Rhetorical Terms

anaphora: the REPETITION of a group of words at the beginning of successive clauses.

asyndeton: the omission of conjunction between related clauses-for example, "I came, I saw, I conquered."

antithesis: The juxtaposition of contrasting words or ideas, oten in parallell structure-for example, "Place your virtues on a pedestal; put your vices under a rock."

polysyndeton: The interruption of lists by using and.

personification: The giving of human characteristics to inanimate objects.

allusion: A reference in a written or spoken text to another text or to some particular body of knowledge.

hyperbole: An EXAGGERATION for effect.

simile: A type of comparison that uses the word like or as.

metaphor: An implied comparison that does not use the word like or as-for example, "His voice was a cascade of emotion"; the most important of all the TROPES.

Bernice Bobs Her Hair

During the end of the eighteenth century and early nineteen century, the characters and values of women in society were drastically changing. With the rise of the First World War, women gained a sort of independence and modernism that dragged on after the war was over. As the new generation of women was sticking to this modernism, the older generation of females resented this alteration. In the story “Bernice Bobs Her Hair,” the major issue that troubled some women in society was that of becoming modernized. The character and style of the older generation was now being looked down upon by the new generation of women that were more independent, flirtatious, and outgoing. The notion of fitting into this society became crucial to most.
In the beginning of the story, Bernice was described as “sorta dopeless” and “no fun on a party.” [pg 4] She was far from ever becoming a “gardenia girl,” who was “too gay and fickle.” [pg 5] Her beauty and kindness was no match for the young bachelors that were craving what all the other men wanted: fun and popular girls. She was, as her cousin Marjorie described, “the womanly woman!” that men found as nothing more but “weak, whining, cowardly mass of affections!” This was, the typical view of the women of the older generation, which lived in a greatly influenced male dominant society, such as that of Mrs. Harvey, who grew up during an era where “young ladies who belonged to nice families had glorious times.” [pg 5] Bernice was brought up “on novels in which the female was beloved because of certain mysterious woman qualities, always mentioned but never displayed.” [pg 4] She was brought up as an ideal woman, but that image was no longer true. Little did Bernice know that she was far from being a modern female in her society. The men were known for not liking her and would just “stand being bored” in her presence. Warren “wondered idly whether she was a poor conversationalist because she got no attention or got no attention because she was a poor conversationalist.” [pg3] As one can see by this quote, a women’s grace was no longer yearned for by the opposite sex, as a matter of fact, these qualities of women were nothing more but jaded. In this society that Bernice was introduced to while visiting her cousin, she never really fit in due to the great difference of character in which she carried herself in. The respectful and loving women that were once idyllic to the past generations, no longer stood at the top of the women’s social pyramid. Bernice would have to change her character and style before men could even come to notice her. Probably, like most women would face these pressures of society and the urgency to fit in, they put themselves through a sort of transformation before attaining this goal. For example, Bernice went to the extremes of “bobbing her hair” even though she knew “it would be ugly as sin.” [pg 17] The bobbing of her hair was a catastrophic last minute decision, since she had to attend a dance that was dedicated to her and her cousin Marjorie, by the woman whom bobbing of the hair was “her pet abomination.” [pg 18] This only comes to show the extremes of the women in order to just fit in to society. To change their character, persona, and qualities, would seem absurd to many, but to these women, it was a must.
The image of ideal women continues to change throughout time. Though, the need to fit into society still remains crucial to most people. The extremes that many people go through just to attain this recognition in society, results in the creation of a mass that are not true to themselves and are not contained in true character. “Bernice Bobs Her Hair,” is just another story that emphasizes the point just stated. Now whether or not this still remains true, is up to you to judge the authenticity of the work just provided.

Martin Luther King, Jr. "I Have a Dream"

II. Rhetorical Structure: Figures of Speech

1. Alliteration: The REPETITION of constant sounds at the beginning or in the middle of two or more adjacent words.
Allusion: A reference in a written or spoken text to another text or to some particular body of knowledge.
Metaphor: An implied comparison that does not use the word like or as-for example, “His voice was a cascade of emotion”; the most important of all the TROPES.
Simile: A type of comparison that uses the word like or as.

