Diction
Consider:
Art is the antidote that can call us back from the edge of
numbness, restoring the ability to feel for another.
_ Barbara Kingsolver, High Tide in Tucson
Discuss:
1. By using the word antidote, what does the author imply
about the inability to feel for another?
2. If we changed the word antidote to gift, what effect would
it have on the meaning of the sentence?
Apply:
Brainstorm with the class the list of medical terms; then write
a sentence using medical terms to characterize art. Explain to
the class the effect this term has on the meaning of the
sentence.
Possible answers:
1. An antidote is something that counteracts a poison. By
associating antidote with the restoration of ability to feel
for another, Kingsolver implies that the inability to feel
for another is a poison. Further this poison is so noxious
as to take us to the edge of numbness.
2. The use of the word gift instead of antidote weakens the
precision of the sentence and takes away its power of
association. Gift is a much more general word than
antidote, and it does not offer the implicit judgment about
the inability to feel for another.