Assertion Analysis #6

" I am tired of fighting. Our Chiefs are killed; Looking Glass is dead, Ta Hool Hool Shute is dead. The old men are all dead. It is the young men who say yes or no. He who led on the young men is dead. It is cold, and we have no blankets; the little children are freezing to death. My people, some of them, have run away to the hills, and have no blankets, no food. No one knows where they are - perhaps freezing to death. I want to have time to look for my children, and see how many of them I can find. Maybe I shall find them among the dead. Hear me, my Chiefs! I am tired; my heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands I will fight no more forever"- Chief Joseph

Chief Joseph is giving a speech about how he is tired of fighting, and wants to fight no more. Many of his people are dying, many are already gone. The old men have all died and only young are left. It is also winter in this time of war, and it has become so cold that they are not only dying of war but also of cold. He can no longer handle all the deaths that have happened and he wants to stop the fighting for all those who are still left can flee and attempt to avoid death. He no longer wants to be in war, he wishes for those who remain alive to stay alive, so there with be no more pain. The war has brought his heart to be sick and sad. He wants to end the fight and go on to find those who have run away before and see if they are still alive. Chief Joseph hopes for the tribe to back down of the fight and run away to be safe and out of harm's way. 

Chief Joseph seems to have a negative tone. He lacks hope, is depressed and continue to use the words death and dead. He uses colloquial speech, by being simple so that everyone understands what he is saying. He uses syntax by giving descriptions and then going to his main point. His syntax also includes exclamation, he yells for the people to here  what he has to say. Chief Joseph uses imagery when describing the things that are happening around him such as "freezing to death" and "among the dead." When using imagery Chief Joseph also uses pathos and draws out emotions from the crowds heart to convince them that a lot of damage has been done and that they should stop to fight to avoid more harm. He uses diction in repeating words like dead, tired, fighting, no, killed, and  freezing. He also uses diction by speaking in first person. His speech sets the readers/listeners mood to that of depression, sadness, and possibly sympathetic due to the diction he uses. He also uses logos by using reasoning to convince his audience, such as the freezing children. And lastly he uses ethos by taking ownership in the problem by using "my" and "I." Chief Joseph uses all 3 forms of persuasion for people to stop fighting.