2. “Five score years ago,” the opening phrase of King’s speech, is an allusion to Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, “Four score and seven years ago…” This was an appropriate and strong way for King to begin his speech, because of the fact that he is using Lincoln as a sort of symbolism for freedom. M. L. King Jr. a strong advocate and speaker for the Civil Rights Movement, knew that he needed to make a connection with the people in order to get his message across. Referring back to Lincoln, in a way reminded the people of the fight for equality that had begun so long ago, that was still to be won.

3. Allusions to the Declaration of Independence were:
· “unalienable Rights”
· “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness,”
· “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.”
Allusions to the Bible are:
· “justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
· “every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight.”
· “and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together.”

4. An Example of alliteration in King’s speech:
· “ We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of the self-hood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating…”

5. An Example of a metaphor in King’s speech:
· “One hundred years later, the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land.”

6. An Example of a simile in King’s speech:
· This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.”

7. This is an example of a metaphor. Bringing up strong images of slavery was an effective method of moving the audience because it reminded the people that segregation and discrimination were still oppressing the Negro. Even though the chains of slavery had already been lifted, the segregation and discrimination towards the African Americans still had their iron lock on them with the Jim Crow laws. This being said, segregation was just a step of the progress made from the end of slavery.

8. Besides the famous “I have a dream” phrase, two other examples of anaphoras are:
· “Now is the time”
· “We can never be satisfied as long as…”

9. The repetition of the phrase, “I have a dream.”
· This was a way to motivate and stimulate the people to continue on with the fight for the equal rights of the Negro. This was a call to the people to make this dream become a reality, reminding them that it still was at that time nothing but a dream.
· This also made many realize that this optimistic dream was far from being reached but never impossible to accomplish. Yes, the people of this country would go through many trials and tribulations in the process of accomplishing this, but this dream was so great that nothing could outshine its greatness once it would be made from a dream into a reality.

10. King’s images that I found most powerful and appealing were the phrases of the “We can never be satisfied as long as…” The images that King portrays in this paragraph truly sank into my brain knowing that these people would not give up their fight for equality. That all sort of oppression only made them stronger and gave them motivation to persevere and never give up. When King states, “We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality,” it only brought to my mind images of all the innocent Negroes that were victims of such atrocities in a nation that promised justice and freedom to all. How can such a hypocritical country, built with the idea of government on opportunity, freedom, and justice, still have the nerve to subjugate and strip the Negro of all human rights granted by God and law? King goes on saying, “We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their self-hood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating: “For Whites Only,” I could not help but think back to the movie “Ruby Bridges” and the much discrimination she had to face as a little girl being admitted into an all white school. To think that these people would be so ignorant and vicious towards her disregarding the fact that she is in fact a child makes me appreciate the fact that our society, even though not completely filtered of discrimination, has made some progress throughout time.

III. Understanding the Dream

1. King’s dream was the hope that someday our country would no longer be divided between races or religions. His dream was that this nation would one day come together and join hands for the better good of the country, and truly define the meaning of a “Union.” This was a hope that Abraham Lincoln’s fight for the black race would not just end with Reconstruction and that the promises of the Constitution should be granted to all of God’s children. Also, the equality of the Negro should be given not only through paper and pen, but through the close minded thoughts of a society of white supremacy. King’s dream was the motivation that the Negros needed to lift and dust themselves up from all the injustices and cruelties that this country had brought on them. It was his way of saying, “it is our time.” Indeed, it was his time; he fought for his dream to become a reality, a dream that cost him his life. In the long run, his dream is partially accomplished by the people of our times. It will take long before the next generation can look back and say, “This is no longer just a dream, it is this countries reality.”

2. Some of the specific acts of injustices against African Americans which King cites in his speech are:
· “…the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality.”
· “…our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities.”
· “…the negro’s basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one.”
· “our children are stripped of their self-hood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating: “For Whites Only.”
· “Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote.”

