Rhetorical Analysis 

“How Jails Extort The Poor”

Legal Activists Salil Dudani, on TED Talk video titled “How Jails Extort The Poor” (April 2016), argues that Americas legal system is built to feed on the poor. He supports his claims Through personal experiences and statistical evidence. Dudani establishes an empathetic, but friendly tone with the audience. He uses a pathos and logos narrative approach in his argument. His intended audience is activists and anyone willing to hear his plea. Dudani’s mission is to persuade and inform the general public, Through rhetorical narrative about the financial prejudices taking place in America and how poor Americans are affected by them.

One of Dudani’s most effective methods of presenting his evidence is Pathos. He uses a story of his own personal experience with law enforcement as his opening argument. In his story he describes a very casual day of him leaving his internship at the Public Defender Service of Washington DC, when he is wrongfully stopped, searched and accused of being a terrorist. He  said “About a dozen police officers then gathered near us. All of them had hand guns and assault rifles. They rifled through my backpack . They patted me down. They took pictures of me spread on the police car, and they laughed.” The image and tone he was able to create from this story was enough to gain the commitment and undivided attention from his audience for the rest of his argument. 

works cited

Salil Dudani, Biography https://www.allamericanspeakers.com/speakers/400418/Salil-Dudani

Jane Meggitt “Lower, Middle, and upperclass income levels”https://finance.zacks.com/lower- middle-upper-class-income-levels-9877.html