Terms for Literary and Rhetorical Analysis

Terms for Literary and Rhetorical Analysis • Devices, Strategies, and Techniques for AP English Language and Composition

Structures and types of arguments Literary and figurative devices Tone and style Rhetorical devices Pick a category... Syntax

Lines of Proof Anticipated Argument Rhetorical appeals Syllogism Logical fallacies Identify Back to categories Rhetorical Techniques

Pathos Logos Ethos Rhetorical Appeals Back to rhetorical techniques

Ethos—invoking character • “We believe good men more fully and more readily than others” -Aristotle • Establish the morality of the speaker, or • Show that the speaker has good intentions, or • Show that speaker is credible or is an authority • Common ethical appeals: • God and religion • Claim something is the RIGHT thing to do • Personal history that reflects good deeds • Use “we” to imply unity with audience • Use expert testimony to support self • Ask yourself: • What character is the speaker presenting? • How? • Is that character reliable enough that you can accept her/his argument?

Back to Rhetorical Appeals Ethos • In an argument promoting strict standards for toxic emissions, Al Gore might: • Establish his own twenty year crusade to protect the environment • Cite evidence from credible PhDs and organizations that have conducted studies that support his claim • In a speech to announce her candidacy for Governor of North Carolina, Libby Dole might: • Reference her work with the red cross • Establish her selfless goals to benefit the population of the state • Tell an anecdote about attending church with her family

Pathos—emotional appeal • Stir the emotions of the audience • Use audience’s anger, fear, patriotism, sympathy to call them into action • Use CHARGED DICTION—words with emotional connotation • Tell emotional anecdotes • Create imagery that inspires emotion

Back to Rhetorical Appeals Pathos • In a speech rousing an army to fight courageously, a general might: • Allude to soldiers of the past who have demonstrated courage • Reference a recent event that evokes anger • Remind soldiers of the families they hope to protect by winning their war • In a letter encouraging county commissioners to invest in a poverty-stricken area of town, a person might: • Describe sympathetic images of suffering in the community • Narrate an anecdote about a man who died from heat stroke because he could not afford an air conditioner

Logos—logical appeals • Use logical explanations • Use reasons to support ideas • Substantiate/support your claims • Deductive reasoning • Syllogism • Enthymeme

Logos • In an editorial arguing in favor of wire tapping without warrants, a writer might: • Cite a survey that shows a high percentage of public support for the program • Provide evidence that such a program can reduce the threat of terrorism • In a discussion convincing your parents to allow you a later curfew, you might: • Establish the conditions under which a person ought to be permitted adult responsibilities • Show evidence that your responsible friends are permitted later curfews and have not broken them or been harmed during later hours

Deductive Logic • If a fact is generally true about a group, then it is true about parts of that group. • For example, if all students are unique, then Kandes is unique. • Used when a believable truth or principle can be used to determine truth for a specific case • Syllogism

Deductive Logic—Syllogism • Major premise: a definition or statement of truth • Must be general enough to be accepted as true • Should be specific enough to prepare the minor premise and conclusion • Minor premise: an example of that definition or statement • Generally requires evidence • Conclusion: What logically makes sense following the major and minor premises It’s like the transitive property of equality: if A=B and B=C then A=C So deductive logic is mathematical

Major Premise Minor Premise Conclusion Syllogism example • All humans are mortal. • Socrates is human. • Socrates is mortal.

Syllogism example • Rules that restrict free speech are unconstitutional. • The dress code restricts students from expressing themselves freely. • The dress code is unconstitutional. 14

Back to Structures Back to Rhetorical Appeals Syllogisms—some suggestions • Use syllogisms to prove a specific case. • Start by figuring out what you want to prove (for example: the dress code is unfair) • Then figure out what major premise you can use to make your point (for example: rules that stifle individuality are unfair) • Write and support your minor premise with examples, statistics, etc.

Identify Back to rhetorical techniques • Speaker attempts to identify or connect with the audience by alluding to what they have in common: • Shared history • Shared heros • Shared values • Shared religion • Shared beliefs • Shared mythos • Sometimes use of 1st person plural (we, us, our) can help speaker identify with audience.

Lines of Proof Back to rhetorical techniques Analogy • Socrates--Plato--Aristotle--Alexander the Great • Ancient Greek philosopher, scientist, etc. • Wrote Rhetorica • Analytical thinker--classified everything into categories, subcategories, etc. • Categorized 64 lines of proof • Structures for logical argumentation used commonly by people constructing arguments. Logical Division A Fortiori Causes Produce the Same Results Presence and Absence of Cause and Effect Consistency with Past Action Motives of Self Gain Correlative Ideas

Motives of Self Gain Back to Lines of Proof • If a person can gain or can prevent loss, then they are likely to act in order to do so. • If Ellen were to cheat, she would avoid failing 10th grade. Ellen probably cheated.