3. The American dream is basically the opportunity in American to go from rags to riches. It is to come to the land of opportunity and to make something of yourself and become something through the means of hard work and determination. It is also the ability to fully practice the rights offered by the Constitution to insure the happiness of one’s own self.

4. King names many states I think to mainly point out those states in the belt of the Deep South, which where were much of the oppression, discrimination, and segregation of the Negro was the strongest and more concentrated. This added emphasis to the importance to bring to an end to these types of actions mostly in those places, but more so all over the country.

5. I think that I truly would have been moved by King’s speech. If I were to put myself into that era and truly analyze all the sorts of injustices and inhumanities that the Negros were experiencing, I would not be able to ignore these issues and pretend as if it were not affecting me. His speech was very moving and brought chills all over my body, mind you not this was just from watching the video. Had I been one of the audiences, I probably would have wept at the words that he was expressing through his speech. The reason why King’s speech was so moving to me, was because of the fact that he was very passionate and intense in his message. He added power to his words with his voice and made sure the world was listening to him. You could see that he truly felt his words as he was reciting them to the people. His message expressed hope of one day there being freedom and justice to all. To me, hearing King’s speech and knowing that he died for his cause, only adds more to the emotions that I would have towards his message. It is very moving and motivating to continue the fight for the ongoing battle for the full equality of all people and the end to discrimination, not only in the United States, but all over the world.

IV. Relating to the Dream

1. My definition of racism is:
· The belief of a person’s superiority over another due to race. (hate)
· The injustices towards that race in their belief of their right to rule over others.

2 · I think that the extreme right-wing organizations such as the Klan chose violence as a means to fight against the civil rights movement because it was their way of intimidating and discouraging the Negros from continuing their fight for Civil Rights. Even though this brought much sympathy for the cause of the Southern blacks and it enraged the rest of the country, the Klan like always just thought of it as another way to keep the African American people oppressed and in a way, threatened.
· I think that the black community withstood such violent attacks without responding with their own violent retaliations because they probably knew that this would only add to the negative image that the country already had towards them and their cause. It would pull away supporters by making the Negros look like radicals or extremists, something that the black community could not bear or take.

3. I do believe skinheads are dangerous but to a certain extent. I feel that one day they will bring masses of people into their cause and try and take matters into their own hands. Their radical right-wing philosophies and views can be nothing more but destructing and dangerous to non-whites living in this country. They would do anything in their power to reach their means of righteousness in their own ways. How can people with such ill-minded thoughts not be considered dangerous? If Hitler was able to create such atrocities, what in the world assures us that this cannot occur once more and have history repeat itself?

4. I think that this country is only getting closer to making King’s dream a reality to this nation. We have already accomplished the citizenship to the African American, along his right to vote. Segregation institutions which were considered as “separate but equal” were once declared to be constitutional, but are no longer true. African Americans now take on white collar jobs and enroll on many of the top universities and colleges of the country. Just today, our black President Barack Hussein Obama was sworn in, when just about 50 years ago blacks were not even allowed the right to vote. The part of the dream that yet remains to be accomplished is the complete filtering of this country from the evils of discrimination. We have progressed throughout time by overcoming much of this great evil, but there is still much left to clear out.

Langston Hughes "Salvation"

Langston Hughes
“Salvation”

Meaning

1. The main point of Hughes’s narrative is to describe how his experience of being “saved” only caused him to be disappointed in himself. This also results in his lying to the church and his feeling of guilt for doing so. The “saving” of Hughes eventually leads to his loss of faith in Jesus Christ. This just shows the reader how the pressure that an adult can have on a child causes so much damage to the infant who is not aware of what exactly is going on.

2. Hughes finally decides to get up after he grows impatient for waiting on Jesus to come to him and save him. He felt that since he was the last one on the mourner’s bench, the whole church was just waiting on him to be saved. Hughes’s didn’t want to hold everything up so long and he began to feel ashamed of himself for doing so. He also believed that if God had not punished Westley for lying to the church then he should lie too. This has a great affect on him afterward when he realizes what he had done. Hughes’s was feeling guilty at the fact that he had lied to everybody at the congregation, making them believe that he had in fact seen Jesus. This really brings him down and causes him to cry. This all results in his belief that Jesus in fact does not exist because he did not help him.

