Saleem Mohammad

Nov 14, 2019

Rhetorical Analysis

“Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus”

            A curious little eight-year-old girl called Virgina O’Hanlon wrote a letter to the editor of New York’s Sun, asking if Santa Claus was real or not, and on September 21, 1897, the newspaper publisher at New York’s Sun, Francis Pharcellus Church wrote a letter responding to her question. In the letter he states there is indeed a Santa Claus and those who say he isn’t are wrong. This rhetorical analysis will explore Francis’s answer to Virginia’s question.

The rhetorical situation is that Virginia asked the editors at New York’s Sun if Santa exists or not, and editor Francis was assigned to reply to her question. The author of this rhetorical analysis is Francis Pharcellus Church and he isn’t credible because he doesn’t have any evidence to support what he is saying, he doesn’t have any evidence that backs up his idea that Santa Claus is real. In this rhetorical analysis, he uses his personal opinion to convey the message that Santa Claus exists to Virginia. For example, in the text, Church states

“Yes, VIRGINIA, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus.” (Church, 1)

This quote shows how Francis is stating that Santa Claus does exist, but he doesn’t have any evidence to show that Santa is real. The audience of this article was Virginia because in the letter Francis is directly talking to her, but I feel that the letter can be also for the kids around the world wondering if Santa Claus is real or not. The genre is a letter that was published in the New York Sun’s newspaper. The tone in this letter is endearing, loving, and sarcasm because even though Francis knows that Santa isn’t real, he still wants to keep Virginia’s innocence, he wants her to believe in Santa, he also wants to make Virginia feel special. For example, he states

“Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus. It would be as dreary as if there were no VIRGINIAS.” (Church, 1)

This quote shows how Francis is trying to make Virginia feel special.

The purpose of this letter was to reply to Virginia’s question. However, I feel that there’s more than just telling Virginia that Santa Claus is real. I think that Church wrote this letter to explain the importance of preserving a kid’s innocence. For example, in the letter he states

“The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see.” (Church, 1)

This quote is telling humanity to preserve what’s pure, what’s positive.

In the end, Francis’s reply to Virginia’s letter was to keep her hope alive in believing in Santa Claus and not let anyone destroy her innocence. Church replied in loving way and used direct language to make Virginia feel special, to make her believe that Santa does indeed exist. Even though Church lied when he states that Santa Claus is real, he does it to preserve Virginia’s, and all the kids around the world’s innocence. Church is telling people to preserve children’s innocence and not destroy it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Work Cited Page

Church, Francis Pharcellus. “Yes, Virginia There’s a Santa Claus.” The Sun.
(1897) Web. Retrieved from https://www.newseum.org/exhibits/online/yes-virginia/