The Rhetorical Precis .com



“Interest” for Late Submission of Final Paper or Annotated BibliographyDirections: Read through this entire document. Start by clicking on the links at the top. Then write a rhetorical precis for the explication essay below. I suggests that you do the following before attempting to write the precis:1. reread the short story “The Lottery”2. Read the essay “Explication of “The Lottery” (below) 2-3 times, with a pencil in your hand. Take notes by writing down a summary of each paragraph in the margins. Circle words or references you do not understand and look them up.3. Read the examples several times.4. Draft your ideas and then work on condensing them into four well-written sentences in the correct order.When you turn in your late paper or final annotated bibliography, please attach the rhetorical précis for the following essay to the top of it. Without it, I will not grade your work!If you require a second essay to read, in order to do a rhetorical précis for BOTH assignments, please let me know ASAP.EXPLICATION OF “THE LOTTERY” by JAY A. YARMOVEThe underpinnings of Shirley Jackson's famous post-World War II story "The Lottery" demonstrate that the work is far greater than the sum of its parts. The date of the lottery, its location, and the symbolic or ironic names of its characters all work to convey a meaning that is even more disturbing than the shock created by its well-known ending, namely, that despite assurances during the late 1940s that "it couldn't happen here," a microcosmal holocaust occurs in this story and, by extension, may happen anyplace in contemporary America. Coming after the revelation of the depths of depravity to which the Nazis sank in their eagerness to destroy other, "lesser" peoples, "The Lottery" upsets the reader's sense of complacency.Jackson lets us know the time of the lottery at the outset of the story. From the description of the men's talk of "tractors and taxes" (211) and the depiction of Mr. Summers wearing a "clean white shirt and blue jeans" (213), we may assume that we are in the twentieth century, making the story's impact more immediate. But why does the author choose June 27 as the date on which the village holds its lottery? The summer solstice, June 21, has already passed, andthe Fourth of July is yet to come. The date, if not the century, seems to have been capriciously chosen. Such is not the case, however. June 27 falls halfway between June 21 (the summer solstice) and July 4 (Independence Day). What significance do these two days bear that makes June 27 the perfect compromise between them? In European societies, Midsummer's Day wascelebrated at the summer solstice, not in the middle of summer as its name would suggest. Authors such as Shakespeare, August Strindberg, and William Golding have employed the pagan undertones of that day as a motif in A Midsummer Night's Dream, Miss Julie, andThe Spire, respectively, for indeed Midsummer's Day has a long, heathen, orgiastic tradition behind it. American Independence Day, on the other hand, is redolent of democracy, freedom, and, to a certain degree, justice, because it marks the birth of a nation anchored in the belief that people "are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights." June 27 bisects the two weeks between these dichotomous dates and may well embody the contrast between superstitious paganism and rational democracy, a dynamic that plays a central role in "The Lottery," especially in light of the story's locale. At no point does the author tell us where the lottery takes place, but we are made aware of several possible indicators. The town has a population of about 300, and farming seems to be the normal way of making a living. Most of the names are Anglo-Saxon in origin. The land yields an abundance of stones. Most important, the lottery is itself a model--albeit perverted--of participatory democracy, the kind that New England settlers made famous. All of these seemto point to New England as the locale of the story. It is also in keeping with New England's history of witch trials and persecutions. (Being pressed to death by heavy stones was not uncommon as a colonial punishment for witchcraft, as may be seen in Arthur Miller's The Crucible.)Not only do time and place bear important clues as to the allegorical meaning of "The Lottery," but the very names of the characters are laden with significance. The prominent names--Summers, Adams, Graves, Warner, Delacroix, and (most obviously) Tessie Hutchinson--have much to tell us. For the season of the lottery is summer, and the larger scope of this work encompasses mankind in general (for instance, "Adam" means "man" in Hebrew). "Graves" sounds a somber, forewarning note of what will happen to Tessie, and the oldest man in town, Old Man Warner (the