Correlative Ideas Back to Lines of Proof • If an act is good or likely to happen, then it is right or likely that a person cause it to happen. • If it is acceptable for children to be paddled for misbehavior, then it should be acceptable for teachers to paddle them when they misbehave.

Presence and Absence of Cause and Effect Back to Lines of Proof • If a cause is present, then the effect is also present. • If a cause is absent, then the effect is also absent. • The teacher’s excessive homework assignments were the cause of my failure. If she would stop giving so much homework, I would pass.

Consistency with Past Action Back to Lines of Proof • If a behavior or fact has generally existed in the past, then it is likely or good that it exists in the present. • America has always been a land of opportunity for people of all ethnicities. • America should continue to offer citizenship to people of Arab nations.

Causes Produce the Same Results Back to Lines of Proof • If two results are the same, then their causes are the same. • Jessie’s parents valued education, and Jessie succeeded in school. Martha also succeeded in school, so it is likely that her parents valued education.

A Fortiori Back to Lines of Proof • Latin: “from the stronger” • If X is true in a less likely case, then X must also be true in a more likely case. • We consider Bethany, who has only killed one person in her life, an immoral monster, so we must consider Walker, who has murdered many times, immoral as well.

Logical Division Back to Lines of Proof • If result X has several possible causes (A, B, C), but all but one of those causes (B & C) can be eliminated, then the remaining cause (A) must exist as the sole cause of the result. • You can fail because of poor attendance or low grades. Your grades are A’s, so you must have missed school too many days.

Analogy Back to Lines of Proof • Two situations that are alike in most observable ways will tend to be alike in other ways. • The Soviet Union and China both had communist revolutions… • Soviet dictators corrupted communist priciples, so China probably did, too.

Anticipated Argument Back to rhetorical techniques • When a writer predicts an opponent’s argument and addresses them in his own argument. • But doesn’t it harm his argument? • If he doesn’t, then the opponent’s position is presented unopposed and is assumed to be true. • Two kinds of anticipated argument: • Concession • Refutation

Concession • Conceding or admitting validity or truth in opponent’s argument. • In an argument promoting the war against terror, President Bush might admit that his opponents are correct when they argue for peace, because war is only a last resort.

Refutation Back to rhetorical techniques • Acknowledging your opponent’s argument and explaining why it is invalid, illogical, or false • In an argument promoting the war against terror, President Bush might acknowledge his opponent’s call for peace but argue that peace will not generate itself when violent terrorists are attacking. Peace will be made only when war can be ended.

Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc Opposing a Straw Man Equivo-cating Faulty Generalization Begging the Question Faulty Analogy Red Herring Slippery Slope False Dilemna Non-Sequitor Ad Hominem Logical fallacies Back to rhetorical techniques • An argument that is, either deliberately or accidentally, flawed in its logic. • The Informed Argument isolates 15 logical fallacies. Several fallacies are defined in the slides that follow.

Back to Logical Fallacies Faulty Analogy • Making an argument by comparing two scenarios, situations, or events. • The analogy becomes faulty when the comparison is unreasonable to the audience. Employees are like nails. Just as nails must be hit in the head in order to make them work, so must employees.

President Roosevelt’s New Deal was not a sound policy. His upper-class background made him an incapable representative for the poor. Back to Logical Fallacies Ad Hominem Argument • “To the man” • Rather than arguing an issue, the speaker directs an argument toward the individual.

The economy was in great shape when President Clinton was in office, but it fell apart when President Bush took office. He must be the cause. Back to Logical Fallacies Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc • “After, therefore because of” • An argument that suggests that because one event followed another, then it must have happened as a result of the event.

Eating McDonald’s is bad for you because it’s unhealthy Back to Logical Fallacies Begging the Question • “Circular Reasoning” • When the premise from which an argument is presented is only believable to someone who already believes conclusion. • Usually, premise and conclusion are essentially the same.

Back to Logical Fallacies Equivocating • Using vague or ambiguous language to mislead an audience. • Eg. freedom, justice, real, right, society, power. America is a land of truth and justice, and justice is what will be dealt to any nation supporting the terrorists.

Back to Logical Fallacies Opposing a Straw Man • A straw man is an artificial or imagined opponent with positions that are easy to refute. • Speakers will sometimes refute the “straw man” rather than debating the actual opponent. • Pretending to oppose your opponent by refuting only an extreme position from the opposing point of view. Students will argue that X-STOP prevents them from obtaining research they need for their courses, but research of pornographic images and offensive rap lyrics is hardly pertinent to their studies.

But officer, I had to speed; otherwise, I would have missed curfew, which is illegal, too. Back to Logical Fallacies False Dilemma • Posing only two options (as solutions, etc.) when other possibilities exist.

