Rhetorical Analysis Outline of Mo Yan’s Speech

Purpose: The purpose of this speech was to remind the public and audience that he is simply a storyteller—nothing more and nothing less. Mo Yan also wanted to convince his audience that everyone is entitled to their own opinion, regardless of what other people want. This speech—an acceptance of the Nobel Prize for Literature—also serves as a tribute to his mother.

Audience: Members of the Swedish Academy; members of the community who were and are critical of Mo Yan’s actions

Context: Receiving the Nobel Prize in Literature, December 2012. The speech was given following the arrest of fellow Chinese Prize winner, Liu Xiaobo, and Yan’s refusal to sign a petition to free him.

Section 1: Stories of His Mother

Purpose: to prove that his true calling and profession is to tell stories; to show the major role his mother played in shaping him as a writer and also in influencing his values.

Appeals: Establishes ethos—implicit assumption that the good values (fairness, kindness, etc.) of his mother translated over to him. He uses pathos and makes the audience feel sympathetic towards his mother over some stories, but he also makes the audience feel awe over what a terrific person she was.

Technique: Uses many anecdotes about his mother (“My earliest memory…” “My most painful memory…” “My clearest memory…” “My most remorseful memory…”) He also uses anaphora in this case. His mother can also be seen as a metaphor for a certain part of himself that he lost sight of when his mother died. This “lost” side contained core values that he learned from his mother.

Effectiveness: he is very effective in proving his storytelling abilities. Whether he was aware of it or not, he was also effective in portraying the values of his mother.

Section 2: Becoming a Writer and Storyteller

Purpose: to show his unlikely journey to winning the Noble Prize and to discuss his work, and people and things that influenced it over the years.

·      The name “Mo Yan”

o   Techniques: uses irony because “Mo Yan” is actually a translation for “don’t speak.” Not only is this ironic because he was a very talkative child and is now a novelist, but now as an adult, Yan refuses to speak out against the arrest of Liu Xiaobo.

·      Foreign inspirations

o   Appeals: Builds ethos: shows that he was inspired by people like William Faulkner and Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

o   Techniques:

§  Supports overall purpose by saying he learned from them that every author needs “a place that belongs to him alone.”

§  Metaphor, foreign authors= “blazing furnaces,” he= “block of ice.” He would dissolve if he got too close

§  Overall voice comes through—“write my own stories in my own way.”

·      Nonfiction vs. Fiction

o   Appeals: uses logos in saying “a person can experience only so much.” Also increases ethos because it shows he is recognizing that he can only write about so much from personal experience before he starts making things up.

o   Techniques:

§  Uses example of aunt in the novel Frogs as a way to apologize to her for portraying her fictional character as the opposite of who she really was.

§  Explains the paradox of the combination of fiction vs. nonfiction. Technically, it doesn’t make sense for fiction to also be nonfiction. But, he explains that fiction can be written for someone or a group of people, which means there is some truth and realism in the writing.

§  Politics allow literature to be “suppressed” and turn it into “reportage of a social event.” He says literature must “be greater than politics.” This is an indirect reference to critics of his actions regarding Liu.

Section 3: Metaphors

Purpose: The purpose of this end portion was to defend his Noble Prize and his actions regarding not signing the petition. It can also be used to convince others to think the same way as he does regarding not giving into public pressure.

Techniques:

·      Metaphor & Analogy—“when everyone around you is crying, you deserve to be allowed not to cry, and when the ears are all for show, your right to not cry is greater still.” Uses this anecdote about visiting an exhibit of suffering as a child as both an analogy and a metaphor.

o   Analogy—to help the audience better understand the inner feelings, opinions, and emotions of people with different opinions. Used to make it easier for the audience to sympathize with Yan.

·      Metaphor—the child who did not cry, but was punished, is a metaphor for Mo Yan in the situation regarding the petition.

·      Another metaphor about karma also expresses his opinions on how individuals should not be ganged up on or outcaste because karma will come back and haunt the majority.

General Evaluation:

Mo Yan’s overall message for the speech was that his job and goal is not to be a social activist—it is merely to tell stories. He uses anaphora and repeats throughout the speech that he is “a storyteller.” Yan uses this speech as a response to all of the critics who don’t support his actions and believe that he is undeserving of the Nobel Prize for Literature. This is why Yan spends most of his speech defending himself using the art of storytelling and metaphors all throughout. The use of these rhetorical devices is effective, but they also create a feeling of self-absorbance. His defensive tone makes him seem semi-arrogant. It is also ironic that he seems to be arguing for individual opinion and expression, yet he refuses to support Liu Xiaobo—an activist who stands for freedom of expression. Overall, this portrays Yan as inconstant and confused. He relies most on his ability to tell a good story to convince the audience of his credibility and motives, and to mask the contradiction he presents.