others have either died or been killed off warns usabout the primordial function of the lottery, which is to ensure fertility: "Used to be a saying about 'Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon' " (215). Mrs. Delacroix's name alludes to the pseudo-crucifixion of Tessie. It is the irony that lies behind the protagonist's name, Tessie Hutchinson, that magnifies the allegorical force of this story. Historically, there really was a well-known New England Hutchinson--Anne Hutchinson, who, having been exiled from the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1638 because of her religious beliefs, emigrated to Rhode Island, where she established her own church. Eventually, she and most of her family died in an Indian massacre outside of what is today New Rochelle, New York. Some might call such a woman a martyr, who was exiled and died for her beliefs. Our protagonist, however, has no strongly held beliefs, except her belief in self-survival. The name "Tessie" parodies the most famous Tess in literature, Tess Durbeyfield, the protagonist of Thomas Hardy's Tess of the D'Urbervilles, who in Hardy's portrait of her as the plaything of fate, dies ignominiously, since "the President of the Immortals, in Aeschylean phrase, had ended his sport with Tess" (446). Now we must ask, Is Tessie Hutchinson in our story an ingenue, as Hardy's protagonist clearly is? Of course not! Tessie "came hurriedly along the path to the square ... 'Clean forgot what day it was' she said to Mrs. Delacroix ... and they both laughed softly....'I remembered it was the twenty-seventh and came a-running'" (213). "Mrs. Hutchinson said, grinning, 'Wouldn't have me leave m'dishes in the sink, now, would you, Joe?' " (214). Good-natured Tessie actually desires to come to the lottery, going so far as to run to it, although the rest of the townspeople are subdued, even nervous: the men's "jokes were quiet and they smiled rather than laughed" (211). Mr. Summers and Mr. Adams "grinned at one another humorlessly and nervously" (215). Young Jack Watson also appears to be nervous: "He blinked his eyes nervously and ducked his head" (214). Later, someone in the crowd says, " 'Don't be nervous, Jack'" (216). And not only men are nervous, of course. "'I wish they'd hurry,' Mrs. Dunbar said to her older son. 'I wish they'd hurry'" (216). However, to Tessie the lottery seems to be one great lark: when her husband, Bill, is called upon to choose his family's lottery ticket, Tessie urges him, " 'Get up there, Bill'" (215), although "by now, all through the crowd there were men holding the small folded papers in their large hands, turning them over and over nervously" (215). What a great contrast there is, in short, between the crowd's nervousness and Tessie's nonchalance.But when Tessie's family is chosen, she becomes a woman transformed. "Suddenly, Tessie Hutchinson shouted to Mr. Summers, 'You didn't give him time enough to take any paper he wanted. I saw you. It wasn't fair!'" (216). Subsequently, she yells, "'There's Don and Eva [the Hutchinsons' son-in-law and daughter]. Make them take their chance!'" (216). Putting aside for the moment her perfidy in singling out her married children as possible victims to increaseher own chances of survival, we see that she is manifestly not the good-humored, whimsical matron whom we first saw eagerly entering the lottery. Her protests of the unfairness of the process--a thought that only now has occurred to her, since there is every likelihood of her becoming the chosen victim ("'I tell you it wasn't fair'" [217])--have a distinctly hollow ring to them, and her defiant glance around the crowd, her lips pursed, as she truculently goes up to the lottery box to pick her ticket, belies her earlier easygoing demeanor. Thus, the irony behind her name has come full circle. Her final assertion ("'It isn't fair, it isn't right'") is neither the cry of an innocent victim (Tessie is definitely not Tess Durbeyfield) nor a martyr's triumphant statement (Tessie is also certainly not Anne Hutchinson). It is the peevish last complaint of a hypocrite who has been hoisted by her own petard. There were many Americans who, after the end of World War II and the revelations of the early Nuremburg trials in 1945 and 1946, smugly asserted that such atrocities could happen in Nazi Germany but not in the United States. After all, singling out one person, one religion, one race for pejorative treatment--these things just could not happen here. In her postwar novel Gentleman's Agreement, Laura Z. Hobson showed that such discrimination was in fact alive and well. Shirley Jackson adds an even more disturbing note in her story, which was initially published in The New Yorker in 1948: custom and law, when sanctioned by a selfish, unthinking populace, can bring an