A Rhetorical Analysis Of Talking Wrong By Patricia Smith

In “In Search of Our Mother’s Gardens”, Alice Walker looks to educate us on the hardships that almost all black women face when trying to express themselves through things such as art. She delves into many sociological and psychological concepts that have affected black women throughout human history. These concepts and ideologies created a realm for mass exclusion, discrimination, and oppression of many African American women, including Alice Walker’s Mother, who Alice utilizes as one of her particular examples. The writing thematically aims to show how these concepts of sexism, racism, and even classism have contributed to black women’s lack of individuality, optimism, and fulfillment for generations. The author does a tremendous job of defending and expanding upon her arguments. She has a credible background, being a black woman that produces the art of literature herself. As well as being raised by one, Walker’s first-hand experience warrants high regard. Therefore, her use of abstract and introspective language is presented clearly and convincingly. Also, her use of evidence and support from sources like Jean Toomer, Virginia Woolf, and Phillis Wheatley, all produce more validity for her stance through poems, quotes, and even experiences. All these individuals have their own accounts pertaining to the oppression of black women and their individuality. Successfully arguing that the artistry plights of black women described in “In Search of Our Mother’s Gardens” are

“We can leave the mountain anytime we want but those with ALS are prisoners in their own body”-Alex Williams. People with ALS start losing their ability to move as the disease goes through their body. In the Book Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom Morrie Schwartz has ALS and he tries to give away all of his wisdom before he dies. Morrie teaches people to live life through showing love to family, not hiding or being scared of aging and accepting that Death is natural.

This postcard builds suspense in the reader’s mind. Alex saying that this adventure could kill him makes the reader interested in finding out more. “If this adventure proves fatal and you don’t ever hear from me again I want you to know you’re a great man.” (Krakauer 3).

“The Ways We Lie” is an essay written by Stephanie Ericsson, first published in the Utne Reader in 1993. The Utne Reader is an American magazine that publishes pieces from alternative media sources. However, the essay was mostly directed toward people who have told a lie at least once in their life and have may have felt guilty about it. The purpose for the piece was developed using original syntax, logical appeals, and descriptive tropes, the purpose being that one should think twice before telling a lie.

An exploration of Mother Tongue reveals that parental expectations places immense pressure on children and causes them to fail in their pursuit of their dreams. This is also clear in Only Daughter. The narrator in Mother Tongue describes a speech that he delivered: “The talk was going well enough, until I remembered one major difference that made the whole talk sound wrong. My mother was in the room” (Tan, 1990). From this description, it is evident that the narrator’s mother held her back from delivering a captivating talk. The mother had established a manner of speaking that was different from how the narrator was delivering the talk. This can be taken to mean that the mother expected the daughter to deliver the

Award winning journalist and author, Jon Krakauer, in his book, Into the Wild, analyzes the life of Chris McCandless as well as the events that ensued his death. Krakauer’s purpose is to inform the reader about how and why Chris McCandless decided to embark on a journey into the wilderness of Alaska. He adopts an empathetic tone in order to impart to his readers that Chris McCandless was a very misunderstood young adult.

1a. Know and understand- to perceive as the fact or the truth; to grasp the meaning of an idea

In the short play A Raisin in the sun conflict’s both internal and external occure for in three of the main characters regarding their dreams. When the opportunity came for them to accomplish their dreams through using the insurance money they’ve come across from the loss of a family member, one of the main characters, Walter, wishes to be successful in life; but he needs the insurance money to do so. He wants to use the insurance money to open up a liquor store because he believes this would change his life. A exceptional quote that shows his determination to be successful in life is when he speaks to Ruth “You tired, ain’t you? Tired of everything. Me, the boy. The way we live-this beat up hole-everything”(

The rhetorical strategy Maria W. Stewart employs can be characterized as irony. Maria, an African American delivers a lecture in Boston in 1832 asserting that the "free people of color" living a supportable life have the same passion to be rich and independent but are confined to never rise above. Stewarts assertion the "free people of color" serves to accurately portray the rhetorical strategy of Irony. Stewart "[was] neither bought, nor sold, nor under the lash of the cruel driver."...

Dalkesha Bryant is a motivational speaker and the CEO/Founder of the inspirational brand Reflections of Greatness. She was raised by her mother, in a low-income community, in Cincinnati Ohio. As a young child, she always aspired to be greater than the tough circumstances that surrounded her. Once she found her voice, she used the chaos around her to fuel her drive to be more than a “product of her environment.” She was determined to become a product of her thoughts. She learned early on that in life, your mindset is the driving force the controls your outcomes not your environment.

This mother --symbolizing discrimination-- is puritan and modest in a way that, according to the racist white Americans, was normal and reasonable. It was a part of their lifestyles to discriminate the black population of which they viewed inferior compared to themselves and other white people. The “inferior” African American population as a whole, including Countee Cullen himself, is represented by the son of the father and mother in Cullen's poem. The parents and son are having an argument. The child questions how he is in the wrong when the parents used to be and maybe even still are just like their son. The speaker of the poem, the son, argues that he can be who he wants to be and no one was born worse or better than he was born as. This is expressed in the lines, “Why should he deem it pure mischance / A son of his is fain / To do a naked tribal dance” (Cullen 17-19). A “naked tribal dance” is a major connection to the issue of racial inequality during Cullen’s life and the Harlem Renaissance. The aforementioned phrase included in the poem, “Fruit of the Flower”, along with the mentioning of “checkered sod” setting the mother’s “flesh aquiver” (Cullen 15-16) and the “mystic river” that the mother chants for (Cullen 14) all connect to Africa. An important African-American figure of the Harlem Renaissance is a man named Marcus Garvey. Garvey publicizes his belief that African Americans should go (back) to Africa and start their own

The Importance of Earnest is a play full of comical truth, in my opinion. Woven inside the satire and epigrams, there are many line and quotes that are beautiful and meaningful. There are also lines that made me laugh out loud or lines I had to re-read several times to fully comprehend the true meaning. These quotes, the funny and the beautiful, are what I consider “blue china”, as Stephan Fry says.

Tan’s attitude towards her mother’s English begins with embarrassment and humiliation. Growing up in an immigrant family which speaks imperfect English, Tan witnesses many discriminations that her mother has encountered in department stores or at banks, those experiences help to shape Tan’s opinion to her mother’s English. For example, Tan states that “[she] was ashamed of [her mother’s] English. [She] believed that [her mother’s] English reflected the quality of what [her] mother had to say” (508). In young Amy’s opinion, her mother’s expressions and thoughts are broken and imperfect like the way she speaks, and she believes that linguistic expression is linked to a person’s intelligence. As a result, she was ashamed of her mother in public because of her fractured English.

The speaker in the “The Negro Mother” is an African American woman who makes a promise to her children that she will be with them always in spirit as they fight for the same rights as whites. She says, “For I will be with you till no white brother / Dares keep down the children of the Negro Mother” (49-50). She wanted her children to fight for equal rights regardless of the barriers and

Everyone can relate to a time in their life when they desired a “picture-perfect” life with lots of friends and all the material things they could wish for themselves. However, they realize that maybe the “picture-perfect” life isn’t what they expected once it becomes reality. In the films Freaky Friday and 13 Going on 30, the audience follows the lives of the protagonists as they face their wishes to have a “better life”. Throughout the essay, we will examine the audiences, goals, and strategies of these two films, in which we will decide what movie demonstrated the finest job of using the elements to convey the story.