Argumentation

Here we will provide you with an overview of the argumentation techniques used by Levy in “The Writing of The Long Song”. This section will help you understand the structure of the essay and the linguistic devices used by the author.

Open argumentation

Andrea Levy's essay is built on open argumentation. This means that the writer states the purpose and arguments of her essay clearly and directly. The title makes it explicit that the essay is about Levy’s process of writing her novel, The Long Song.

The writer is direct about the reasons why she wrote the book, about her opinion on history versus fiction, and the legacy of slavery: “Could a novelist persuade this young woman to have pride in her slave ancestor through telling her a story? That was where the idea for The Long Song started.” (ll. 21-25); “But what I wanted to explore isn’t in our history books. I wanted to put back the voices of everyday life for black Jamaicans.” (ll. 244-247);

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Rhetorical devices

Several rhetorical devices are used to engage the readers, make them reflect on the topic of the essay, and persuade them to accept Levy’s arguments. The most relevant ones are rhetorical questions, enumerations, and anecdotes.

Rhetorical questions

Rhetorical questions permeate the whole essay, as a way to mark Levy’s line of thought and conclusions. These rhetorical questions help the author create a connection with the readers and...

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Enumerations

Enumerations help the author give emphasis to her arguments; they show readers the many reasons why the descendants of slaves should be proud, or how diverse toady’s Jamaican society is thanks to its past:

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Forms of appeal

By forms of appeal, we refer to those language and argumentation techniques that are meant to engage and persuade the receivers of the sender’s arguments. These are the appeal to emotions (pathos), the appeal to logical reasoning (logos) and the appeal to authority and common shared values (ethos).

In “The Writing of The Long Song”, Andrea Levy resorts to pathos and ethos.

Pathos

Levy uses pathos and appeals to readers’ emotions when she talks about her feelings or the feelings of slaves and their descendants. The use of pathos is meant to make readers empathise with the topic: “Had she never felt the sentiments once expressed to me by a Jamaican acquaintance of mine?...

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Ethos

Ethos—references to authority and shared values—is used in several ways. First of all, the writer builds her authority on the topic of slavery and its legacy.

Because her ancestors were Jamaican slaves, because she has already written several books on the lives of Jamaican people, and because she conducted extensive research to write her novel, Levy has the authority and knowledge to discuss the topics of slavery and history versus fiction:

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