Friday, March 9, 2012
Rhetorical Devices
In the past week I have used many rhetorical devices such as euphemisms and hyperboles. A euphemism is using a neutral or positive term to cover up a negative term, or in other words, sugarcoating. In the past week I was talking about the war with Vietnam and instead of calling it a war, I called it a "conflict" because it seemed less violent. This is an example of euphemism because "conflict" sounds less violent and disastrous than "war" sounds. War inclines that people will die, while a "conflict" suggests that people are only fighting. I also used a hyperbole, which is an exaggeration or possibly an overstatement. I was talking about the amount of homework I had to do over the weekend and I said I would die from the amount of homework. This is an exaggeration because I would not actually die from homework, but I would spend all day doing homework.
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Rhetorical devices are used quite often, I know I use them more often than I notice. I liked your example for one use of a euphemism. Changing the word from war to conflict creates such a different feel within the topic. You make a good point that by using the word conflict it gives the illusion that people are just fighting not dying. I think this makes the topic less volatile. Hyperbole is a rhetorical devise that I use in the way that you described using it. I often exaggerate how I feel about all of the work that I have to get done for my classes.
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