The Case of Baloney Vs. Baloney

By Jose Lopez

A persuasive speech has the ability to inspire, persuade, and establish a message by using words to make the audience comprehend the point of view the speaker is trying to invoke. In “The Case of the Animals versus Man Before the King of the Jinn” there have been instances where arguments through persuasion have been flawed for both sides of the argument. The story is about an argument occurring between humans and animals that has been taken to the King of Jinn. Humans have been accused by the animals for being abusive and insulting by making irrational points that animals were deserved to be treated as less than humans. Furthermore, animals themselves have been contradicting each other throughout the arguments.

The first argument that is formed from the humans is that they stand up straight and animals bend over to the floor because God intended the humans to rule over the animals. However, the animals contradicted this belief and stated, “He knew and wisely ordained that their form is best for them and ours for us.” (109). The argument continued and the animals have mentioned that the sole purpose for humans being taller than animals was simply that God made the food intended for humans in a tree where on the contrary the meals for the animals were on the ground. This argument made me think of Darwin’s theory of evolution and biodiversity in the sense that every kind of animal is different in some way depending on what they eat, where they live, and how they nurture. I believe this argument to be flawed because the humans nor the animals have seen God in person to know why he created things the way they are. The argument of evolution could have been mentioned in this debate in order to provide concrete evidence.

Another irrational argument was provided by the rabbit. There was tension throughout this debate because of the attack towards the horses. Humans have degraded the animals yet, they appraised the horse for being so majestic and perfect in every aspect. “In their handsome form and fine proportions… They have keen senses…” (122). These are marks of appraisal and approval made by humans. However, the rabbit contradicts this statement by saying how horses lack insight, “He’s just like a sword in this way, without sense, sentience, or spirit…” (123). The animals were seen to be protecting each other by stating how they were each created differently to serve a certain role yet, the rabbit throws this argument away. I believe this to also be a reason for which the horses himself did not have a say in the arguments between humans and rabbits because he has been domesticated to a point where they are slaves to mankind, similarly to the fables provided by Aesop and dogs.

The ways each side presented their arguments could have been improved in various ways. But the key factor that caused the biggest hole in the arguments were the horses. The humans stating that animals are imperfect to nature yet, appraising the horses and saying they are perfect. The animals giving the presentation that animals have been created a certain way that God intended yet the rabbit degrades the horses by calling them ignorant.