Monday, October 10, 2011

Constructing the Aryan audience

In his "Rhetoric of Hitler's 'Battle,'" Kenneth Burke indicates that the author of Mein Kampf, namely Hitler, imposed a social construction within his writings. Hitler fictionalized his readers, imagining "The masses [as] 'feminine.' [and] As such, they desire to be led by a dominating male" (Burke 195). Hitler assumes the role of the dominating figure, the alpha-male, if you will. He infuses his message with a clever thread of toxic thought, inspiring those beneath his level to see things his way. He is good and the Jews are bad. He knows his audience well, catering to their attachment to religions, especially when he says "By warding off the Jews I am fighting for the Lord's work" (Burke 198). In stating such, he asserts a certain power over everyone else, implying that his work, his power have a divine origin. His take on Aryan is interesting as well, in that Hitler did not resemble those qualities he rallied for. Yet, he still maintains a certain credibility throughout, arguable preying on the religious attitudes of his fellow Germans' as well as their weakness after the devastating first World War.
Hitler's effective rhetoric manages to paint the Aryan in the positive light while diminishing the value of the Jews', interestingly casting them as scapegoats while projecting all of his (and Germany's) problems onto them. Burke exposes an intriguing contradiction that underscores this issue: "The 'Aryan' is 'constructive'; the Jew is 'destructive'; and the 'Aryan,' to continue his construction, must destroy the Jewish destruction. The Aryan, as the vessel of love, must hate the Jewish hate" (Burke 204). In other words, the good Germans' (Aryan) will attack the Jews because that is what is expected of them. Hitler effectively constructs his audience, commanding them through his writing, leading them on his own personal vendetta.

1 comment:

  1. It's fascinating (and chilling) to watch the vicious circle curl around itself: "the good Germans (Aryans) will attack the Jews because that is what is expected of them". I'm an atheist and when I'm confronted by my lack of faith, the common undercurrent of an argument I might have with someone is thus: "If God is love, light and truth, then aren't you, a nonbeliever, the antithesis of all that is good in the world?" There's really no answer to a question like that because by asking the question, any answer given will automatically be the antithesis of God.

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