QUESTIONS ON RHETORIC AND STYLE
EXEMPLARS GUIDE:
" I Know Why the Caged Bird Cannot Read" by Francine Prose
Truly effective insight and writing requires succinctness, clarity, and an exemplary understanding of three
things: the central text, the question, and the author’s manipulation of rhetoric. You must write with cogency
yourself, demonstrating a thorough reading of the passage or article and using copious evidence, generally
and specifically, that proves your analysis correct.
The following exemplars are guides, not verbatim responses that you should copy. Emulate the approach and
the ideas, not necessarily the language itself. It’s also important to note here that these exemplars are
cobbled together from multiple sources, and they include language and phrasing that is not mine.
1. Discuss three appeals to ethos in this essay. What different roles, or personae, does Prose use to
establish her ethos?
Note first that the question asks for “three appeals to ethos”; that necessitates at least three in your response,
and while there are appeals other than those created by personae, the question guides you to consider Prose
as adopting “different roles.” For each role, you must do more than summarize. Use specifics and direct your
analysis to moments in the text as well as the text’s overall arc. You might start with the idea that Prose is
careful to begin her essay by speaking on the friendly common ground of parenthood. As she continues, her
role as educator and English professor becomes a stronger persona; the way she presents research she has
done establishes this ethos (para. 29 is a striking example). She also speaks as a reader, someone who loves
books, especially fiction, and learns from them; the section on her reading of King Lear is particularly
germane to this persona (paras. 30 and 31). By the last few paragraphs, she speaks as an informed citizen,
perhaps even a social critic, as she makes the case for the long-term impact of commercialism and
commodification of literature on our culture.
2. Prose's opening paragraph includes such words as appalled, dismal, and dreariness - all with
negative connotations. Why does she start out with such strong language? Does she risk putting off
readers who do not share her views? Why or why not? What other examples of strongly emotional
language do you find in the essay?
Start with what the question gives you: Prose uses “strongly emotional language” as part of her argument.
The associated and evoked emotions are the key here; you must see that any shock (the “putting off” of
readers), as well as any other examples of emotionally charged language, is tied to a specific purpose. Notice
the overall shape of her essay, too: Prose never shrinks from strong language, and, in fact, one could make the
case that she deliberately dramatizes the opening to shock the reader. She is, after all, attacking beloved
works of literature and questioning their worth. Although she certainly does risk putting some readers off,
her careful building of an argument through specific examples will draw in the more thoughtful ones, even
though they may disagree.
It's worth mentioning in your response that the essay appeared in Harper's, a magazine with a fairly
intellectual and liberal readership. The people who are reading this essay are probably knowledgeable about
the books Prose references. This is a fair assumption, and if you are transparent in including it, it
demonstrates your careful awareness of her audience.
Paragraphs 3 and 4 are a good start to examine negative connotative language, paragraph 16 offers additional
examples, and paragraphs 40-42 offer examples of positive connotations. You must note that she does not
simply use negatively charged phrases and words; balance your response with both positive and negative,
and – above all – offer specifics for them. Identify individual words, not long sentences, and further identify
those words by charge (+/-) and specific emotional impact. Always examine diction by connotative purpose,
not just by stamp collecting.
3. Prose makes several key assumptions about the role and impact of reading literary works in high
school. What are they?
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QUESTIONS ON RHETORIC AND STYLE
Responses will vary here, but the key is plurality; the question asks for “several key assumptions,” not just
one. You must also consider the entire article, not just the early sections, and present evidence of
assumptions on both sides of the argument. Prose assumes certain aspects of the high school classroom, but
she also assumes much about the literature she venerates.
Several of her assumptions include: (a) reading challenging and well-written literature provides the reader
with ideas and perspectives that improve their lives; (b) assigning poorly written or superficial literary works
contributes to a lack of interest in reading; (c) school, especially the English classroom, is where we develop
our lifelong reading habits; (d) serious literature deserves to be read for its language, not merely its content.
For any of these, you should expand on the central ideas, offering specific language Prose uses within the
expansion.
4. What appeals does she make to logos?
To answer this question requires general assertions backed by well chosen specifics. Start here: Prose
appeals to logos by constructing her argument inductively with numerous examples to support her
assertions. This inductive reasoning is structured like many of your answers to rhetorical analysis questions
should be, and, in fact, you can emulate her structure. That requires examples, however, and not simply a
glossy overview.
