Rhetorical Analysis of ‘The Language of Snails’

Introductory Paragraph

1. An opening sentence mentioning the author and title you will be analyzing and what you believe one of the main “messages” that this piece is communicating
2. A sentence describing the basic “tone” and diction of this piece and how it helps to convey its meaning  
3. A statement describing what your analysis plans to explore and analyze

First Body Paragraph: Getting Started

1. Break down the words in the title itself—what sort of expectations does it set up?
2. How does the opening word (or opening phrase) of the passage create a “first impression”?
3. Look over the overall plot or order or shape/structure of the poem/story/essay you are analyzing and describe how this gives the piece a certain kind of impact—is it a series of fragments? A rhymed song? A list of questions? How does this piece of literature’s “body type” help it communicate its concerns?

Second Body Paragraph: Tone

1. Moving through the piece, analyze several statements and how their word-choice works
2. How is punctuation used to set up the rhythm and music and pace of the piece?
3. Are “images” being used to project pictures into the reader’s brain?
4. Are metaphors being used explicitly to compare one object to another?

Third Body Paragraph: Sound

1. Speak a key sentence or two out loud to yourself and locate the sounds it makes—how does the gentleness or harshness of a phrase connect to the “inner” meaning of that phrase?
2. Explain the “flavor” of at least one word or phrase in your mouth
3. Analyze how the silence or blank space between two specific words in the passage give some kind of meaning of its own, in terms of suspense of forcing a reader to use imagination to fill in that blank

Fourth Body Paragraph: Appearance

1. Examine at least one piece of wordplay in the piece. How does one word sounding like another make for a pun related to the piece’s main theme?
2. Analyzing rhetoric is a creative act as well as an interpretive one—take a risky chance and try to “read into” one of the author’s statements something that might not have been fully or consciously “intended”
3. Look for an example of multiple layers—analyze at least one phrase from a variety of angles and levels, as literature is often the art of saying more than one thing at a time, even with a single statement

Fifth Body Paragraph: Literary Techniques

1. Most literary pieces use at least some degree of allusion, or reference to some other form of literature, scripture, religion, or politics—how is allusion used here?
2. Look for an example of symbolism—is a sunrise being used to indicate hope or something similar?
3. The idea of “voice” in a piece of writing is sometimes vague and mysterious, but try to point out how the phrasing and intonation of this passage add up to indicate a certain kind of authorial “voice”

Sixth Body Paragraph: Moving Toward a Conclusion  

1. Where does the write exaggerate? Where do they understate? Give a specific example of how, when presenting the issue, this writer makes it a matter of some kind of importance
2. Suggest a word that could have appeared in this piece but doesn’t and could have made the point stronger, clearer or funnier
3. Try to describe the “persona” the writer either directly or indirectly creates for themselves through this passage—what kind of character do they show through their word choice and ideas?
4. Are their political implications for this rest of us in this piece? If the world were more like the world as described in this passage what would the outcome be?

Concluding paragraph

1. Make one overall statement describing what you believe that your paper has achieved or exposed—this is a chance to congratulate yourself or give yourself a pat on the back
2. All papers and all ideas have their limits—point out one mystery, controversy, or ambiguity in the text that has gone unaddressed—an implication too large to respond to in a three-page paper
3. Ask a question that your analysis has raised—a question that goes unanswered but gives your reader something to ponder
4. End with some kind of “maybe” or “perhaps” statement that leaves a “…” in the reader’s mind and could prompt them to write their own paper in response