Review for rhetorical analysis essay - timed write tomorrow
ELEMENTS OF A RHETORICAL ANALYSIS BODY PARAGRAPH:
Thematic statement (optional): What ideas about human nature are shown/revealed in this part of the text? Like a mini-hook, but used to open the paragraph instead of the essay as a whole. Example from Chapter 6: The first kiss--that moment when anticipation becomes reality, and confirms that our feelings and love is real.
Claim: Author uses _____ (device) in order to ________ (purpose). Example from Chapter 4: Fitzgerald uses the repetition of the color white to show the conflicting emotions that Daisy has toward her wedding day.
Evidence: Meaningful 1/2 sentence to introduce a direct quotation from the text that shows the device in action. Meaningful 1/2 sentence needs to include author's name, an argument verb (e.g., illustrates, suggests, reveals, asserts, displays, etc.), and a description of what to notice in the quotation that follows... Example from Chapter 5: Fitzgerald portrays the inward tension Daisy feels when he writes that she sits "frightened but graceful on the edge of a stiff chair."
Analysis: Choose most important individual words and discuss connotations. Example from Chapter 5: By using the word "stiff" to describe the chair, Fitzgerald reminds us that even the furniture echoes the tension the characters feel in this awkward reunion between two former lovers. The chair is as rigid and "stiff" as the past, and there is nothing Gatsby or anyone else can do to change that.
Link: What does this device reveal in terms of theme or argument? Why does this part of the text matter? Example from Chapter 4: Thus, the repetition of white confirms both Daisy's innocence and blankness--she is making the wrong choices for ignorant reasons, and will end up lonely and cold. The color white is often associated with weddings in America, as it connotes purity and newness, but as we consider the sacrifice that Daisy makes in choosing stability over passion and love, it's worth remembering that in many other cultures, the color white is more appropriate for a funeral than a wedding.
HW: Prepare for rhetorical essay--as practice, consider choosing a passage from chapters 1-7 and note striking words, devices, and write a thesis explaining Fitzgerald's purpose/argument in the passage.
