In the midst of all the turmoil and cynicism in the current media, one can find that there is some good beneath it all, like a flower that blossomed from a sea of concrete. Victor Villaseñor acknowledges the fact that there is always a light at the end of the tunnel when he reflected upon his keynote address, where he criticized on English teachers, bashed, smacked, and tortured, their students. Based on the novel, Burro Genius, by Victor Villaseñor, the story displays Villaseñor’s education and his struggles with abusive teachers. In an excerpt from his book, Villaseñor affects the reader emotionally through the use of stylistic devices and imagery to depict the intensity of afterthoughts of his keynote address. Villaseñor uses these rhetorical …show more content…
During a keynote address in which he was greeted by millions of English teachers, Villaseñor spoke with rage about his distaste for teachers, as if a tempest just struck him. In his explanation for his thoughts on seeing English teachers, he states his extreme rage and desire to kill all the teachers who are abusive to their pupils. According to Villaseñor, “It was like my heart and soul had leaped forward with so much hate and rage that I’d instantly wanted to kill! To scalp! To massacre!” (Villaseñor 21). The use of hyperbole in this statement emphasizes that he hated teachers who destroyed his self-confidence. It also affects readers emotionally because it dramatizes the intensity of his thoughts. Surely, the thoughts of killing a massive group of generalized people does not cause alarm. Those who read about hearts being ripped out and responding with extreme vengeance can see the tremendous effect that these teachers had on him. As a result, readers can sympathize with Villaseñor for his misfortunes. Villaseñor effectively uses hyperbole to emotionally connect the readers with him by creating a sort of underdog characteristic where many would root for Villaseñor. Who would not want to root for an underdog? Hyperbole also conveys his hatred in an amplified manner. The use of exclamatory statements in conjunction with descriptive connotations of teachers only adds to anger that …show more content…
Villaseñor uses hyperbole to highlight the radical ideas that pessimism can cause a person think, while the use of imagery presents the better option of acknowledging the positives. Reader do not want to feel the need to massacre those that have caused Villaseñor pain and suffering throughout his childhood. However, they rejoice at the end when Villaseñor poses the question of whether or not he had a person in his life that inspired him to write and given him the determination to continue. Readers can emotionally connect to this because many can understand the significance a person can have in inspiring them and the community around
Maria Boyd’s novel “Will” clearly demonstrates and showcases multiple existing values, beliefs and ideologies. One such theme which we constantly see is that of depression. Throughout the novel, this theme is challenged and developed on. One such example Will, the protagonist, and his one sided conversations with his deceased father. This constant reminiscence of his father are only present in the latter half of the book when the theme of depression is much more prevalent.
Rhetorical Analysis of Jerome Cartwright’s "Bambara's the Lesson” Jerome Cartwright’s feature article on Toni Cade Bambara’s “the Lesson” was published in 1989. This piece provides a scholarly secondary source for Bambara’s short story because it was featured in The Explicator, a quarterly journal of literary criticism published by Taylor & Francis, Inc.
The emotional appeal is furthered during later parts of the article. For instance, McWhortor proves word have connotation through the use of anecdotal and somewhat historical evidence when he uses direct examples of controversial
In Helena Maria Viramontes’ novel, Under the Feet of Jesus, Estrella starts off as angsty and confused, but then shifts to a state of contentment and understanding, caused by life experiences. These character traits are revealed through the selection of detail, figurative language, and tone. Initially, Estrella is immediately characterized as “very angry” when she finds Perfecto’s “foreign” toolbox. She uses a tone of confusion that illustrates her unfamiliarity with the objects in the tool box by using words such as “funny-shaped”, and using a simile comparing her confusion with the tools to the alphabet which Estrella “could not decipher”.
There is also the population who can not simply afford to get an education. This is where Benitez’s message on education starts to form and the audience is faced with conflicting sides of education or staying to support. The author’s message about education is that it is essential and very beneficial to anyone, which is shown in the scenario with Ines and Rafael, Beto and the teacher, as well as Candelario’s comments on education. When Rafael teaches Ines how to read and write is the perfect example of education helping the youth.
This quote shows that even though Mairs sometimes has difficulty accepting her illness, she knows that there is a growing acceptance of people who must deal with the difficulties that she faces. This ultimately lends a hopeful and positive tone to an otherwise serious and depressing section of her essay. This contrast in tone, but general feeling of hope is key to the type of emotions that Nancy Mairs is trying to educate her readers about. Mair is successful in using multiple rhetorical strategies to connect with the reader.
It’s a blow to his ego, but he’s in. It’s in this program that Villanueva encounters rhetoric. Rhetoric brings a new perspective to Villanueva’s struggles. He discovers that writing about what he took away from a reading was more important than what someone else wanted him to glean from it. He states, “What I would do is read and enjoy, when it was time to write, what I would write would be an explanation of what I had enjoyed.”
Author’s lives inspire their writing in many ways. An illustrious writer, Edgar Allan Poe, experienced continuous sufferings throughout his life. The heartaches he faced transferred into his writing. Poe’s works are dark and traumatic, such as “The Pit and the Pendulum.” He uses the unthinkable and shapes short stories out of them.
We often encourage people to actively pursue their happiness while also wanting to discourage them to escape from reality. However, avoiding your issues is also a way of pursuing happiness, even though this route will prove to be temporary. In the literary piece, “Horses of the Night” by Margaret Laurence, the author describes the story of a boy named Chris, who, due to his financial conditions, is forced to move from his home in Shallow Creek to dwell in Manawaka, in order to attend high school. Chris’ character is used to demonstrate the idea that individuals may escape from the miserable aspects of their lives in order to stay happy. Through the course of this work, you witness the changes Chris undergoes, through the eyes of his six-year-old cousin Vanessa, which ultimately lead to his downfall.
Even my talkative teacher was reduced to a slack-jawed stare of awe. As my brief embarrassment and their slight shock quickly passed, I was cheered for. I was the reading champion! The hero of literature that would lead our class to victory! I even earned one of Mrs. Fisher’s rarely-given rewards (a Strawberry
The author mentioned popular media people (like Rita Moreno) and literary characters (“Mammy” from Gone with the Wind) to show the source and the deepness of stereotypes. She includes dialogues and description of own ruefulness during the current event to create more emotion-oriented essay. Several main issues and single words are highlighted with the aid of italics, like the word ripen (Cofer 4) that showed boy’s expectances to Cofer’s sexual behavior. Was it author’s choice or not, the decision helps readers to see an important topic.
Readers could get his shame and anger from his choice of words “shocked” and “horror”. His tone made readers feel his emotion while reading the excerpt, thereby achieved his purpose of moving the readers. In conclusion, Malcolm X used two powerful techniques, hyperbole and tone, to express himself and impress the readers. He made me believe that “Ten guards and the warden couldn’t have torn me out of those books”(X,33).
Gerald Graff’s argument on how educational systems are missing a great opportunity to tap into “street smarts” and focus them into a path of academic work is indeed convincing (Graff, 198). After all, anyone who’s been through the American educational system knows odds are often stacked against the “street smarts.” This is especially true in english classes, where one is often required to read boring and somewhat heartless books like, 1984, Beowulf, and the majority of Shakespeare’s classics. This is not to say these books are bad or shouldn’t be read during one’s schooling years, instead, the problem is one of apathy. For instance, in my high school years I never even remotely liked to read books Othello, but I loved to read magazines and
This is shown when the characters in this novel speak out against a concept they know nothing about. Therefore, the literary terms an author uses can make an immense impact to the connections the reader makes to a novel, and help to shape a theme that is found throughout
The essay through a literary analysis and a close reading of the text ought to bring out this