3. The title basically lays out the topic of the narrative to the reader. The first two sentences allow the reader to see that the narrative is something that is going to be contradicting of itself. Later as the story follows, one is able to see why Hughes’s would lay out such opposing ideas: the fact that Hughes was meant to be saved, but in his heart and mind, he never was, even though everybody else believed so. Hughes is saying that salvation was not what he was expecting it to be. In the end it all is up to the person and how they interpret this notion of salvation.

Purpose and Audience

1. Hughes’s probably wrote “Salvation” as part of his autobiography more than two decades after the experience because perhaps at an adult age he was able to fully understand what it was that happened in that event of his life. His purpose was simply to express his feelings by this significant even in his life. He was not at all trying to criticize his aunt and the other adults in the congregation. He was simply explaining the distance of the generations and how they differed in their way of thinking of certain concepts and things. This is shown when Hughes’s and his aunt have a difference in thought about what is expected from a “salvation.” “And I kept waiting serenely for Jesus, waiting, waiting-but he didn’t come.” Hughes’s (the younger generation) literally wanted to see Jesus and was expecting him to come to him. On the other hand his aunt (the older generation) thought that Hughes’s was crying “because the Holy Ghost had come into my life, and because I had seen Jesus.”

2. Hughes’s assumes that his readers are familiar with a charismatic church. Where there is “much preaching, singing, praying, and shouting,” “rhythmical sermon, all moans and shouts and lonely cries and dire pictures of hell,” “sea of shouting,” “women leaped in the air,” and “few ecstatic ‘Amens.’”

3. The dialogue and the details of the sounds recreate the story of the event in the readers mind. This way the reader is able to put himself in Hughes’s shoes and get to feel the pressure that was being put into the situation. With the dialogue the reader literally connects with the story having this sense of understanding as to what the author was going through, almost feeling as if the dialogue is meant for the reader himself. The recreation of the sounds help to put the reader in the setting that the author was put in, envisioning the reader and surrounding him with the environment that Hughes’s was in at that time. All of this contributes to the strong feeling of attachment between the reader and the author. The things that add to the pressure is the repetition of the question “Why don’t you come? Why don’t you come to Jesus?” This adds to the frustration that Hughes’s experiences when he can no longer wait for Jesus, since he feels that he is “holding everything up so long.” Also the pressure intensifies when he becomes the last one on the mourner’s bench, the last to be “saved.”

Method and Structure

1. I think Hughes’s chose narration because it was his way of really putting down his feelings and emotions just as they were the way that he had experienced them. This would add to the credibility of the story and the effect that it would have on the reader based on criticism, due to the fact that this dealt with a argumentative topic: religion. The title could have been “Interpretations,” because it all had to do on how Hughes’s interpreted “salvation” and how other people of the church interpreted it as well.

2. Hughes mostly summarizes events after Westley is saved and the events that happened right after the service was over. He doesn’t go into much detail about the emotions of the people and their reactions when Westley claimed to be “saved.” After Hughes’s was saved, he ends that event with “…all the new young lambs were blessed in the name of God. Then joyous singing filled the room.” Right after this he goes right into, “That night…” This idea of summarizing takes away from the importance of the events to the story. Clearly one can see that the description of such events weren’t critical to the point of the narrative.

3. Hughes uses signal transitions: “Going on thirteen,” “for weeks,” “then just before,” “for days ahead,” “then,” “still,” “finally,” “now,” “suddenly,” “when things quieted down,” and “that night.” These signal transitions are used throughout the essay, mainly at the time of the “salvation.”

4. The process analysis of the understanding of how a revival meeting works is critical to the essay. Without this piece of information a reader who is not known with such things would not be able to connect with Hughes’s due to the lack of knowledge of such an event. The reader has to be acquainted with the material that he is reading to even gain a sort of relationship with the author. The fact that Hughes did lay out the process set a ground for the reader to connect to the story.

