Analysis

The rhetorical situation of Will Jawando’ memoir My Seven Black Fathers: A Young Activist’s Memoir of Race, Family, and the Mentors Who Made Him Whole is that the writer is Will Jawando, a mixed-race politician and activist. He addresses the people who grew up in the same social conditions as he did, but also the American audience in general.

In terms of structure, the extract of the introduction can be divided into three parts. The first part describes the fascination that many Black boys have with popular basketball players. The second part presents the writer’s relationship with Kalfani from the moment they meet until the author he of Kalfani’s death. The last part presents the writer’s thoughts and feelings following Kalfani’s death. However, you should note that this is only an extract and not the whole text, which means that we cannot make assumptions about the overall structure of the introduction. 

The style of writing in lines 111-124 is formal, which contrast some of the informal elements that appear earlier in the text.

The text uses a variety of rhetorical devices to keep the audience engaged. Anecdotes are particularly common in the text, fitting for the memoir genre.

The writer also uses his personal experience to illustrate the points he wants to get across. This is done to engage the audience and to make the issues presents more relatable. 

In terms of forms of appeal¸ the writer frequently appeals to pathos, especially emotions of sadness and pity. The author builds ethos by speaking from his own experience as a biracial boy who wanted to prove himself.

You can read a more detailed analysis in the following pages. 

Further help

Do you want additional help with analysis of non-fiction? See our general guide to non-fiction analysis.