J'Accuse

J’Accuse…! argues for the innocence of Alfred Dreyfus. Although Zola’s writing is published as an open letter, it follows the format of an argumentative essay, especially in that it relies on evidence rather than on personal opinion or experience. In an argumentative essay, the author has a point about a debatable topic that they wish to argue on behalf of, backed up by research. Here, Zola’s thesis is that Dreyfus did not commit the crime he was convicted of. He uses a thorough examination of the facts of the case, from the discovery of the bordereau to the court martial that acquitted Esterhazy, to prove that Dreyfus is innocent and concludes with a list of his accusations against the parties he deems guilty for the miscarriage of justice. The addressee Zola wants to convince is primarily President Felix Faure, as he could potentially intercede on behalf of Dreyfus, but since the open letter was published in a newspaper, his audience was also the people of France. Zola’s argument was highly effective and helped prompt calls for a retrial of the case.