Author J.D Vance, born and raised in Middletown, Ohio, grew up a hillbilly. He, unlike many others in his area, however, was able to break free from the detrimental culture of the white poor. Through education and perseverance, he has come to write a memoir with the purpose of enlightening readers about the true lives of hillbillies. Vance’s ability to fluently utilize tone and diction contributes to the purpose of the memoir, for his vivid anecdotes allow the reader to experience the culture vicariously through him. The author also produces a cultural notion with respect to the American Dream; he employs that, contrary to popular belief, that dream can still be achieved today. This incorporation of culture, effective tone, and effective diction …show more content…
This fluctuation promotes the overall purpose, for when Vance sets the stage for a particular time in his life with strong tone and diction, the reader is then more capable of understanding and appreciating Vance’s life and the hillbilly culture as a whole. For example, when expressing one of his most traumatizing childhood stories, the author evades alleviating the scenario. Blatantly telling of the time in which his Aunt Lori nearly overdosed on drugs, Vance writes, “Lori woke up when Mamaw and her friend Kathy placed Lori in a cold bathtub. Her boyfriend, meanwhile, wasn't responding” (45). Vance’s candid tone and unconcealed imagery observed in this anecdote employ effective rhetoric and fulfill the purpose, for the intimate details of his own life as a hillbilly provide great insight to the still existing problems and experiences faced by hillbillies today. In a different part of the book, Vance transitions the mood by relaying another anecdote, this time with a completely different tone and diction. He discusses the sorrow he faced with losing his Mamaw, writing, “That was when I broke down and released the tears that I’d held back during the previous weeks” (172). Introducing a tone of despair adds variation to Vance’s writing and introduces an intimate side of the author, thus pulling the reader closer to the story. The different …show more content…
In order to inform the reader on life as a hillbilly, the novel investigates the group as a whole by analyzing, discussing, and recounting the culture (parallel structure). For example, Vance discusses the American Dream- the notion that through hard work, any US citizen is capable of success. In the present day, it is not uncommon (litote) for a person to believe that the American Dream is no longer of substance. However, Vance makes evident that, despite what the general population believes, the American dream is absolutely achievable as of today. He writes, “What separates the successful from the unsuccessful are the expectations that they had for their own lives. If you believe that hard work pays off, then you work hard and you succeed. And I want people to understand something I learned only recently: I am lucky enough to live the American Dream, and so are you” (9). Growing up with a drug addict of a mother, no father figure, no money, and barely any education, Vance is almost guaranteed lack of success. Through determination, will, and ethic, however, Vance freed himself from the burdens of his town and family and emerged as an author and lawyer who uses his own life as an example to all that with hard work and intention, anyone can break from an unhealthy, inimical environment and strive to become successful. Additionally, this cultural aspect is connected to the purpose of the memoir; Vance’s intention is that through
Beyond by Graham Mcnamee was a fantastic book. Beyond was an extremely suspenseful and mysterious book. Jane, the protagonist, is a girl from a small town in Canada, and she has endured a bunch in her life. She got electrocuted, shot in the head with a nail, drank drain cleaner, and she was born without a heartbeat. A spirt forced her to shoot herself with a nail gun, drink drain cleaner, and touch a power line.
Immigrant, Harry Bernstein, in his memoir, The Dream, recounts the many struggles that he and his family endured while living in poverty in England and later on settling into their new and strange home in Chicago. Harry Bernstein's reason for writing this moving memoir is to show how anything is possible if the correct amount of zeal is applied. He creates an exciting atmosphere with the use a relate-able mood using an ethos rhetorical strategy. Adults and teenagers are able to relate to this piece of writing by applying ourselves to the struggles that he went through and relating them to our own lives.
When you feel like you don’t belong, everything can feel foreign to you. A place that you’ve spent your whole life can feel just as unfamiliar as one visited for the first time. In the short story “The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven” by Sherman Alexie, we meet a character that feels out of place everywhere he goes. Due to his Native American heritage in a white American culture, he feels like there is no true place for him to call home. The narrator expresses this by saying “Sometimes, though, I would forget where I was and get lost.
Option 1 Tim Gautreaux used his flair for writing short story narratives to reflect Cajun culture in Louisiana. This essay explicitly focuses on analyzing his works: “Floyd’s Girl” and “Easy Pickings” and how they convey the same root message: cultural preservation. Gautreaux’s emphasis on religion, food, language, community cohesion, and devotion to the land of Louisiana all serve to endorse cultural preservation amongst Cajuns. In addition, his ability to present Cajuns and Southern-Americans as polar-opposites stresses an “us versus them” framework, which discourages assimilation into American culture. The polarization between the two is emphasized by his representation of Southern-American people as belligerent aggressors, who are prone to stealing due to their low appreciation for hard work, as opposed to Cajuns who are portrayed as non-threatening and value hard work.
