...ironies as those produced by transposing a Yankee to King Arthur’s Court). It seems clear when retracing the development of Twain’s style through his career that his use of irony—always one of his key rhetorical devices—becomes increasingly heavy- handed the older and the angrier he became. Huck’s “failure” is innocent; that of the con- gregation in “The War-Prayer” is not. Albert Bigelow Paine quotes Twain as writing on New Year’s Eve 1900-01: A GREETING FROM THE NINETEENTH TO THE TWENTIETH CENTURY I bring you the stately nation named Christendom, returning, bedraggled, besmirched, and dishonored, from pirate raids in Kiao-Chou, Manchuria, South Africa, and the Phil- ippines, with her soul full of meanness, her pocket full of boodle, and her mouth full of pious hypocrisies. Give her soap and a towel, but hide the looking-glass. (Europe xxxiv) Here, only the adjective “stately” tells us that the intended tone is irony, before Twain starts hammering home his point; and it is precisely the behavior of Christendom in the Philippines that would lead, in 1904-5, to the barely disguised fury that makes “The War- Prayer”’s irony so unsubtle. Unsubtle is not the same as ineffective, of course, but insidi- ousness usually serves irony better. It was still Twain’s only appropriate rhetorical device, however, given that irony is inherently dualistic: it says or implies one thing, it means another; it has a stated (often false) meaning, and a silent (true)...
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...cinematic, and Bragg exemplifies an awareness of time. “All Over but the Shoutin'” is a haunting memoir about the struggle of accepting a parent who has abandoned his own flesh and blood. It emphasizes on both personal history and on the historical context in which the events took place. The memoir hooks the reader and peaks their interest, further forcing them into inquiring for more. The author recalls when, as a teenager, he paid a final visit to his dying father. He explained how hard it was visiting him for the first and last time since he left, and how difficult it was to confront his abandonment. Through strong diction and tone, rhetorical devices, and the conflict shown, Bragg displays the theme of being trapped between forgiving and hating his father. Before Bragg allows the reader to fully...
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...Moore−Parker: Critical Thinking, Ninth Edition 5. Persuasion Through Rhetoric: Common Devices and Techniques Text © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2009 Chapter Persuasion Through Rhetoric 5 It’s just the way things are: Images and impressions tend to sell more products than good arguments do. At least some of the images are fun. Common Devices and Techniques W hen the military uses the phrase “self-injurious behavior incidents” regarding detainees at Guantánamo Bay, it means what most of us call “attempted suicides.” In fact, when the word “detainees” is used, it means what most of us call “prisoners.” “Waterboarding” sounds at first like something you’d expect to see young people doing on a California beach, not a torture technique that involves forced simulated drowning. Less remarkable, perhaps, but possibly more relevant for most of us, we’ve heard the term “downsized” used when someone is fired or laid off. “Ethnic cleansing” covers everything from deportation to genocide. What we have to say may be important, but the words we choose to say it with can be equally important. The examples just given are cases of a certain type of linguistic coercion—an attempt to get us to adopt a particular attitude toward a subject that, if described differently, would seem less attractive to us. Words have tremendous persuasive power, or what we have called their rhetorical force or emotive meaning—their power to express and elicit images, feelings, and emotional...
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...Figures of Speech (Stylistic Devices) What are stylistic devices? In literature and writing, a figure of speech (also called stylistic device or rhetorical device) is the use of any of a variety of techniques to give an auxiliary meaning, idea, or feeling. Sometimes a word diverges from its normal meaning, or a phrase has a specialized meaning not based on the literal meaning of the words in it. Examples are metaphor, simile, or personification. Stylistic devices often provide emphasis, freshness of expression, or clarity. A simile is a figure of speech comparing two unlike things, often introduced with the word "like" or "as". It takes the form of: * X is (not) like Y * X is (not) as Y * X is (not) similar to Y Examples of simile: * He fights like a lion. * He swims as fast as a fish. * He slithers like a snake. * "My dad was a mechanic by trade when he was in the Army, When he got the tools out, he was like a surgeon." What is a metaphor? Unlike simile, metaphor (from the Greek language: meaning "transfer") is language that directly compares seemingly unrelated subjects. It is a figure of speech that compares two or more things not using like or as. In the simplest case, this takes the form: X - is - Y Examples of metaphor: All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances; (William Shakespeare, As You Like It, 2/7) Example: “Henry was a lion on the battlefield”. This...
