential candidate, who gave him a courtesy call at the conclusion of his hunger strike as a way of showing solidarity and support for his cause. Chávez was not the only leader in a social movement who used hunger strikes to advance his agenda. Other such as Mahatma Gandhi also used similar non-violent strategies.
Chávez and his Rhetorical Strategy
César Chávez was of the opinion that violent means of seeking freedom from subjugation and ill treatment was a sure way of dividing the mass movement. As a result, he proposed non-violent demonstrations as a way of encouraging communal support for his cause. Chávez and the entire membership of the UFW considered labor unions as a method of addressing the inequality and mistreatment of workers, as well as instilling the values of fairness in the community and the family. A soft-spoken individual, Chávez coordinated farm laborers, battled alongside them, and pushed for the recognition of their rights at a time that few people could do so (Hammerback and Richard 93). Chávez used his words as a way of persuading the American consumer and in seeking assistance from Congress and other labor movements. He conducted himself in a manner that brought him out as more than just a labor movement leader. He conveyed his concerns as a person who had many pressing issues he wanted to solve.
Chávez took pleasure in conversing with farm workers. He visited the workers in the fields, hosted some in his house, talked to people during church gatherings and meetings, and was quick to engage in issues that were viewed as pertinent and pressing by immigrant farm workers. While Chávez loathed public speaking, he spoke with passion because he was aware that it was necessary for both the workers and himself (Hammerback and Richard 93). He always spoke in a straightforward manner, hardly ever faltered or stammered, and communicated with a tone that won the hearts of his audiences. Chávez’s silent passion revealed itself in the form of his dedication, loyalty, earnestness, and diligence. His speeches always hinted a sense of dedication, a loyalty to both the circumstances and the substance of his speech. His ability to charm varied audiences, from farm workers and union leaders to college students and national political leaders, was a clear illustration of his dedication to the rhetorical state of affairs. As an orator, Chá...