In the Garden of Beasts Rhetorical Analysis

This was an assignment for my language and composition class last year. I had to read one of a number of books and analyzed the rhetorical strategies the author utilized in establishing his purposes.

        In his sensational novel, In the Garden of Beasts, author Erik Larson delivers the extraordinary yet all-too-true story of William E. Dodd, the American ambassador to Adolf Hitler’s Germany, and his family in the years preceding the Second World War.  Praised for other exemplary works including The Devil in the White City and Thunderstruck, Larson once again combines his incredible research capabilities with his overt mastery of narrative to transform a usually overlooked moment in history into a grand tale of national and international intrigue.  For this particular narrative, however, his grand purpose emerges as an attempt to illustrate the true atmosphere of Hitler’s Germany and how the Dodds’ initial optimism and interest in the Nazi regime quickly soured into an innate sense of fear and dread as the situation escalated to a point of pure and uncontrolled barbarism.  The extensive use of quotations, when coalesced with Larson’s critical attention to detail and his periodic shifts in viewpoint, all contribute beautifully to conveying his central message as well as augmenting his appeal to ethos.

One of the most prominent features of Larson’s text, made quite evident by scanning almost any page, is his broad incorporation of quotations from outside documents, particularly those originating in such manuscripts as diaries, memoirs, and embassy dispatches.  For example, in the prologue entitled “The Man Behind the Curtain”, Larson quotes the writings of George S. Messersmith, the American consul general to Germany, on his initial observations of Joseph Schachno, an American physician who had been bloodily beaten by Hitler’s forces:  “’From the neck down to his heels he was a mass of raw flesh…He had been beaten with whips in every possible way until his flesh was literally raw and bleeding” (3).  In other sections, Larson quotes the personal diary of Ambassador Dodd, such as in Chapter 33, where Dodd is describing the character of Adolf Hitler:  “He is romantic-minded and half-informed about great historical events and men in Germany…He has definitely said on a number of occasions that a people survives by fighting and dies as a consequence of peaceful policies.  His influence is and has been wholy belligerent” (237).  It is within these previously written accounts of events and details that the authenticity of the novel comes forth; by quoting real personalities that were present at and participated in the events that transpired within the work, Larson adds a certain credibility to his narrative that reveals to the audience that not only are his underlying arguments supported by the thoughts and opinions of others, but also that his insights are well-researched and realistic.  Thus, this extensive network of quotes appeals wonderfully to the reader’s sense of ethos, and he becomes more receptive of Larson’s ideas and perceptions.

Nevertheless, one rhetorical device cannot make up the whole argument on its own, so Larson turns to other means to strengthen his claims.  One particularly common pattern in his writing is the acute sense of detail he includes in several parts of the text.  In Chapter 49, for example, Larson cites several of the deaths taking place as a result of Hitler’s purge of the German State in an attempt to rid his regime of critics, dissenters, and supposed revolutionaries.  The bloody ends met by men such as Erich Klausener (313), Ferdinand von Bredow, Gregor Strasser (314), Gustav Ritter von Kahr, Karl Ernst (315), and Wilhelm Eduard Schmid (316) are all recorded with fine-tuned details, including their connections to other targets and their precise form of death, with most of them being shot.  Larson also includes a short anecdote about one of the targets who escaped, after seeing four soldiers outside the tennis club where he had been immersed in a game (315).  He even details the darkly humorous tale of a target who had been delivering food to a reception to be held for the king of Siam:  “In central Berlin, the SA man moonlighting as the driver of the Hotel Adlon’s catering van found himself stopped by the SS…” (316).  Many earlier chapters are recounted with Larson’s spectacular detail as well, including “The Führer’s Kiss”, in which Ambassador Dodd experiences his first face-to-face encounter with Hitler.  Each subject of the conversation is at least touched upon, as well as Hitler’s and Dodd’s reactions to certain issues and even the awkward pauses in the discussion (158-159).  These and many other instances of Larson’s attention to detail allow the audience a clearer view of the situations he describes, an important aspect of illustrating an argument through words.  Each instance also adds to Larson’s appeal to ethos by, once again, revealing the extent and the diligence by which he conducts his research and weaves the text together.

Much of this interlacing is doubly accomplished by the periodic shifts in perspective that Larson employs in many of his chapters.  A particular chapter may shift from focusing on Ambassador Dodd to his daughter Martha to even Hitler and his inferiors.  In the example of Chapter 26, entitled “The Little Press Ball”, the focal point moves from an overview of the event (184-187), to the thoughts and actions of Sigrid Schultz (187-188), to Bella Fromm’s inner distress (188-189), to Ambassador Dodd’s response to Vice Chancellor Papen (189-190), to another tense look at Fromm (190-192), to a second overview of the party (192), to yet another glance at Fromm’s inner workings (192-193).  Where a portion of the first section reads “[s]hortly before eight o’clock, the Adlon began receiving the first of a long procession of big cars…” (184), a reference to how Schultz “…did all she could to draw Papen into conversation, only to be rebuffed” is found a few pages later (187).  Then, on page 188, “Bella Fromm experienced an anxiety unrelated to the conversations around her.”  While these changes in perspective may seem superfluous given the fact that the novel’s supposed focus is the ambassador and his family, each is quite vital to the author’s purpose.  Since each of the viewpoints relates relevant background information about the overall situation and the specific events that occurred during the Dodd family’s stay in the Third Reich, each plays a role in describing the darkening times surrounding them.  In addition, the shifts in perspective also input yet another appeal to ethos by revealing Larson’s drive to view the truth from all angles, not just those imposed by Dodd and his immediate family.

Overall, Larson’s rhetorical process is superb.  His inclusion of extensive quotations from several firsthand accounts adds a certain depth to his truthful storytelling that only the thoughts of those present at the time can.  The comprehensive and hand-picked details he includes vibrantly display the scenes history has already created for the audience to view and interact with as they read in the present.  The numerous shifts in viewpoint and perspective allow the audience to see the events enveloping the main plotline so that they may gain further understanding of the author’s claims, assertions, and intent.  Altogether, these devices work harmoniously and powerfully to establish Larson’s constant appeal to ethos, in addition to making In the Garden of Beasts a stimulating and intriguing work of literary nonfiction.

Works Cited

Larson, Erik. In the Garden of Beasts. New York City:  Crown Publishers, 2011. Print.

Author's Note

I feel like I bull-crapped my way through half of this, and I think some of my phrasing is bad. Any ideas for the future?