Term
Example: “They probably would have agreed with one of the pioneers of the radio who said, “Television won’t last. It’s a flash in the pan,” Obama added, and gave a laundry list of people proven wrong for downplaying innovation (“President Obama Slams Opponents as Members of ‘Flat Earth Society’”; James Crugnale).[image]
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Definition
Ad Hominem: In an argument, this is an attack on the person rather than on the person rather than on the opponent’s idea.
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Term
Example: “‘Remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird.' That was the only time I ever heard Atticus say it was a sin to do something, and I asked Miss Maudie about it"(To Kill a Mockingbird; Harper Lee).[image] |
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Definition
Denotation: The literal or dictionary meaning of a word.
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Term
[image]Example: “Take me away, far, far from Thebes, quickly, cast me away, my friends— this great murderous ruin, this man cursed to heaven, the man the deathless gods hate most of all!” (Oedipus Rex; Sophocles).
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Definition
Catharsis: Purification or cleansing of the spirit through the emotions of pity and terror as a witness to tragedy.
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Term
Example: “They think we’re blind-un-commonly blind. And I Don’t wonder. Think about it, they’ve dispossessed us each of one eye from the day we’re born”(Invisible Man; Ralph Ellison).[image] |
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Definition
Motif: Recurrent device, formula, or situation that often serves as a signal for the appearance of a character or event.
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Term
Example ”We know a god exists because we can see the perfect order of creation, an order which demonstrates supernatural intelligence in its design” (The Skeptic’s Dictionary;Robert Carroll).[image]
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Definition
Begging the question: To sidestep or evade the real problem.
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Term
Example: “ Dishonour not your mothers; now attest That those whom you called fathers did beget you. Be copy now to men of grosser blood, And teach them how to war. And you, good yeomen, Whose limbs were made in England, show us here The mettle of your pasture” (Henry V; William Shakespeare).
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Definition
Appeal to pride: An emotional appeal used to convince the audience that they must act in order to maintain dignity and self-respect.
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