The War Of The Vietnam War - 1421 Words

In July and August of 1972, Jane Fonda made radio broadcasts from Hanoi that changed the way Americans thought of the Vietnam war and of her. To this day, many people view her as a traitor and criticise her actions in Vietnam; however, some people were truly inspired by her words and what she had to say. Despite people s personal opinions, Fonda was a powerful speaker and knew how to convey her message to her audience. She tried to convince people that the American government and military were the â€Å"dual villains† and the Vietnamese would never surrender. Jane Fonda s radio broadcast from Hanoi to American Servicemen tried to convince the American people that the Indochina War was a useless attempt to make the Vietnamese people compromise†¦show more content†¦These actions combined with her broadcasts used a clear rhetorical strategy to send a message to the American people that she opposed the war, and this made some Americans loathe her and others praise her. In Fonda’s broadcast, she tries to evoke a strong sense of ethics to convince her audience that she is credible and trustworthy, known as ethos. She was a well recognized activist for civil rights and women s rights which helped her establish credibility, trust, and respect within her audience because they trusted that she stood up for what was right and just. She also mentions Richard Nixon many times in her broadcast and makes references to Vietnam s history, shows sympathy to the struggles that the Vietnamese face, and discusses her first-hand accounts with the war. By Fonda mentioning Nixon and the history of Vietnam, she s showing that she is knowledgeable; by her showing sympathy to the struggles of the Vietnamese, it shows that she is sincere and fair-minded; and by her recounting her experiences, it shows that she is a reliable source. By doing these three simple things, Fonda builds trust with her audience and shows them that she is credible. Fonda cites Nixon and one of her first-hand experiences saying that â€Å"Nixon was again telling the American people that he was winding down the war,† yet in Nam Dinh the streets were â€Å"rubble-strewn† (Fonda