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Shooting Dad Rhetorical Analysis

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Shooting Dad Rhetorical Analysis
Natalia Rivera
Matthew Rivas
Ap Language
Mrs. Conferti
February 5 2016

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Sarah Vowell in an excerpt from a radio essay read on air entitled, “Shooting Dad” (1997) comically yet decisively reveals that although she and her father are extremely different, they are still family and actually share some similarities. Throughout the essay, she uses different forms of literary devices like juxtaposition, flashback, and description to explain the differences and similarities between her father and herself. . First, Vowell compares and contrast the political differences in the household by using illusion and exaggeration to explain. “It happened to be before Election Day, you wouldn’t have needed to come inside to see
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One quote that shows this is “While the kitchen and the living room were well within the DMZ, the respective workspaces governed by my father and me were jealously guarded totalitarian states” (7). Vowell uses a hyperbole to describe the way they treat their workspaces as if it was there own state, where they had total control over everything in it. This quote shows how passionate they were about their interests and how much it meant to them. Another quote that their similar behaviors is “Dad’s shop was a messy disaster area, a labyrinth of lathes… It was also a messy disaster area, an obstacle of course of musical instruments…” (7). This parallel structure Vowell uses explains how even though her dad and herself have different interests, they still share similar ways of taking care of their belongings and they do similar things with them. This demonstrates how because, since they are family, father and daughter still share similar behavioral traits even if their interests are completely opposites. Sarah Vowell writes“Shooting Dad” (1997) to give the reader the sense of juxtaposition between her father and herself over the topic of guns, By using different literary devices the author shows how her father and herself are different yet similar. From Vowell complete dislike over guns and her father love for guns. Showing

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