Style in Rhetoric, The Five Canons, Style Analysis Examples

STYLE IN RHETORIC

Remember to consider some of the overall frameworks of rhetoric, which Aristotle called the art of finding all the "available means of persuasion".  The largest framework is that of the rhetorical triangle, meaning audience, subject, and speaker.  In other words, you must know who you are trying to persuade, what you are trying to persuade them to do, and who is doing the persuading.

Under this, consider the rhetorical appeals: Ethos, Logos, and Pathos. The rhetorician, or the persuader, can use their credibility or trustworthiness, also known Ethos, to get their audience to listen to his or her every word.  In order to listen to a person, you first have to trust them.  Next, you have Logos, or reason.  Logos comes from an old Greek word that means "word" , "reason", "computation" and "account."  This is where you can use scientific knowledge, numbers, or logic to get your point across.  You are appealing to the thinking, rational side of human nature.  Lastly, consider Pathos .  Pathos shares the same root as the word "pathological", almost as if it is a sickness that overwhelms the body. It means something that fills you with a sense of "calamity" or "emotion".  This appeals to the basest, most animal part of the human mind: think "danger", "shame" or "embarrassment."  It is using emotions to manipulate your audience.

Going further into the fine details of rhetoric, we then see the Canons.  Think of the canons as the "rules" or "laws" that allow you to bring out the appeals and make them work.  They are all the different ways you can bring out Ethos, Logos, and Pathos.  The canons include Memory, which means tapping into the cultural memories of your audience.  An example would be tapping into the memory of an important historical event such as the election of Donald Trump.  The second canon, Invention, means gathering as much data as you can to get your point across. For example, if someone did a survey of a thousand people to see how they feel about the presidential election, this would be Invention. Arrangement means the order in which you give your ideas.  For example, you might ask whether you will put a question or quote in the introduction paragraph or the conclusion, or whether you will put the opposing point of view in the second paragraph.  Delivery is the manner in which you convey your ideas.  Will it be in a video, a skit, a song, a novel, an essay? Lastly, the most important Canon is style.  Style are all the choices the author makes with language. You've likely studied style before when you learned about words like simile, metaphor, hyperbole, and tone.  It can also focus on how an author puts their sentences together.  Does an author use parallel phrases, clauses, long sentences, short sentences?

Here are some notes outlining the the big ideas in the above paragraph:

Review of Rhetoric

• Rhetorical Triangle: Audience, Subject, Speaker
• Appeals: Ethos, Logos, Pathos
• Canons of Rhetoric: This is how you ACHIEVE the appeals
• Memory, Invention, Arrangement, Style, Delivery
• Memory-- How can I tap into cultural events everyone will remember, like the rise a fall of the fidget spinner fad?
• Invention--- What ideas should I gather? What do I need to learn before I try to convince you? What kind of evidence would convince my audience? 
• Arrangement: Where should I put this idea? Should I put this first? Should I put this last? 
• STYLE: What kind of sentences should I use? Should they be long sentences? Should they be short sentences? Should I include a metaphor, simile, personification? What kind of words would convince my audience? 

Style 

Probably one of the hardest canons to truly master is that of style.  Style has do with choices.  What specific choices does the author use with language, word choice, and tone?  In a way, it is like taking apart a car engine or a computer to see how it works.  In AP Language and Composition you will be learning how to do a style analysis, which means analyzing or looking closely at a text to see how it works.  Keep in mind that many different things count as text: movies, advertisements, video games, 

What is style?

• The way that the author write
• The way the author creates the tone of the piece/ text
• Style is like taking apart a car engine to see how it works --Analysis 
• Taking apart a computer

Examples of Style Analysis: 

Introduction Paragraph: 

         "The Chase" is a first-person narrative essay that reveals the inner thoughts and personality of  Annie Dillard's childhood persona: an adventurous, wildly mischievous, yet nonchalant kid, not afraid to throw snowballs at passing cars, even if it cracks the window.  Dillard's purpose is to show that people should conquer their problems by diving headfirst into them, even if they cause a bit of damage.  In other words, people should take risks and give their full effort.  To emphasize this boldness, she uses hyperbolic language and metaphors.  She emphasizes the liveliness of her actions and the fact that most people do not share this energy toward life. 

Body Paragraph: 

       Dillard uses a hyperbolic style to show that most adults would not be willing to exert the same effort that the man used to chase them.  Dillard uses exaggerated language to emphasize that our actions and choices should also be exaggerated.  When the chase first began, the narrator says that, "the air" in her neighborhood "was cold" and that "every breath tore my throat" (74).  If the wind was literally "tearing" her throat, she could be seriously injured; this shows her excitement, adrenaline, and fear as a child, but it also shows that she was fully engaged in the moment.  The chase resonated because of its sheer length.  On page 75, the author overemphasizes her language by saying that the chase could cover multiple countries, even though it took place just in Pittsburgh. Also on page 75, Dillard uses violent imagery to express the narrator's satisfaction with the chase:  "He could only have fried Mikey Fahey and me in boiling oil, say, or dismembered us piecemeal, or staked us to ant hills."  To evoke hyperbole, the author uses diction like "boiling, dismembered, and staked" to show that violent emotions connect to the joyous thrill of being chased. Ultimately, the author uses three different types of hyperbole to tell us to jump at our goals. 

Dillard uses metaphorical language to express the swiftness of the chase as well as the everlasting impact of the events before and after the chase.  The use of metaphors in Dillard's writing provides liveliness to this literary piece by emphasizing that we should live our lives passionately as the moments come.  Before the chase begins, the narrator explains how in order to be successful in football, you must fling yourself passionately in order to stop your enemy" (73).  This shows how the narrator transitions this same thought into the chase as she runs passionately away from her pursuer.  Also, on page 73, the narrator mentions her "boy arm" as a symbol for being a tomboy and fitting in with "the guys."  This shows how the narrator was clearly a part of the chase and the arm is also used as a way to quickly transition to the chase as it goes from talking about the arm to then talking about winter.  Ultimately, the author uses metaphors to show just how quickly the chase occurred and just how exciting it was. 

Conclusion 

In short, she uses exaggerated language to argue we should live life forthrightly, with adrenaline, excitement, and curiosity.  When Dillard throws the snowball at the hapless driver, she interferes with the ordinary routine.  When there is discomfort, a cracked windshield and a chase, people sometimes enjoy the chaos and savor the moment.   Because the world is often dull and by-the-numbers, we tend to live by half-measures, so Dillard instead hopes the audience takes risks, acts spontaneous, and learns from its mistakes.   



Consider what is in this paragraph: 

• The topic sentence is one to two sentences. 
• I situate the text and give context "When the chase first began." 
• I use different types of evidence throughout: mixed quotes, paraphrase, and direct quote 
• I have a concluding sentence that goes along well with the topic sentence.