Chief Joseph Assertion Analysis

    In Chief Joseph's surrender speech, Chief Joseph asserts that he was tired of his children dying and wanted to surrender from the battle. Many of his tribe ran away and died due to the fighting, and it made Chief Joseph sick. There was too much suffering for his heart to handle, so he surrendered his tribe and took a loss for the greater good of his people.
    In order to support this assertion, Chief Joseph used syntax, diction, and imagery. Since English was not Joseph's first language, the syntax was very simple and "to the point", making it easy to understand. Similar to the syntax, the diction in the speech wasn't extremely complicated, allowing for further clarity of what Chief Joseph was asserting. Finally, imagery was used to persuade the combatant that he was to surrender with examples such as starvation, freezing, and death.