otherwise democratic and seemingly just society to the brink of paganism. Thus the date, the location, and the names in Jackson's story help to create the specter of a holocaust in the United States. In this, "The Lottery" is eerily reminiscent of the ending of Hardy's Tess. When Angel Claire and Tess Durbeyfield flee to the pagan temple at Stonehenge, they see the "eastward pillars and their architraves [standing] up blackly against the light, and the great flame-shaped Sunstone beyond them: and the Stone of Sacrifice midway" (442-43). This image is an apt metaphor for the plot of "The Lottery": despite modernity, democracy, and American neighborliness, the primitive, selfish, superstitious ghost of paganism has been allowed to rear its ugly head and destroy one of its own.WORKS CITEDHardy, Thomas. Tess of the D'Urbervilles. New York: Dodd, Mead, 1960.Jackson, Shirley. "The Lottery." The Lottery. New York: Popular Library, 1949.The Rhetorical PrecisThe rhetorical précis is a highly structured summary, usually a paragraph or two, which records the essential rhetorical elements in any spoken or written discourse.To write a précis, do the following:1. Provide the name of the author, a phrase describing the author (if possible), the type and title of the work, the date of the work in parenthesis after the title (if available), a rhetorically accurate verb (e.g. “asserts,” “argues,” “suggests,” “implies,” “claims,” etc.) that describes what the author is doing in the text, and a THAT clause in which you state the major assertion ( the claim) of the author’s text.2. Explain how the author develops, structures, and/or supports the argument (e.g. comparing and contrasting, narrating, illustrating, defining, etc.). Present your explanation in the same chronological order that the items of support are presented in the work.3. State the author’s apparent purpose, followed by an IN ORDER TO phrase which explains what the author wants the audience to do or feel or understand as a result of reading the work.4. Describe the intended audience and/or the relationship the author establishes with the audience. [You might mention here any obvious warrants behind this argument. The warrant is the unstated assumption that stems from the reason offered. If the audience will grant the warrant or assumption, then the audience will very likely accept the reason offered in support of the claim. (Warrant example: Claim: Professor X is a poor instructor. Reason: He doesn't effectively use class time. Warrant: Effective use of class time is a characteristic of a good instructor.)]Example A:Jane Goodall in "Primate Research in Inhumane" argues that most laboratories using primates engage in inhumane practices. She supports her argument through detailed descriptions of lab environments and draws special attention to the neglect of psychological comforts which these primates endure until they sometimes become insane. Her purpose is to speak on behalf of the chimpanzees in order to persuade her readers to see that if we do not fight for improvements in lab care, "we make a mockery of the whole concept of justice." Goodall writes to those who have compassion for other species and who might have enough courage to speak out for chimpanzees and other primates.Example B (this one has more than 4 sentences but still follows the formula):(1) In the introduction to his book, The Nature of Prejudice (1954), Gordan Allport, a Harvard psychologist, SUGGESTS THAT we need a better, more comprehensive, working definition of prejudice. (2) He gives readers a list of apparent instances of prejudices in the opening passage. Then, he looks at two examples, the anthropologist and Mr. Greenberg, to illustrate the difference between legitimate avoidance of a group and ethnic prejudice. In the second half of the piece, he discusses various existing definitions of prejudice, each one a little more complex than the one before. (3) He does all this IN ORDER to show how each definition he presents is missing some important element of prejudice. At the end, he presents what he feels is a more definitive definition by filling in the missing elements. (4) His audience appears to be anyone who would be concerned about prejudice in society and/or in themselves. They would have to agree that prejudice is a serious social problem that needs to be addressed and discussed.Rhetorical Précis – description and examplesThis précis is a highly structured four-sentence paragraph that records the essential rhetorical elements in any spoken or written discourse. The précis includes the name of the speaker/writer(s), the context or situation in which the text is delivered, the major assertion, the mode of development for or support of the main idea, the stated and/or apparent purpose of the text, and the relationship