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...A Preface of Quotations Whoever desires for his writings or himself, what none can reasonably condemn,the favor of mankind, must add grace to strength, and make his thoughts agreeable as well as useful. Many complain of neglect who never tried to attract regard. It cannot be expected that the patrons of science or virtue should be solicitous to discover excellencies which they who possess them shade and disguise. Few have abilities so much needed by the rest of the world as to be caressed on their own terms; and he that will not condescend to recommend himself by external embellishments must submit to the fate of just sentiments meanly expressed, and be ridiculed and forgotten before he is understood. --Samuel Johnson Men must be taught as if you taught them not; And things unknown propos'd as things forgot. --Alexander Pope Style in painting is the same as in writing, a power over materials, whether words or colors, by which conceptions or sentiments are conveyed. --Sir Joshua Reynolds Whereas, if after some preparatory grounds of speech by their certain forms got into memory, they were led to the praxis thereof in some chosen short book lessoned thoroughly to them, they might then forthwith proceed to learn the substance of good things, and arts in due order, which would bring the whole language quickly into their power. --John Milton Introduction Good writing depends upon more than making a collection of statements worthy of belief, because writing is intended to...
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...Stylistic devices Repetition and Variation |stylistic device |definition |translation |example |effect | |alliteration |recurrence of initial sound |Alliteration |“The fair breeze blew, |to convey auditory images | | | | |the white foam flew.” | | |accumulation |series of expressions (adjectives, cliches, |Anhäufung |“He came, saw, fought and won” |to make the language livelier | | |examples, images) that contribute increasingly to | | | | | |meaning | | | | |anaphora |repetition of first word(s) of line/clause |Anapher |In every town, in every house...
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...most recent address was given by Barack Obama in January of 2015. In his State of the Union Address, President Obama is attempting to assure Americans that the Unites States are thriving more now than ever. Through his use of logos and pathos, rhetorical questions, and anecdotes President Obama strengthens his argument and convinces his audience that the United States of America are in a time of economical growth and that the public has no reason to be concerned about the little things, like national debt and terrorism. President Obama initially addresses the number of troops on the ground and involved in war in some way. His approach here is logos because he is providing facts to reassure the audience that something is being done to minimize the number of troops deployed to the lowest number possible. Obama says; “ Six years ago, nearly 180,000 troops served in Iraq and...
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...Victory Speech: What rhetorical devices does he use and what is the intended effect? When Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech to thousands of Americans in 1963, nobody would have thought that one day America will be led by a black president. In November 2008, 45 years later, Barack Obama was elected as the first African American president in the history of the United States. From that day on he represented the dream come true of millions of his fellow citizens. In his victory speech, Barack Obama makes use of multiple rhetoric devices, in order to catch the people’s attention, make them strive for his goals and predominantly call for unity. By a frequent use of the third person plural pronouns “we”, “us” and “our(s)”, Obama creates a sense of community and also puts himself on a level with his audience. To emphasize the role and importance of every single American for the future of the Nation, he lists some contrasting characteristics: “young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Latino, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled”. All of these people play an important role and are part of the United States of America. Additionally, Obama expresses his dependence on the audience by expressions like “I cannot happen without you”. All of these devices, used to speak on behalf of the audience, create a strong feeling of unity. Furthermore, Obama chooses the rhetorical devices of anaphora and epiphora...
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...police brutality. The Black Lives Matter movement started in 2013 when African-American teen, Trayvon Martin, a victim of police brutality, was shot to death. The initiation of such movement are prevalent throughout history. For instance, the American Civil Rights movement from 1954-1968 was a large step in the black community’s political and civil rights, and, possibly the largest step of all, the induction of the first African American president, Barack Obama. This amazing moment in American history would not be made possible without Obama’s determination, perseverance and unparalleled campaign tactics. One of Obama’s more well known campaigns directed by Davis Guggenheim, “A Mother’s Promise”, draws potential voters into Obama’s campaign using many rhetorical devices within...
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...Obama's victory speech rhetorical analysis. The democrat Barack Obama held a famous victory speech after being elected for president on November, 4th 2012 in his home town Chicago, Illinois. If we starting of by introducing the pentagon model, we know that a speech usually is centred around an intention of the speaker and is depending on the interrelationship between the listeners, the topic, the writer, the language and the circumstances. The topic of this speech is the political campaign, the election, the American population and having high hopes in the future America. The listeners is mostly Obama's supporters as it was being held in Chicago in a building full of democrats, but also for the entire United States and the world in general, considering that America has so much influence on the world. President Obama starts off by being grateful and appreciating the audience. He says thanks three times, which is to calm down the audience but also to highlight his thanks. Afterwards he voices his opinion on how America has been moving forward” It moves forward because you reaffirmed the spirit that has triumphed over war and depression, the spirit that has lifted this country from the depths of despair to the great heights of hope, the belief that while each of us will pursue our own individual dreams, we are an American family, and we rise or fall together as one nation and as one people.” This sentence shows his patos. Obama develops the cohesion by speaking about the...