Back to Logical Fallacies Non-Sequitur • “It does not follow” • Presenting a conclusion that does not follow logically from the evidence or explanation. • It is important to question the assumptions, or warrants, being used in these arguments. Little Nicky stars Adam Sandler, one of the funniest comedians of our time. The movie has to be hilarious.

Sliding Down a Slippery Slope • Arguing that one small step will inevitably lead to extreme consequences. If we permit cloning of cells for medical purposes, then, before you know it, we’ll have armies of cloned humans, an Aryan Nation, perhaps, as Hitler once conceived.

Back to Logical Fallacies Faulty Generalization • Arguing that if something is generally true about a group, then it must be true about any part of that group. • The generalization becomes faulty when it is too broad or fails to recognize the possibility of variation within a group. • This fallacy is a reminder that premises must be believable. Democrats defend a woman’s right to abort a pregnancy. Felicia is a democrat; therefore, she must be pro-choice.

Back to Logical Fallacies Red Herring • A red herring is a stinky fish, often used to throw dogs off a trail. • As a logical fallacy, a red herrings is when you make an argument that does not relate to the issue at hand in an effort to lead your reader off the actual topic. The school newspaper should not be protected by the 1st Amendment. The advisor is irresponsible and the students like to play with spinny chairs.

Symbolism Apostrophe Imagery Personification Metaphor Allusion Simile Back to categories Literary & Figurative Devices

Back to literary devices Imagery • Using concrete language to create sensory details. • Frequently visual images. • Also: • Smell • Taste • Touch • Sound • Here and there, where the vaporish clouds had rolled apart to reveal a clump of trees or a bare, jagged, fang-like snag of rocks, the reverberations of their haunting melody sang out like a choir of brass in an orchestra. Henry Miller Miller calls on concrete imagery to create a sense of mysterious beauty for his setting, the Greek island of Corfu.

Back to literary devices Allusion • A reference, usually subtle or indirect, to another work of art or literature • Most common are Biblical allusions, references to the characters and stories of the Bible • In Ayn Rand’s Anthem Equality renames himself Prometheus when he discovers the value of the self and the word “ego.” The name Prometheus alludes to Greek mythology and suggests the character’s ability to deliver new knowledge to the masses, even at the risk of offending the gods, which the Greek Prometheus did by brining fire from Mt. Olympus to humans.

Back to literary devices Simile • A comparison of one thing (character, event, object, setting) with something it is not. • Comparison uses “like” or “as” to indicate similarity. • In the early afternoon it was always quiet, the whole place tossing slowly in tropical repose, as if the building itself swung on a miraculous hammock... • from Americana by Don DeLillo • DeLillo emphasizes the relaxed, post-lunch atmosphere of the office by comparing the feeling to that of swinging on a hammock.

Back to literary devices Metaphor • An association of one thing (character, event, object, setting) with something it is not. • Says one thing IS another. Does not say it is similar or like... • The moon is full tonight • an illustration for sheet music, • an image in Matthew Arnold • glimmering on the English Channel, • or a ghost over a smoldering battlefield • in one of the history plays • from “Moon” by Billy Collins • Collins gives the reader as sense of the moon’s mystery and artistic quality by associating it with other images, particularly that of a ghost over a battlefield.

Back to literary devices Personification • Assigning human or human-like qualities to non-human and inanimate objects. • Through one of the broken panes I heard the rain impinge upon the earth, the fine incessant needles of water playing in the sodden beds. • from “Araby” by James Joyce • Joyce adds life, perhaps even willpower, to the rain by choosing the action verb “playing” instead of falling or plunging

Back to literary devices Apostrophe • Similar to personification • Addressing or speaking to inanimate objects as if they are human • “You are loosed from your moorings, and are free; I am fast in my chains, and am a slave! You move merrily before the gentle gale, and I sadly before the bloody whip! You are freedom’s soft-winged angels, that fly round the world; I am confined in bands of iron!” • from Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass • Douglass speaks to the sailboats as if they are free men, comparing them to himself, a slave contemplating escape.

GREEN with ENVY Back to literary devices Symbolism • The use of a physical object, character, or setting to represent an abstract idea or to parallel a character. • Colors can also be symbolic • Allegory: when a story consists of a series of symbols and is symbolic in itself = KNOWLEDGE

Declarative Imperative Interrogative Exclamatory Simple Compound Complex Syntax devices Length Back to categories Syntax

Sentence length • The average sentence ranges from 12-20 words. • Sentences that are significantly shorter or longer than that average range might imply rhetorical intent. • Long sentences: • Tend to imply elaboration and increased complexity • Might suit a more academic or educated audience • But could imply unpunctuated rambling • Tend to slow pacing Pacing is the rate at which an author’s prose flow. A faster pace implies intensity, whereas slower pacing might imply contentment or calm or might serve as contrast to a building pace/intensity.

Terms for Literary and Rhetorical Analysis