Rhetorical situation
Sender
The sender of the article “ ‘I can’t breathe’: why George Floyd’s words reverberate around the world” is Ben Okri, a Nigerian novelist, short story writer, and poet. He is a frequent guest writer for The Guardian, having contributed to over a dozen opinion pieces and articles. Most of his contributions focus on issues regarding race, literature, or Nigeria.
In his article on George Floyd, Okri does not refer to himself or his personal experiences, apart from saying the response to Floyd’s murder is something he has not witnessed before: “Never in my lifetime has the case of such visible injustice moved white and black people, moved them as human beings” (ll. 1-2). In his article, Okri discusses racism and institutional racism. He can be considered a reliable sender as he is a black man who has first-hand experience of what it is like to live as a minority.
Receiver
O...