etic towards her. She doesnt do this in a seemingly pathetic way, as she seeks no pity. She outlines her experience and wants her audience to understand her view and how this view came to be.What roles or personas does the rhetor assume?Naylor assumes the role of an educator in her writing. She assumes a persona of a young girl experiencing a new way of understanding a word. Naylor wants her audience to understand how important the context in which a word is used is so she writes about her personal experience, of which she is the sole authority.What it the rhetors tone?Naylor assumes a matter of fact tone in her writing. She does not demand or point her finger at any one group. She simply relays her experience in such a way thatyou cant help but think about what it must have been like for her as a young girl experiencing a new meaning of a word in such a way. She does not take on a superior or subordinate tone; rather it is like shes having a conversation with her audience as a peer. I find this very powerful because she achieves what she wants to in a subtle way. Naylor doesnt lecture or blame she simply shares her experience.How is the discourse structured?The introduction is a frame for the rest of the writing to fill. Naylor discusses how language is the subject of her piece, and although the written word is what has kept her going throughout her life she still feels that the written word is inferior to the spoken. Her arguments in the introduction are clear and easily understood. She is portraying what how powerful she feels the spoken word to be. Naylor states, Dialogue achieves its power in the dynamics of a fleeting moment of sight, sound, smell and touch. (460) This helps the audience understand the power of a spoken word. Naylor takes the position that words either written or spoken dont take on meaning until a consensus assigns one. Naylor states, Words themselves are innocuous; it is the consensus tha...
