In writing, authors chose particular words and phrases to effectively convey their message or to engage the reader. Writer's word choices, also known as diction, can help communicate ideas, reveal emotion and opinions that they may have toward something or someone. There are many different levels of diction such as formal diction, used by Richard Rodriguez in his autobiography The Hunger of Memory, and neutral diction, used by Charles Bukowski in his novel Ham on Rye. The use of diction in these pieces make the stories come to life in the reader's head. Richard Rodriguez uses very formal diction in his autobiography,The Hunger of Memory, his words express his emotions and motives of being a writer. “I do not write as a modern-day Wordsworth …show more content…
“So many words were still unknown that when the butcher and the lady at the drugstore said something to me, exotic polysyllabic sounds would bloom in the midst of their sentences. Often, the speech of people in public seemed to be very loud, booming with confidence. The man behind the counter would literally ask, ‘What can I do for you?’ But by being firm and so clear, the sound of his voice said that he was a gringo; he belonged in the public society”(12). Rodriguez describes the way English sounds to him creating an image that the language was very complex to in his perspective. Not only does he believe that it’s complex but, he expresses how those people who knew how to speak English were confident with their speech and therefore were pertinent to the society. Charles Bukowski, author of Ham on Rye, uses neutral diction. “The first thing I remember is being under something.I saw a table leg, I saw the legs of people, and a portion of the tablecloth hanging down. It was dark under there, I liked being under there. It must have been in the Germany. I must have been between one and two years old. It was 1922. I felt good under the table. Nobody seemed to know that I was there”(1). Bukowski writes as if he were speaking. His diction makes the words flow and give the story a very laid back
“Figurative language can give shape to the difficult and the painful. It can make visible and ‘felt’ that which is invisible and ‘unfeelable.” - Mary Oliver. Descriptive Language is important because it expresses the tone and details the background of where and what the characters are feeling/ seeing. In the story Treasure Of Lemon Brown by Walter Dean Myers, and the story Two Kinds by Amy Tan, the authors use figurative Language to develop the mood and the background of the story.
Diction is the way the author speaks to the audience. Mr. Clancy makes many of his points through the use of diction. His whole purpose from making the speech was to express how biased the Johnson-Reed act was. He used his words to sway those members of congress who have
What she previously thought was “bad” English is merely a language variation, each variation with its own history and culture. Lanehart now believes these variations need to be celebrated and that they don't always need to be corrected. The more Lanehart learned, the more she believed that English can vary as long as we can all understand each other. Lanehart decides she doesn’t want to correct people anymore.
In The Hound of the Baskervilles, the author uses diction to create the tone of the novel. “Dr. Mortimer started violently” ( Doyle, 49). In this quote the word violently creates a terrifying tension between Dr. Mortimer and Sherlock Holmes. “Mr. Holmes, they were the footprints of a gigantic
Richard Rodriguez had written a book that people could relate to especially if their parents weren’t originally from the United States. When I encountered the passage “-it was unsettling to hear my parents struggle with English” (27). It reminded me of how my mother who originally grew up and lived in the Philippines and struggles with English when she speaks fast. Growing up I began to notice that she made grammatical errors that would often confuse me. My dad didn’t stay in the Philippines as long as my mum did but even he has mispronunciations time to time when I talk to him.
Warren is quite dynamic in his writing, as he shifts comfortably between the prose-like voice employed
The diction he uses is dramatic words to describe a small object. He uses syntax to make his point be understood by the reader. He uses long sentences to really describe the leftover food so the reader understands how he feels about it. He uses imagery to paint a clear picture.
Written by Gloria Anzaldua, “How to Tame a Wild Tongue”, is an opinion easy , a retrospection of her past and a story about identity and recognition of a wild tongue. The following is a rhetorical analysis and personal response of this easy . My analysis will be divided into 4 separate parts including intended audience, main claim, purpose and situation. (a) Intended audience : The first thing that anyone who even skims through this easy would notice is Anzaldua’s multi-lingual language use.
The United States is made up of some of the most diverse and interesting cultures in the world. Jamila Lyiscott proves this by showing her different dialects and how they are all equally important. Lyiscott believes that the way she speaks towards her parents, towards her friends, and towards her colleagues are all one in the same. Throughout the entirety of her speech, Lyiscott changes up her vocal patterns and dialects so that the audience can understand first hand what each of these dialects are. When she talks about her father, Lyiscott uses her native tongue, when she talks to her fellow neighbors and close friends she switches it up to a more urbanized dialect, and when she is in school she masks the other two dialects with a professional sounding language.
His style of writing he uses is very straightforward. He wants you to understand him, so he tells it like it is. Often times he speaks informally as if it were just you and him, making the read more personal like a talk with a friend. At some parts he will get into detail , and show his sophisticated language that he knows. When he speaks of cruel times he uses more sophisticated language, and you really feel like you are there because of the imagery he provides.
The power of language We all have some form of language limitations, no matter where we come from and what our background is. “Mother tongue” by Amy Tan and “How to Tame a Wild Tongue” by Gloria Anzaldua both share similar themes in their stories that demonstrate how they both deal with how different forms of the same language are portrayed in society. In both stories they speak about what society declares the right way of speech and having to face prejudgment, the two authors share their personal experiences of how they’ve dealt with it.
Although his work received heavy criticism for conspiring against the industrial progress, he made a valid point concerning the mistakes humanity was making by turning away from nature. From beginning to end, Wordsworth used meticulous details to convey meaning and argue his point. At this time, it may be crucial for society to wonder, is the world too much with us or are we not enough with the
Diction is an extremely important aspect of writing and it usually affects the writer’s whole story. Almost all authors utilize diction to impact the mood and tone of their writing. Diction is the choice of words or phrases that a writer intentionally chooses to influence other aspects of their story. Authors use commonly use diction to develop tone and mood in their stories. Tone is the author’s attitude towards a specific subject.
Throughout ‘Hunger of Memory’, the readers develop a sense of who Richard Rodriguez is. It becomes interesting and rather easy to note that he has spent most of his childhood life in ‘double’, whether it is from a linguistic perspective or an educational perspective. He gradually separates himself from his Spanish -Speaking family, while, forming a close bond with this English-Speaking public. However, what seems to be a bit tricky is how to identify an individual who undergoes such transition of a complete assimilation. According to Richard Rodriguez, the essayist, Richard Hoggart successfully developed an idea that seemed to define Rodriguez’ life completely.
My final thoughts are that it's not the words that mean the most in a story it's what is said in between them. It’s the underlying meaning in a story, the characters feelings expressed through