As I Lay Dying
Rhetorical Journals
You will be keeping a rhetorical journal to track the rhetorical devices William Faulkner uses
throughout the novel. You will find specific rhetorical strategies from the novel, discuss what the
strategies are and what purpose they serve for Faulkner, and for half of your entries you will also create
your own original sample of the rhetorical strategy.
Find at least one entry for each 20 - 25 pages of the novel and
 properly cite the text
 label the rhetorical technique, explain how it works, and explain Faulkner's purpose
 for 1/2 of the entries, imitate Faulkner's rhetorical strategy.
EXAMPLE:
Properly Cited Text:
"I go on to the house, followed by the
Chuck.
Chuck. Chuck.
of the adze" (Faulkner 5).
Rhetorical Technique:
Syntax & Onomatopoeia
Explanation and Purpose:
Faulkner creates a specific syntactical emphasis through placement, punctuation, and repetition of Chuck,
Chuck, Chuck. By intentionally creating a space between each repetition of the word, Faulkner creates the
SOUND of the adze as it works the wood. The word chuck also has onomatopoeia as when one says/reads
Chuck, the word SOUNDS like the instrument hitting the wood.
Imitation:
My favorite thing to eat is an ultra-thick mocha chocolate shake. I simply love the
Slurp. Slurp. Slurp
of the shake gliding up the straw into my mouth!
EXAMPLE:
Properly Cited Text:
"a good carpenter, Cash is" (Faulkner 6)
Rhetorical Technique:
Inversion
Explanation and Purpose:
Faulkner employs inversion to emphasize the fact that Cash's carpentry skills are excellent. By placing
the main idea at the beginning of the sentence, Faulkner lets the reader know the strong point of his
sentence.
Imitation:
My favorite artist, Jim Morrison is.
Rhetorical Device List
Alliteration
Allusion
Biblical
Literary
Historical
Anaphora
Antithesis
Apostrophe
Assonance
Cacophony
Chiasmus
Consonance
Diction
Euphemism
Hyperbole
Imagery
Irony
Verbal
Situational
Dramatic
Juxtaposition
Litotes
Metaphor
Mood
Narration
Onomatopoeia
Oxymoron
Paradox
Parallelism
Personification
Point of view
1st person
2nd person
3rd person
Limited Omniscient
Omniscient
Polysyndeton/
Asyndeton
Prosody
Protagonist
Pun
Repetition
Rhyme
Sarcasm
Setting
Simile
Sound devices
Structure
Style
Suspense
Symbol
Synecdoche
Metonymy
Syntax
Theme
Tone
Understatement
Meiosis
Litotes
____________________________________________________________________________________
1. Diction
2. slang
3. colloquial expressions
4. jargon
5. dialect
5. concrete diction
7. abstract diction
8. denotation
9. connotation
10. Zeugma