Rhetoric Society Quarterly Aug 2017

Political Animals:Prosopopoeiain the 1944 Presidential Election

Bryan Blankfield University of Pittsburgh

Abstract

This essay examines citizen correspondence to the White House following Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR)’s “Fala speech.” During the 1944 presidential election, citizens often engaged in prosopopoeia by writing from the perspective of their pets and Roosevelt’s dog, Fala. I argue that citizens used this classical rhetorical figure to identify with the president and express their views of FDR’s character. Thus, animals offered a strategic, seemingly nonpolitical locus for expressing judgments about the election.

Journal
Rhetoric Society Quarterly
Published
2017-08-08
DOI
10.1080/02773945.2017.1293283
CompPile
Search in CompPile ↗
Open Access
Closed
Topics
classical rhetoric rhetorical criticism
Export
BibTeX RIS

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (0)

No articles in this index cite this work.

References (77) · 6 in this index

  1. 10.1080/10570311003767183
     ↗
  2. Bennett Raine. (1944)
    Commentary Feature (Part II).” 9 Sept. 1944
  3. 10.1080/01463370309370159
     ↗
  4. Blankfield (2016)
    “A Symbol of His Warmth and Humanity”: Fala, Roosevelt, and the Personable Presidency
    Rhetoric & Public Affairs
  5. Blum, Deborah.The Monkey Wars. New York: Oxford UP, 1994. Print.
Show all 77 →
  1. Cantor Florence.
    Letter to FDR. 16 Oct. 1944
  2. Chica. Letter to Fala (1944)
    [Copy in Folder: Fala Oct
  3. Cosseboom Laura. (1944)
    Letter to FDR. 26 Oct. 1944
  4. Davis (2011)
    Creaturely Rhetorics
    Philosophy & Rhetoric
  5. Dehler, Taffy (1944)
    Letter to Fala. 8 Nov.
  6. Dog-friends (1944)
    Letter to FDR [appended to letter from Fala to Honorable Governor Dewey, October 21, 1944]. n.d
  7. 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199764129.001.0001
     ↗
  8. Fala (1944)
    Letter to Mr. Fala. July 26. [Copy in Folder: Fala July–Aug. 1944.]
  9. “Fala or Canute (1944)
    Lawrence Sunday Item
  10. Farley Christopher John. (1990)
    He Wrote the Bible on Animal Rights
  11. Farrell, Thomas B. “The Carnival as Confessional: Re-Reading the Figurative Dimension in Nixon’s ‘Checkers’ S…
  12. Fido. Letter to Fala (1944)
    [Copy in Folder: Fala Sept
  13. Fluffy (1944)
    Letter to Falla. n.d. [Copy in Folder: Fala Oct.
  14. “Fluffy Vies with Fala: Sheep Dog is ‘Campaigning’ for Dewey in Pittsburgh (1944)
    New York Times
  15. 10.1080/14791420.2010.523433
     ↗
  16. Fuller-Seeley, Kathryn, and Jeremy Groskopf. “The Dogs Who Saved Hollywood: Strongheart and Rin Tin Tin.”Cine…
  17. Gies, Joseph (1971)
    Franklin D. Roosevelt: Portrait of a President
  18. Goodale Greg (2010)
    Arguments about Animal Ethics
     ↗
  19. Grier Katherine C. (2006)
    Pets in America: A History
  20. Harris Mary Agnes. (1944)
    Letter to FDR. 1 Sept. 1944. [Copy in Folder: Fala Sept
  21. Hartelius (2013)
    Face-ing Immigration:Prosopopeiaand the “Muslim-Arab-Middle Eastern” Other
    Rhetoric Society Quarterly
  22. Hauser Gerard A. (1999)
    Vernacular Voices: The Rhetoric of Publics and Public Spheres
  23. Hawhee (2012)
    The New Hackers: Historiography Through Disconnection
    Advances in the History of Rhetoric
  24. Hawhee Debra. (2017)
    Rhetoric in Tooth and Claw: Language, Animals
     ↗
  25. Hawhee (2011)
    Toward a Bestial Rhetoric
    Philosophy & Rhetoric
  26. Hawhee, Debra, and Christa J. Olson. “Pan-Historiography: The Challenges of Writing History Across Time and S…
  27. Kennedy George A. (1992)
    Philosophy & Rhetoric
  28. Kennedy George A. (2003)
    trans. Progymnasmata: Greek Textbooks of Prose Composition and Rhetoric.
  29. Kerr Robert S.
    Letter to FDR. 24 Sept. 1944. [Copy in Folder: Kerr, Robert S.
  30. Kete Kathleen. (1994)
    The Beast in the Boudoir: Petkeeping in Nineteenth-Century Paris
     ↗
  31. King Paul.
    Letter to Falla. 10 Nov. 1944. [Copy in Folder: Fala Nov. 1944.]
  32. 10.1080/00335637409383242
     ↗
  33. Levine Lawrence W. (2002)
    The People and the President: America’s Conversation with FDR
  34. Lilly Helen B.
