Write A Rhetorical Analysis Of The Earthquake

Twain’s narration emphasizes the response of people when it comes to fear. His writing is immensely personal. Twain talks mostly of the people’s distraught emotions more than the earthquake itself. The people exclaimed, “Oh, what shall I do! Where shall I go!” The author focuses on the emotional reaction of the people to sudden trauma rather the destructive nature of the earthquake. Twain brings in specific emotional and physical reactions the people encounter when the earthquake strikes and they all have similar experiences. Twain’s syntax structure includes lengthy sentences. Since most people haven’t been in an earthquake he uses common sensations that people can relate to when describing the earthquake. People felt, “a really terrific shock:
Each paragraph begins with a notation of the time of day. London breaks down the day into the hour of the earthquake, then the aftermath by morning, afternoon, and night. We are embedded in the experience: “By Wednesday afternoon, inside twelve hours, half the heart of the city was gone.” He uses the flow of time to take you through the experience of the earthquake. By this use of time it allows the reader to better understand the upheaval of the earthquake. London’s syntax includes short sentences. By use of short sentences London gives the reader a feeling of how rapidly catastrophe can change things. The earthquake only lasted half an hour and now, “ San Francisco is gone.” In three short words London summed up the devastation of the earthquake. His factual and objective tone gives the reader an on the ground point of view experience of the earthquake. London describes the streets as being, “ humped into ridges and depressions, and piled up with the debris of fallen walls.” London’s tone is factual and objective like a news reporter. He uses rich detail in describing all aspects of the city to inform the reader what the affects of the earthquake looked