Rhetorical situation and its applications

Mount Rushmore

Q1. What is your chosen topic?

I will give a profile of the famous American tourist attraction of Mount Rushmore, which depicts the faces of a number of eminent presidents embedded in its rock.

Q2. What personal angle can you present on this topic?

The question of how we memorialize presidents has been placed under scrutiny. Mt. Rushmore in particular has courted controversy because it was constructed on what was Indian land and specifically to increase tourism by car to South Dakota.
According to The Economist, “A treaty in 1868 made the hills, which contain sites sacred to many Indian tribes, part of the Great Sioux Reservation. Whites simply ignored the treaty and poured in after General George Custer sent reports of the presence of gold by the panful in 1874” (“Two Sides to Every Story”). The existence of the monument to white presidents-- George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln—some of whom were slave owners makes the monument’s symbolism troubling.

Q3. What is your purpose for writing? (What do you hope to accomplish? Why are you writing?)
The purpose of writing is to problematize an iconic mountain which has been taken for granted.

Analyzing Your Readers

Many readers view iconic symbols like Mount Rushmore as good in an uncomplicated fashion. On the other hand, there is also an increasing urge to question the Manifest Destiny narrative of American history, which suggests that America has always been the greatest nation on earth and had the unquestioned right to expand over its vast range of territory. I would define the community to which I am addressing as Americans who have an open mind to questioning the nation’s history and the way it has been interpreted in art. I also see the community as increasingly diverse and willing to acknowledge the right of historically underrepresented and unrecognized groups such as Native Americans to reclaim their rights over our nation’s history.
I also see Americans more concerned about environmentalism. Mount Rushmore has been seen as testimony to America’s willingness to carve its history into the natural environment. I also believe I am writing to a community which is newly concerned about the possible negative symbolism of the mountain. Of course, there may still be resistance to questioning a structure which has iconic symbolism.

Reflecting on the Role of the Writer

As a writer, I will bring a critical eye to the place of Mount Rushmore in national history. I will approach the symbolism of the Mountain with an open mind and look back on the full history from its beginning, rather than be unquestioning about its existence. Also, although I am not a Native American, I will consider the claim of Native Americans upon the area seriously. Simply because the American government may have taken particular actions in its past does not necessarily mean I have to endorse them. So I will take the perspective of someone who is respectful of my country’s history but is also critical.

I will also take an open mind to change, including constructing a monument to Native Americans in the area, to complement the symbolism of the presidents. The seizure of the lands was deemed unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1980, but the tribe has not been able to access the money it was awarded. Furthermore, “In 1948 a Lakota chief commissioned a vast carving of Crazy Horse, a famous Indian warrior” but that too has failed to have been realized (“Two Sides to Every Story”). Maybe it should be.

Works Cited

“Two Sides to Every Story.” The Economist. 2008. 7 May 2018. Web https://www.economist.com/node/11848993