    Letter to FDR. 3 Oct. 1944. [Copy in Folder: Fala Oct. 1944.]
  35. 10.1080/10570319309374428
     ↗
  36. Liska Jo. (1993)
    Philosophy & Rhetoric
  37. Llewellyn John. (2010)
    Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota Journal
  38. McCauley
    Eileen M. [Letter to FDR]
  39. McGlynn, John. Letter to Stephen Early
    2 Sept. 1944. [Copy in Folder: OF 616 Poetry M Aug 1944–1945
  40. Muckelbauer (2011)
    Domesticating Animal Theory
    Philosophy & Rhetoric
  41. 10.1080/00335639709384172
     ↗
  42. (1929)
    “Odd Animal Gifts Sent to White House
  43. 10.1080/00335639409384072
     ↗
  44. Orlean Susan. (2011)
    Rin Tin Tin: The Life and the Legend
  45. 10.7208/chicago/9780226922638.001.0001
     ↗
  46. Pinksie. Letter to Fala (1944)
    [Copy in Folder: Fala Sept
  47. Preece Rod. (2005)
    Brute Souls, Happy Beasts, and Evolution: The Historical Status of Animals
  48. “President Roosevelt Accepting Democratic Nomination.”New York Times.22 July 1944: 9. Web. 7 Mar. 2015.
  49. “Presses ‘Fala’ Inquiry: Knutson Asks if Navy Sent a Plane to Aleutians for Dog.”New York Times. 14 Sept. 194…
  50. Pycior Helena.
    The Public and Private Lives of ‘First Dogs.’
  51. Honeycutt Lee (2006)
    Quintilian. Institutes of Oratory
  52. Ran Estelle. (1944)
    Letter to FDR. 22 Nov. 1944. [Copy in Folder: Fala Dec
  53. Rentz, “Boots.” Letter to Fala
    24 Sept. 1944. [Copy in Folder: Fala Sept. 1944.]
  54. Roosevelt Franklin D. (1944)
    “Address at a Union Dinner. Washington, D.C.”
  55. Roosevelt Franklin D.
    . Letter to George Fields. 2 Nov. 1944
  56. Rosenman Samuel I. (1952)
    Working with Roosevelt
  57. Ross, Sara, and James Castonguay. “Asta the Screwball Dog: Hollywood’s Canine Sidekick.”Cinematic Canines: Do…
  58. Ryan Halford Ross. (1988)
    Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Rhetorical Presidency
  59. Serpell James. (1986)
    In the Company of Animals: A Study of Human-Animal Relationships
  60. Singer Peter. (1990)
    Animal Liberation
  61. Smith (1949)
    “Dear Mr. President … ”: The Story of Fifty Years in the White House Mail Room
  62. Smith Jean Edward. (2007)
    FDR
  63. Stuckey Mary E. (2013)
    The Good Neighbor: Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Rhetoric of American Power
  64. Stuckey Mary E. (1936)
    Voting Deliberatively: FDR and the
  65. Stuhler Barbara. (1990)
    Minnesota History
  66. Sussmann Leila A. (1963)
    Dear FDR: A Study of Political Letter-Writing
  67. Trinka Zdena. (1944)
    Letter to FDR. 11 Oct. 1944
  68. 10.3138/CRAS-025-01-03
     ↗
  69. Van Contren Poochie. (1944)
    Letter to Falla. 23 Sept. 1944
  70. White E. B. (1944)
    One Man’s Meat
  71. 10.1632/pmla.2009.124.2.564
     ↗
  72. Woods, Marjorie Curry. “Weeping for Dido: Epilogue on a Premodern Rhetorical Exercise in the Postmodern Class…
CrossRef global citation count: 2 View in citation network → Build reading path →

Related Articles

  1. Res Rhetorica Apr 2026
    Logos in ancient Greek discourse on rhetoric: An overview ↗
    Arkadiusz Sokolnicki
    classical rhetoric rhetorical criticism discourse analysis argument
  2. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication Mar 2026
    Canon to Code: Rhetorical Rulemaking for Generative AI Content Audits and Governance ↗
    Miriam F. Williams
    classical rhetoric modern rhetorical theory rhetorical criticism assessment technical communication artificial intelligence
  3. Poroi Feb 2026
    Using Stasis Theory as a Heuristic for Examining Epistemological Dilemmas in a Post-Truth Landscape ↗
    Bruce Bowles
    classical rhetoric modern rhetorical theory rhetorical criticism discourse analysis argument
  4. Res Rhetorica Jan 2026
    Ethos – between vir bonus and VIA: Virtue ethics in contemporary rhetorical education ↗
    Agnieszka Budzyńska-Daca
    classical rhetoric modern rhetorical theory rhetorical criticism genre theory argument
  5. Rhetorica Jan 2026
    The Daimonion of Isocrates: Anti-Socratic Polemics and the Power of Politikoi Logoi in the Philippos ↗
    Tobias Hirsch
    classical rhetoric rhetorical criticism discourse analysis argument