A Descriptive Analysis of Nigger: The Meaning of a Word Jean Tarrant26 February 2001What is the rhetors purpose? In the essay Nigger: the meaning of a word Gloria Naylor discusses the essence of a word and how it can mean different things to different people in a myriad of situations. Depending on race, gender, societal status and age Naylor outlines how a word like nigger can have different meanings within ones own environment. Naylor discusses how a word can go from having a positive to a negative connotation merely due to how it is spoken and by whom. Naylor shares a personal experience with her audience as she describes the first time she really heard the word nigger. A young white boy in her third grade class spit it in her face. Naylor states, I didnt know what a nigger was, but I knew that whatever it meant, it was something he shouldnt have called me. (Naylor 460)Naylor writes about her own personal experience and is obviously biased. This, while powerful, can also be seen as a limited view of the subject. Her audience only understands thorough her eyes and her experiences. Naylor is trying to educate her audience by sharing a personal experience. I think she wants her audience to sit back and think about the words they use and how others may use them and how this can affect others. Naylor wants her audience to understand how she was affected not only by a young boy but also by how she didnt really think about the word nigger until the moment it was used to hurt her. She is striving to make her audience think about the words they use and hear and how the context these words are immersed in can change the meaning of them.Who composes the target audiences?To be a part of Naylors target audience one must have obviously had experience with language and how people use it. She is targeting those who have heard and/or used the word nigger before. Naylor wants her audience to take on her experience and be empath...
