Read this excerpt from emerson's speech and answer the question. indeed, it is the reductio ad absurdum of slavery, when the governor of virginia is forced to hang a man whom he declares to be a man of the most integrity, truthfulness, and courage he has ever met. in this excerpt, which rhetorical feature does emerson use to convey his point of view? emerson uses understatement to dramatically demonstrate that brown was wrongly imprisoned. emerson uses satire to ridicule how unreasonable it is to treat brown as a criminal. emerson uses sarcasm to contrast the dishonesty of the legal decision that led to brown's penalty. emerson uses irony to illustrate the unreasonable judgment that was made against brown.