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A Rhetorical Analysis Of Tim O 'Brien's Style'

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Rhetorical Analsys

Novelist, Tim O'Brien, in his anecdote, "Style", connects the effects of war on both the soldiers and the victims. O'Brien's purpose is to reveal the dark contrast of the war-hardened soldiers, and the ravaged victims. He adopts a objective tone in order to convey the normality of the war and all of the death and pain brought on by it.

O'brien opens his anecdote by describing the village, the dancing girl, and the soldiers' reaction to the dancing girl. He constructs the dancing girl while the soldiers walk through the blown up village. O'Brien carefully uses a vague description of the girl: "she was maybe fourteen", "black hair" , "brown skin". O'brien guides the readers to thinking that the girl could be anyone …show more content…

O'Brien vilifies the soldiers as they what seems to be ruthlessly out of the burned out husk of a building. To show the desensitization of the soldiers he uses language such as "dead", "badly", and "dragged". These strong words sow feelings of fear and carelessness into the readers.

O'Brien ends his anecdote by showing the two completely different sides of the soldier platoon, nice and selfish. O'brien uses a recurring characters, Azar and Henry Dobbins, the recurring theme of dancing, and the constant comparison of two sides of the same coin of war. He uses Henry Dobbins as the opposite of Azar's obliviousness and insensitiveness. The recurring theme of dancing is obvious as azar mocks the little girl's dance, upsetting Henry. All of these recurring themes, characters, and comparisons make the last part of the anecdote reinforces the nature of war and the people involved in the war.

O'Brien uses recurring themes throughout the entire anecdote to guide the readers through the desensitization of the soldiers and the lamenting of the victims. His use of language is a powerful force, even though he conveys it through an objective

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