Oratory

While published current literature reveals how the inanimate figure, the action given by manipulation, and the voice performance are perceived by the audience, it does not show how the puppet functions as argument. This thesis seeks to determine if one dramatic form, the puppet play, "The Adventures of Peer Gynt" is an effective forum for argument. "The Adventures of Peer Gynt" is analyzed according to Walter Fisher and Richard Filloy's critical methodology for examining dramatic texts. This analysis reveals that Peer Gynt functions as an effective form of argument. The play argues, through the character of Peer Gynt, that we have choices when confronted with evil, either to follow evil or stay true to our good self. The play teaches us, but children especially, that one must develop the discernment to go beneath the exterior finish to the underlying substance.

Christian colleges have been accused of "watering down" their Christian principles in admissions materials to increase enrollments. In response to these arguments, rhetorical criticism, based on conceptions of organizational discourse such as symbolic convergence and unobtrusive control, is used to examine the rhetorical strategies, the relative prominence of Christian principles, and the organizational sagas in this rhetoric. This discourse shapes the organizations and their environments; therefore, this is a rich example to explore the rhetoric of organizations from an interpretive perspective. The strategies, priorities, and sagas identified are discussed in light of the ideals promoted by scholars of Christ-centered higher education. The colleges are unapologetically described as Christian, but they are ambiguously distinguished from one another. This rhetoric provides newcomers with premises for unobtrusive control, and the scene is emphasized. Implications of this strategy and the organizational sagas in these texts are discussed.