between the speaker/writer(s) and the audience. The following is a breakdown of the information you should include in each one of the four sentences. Name of the author, a phrase describing the author, the type and title of the work, the date (in parenthesis), a rhetorically accurate verb (such as “assert,” “argue,” “suggest,” “imply,” “claim,” “question,” etc.) that describes what the author is doing in the text, and a THAT clause in which you state the major assertion (argument statement) of the author’s text.An explanation of how the author develops and/or supports the argument—the rhetorical structure of the text (for instance, comparing and contrasting, narrating, illustrating, defining, etc.). Your explanation is usually presented in the same chronological order that the items of support are presented in the work.A statement of the author’s apparent purpose, followed by an IN ORDER TO phrase in which you explain what the author wants the audience to do or feel as a result of reading the work.A description of the intended audience and/or the relationship the author establishes with the author. Example: British philosopher, John Stuart Mill, in his essay “On Nature” (1850), argues that using nature as a standard for ethical behavior is illogical. He supports this claim by first giving the common definitions as nature as, “all that exists or all that exists without the intervention of man” and then supplying extensive examples of the daily brutality of nature in the real world. His purpose is to call attention to the flaws in the “nature as a standard” argument in order to convince people to discard this standard and to instead use reason and logic to determine the appropriate ethical standard of action for mankind. He establishes a formal, scholarly tone for the reader of “Nature”—an audience of philosophers, educators, and other interested citizens. Rhetorical Précis Frame1. (Author’s credentials), (author’s first and last name) in his/her (type of text), (title of text), published in (publishing info) addresses the topic of (topic of text) and argues that (argument). 2. He/she supports this claim by___________, then___________, then_____________, and finally____________. 3. (Author’s last name)’s purpose is to (author’s purpose in writing) in order to (change in reader/society the author wants to achieve). 4. He/she adopts a(n) __________ tone for his/her audience, the readers of (publication) and others interested in the topic of______________. SAMPLE RHETORICAL PRECISEXAMPLE 1: “Sheridan Baker, in his essay "Attitudes" (1966), asserts that writers' attitudes toward their subjects, their audiences, and themselves determine to a large extent the quality of their prose. Baker supports this assertion by showing examples of how inappropriate attitudes can make writing unclear, pompous, or boring, concluding that a good writer "will be respectful toward his audience, considerate toward his readers, and somehow amiable toward human failings" (58). His purpose is to make his readers aware of the dangers of negative attitudes in order to help them become better writers. He establishes an informal relationship with his audience of college students who are interested in learning to write "with conviction.”NOTE that the first sentence identifies the author (Baker), the genre (essay), the title and date, and uses an active verb (asserts) and the relative pronoun that to explain what exactly Baker asserts. The second sentence explains the first by offering chronological examples from Baker's essay, while the third sentence suggests the author's purpose and WHY (in order to) he has set out that purpose (or seems to have set out that purpose -- not all essays are explicit about this information and readers have to put the pieces together). The final sentence identifies the primary audience of the essay (college students) and suggests how this audience is brought into/connected to the essay's purpose. (From )EXAMPLE 2:1. Emeritus professor of economic and social history at Birkbeck, University of London, Erick J. Hobsbawm, in his article, “Spreading Democracy”, published in Foreign Policy (Sep./Oct. 2004) addresses the topic of western political hegemony and argues that the belief that western-style liberal democracy can be spread to the wider world through military coercion is “dangerous and illusory”.2. He supports this claim by presenting three factors that confound even the best intentions of states that would spread democracy, then predicting how and why such attempts have failed and will continue to fail, then lays out a fundamental paradox that impugns democracy’s ability to organize transnational entities, and finally points out the danger of promoting a system to other political entities that is seriously flawed in its practice by the hegemon. 