Vocabulary
Diction:
Toni Morrison mostly uses concrete diction rather than abstract diction. She shows the reader a concrete image instead of telling, or leaving anything up to the imagination. “He reached through brambles lined with blood-drawing thorns thick as knives that cut through his shirt sleeves and trousers” (Morrison 160).
Rhetoric:
John Howard Griffin’s friend, P.D. East, is a journalist who writes about improving race relations and segregation. He uses rhetoric to argue his points.
“He has been so persecuted for seeking justice in race relations I was afraid my presence anywhere near him might further jeopardize him” (Griffin 71).
Bombastic:
Christophe is a bombastic character John Howard Griffin meets on a train to Mississippi. …show more content…
Two were lying open-eyed in sawdust; a third pumped blood down the dress of the main one…” (Morrison 175-176).
Tone:
In Black like Me, the author’s tone is sympathetic towards blacks, and critical of whites behavior. He is fed up over the hypocrisy and racism of whites.
“He cannot understand how the white man can show the most demeaning aspects of his nature and at the same time delude himself into thinking he is inherently superior” (Griffin 83).
Appeal:
In Black Like Me, the author tries to appeal to a young man he encounters with emotional experiences. He does this to further his agenda of racial equality, and prove why blacks are oppressed.
“Soon he will either desert his home or become so unbearable he is kicked out. This leaves the mother to support the children alone. To keep food in their bellies, she has to spend most of her time away from them, working. This leaves the children to the streets, prey to any sight, any conversation, any sexual experiment that comes along to make their lives more interesting or pleasurable” (Griffin …show more content…
Paradox:
Paradox is used in Black Like Me, when a group of black men discuss how white people cause their oppression and then blame them for it. It is a paradox because it’s illogical and self-contradictory.
“They put us low, and then blame us for being down there and say that since we are low, we can’t deserve our rights” (Griffin 40).
Dialect:
Sethe in Beloved speak with a southern dialect, even though she lived in the outskirts of Cincinnati. This comes from growing up as slaves on a Georgia plantation.
“No, miss, I never touched no velvet” (Morrison 41).
Understatement:
In Beloved, when Stamp Paid and Paul D are discussing Stamp’s wife’s death, it is an understatement. The way Stamp discusses how he broke her neck is made to sound casual, but it makes the reader feel shocked from the lack of expression.
“I looked at the back of her neck. She had a real small neck. I decided to break it. You know, like a twig - just snap it. I been low but that was as low as I ever got” (Morrison
Diction:
Toni Morrison mostly uses concrete diction rather than abstract diction. She shows the reader a concrete image instead of telling, or leaving anything up to the imagination. “He reached through brambles lined with blood-drawing thorns thick as knives that cut through his shirt sleeves and trousers” (Morrison 160).
Rhetoric:
John Howard Griffin’s friend, P.D. East, is a journalist who writes about improving race relations and segregation. He uses rhetoric to argue his points.
“He has been so persecuted for seeking justice in race relations I was afraid my presence anywhere near him might further jeopardize him” (Griffin 71).
Bombastic:
Christophe is a bombastic character John Howard Griffin meets on a train to Mississippi. …show more content…
Two were lying open-eyed in sawdust; a third pumped blood down the dress of the main one…” (Morrison 175-176).
Tone:
In Black like Me, the author’s tone is sympathetic towards blacks, and critical of whites behavior. He is fed up over the hypocrisy and racism of whites.
“He cannot understand how the white man can show the most demeaning aspects of his nature and at the same time delude himself into thinking he is inherently superior” (Griffin 83).
Appeal:
In Black Like Me, the author tries to appeal to a young man he encounters with emotional experiences. He does this to further his agenda of racial equality, and prove why blacks are oppressed.
“Soon he will either desert his home or become so unbearable he is kicked out. This leaves the mother to support the children alone. To keep food in their bellies, she has to spend most of her time away from them, working. This leaves the children to the streets, prey to any sight, any conversation, any sexual experiment that comes along to make their lives more interesting or pleasurable” (Griffin …show more content…
Paradox:
Paradox is used in Black Like Me, when a group of black men discuss how white people cause their oppression and then blame them for it. It is a paradox because it’s illogical and self-contradictory.
“They put us low, and then blame us for being down there and say that since we are low, we can’t deserve our rights” (Griffin 40).
Dialect:
Sethe in Beloved speak with a southern dialect, even though she lived in the outskirts of Cincinnati. This comes from growing up as slaves on a Georgia plantation.
“No, miss, I never touched no velvet” (Morrison 41).
Understatement:
In Beloved, when Stamp Paid and Paul D are discussing Stamp’s wife’s death, it is an understatement. The way Stamp discusses how he broke her neck is made to sound casual, but it makes the reader feel shocked from the lack of expression.
“I looked at the back of her neck. She had a real small neck. I decided to break it. You know, like a twig - just snap it. I been low but that was as low as I ever got” (Morrison