Description

For Orlando, please do your best to answer the following questions, which will guide you in the general direction of rhetorical analysis. Your responses, in total, should amount to 500-1000 words.

1. Describe the language, style, and tone of the book so far. (Tone = rhetor’s attitude toward the subject matter).

What kind of language does the rhetor use? Consider the simplicity/complexity of words and sentences; prose vs. poetry; dialogue vs. action vs. description.
What is the tone (use an adjective or combination of adjectives)? How can you tell?

1. Based on what we’ve read so far, what can you infer about the rhetor?

What do her beliefs, values, and assumptions seem to be?
How does she establish her ethos (credibility)?
What does the rhetor seem to believe? What might she want to accomplish?

1. Based on the story’s language, style, and tone (not just content!), what do you think is the creator’s intended purpose? Why do you think so?
2. Who do you think is the story’s intended audience?

What can we infer are the audience’s concerns, beliefs, and assumptions?
How does the story appear to elicit a specific response from the audience?
Are there multiple audiences? How might these different audiences respond differently to the story?

1. What contextual information can you infer?

What social, historical, and cultural details can you identify in the story itself?