ARCS Chap 10
Chapter 10 mainly focuses on rhetorical
styles. The section of clarity shows the power of circumlocution.
Circumlocution is defined as “a more roundabout means of references” (p. 252).
The section also talks about colloquial words which refer to words that are
specific in culture or locale (p. 253). I find it interesting that colloquial
words could substitute each other in different periods. For example, “hip was ‘cool’
in the sixties, whereas cool was “hip” in the fifties and the seventies. It
surprises me that different words contain the same meaning at different years. I
don’t know why these words could interchange but it seems like their replacement
relates to shift of cultures.
I also find it interesting that rhetorical
questions can open up more discussion about the argument. I realize that modern
day TV production use these kind of questions a lot; usually cope with the use
of sarcasm and anger. For example, in the show Criminal Minds, agent Gideon started the conversation with a
question that criticizes Garcia’s mistake; he said “how could you be so stupid?”
This question not only insulted Garcia but also brings him more opportunity to
argue against her. I find it amazing how certain styles are more effective for
persuasion, and others not. Modern TV shows use rhetorical styles to attract
audience’s attention. Like in the show House
of Cards and Game of Thrones, Frank
Underwood and Tyrion both are
rhetorically powerful in their styles, thus these two characters are TV watcher’s
favorite, because their rhetorical ways are so appealing and powerful. I
realize that sometimes women’s rhetorical ways are never the same as men’s
rhetorical style. For example, in Game of
Thrones, Margaery try to persuade the queen by using their “sisterhood”, in
contrast male characters (like Tyrion, Joffrey, and Jeremy) rarely address
brotherhood or their connections with their partners.
I think the use of ornament is interesting
but hard, especially in dialogues. I believe that I’m better at writing than
speaking, so I take use of ornament more in writing than in speech. Sometimes, I
find it hard to retrieve unusual or extraordinary words in the middle of a
conversation. I don’t know why but it seems people like to use simple words in
their dialogue and complicated word in writing. For example, the word “gargantuan”
appears more frequently in writing than in speech because people usually just
say “big” or “huge” because “gargantuan” is not common.
I think the use of punctuations makes
argument more powerful in writing than in speech because in conversation,
people don’t usually realize punctuations like comma or quotation marks or
period. In writing, people can see these punctuations and acknowledge their
effect. For example, when a character remark “I’m getting MARRIED!!” it’s
different from she says “I’m getting married.” The former is more powerful than
the later because of the exclamation mark and the capitalization because these
effects emphasized her excitement. Nowadays, journalists or novelists make use
of punctuations for decorating their writings. Thinking about this quote:
“Cherish your visions; cherish your ideals;
cherish the music that stirs in your heart, the beauty that forms in your mind,
the loveliness that drapes your purest thoughts, for out of them will grow
delightful conditions, all heavenly environment; of these if you but remain
true to them, your world will at last be built.”- - - James Allen
If there are no commas cutting the sentence,
the sentence would be too long because readers would keep reading until they
see punctuation. Without the comma, the sentence will be less effective because
there’s no intonation, the readers would not feel that the voice of the
narrator is becoming stronger and stronger.
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