Rhetorical Device/Theory

Example

Series of rhetorical questions with

intertextual references to many evil
female literary characters juxtaposed
to male ones. (exemplum)
Theory: Ethos & Logos, call for action

Literature cannot do without bad

behaviour, but was all the bad
behaviour to be reserved for men? Was
it to be all Iago and Mephistopheles,
and were Jezebel and Medea and
Medusa and . spotty-handed Lady
Macbeth..

Anecdote in a conversational/sarcastic
tone with anaphora of Never mind
Pathos

I was taken at an early age to see

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
Never mind the Protestant work ethic
of the dwarfs. Never mind the tedious
housework-is-virtuous motif. Never
mind the fact that Snow White is a
vampire anyone who lies in a glass
coffin without decaying and then comes
to life again must be. .

Analysis: Link to Value and Textual

Integrity
The rhetorical questions are thought
provoking for the educated audience
who are familiar with the literary
references but have not given a second
thought to the disparity of the
representation of male and female
characters. Through intertextual
references to these different literary
characters, a juxtaposition is created
between the different genders to
emphasise the unequal representation
of female characters throughout
history. This firstly builds her ethos as
she conveys to the audience that she is
knowledgeable in what she stating and
she appeals to logos of the audience
who can see her argument are based
on literary facts.
Humour is created through Atwoods
sarcastic tone in this anecdote to
highlight the obscure absurdities of
Snow White. This engages the
audience who now have a better
understanding of the purpose of her
anecdote. The anaphora: Never
mind underrates these listed
absurdities in order to exaggerate the
power of the evil queen. This
exemplum demonstrates how the poor
representation of women has less to do

Metaphor

But female bad characters can also act

as keys to doors we need to open,
and as mirrors in which we can see
more than just a pretty face

with good/evil characters and more to

do with the subconscious sub plots of a
text.
The use of the metaphors amplifies the
message that both good and bad
representations of female characters is
necessary in literature. Atwood use of
this device makes I easier for the
audience to relate.