Honors Fight for Their Rights Assessment

You are defending one of the characters in the short story: the baron/Bisclavaret or the wife. Your
job is to prove that your character is innocent, and that the other character is a true monster.

Step 1: Identify your character and claim.

Character: The Baron/Bisclavret

Which character are
you representing?

Claim: My client, The Baron/Bisclavret, pleads not guilty to the

Write your claim. charges of being, “a monster”. He did what he had to do.

Step 2: Write a three-paragraph closing argument for the trial that will persuade the jury that
your character is innocent. Your paragraphs should incorporate
● an ethos, logos, and pathos appeal
● at least three rhetorical devices
● a claim supported by sufficient evidence from the short story

Closing Argument: My friends, we have heard this story retold many times in this
Write three paragraphs courtroom, and it is time once and for all to get to the bottom
addressed to the jury of it. The Opponent, Wife, has tried to convince you that she
to argue who the real indeed is not the monster, that she isn’t even a Bisclavret.
monster is and why However, that does not convince me! Her claim is based on
your character is wobbly evidence and “woe is me” lies. My client, Bisclavret,
innocent. has actual, reasonable, well, reasoning. He was betrayed by his
own wife, who had vowed “til death do we part’’, and ran to
his competition. If any one of us were in his shoes, I can
guarantee with certainty, we would have done the same thing.

In the beginning, Wife was, shall we say, understandably upset.

I mean, her husband left for three nights a week without a
word! “One only grief had this lady. For three whole days in
every week her lord was absent from her side. She knew not
where he
went, nor on what errand. Neither did any of his house know
the business which called him forth.” However, she
demonstrates mistrust here. You’ve vowed to this man, how
could you not trust him? That said, moving on. He trusts her,
and demonstrates by confiding in her the reasons. He is
Bisclavret, and he runs to keep her safe, so as not to frighten

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 her. “"Wife," made answer the lord, "nothing but evil can come
if I tell you this secret. For the mercy of God do not require it
of me. If you but knew, you would withdraw yourself from my
love, and I should be lost indeed." When the lady heard this,
she was persuaded that her baron sought to put her by with
jesting words. Therefore she prayed and required him the more
urgently, with tender looks and speech, till he was overborne,
and told her all the story, hiding naught. "Wife, I become
Bisclavaret. I enter in the forest, and live on prey and roots,
within the thickest of the wood." After she had learned his
secret, she prayed and entreated the more as to whether he ran
in his raiment, or went spoiled of vesture.” He even confided
that he was scared he shall lose her love! And what did Wife
do? Confirmed his fears. She left him for a previous interest,
and he was so turmoiled by this that he ran away that no one
should hear from him again, until the loving King found him.

Now, when the King found Bisclaveret, he treated him with

kindness, and Bisclaveret returned it. He was sweet and loyal
to everyone, and dared not harm a soul. This said, we were all
shocked when this seemingly harmless knight was attacked by
him. What could he have done to harm Bisclavret? Well, he
stole his wife away, and left him scorned. No one can blame
him, he was a wild beast with hurt feelings. Emotional hurt is
just as real as physical, and as a beast, he wasn’t as
controllable, and that’s not his fault. He should not be punished
for what Wife inflicted upon him! And then, walks in the main
perpetrator. Or “perpeTRAITOR”, I should say. “When the
lady
entered in the chamber, neither man nor leash might restrain
the fury of the Wolf. He became as a mad dog in his hatred
and malice. Breaking from his bonds he sprang at the lady's
face, and bit the nose from her visage. From every side men
ran to the succour of the dame.” He was “seeing red” This was
not premeditated. He is not at fault here. She should be on trial
for adulterous and traitorous faults. We should not be wasting
the court’s time deciding if this good man, and good dog at
that, is a monster. I know it. You know it. If any one of us here
had been through what he has, we would’ve reacted the same,
or similarly. So, release this man, and frankly, we should all
offer apologies for putting him through this stress. He’s been
through enough.

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Step 3: Reflect and analyze your closing argument for rhetorical appeals and devices.

“He was betrayed by his own wife, who had vowed “til death
Example of ethos
do we part’’, and ran to his competition…”
“If any one of us here had been through what he has, we
Example of logos
would’ve reacted the same, or similarly.”
“She left him for a previous interest, and he was so turmoiled
Example of pathos by this that he ran away that no one should hear from him
again…”
Examples of three Personification : “He was sweet and loyal to everyone, and
rhetorical devices dared not harm a soul.” You cannot literally harm someone’s
soul.

Wordplay: “And then, walks in the main perpetrator. Or

“perpeTRAITOR”, I should say.”

Idiom: “He was “seeing red”, This was not premeditated.” You
don’t actually see red, it’s just a saying for you were very angry.

Reflect on how They strengthened my argument by making the jury feel for
your use of Bisclaveret, and pitying him. I played on their emotions, pity,
rhetorical appeals and their logical thinking, with my use of appeals and devices.
and devices
strengthened your
closing argument.
(5-7 sentences)

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Honors Fight for Their Rights Rubric

On Target Almost There Need Improvement

30-24 points 23-15 points 14-0 points

● The student has ● The student has ● The student presented

presented a presented a a three-paragraph

three-paragraph three-paragraph closing closing argument that

closing argument that argument that presents weakly presents their

convincingly presents their character as an character as an

their character as an innocent party. innocent party.

innocent party. ● The student has an ● The student has a

● The student has adequate understanding weak understanding of

exceptional of an argument. an argument.

Argument understanding of the ● The student has ● The student has

(30 points)
elements of an included ethos, pathos, included weak

argument. and logos in their rhetorical appeals in

● The student has argument. their argument.

effectively included ● The student has ● The student has

ethos, pathos, and included at least three included less than

logos in their rhetorical devices in three rhetorical

argument. their argument. devices in their

● The student has argument.

effectively utilized at

least three rhetorical

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 devices in their

argument.

10-8 points 7-5 points 4-0 points

● The student provided ● The student provided ● The student provided

clear, concise some clear information minimal information

information and and expressed their with many distracting

Clarity
(10 points) expressed their thoughts adequately, grammatical errors.

thoughts properly, with few or no

with few or no grammatical errors.

grammatical errors.

10-8 points 7-5 points 4-0 points

The student has The student has The student has weakly
thoroughly and adequately reflected on reflected on their use of
Reflection thoughtfully reflected on their use of rhetorical rhetorical appeals and
(10 points) their use of rhetorical appeals and devices. devices.
appeals and devices.

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Cloud™ is a trademark of Florida Virtual School.