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...Barack Obama – Speech On October 1, 2015 several people were shot and killed by a man at Oregon Community College. On the same day Barack Obama gave a speech. First of all the speech was gave to express Obama’s grief, – but he wanted more than just to show empathy. Obama presents a clear message - of changing the U.S gun laws - in his speech Obama delivered his speech to the press , so therefore all Americans are his receivers. In his speech Obama argues against the 2nd amendment, which gives every American the right to be armed. Obama blames the 2nd amendment for the recurrent mass shootings in America. To convince his receiver Barack Obama uses several rhetorical devices, which this paper will analyze. “I'd ask the American people to think about how they can get our government to change these laws, and to save lives, and to let young people grow up.” In this sentence Obama clarifies his message about changing gun laws. He also emphasizes who his audience is; “the American people”. Furthermore, the quotation is an example of his use of the appeal form pathos. He mentions young people and their right to grow up, which most Americans can relate to. Another example of the appeal form pathos is the phrase in the speech, where he mentions “American families, moms, dads, children, whose lives have been changed forever.” Here Obama not only mentions family members so that everyone can relate to them, he also emphasizes that it is the American families and therefore...
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...On March 18, 2008, Presidential Candidate Barack Obama, gave a speech entitled “A More Perfect Union” in response to comments and controversy surrounding his former pastor, Reverend Jeremiah Wright, who had spoken racial remarks that scandalized the country and made Obama look bad. Senator Obama felt the need to bring to the public a speech that distanced himself from Reverend Wright. Obama’s speech attempts to accomplish the goal of saving voters after a scandal through the use of rhetorical devices such as parallel structure, metaphor, alliteration, allusion, and repetition of words for effect. Close to the beginning of the speech, one of the rhetorical devices he uses was parallel structure. Obama states that Reverend Wright, “strengthened my faith, officiated my wedding, and baptized my children” (Obama par. 22). Parallelism is an effective execution of words where Obama stacks good, positive words one on top of the other. In this manner, he lifts Reverend Wright up as a person. He uses this device to show that Reverend Wright had done a lot for him. For example, religion, weddings, and children are intimate and crucial to relationships, so these are all good memories for Obama. This makes it harder for the public to believe that Rev....
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...victory speech 2012 Obama starts off by including the people. He speaks out to every American, incorporates the people, and thanks them. He makes it clear that he is trying to make the people feel integrated into his speech. The first part of the speech is Obama thanking people around him, even his competitor Mitt Romney. He speaks about how America is now, and how he is going to sort it in the future. His main claim is that together America can build up the nation, and recover from the problems. As data he does say, that the American Economy is already recovering. By including America like this, he makes the people feel that they are a part of a nation, and this makes him seem more reliable. He does, however, not have a concrete example of the recovering economy, which makes his statement build on trust. He does back his claim up by saying that with the help from the Americans, he will fix their problems: “Reducing our deficit. Reforming our tax code. Fixing our immigration system. Freeing ourselves from foreign oil” (P.3 l.86). The warrant for this is that Obama will reach out, and together with the leaders of both parties they will meet the challenges that can be solved together. Furthermore, the help from the American people will make this happen, and get America going again. Obama does include the Americans a lot. This has an effect. Making individuals feel like they are a part of a bigger nation, which can solve this problem together, can make Obama seem stronger, since...
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...In the Fall of 2016, it is estimated that there are 20.5 million students attending college in America. On September 7, 2009, Barack Obama delivered a speech at Wakefield High School. Barack Obama is the 44th and current president of the United States. Barack Obama was a civil rights lawyer and a teacher before pursuing a career in politics. Obama demonstrates the use of rhetorical situation, timing of conditions and appropriateness within his speech while at the same time motivating students all around the country, as well as myself, who have recently entered the academic community First off, Kairos has a basic definition of when times are right, and Barack Obama demonstrates this when he makes the statement. “...it’s your first day in a new...
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...But times have changed, and today most Americans believe that the gun law needs to be stricter. Therefore it can be difficult to understand why nothing happens when the majority of the US population supports stricter gun laws. So why is it that the law cannot be changed? And what can the politicians do to end this nightmare? Barack Obama is trying to highlight this issue in his newest speech on gun violence – “Remarks by the President on Common-Sense Gun Safety Reform” – that he presented at the White House Press Conference on the 5th of January 2016. This paper analyses Obama’s speech. The analysis will focus on the communicative and rhetorical devices in the speech. The sender of the speech is Barack Obama, the current president in the USA. He is representing his own party, the Democrats. Obama is speaking for all Americans and against the gun lobbyists. The speech is built on the foundation of all the gun tragedies, which have happened over the last years, and therefore makes use of al lot of pathos. He expresses his compassion for all the people who have been victims of gun violence and uses concrete examples of victims he has known. Obama presents four solutions to the problem of gun violence and mass shootings. Number 1 “…make the background check system more efficient” and “…hire more folks to process applications faster…” He wants to use more resources on the background checking system and by that make sure that...
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