3. Hobsbawm’s purpose is to point out the limitations of liberal democracy in order to urge his readers to reject the assertions of ideologues who promote the enforcement of western “values” as international altruism. 4. He adopts a critical, authoritative, yet not overbearing (with hints of blackberry and leather) tone for his/her audience, the readers of (Foreign Policy) and others interested in the topic of geopolitics. EXAMPLE:In her article "Who Cares if Johnny Can't Read?" (1997), Larissa MacFarquhar asserts that Americans are reading more than ever despite claims to the contrary and that it is time to reconsider why we value reading so much, especially certain kinds of "high culture" reading. MacFarquhar supports her claims about American reading habits with facts and statistics that compare past and present reading practices, and she challenges common assumptions by raising questions about reading's instrisic value. Her purpose is to dispel certain myths about reading in order to raise new and more important questions about the value of reading and other media in our culture. She seems to have a young, hip, somewhat irreverent audience in mind because her tone is sarcastic, and she suggests that the ideas she opposes are old-fashioned positions.from Bean, John C., Virginia A. Chappell, and Alice M. Gillam. Reading Rhetorically, Brief Edition. New York: Pearson/Longman, 2004. p. 63. EXAMPLE:Toni Morrison, in her essay "Disturbing Nurses and the Kindness of Sharks," implies that racism in the United States has affected the craft and process of American novelists. Morrison supports her implication by describing how Ernest Hemingway writes about black characters in his novels and short stories. Her purpose is to make her readers aware of the cruel reality of racism underlying some of the greatest works of American literature in order to help them examine the far-reaching effects racism has not only on those discriminated against but also on those who discriminate. She establishes a formal and highly analytical tone with her audience of racially mixed (but probably mainly white), theoretically sophisticated readers and critical interpreters of American literature. from EXAMPLE: Sandra M. Gilbert, professor of English at the University of California, Davis, in her essay “Plain Jane’s Progress” (1977), suggests that Charlotte Bront? intended Jane Eyre to resemble John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress in that Jane’s pilgrimage through a series of events based on the enclosure and escape motif eventually lead toward the equality that Bront? herself sought. Gilbert supports this conclusion by using the structure of the novel to highlight the places Jane has been confined, the changes she undergoes during the process of escape, and the individuals and experiences that lead to her maturation concluding that "this marriage of true minds at Ferndean – this is the way" (501). Her purpose is to help readers see the role of women in Victorian England in order to help them understand the uniqueness and daring of Bront?’s work. She establishes a formal relationship with her audience of literary scholars interested in feminist criticism who are familiar with the work of Bront?, Bunyan, Lord Byron and others and are intrigued by feminist theory as it relates to Victorian literature.from : Charles S. Peirce's article, "The Fixation of Belief" (1877), asserts that humans have psychological and social mechanisms designed to protect and cement (or "fix") our beliefs. Peirce backs this claim up with descriptions of four methods of fixing belief, pointing out the effectiveness and potential weaknesses of each method. Peirce's purpose is to point out the ways that people commonly establish their belief systems in order to jolt the awareness of the reader into considering how their own belief system may the product of such methods and to consider what Peirce calls "the method of science" as a progressive alternative to the other three. Given the technical language used in the article, Peirce is writing to an well-educated audience with some knowledge of philosophy and history and a willingness to other ways of thinking. (from [1] Woodworth, Margaret K. "The Rhetorical Précis." Rhetoric Review 7 (1988): 156-164. "The Rhetorical Précis." Rhetoric Review 7 (1988): 156-164. Woodworth article reports significant success with her students at various levels, particularly in reading comprehension and preparation for using source materials in their own academic writing. The rhetorical précis is taken up in Reading Rhetorically, Brief Edition, Bean et al., New York: Pearson/Longman, 2004. p. 63. Helpful additional information can be found on this site, . [2] Examples 4-7 are from . ................
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