Language

1. Hughes’s language reveals that he was writing this story as if he were still a child, holding on to the feelings and thoughts of that time. During the time of the event, Hughes’s felt more confused and frustrated because Jesus would not come to him. He was beginning to feel afraid that Jesus would not come. “I wanted something to happen to me, but nothing happened.” Towards the end of the story this all changes to feelings of guilt, disillusionment, and sadness. “That night…I cried.” “I couldn’t bear to tell her that I had lied…and that now I didn’t believe there was a Jesus anymore, since he didn’t come to help me.”

2. The effect of the short sentences and the beginnings of the sentences with the word And, emphasize the idea of this being a child. This allows the reader to truly feel as if a child were telling the story, which would take the reader back to that time that event took place. Overall, this adds to the credibility that the story is in fact that of a confused and vulnerable child.

3. Hughes thought that when his aunt explained to him that he would “see” Jesus, he expected to literally “see” Jesus in flesh and blood like any other human being. His aunt and the other members of the church viewed the “seeing” of Jesus as something more spiritual and mental, feeling a close connection with God through their body and soul. The significance of this in Hughes’s story is the difference of perception between the two generations. Children take things literal, while adults take things more into consideration dealing with emotions, feelings, and thoughts.

Letter to the Later Generation

Letter to the Later Generation

This letter is intended for all of you children who are now being rocked to sleep. For those of you who will soon fall into a world where bombs, screams, and the sound of war are nowhere to be heard. The ticks of my clock have been replaced with the explosive ticks of guns. But here I am, hopeless and distressed. Closed shut into the bleakness of reality, longing for the return of the love of my life. The time that passes only makes me loose more faith. To come to think that the blood I smell came from him shouldn’t even cross my mind. But how can I just rest here, lying to myself, as if to think that he will one day come? In this world that we live in, we are filled with nothing more than the hate for the race of mankind. To those in the seat of absolute power, they seem to not care for the loss of so many innocent souls. I cry in despair that maybe this war can someday come to end. The sunrise and sunset are no longer visible through these clouds of black smoke that infest this city. The beautiful buildings that once adorned this capital are nothing more than crumbles and pieces of worthless cement. Something that meant so much before has no importance now. The only thing that one is concerned about is for the safety of one’s own life. To think about what will be tomorrow’s meal that is if there even is one. Supplies are so short that at times I wonder if I will one day die of hunger. Will I survive this disastrous war? Will I be able to live without the love of my life? Will I live to have children? It’s tragic to see things this way, but it’s even more devastating to realize that this is my reality. Being a woman of course, I have no opinion or say as to what I believe to be just and right. I am a twenty one year old woman living in Paris trying to figure out what will be of my life, and nothing more. To this male dominant society it is the “obligation” of the female nature to be a part of this war by working and staying home to care for the families. How dare a woman step into the shoes of a soldier, a warrior, being so fragile and vulnerable that is? The men shrivel at the thought that a woman step into fields of war. Yet, are not the nurses in the fields facing the same dangers as them? Why then can women not enlist? This notion of female inferiority has yet to sink into my brain. I don’t know if it is my stubbornness that does not allow it so, or perhaps, my better understanding of things. Now that the men are off to war, the women are given better job opportunities by replacing the men. That’s one positive outcome of this war. Maybe this will give the female race an opportunity to show the dominant male society that we are not as weak as they may regard us to be. It will show this culture that is engulfed with ignorance that the female and male races are of equivalence both in bronze and brains; that we can both accomplish and perform the same tasks that we involve ourselves in. Of course this is nothing more than another radical thought of my female brain. It is obvious that women are only needed for the time being. Once the males return, we go back to the way it used to be. For now, we have no choice but to listen to the sounds of war, the cries of misery and despair, the continuous gunshots in the battlefields, and the crumbling of precious buildings. The colors of the world have been washed away by the only two remaining colors that I now see: the grayness of the sky and the redness of the soldiers’ blood. Hopefully the later generations won’t go through as many hardships as us. There will be one day when the problems of nations could be solved with agreements and not with the unnecessary superfluous amount of human souls. These vast sites of destruction and catastrophe will eventually see the light of day. When all the smoke is gone and the land is clear of rotting blood, the children of the later generation shall prevail.