If you notice her inductive logic, you should notice her deductive logic. More specifically, she builds her case
deductively by using syllogistic logic, such as:

Major premise: Reading poor quality works discourages the habit of reading.

Minor premise: Schools are assigning poor quality works.

Conclusion: Schools are discouraging the habit of reading.
Separate premises whenever you identify syllogistic logic, and provide some of her language when it is
appropriate (and offers her voice in place of yours).
Her strongest appeal to logos, though, is in her use of sources. Although she speaks as a parent and reader,
throughout the essay, she backs up her ideas by demonstrating her wide and deep knowledge, much of it
research-based. She incorporates sources, usually with direct quotations, throughout the essay. This use of
sources is an appeal to logos, precisely because her appeals to ethos – through her personae – is much more
personal.
5. Prose cites many different novels and plays. Does she assume her audience is familiar with some of
them? All of them? Explain why it matters whether the audience knows the works.
Because of the readership of Harper's, Prose can assume that her audience knows the primary texts she
references, including Shakespeare's plays, To Kill a Mockingbird, Huck Finn, The Great Gatsby, etc. You must
have some awareness of her readership here, and that does not mean an existing knowledge of Harper’s
(although that kind of social awareness is always helpful); a careful reading of Prose should yield a sense of
her audience. What connects those texts is their presence in the canon, and that ubiquity means general
awareness.
In cases where Prose alludes to a lesser-known work, she often provides a brief explanation. Once you see
this, you must isolate each work and provide specifics. For example, in paragraph 5 she refers to Ordinary
People, "a weeper and former bestseller by Judith Guest about a 'dysfunctional' family recovering from a
teenage son's suicide attempt." You should expound upon the effect of such a summary, as this is the
explanation of “why it matters whether the audience knows the works” from the question. Readers would not
need familiarity with the novel to understand her point about Ordinary People.
In the case of secondary sources, she provides more elaborate explanation, often including quotations from
the work; see paragraphs 28 and 29 for an example of where you should focus your attention. Secondary
sources should comprise the third section of this response, with the first two being well-known primary texts
and lesser-known primary texts.
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QUESTIONS ON RHETORIC AND STYLE
6. According to Prose, "To hold up [I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings] as a paradigm of memoir, of
thought - of literature - is akin to inviting doctors convicted of malpractice to instruct our medical
students" (para. 13). Do you agree with this analogy? Explain your answer. What other examples of
figurative language can you find in this essay?
To agree or to disagree here requires an understanding of the purpose of the analogy. Your opinion enters
into it, but the driving focus must be on context: why this analogy is used in this argument and how it is
representative of many other moments. You may think it’s an exaggeration, but this example of figurative
language typifies the strong language Prose uses throughout the piece. You should also note that it is a
relatively well-supported exaggeration; in paragraphs 6 and 7, Angelou’s own metaphor is used as evidence
that Prose is not exaggerating. Angelou’s writing, at least as it is isolated here, is quite awful. You should
mention these examples, if not directly quote them.
As far as Prose’s own use of figurative language: Perhaps her criticism, which takes on a mocking tone with its
sheer number of bad examples, has made her wary of using figurative language herself. Examples of her own
usage are scarce, but you must find at least two (and better responses should find three or four), because the
question calls for it. A few include:
• Paragraph 3: " ... the vision of an artist can percolate through an idiosyncratic use of language, and
for the supple gymnastics of a mind ... "
• Paragraph 18: " ... as is everything that constitutes style and that distinguishes writers, one from
another, as precisely as fingerprints or DNA mapping."
• Paragraph 26: "But to treat the geniuses of the past as naughty children, amenable to reeducation
by the children of the present, evokes the educational theory of the Chinese Cultural Revolution"
• Paragraph 42: " ... love and respect the language that allows us to smuggle out, and send one
another, our urgent, eloquent dispatches from the prison of the self."
For each, exemplary responses would note what kind of figurative language is being used (e.g., similes,
analogies, metaphors).
7. Toward the end ofthe essay (paras. 35, 39, and 43), Prose uses a series of rhetorical questions. What
is her purpose in piling one rhetorical question on top of the other?