The novel goes through many recurring themes such as child abuse, social and economic differences, and legitimacy. These themes not only impact the main character but all the characters as a whole. It is the harrowing story of how Ruth Anne “Bone” Boatwright, a child must learn to cope and deal with the many terrible atrocities that are inflicted upon her by her stepfather, “Daddy Glen.” Before Bone could even coherently make a judgment upon herself she was labeled as an outcast. She was a sin and mistake that should be labeled as such for the world to know about it.
In a blog from Project Implicit, Jordan Axt communicates the results of a study he conducted from the Project Implicit website. He hypothesized that most people were to change their responses when asked a question about race because it was the “socially acceptable” response. Axt noted that the “[r]esults showed that more direct items, like comfort with having Black neighbors, were thought to produce more socially desirable responding.” The additional tests he included into his experiment “suggest[ed] that some participants likely altered their responses when asked about more socially sensitive issues.” In the 1980’s Brent Staples wrote about the same “socially acceptable” standards; however, they were to be afraid or against African Americans.
The Horizontal World Rhetorical Analysis In a 2006 memoir about her home state of North Dakota, author Debra Marquart describes both the clichéd landscape and the often-unnoticed greatness of the region. Not only is Debra Marquart’s memoir a personal account, it is also supported with historical knowledge of the area. This factual information and personal experience establishes a sense of credibility between the author and reader. Marquart characterizes the North Dakota atmosphere in which she grew up by using allusions, imagery, common conventionalized ideas, and historically factual events.
Writing Style The Overachievers, by Alexandra Robbins, is Alexandra Robbins, is the empowering story of eight students, and a glimpse of their lives during the duration of one school year. Each student underwent an idiosyncratic situation, whether it is battling ADD, peer pressure, or stress. During the duration of the duration of the school year-and high and often times unrealistic expectations put on them by themselves and their parents-each student hit the lowest point in their lives, but manage to resolve their problems, and resume living their normal lives. Robbins uses a clear, bold language and tone along with intentional stereotypes, as well as powerful diction, and didactic language to help develop the story. Robbins uses a clear, bold language and tone in her unique style of writing to help develop the story of these eight young adults.
The novel Mice and Men of the most beautiful Steinbeck novels that he mixes between the suffering of farmers workers that they embrace their imagination the dream to own a farm it ends in tragedy painful that it increases the sense of injustice, Of Mice and Men provide satire of the concept of the American dream and the consequent of the suffering of selfishness that leads to unfortunate and sad end as is the case with George, Lennie and Curley 's wife, Crooks, and Candy. The novel reflects sad reality tragic after World War I, and the situation of migrant and poor workers in agricultural and rural areas such as Texas and California, and economic recession and the collapse of financial market in 1929, while many of farmers lost their property and Forced to look for other work and increased unemployment rate, also the writer shows the sad reality that imposed on black Americans, unity and alienation. The two main characters in the novel are presented first by their description and after that with their names. Their physical depiction underscores both their likenesses and their distinction.
The author shows the events during time by telling us when this story took place“It was 1970, and he said he was stationed up in the northern hill country” (63). This is important because the Vietnam war was happening during this time. This story takes place on a reservation which is significant because it helps set the tone “I was the first one to drive a convertible on my reservation. And of course it was red, a red Olds.” (61).
Across time, Okies faced hardships and difficulties like discrimination. This problem comes along for Okies in Jerry Stanley's Children of the Dust Bowl. This book extends with Okies traveling to California which was described as a paradise but instead was greeted with hostility and prejudice. Despite all that, the Okies worked together with Leo hart to build Weedpatch school. Jerry Stanley tries to inform the reader about how the Okies worked together to change their hardships into hope.
Steinbeck portrays the american dream through motif and irony to show that chasing the american dream leads to poor judgement of reality. Steinbeck
Lee expertly weaves the chronological tale of Almarine Cantrell’s life, death, and subsequent family lineage through a variety of distinctly crafted personalities, all adding to the narrative through their unique perspectives. While Almarine’s romantic hardships and resulting offspring are at the heart of the novel, Oral History also explores Appalachian life through a myriad of lenses, preconceived notions, actualities, and the exploration of traditions and daily life. Smith offers a rich and complex study of an often forgotten about southern geographical region and population. The narrative rarely drags, drawing the reader into an exciting tale of Appalachia that includes folklore, storytelling, a strong sense of the past, and a continuation into the present that attempts to reconcile what was with what the mountain region has become (Eckard
To drive back and forth between two identities The absolutely true diary of a part time Indian has two main settings, the Pacific Northwest towns of Wellpinit and Reardan. The contrast of the two different settings, a poor Indian reservation on the one hand and a wealthy white community on the other, has a lot to say for the main character in the book, Arnold Spirit Jr. There can be a lot behind to main settings in a book, and that is what I am going to analyze in this essay.
One of the most important events in Will Allen’s life was when he began to teach young people in the inner city how to grow food. This was an important event in his life because he believed that everyone had to have access to healthy and affordable food. This was important for him because he began his own farm and helped his community by providing what he believed healthy food was right for everyone. Another important event in his life was when he decided to buy the greenhouse to make it into a market to sell food. Another important event in his life was when he couldn’t pay his workers because he didn’t have enough money.