By the end of the essay, Prose has made her case and might be seen as asking the reader to confirm what has
become obvious. In paragraph 42, Prose states directly what we can gain from serious literature seriously
taught and read: we will understand "the infinite capacities and complexities of human experience ... accept
complexity and ambiguity ... love and respect the language that allows us to smuggle out, and send one
another, our urgent, eloquent dispatches from the prison of the self." After that list of lofty principles, Prose
seems to take a breath and then say, "So we have to ask ourselves" a series of questions whose answers have
become clear.
This same pattern is seen in paragraphs 35 and 39, both of which are preceded by paragraphs of "answers" to
the questions posed. It is as if she is asking her readers, "Will you settle for anything less? Should anyone?"
Also in paragraph 39, she embeds in her questions the very point she is making. Thus, when she asks "Why
not celebrate the accuracy and vigor with which [Twain] translated the rhythms of American speech into
written language?" she is making the case for such celebration.
Demonstrating this clarity requires you to employ not just examples from the series of questions and their
responses – direct quotations are a necessity – but your own understanding: of Prose’s overall argument, of
the ideas within the questions, of the insights that inform them, and so on.
One note on how you construct these sorts of responses: Writing that the author has manipulated some
element of rhetoric “to get the reader to think” (or any variation on that idea) weakens your effectiveness
immediately. All arguments want us to think; even an inarticulate diatribe wants us to think, and every
rhetorical technique within it aims to achieve that goal. Similarly, writing that an author asks rhetorical
questions “to prove her point” produces nothing but an empty phrase and wasted time. You must say at all
points why an author writes as he or she does. If, for instance, you find that Prose’s questions are meant to
intimidate the reader (as one of you did), you must say why. Is she using intimidation because of the specific
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QUESTIONS ON RHETORIC AND STYLE
content of the questions? Is her point about intimidation? Does she want us to be afraid in order to make an
appeal to appeasing that fear? And so on.
8. Would Prose have strengthened her argument by including interviews with a few high school
students or teachers? Why or why not?
Your responses will vary here, and that’s perfectly fine. The key is to grapple with specifics on two levels: in
the way Prose addresses the idea of students or teachers already, and in your treatment of what might have
occurred with a few interviews. You might have considered that the inclusion of a random student – even her
sons – would be adding a “neophyte” to a conversation among scholars and researchers. Perhaps this is a
good thing; perhaps it isn’t. Your response here needs to focus on being specific (how many student voices
would it take to add authenticity to Prose’s argument?) and insightful, and you needed to avoid
generalizations and assumptions about teachers and students (e.g., that they would disagree with Prose).
9. According to Prose, why are American high school students learning to loathe literature? Try to find
at least four or five reasons.
First, the phrase “try to” in a question doesn’t offer you the option of failure. You need at least four or five
reasons here, and they need to demonstrate a sense of the whole essay – not just the opening points Prose
makes. Additionally, you must use specifics, especially where her phrasing is important. Consider these
examples as a partial list of responses:
• Assigned reading is often mediocre.
• Teachers emphasize the individual rather than the universal, encouraging students to see
themselves in the work in the most pedestrian terms rather than probing for deeper meaning.
• Teaching literature for "values" or "character" education reduces it to "soporific moral blather"
(para. 18).
• Teaching methods that "narrow the world of experience down to the personal" (para. 40) prevent
students from experiencing the world of the book.
• Attention is not being paid to language - careful and close reading of the writing itself.
There are more reasons in the text, obviously.
10. Does she propose a solution or recommendations to change this situation? If she does not offer a
solution, is her argument weakened? Explain your answer.
To “[e]xplain your answer,” you should have offered specifics; you should have also noticed that a solution is
offered. This requires a sense of the whole essay, start to finish, and not just a look at the final series of
rhetorical questions. Although Prose never explicitly proposes a solution, one is implicit: assign and teach
kids better books and teach them (books and kids) well. That idea must be central in any effective response
here. You should also note that the word "doom" appears in the opening paragraph, while the spirit of doom
reappears in the final one. Prose suggests that if action is not taken – the action of teaching better books well
– then her prediction that we'll become a culture of people unable to understand, appreciate, or even tolerate
"the gray areas" of human experience and behavior will come true.
You might also consider whether a concrete and practical solution – the nuts and bolts of one, at least – would
somehow undermine the effect of this prediction of doom at the end of the essay.
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