Rhetorical devices

Rhetorical devices are language tools designed to capture readers’ attention and make arguments sound more appealing and memorable. Jonathan Safran Foer uses various such language tools in the essay “How Not to Be Alone”, which we will outline ne…

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Allusions and direct references

An allusion is an indirect reference to a person, event, media, or literature that the writer considers relevant for the topic he explores. For example, when Foer mentions “one’s favorite iDistraction” (ll. 37-38), he creates an allusion to modern digital technologies such as the iPhone or iPad. His allusion is meant to convey criticism and emphasize how these communica…

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Antithesis and analogy

Antithesis means creating opposition between different elements with the aim of outlining certain ideas and maintaining readers’ attention. An analogy is a sort of comparison that uses one event to describe another.

For example, Foer uses antithesis to convey his dilemma. He presents readers with two very different reactions he could have towards the girl crying in public: “I could interject myself into her life, or I could respect the boundaries between us.” (ll. 23-25)

In another instance, the writer opposes day to night and a rich neighborhood to a dangerous one. At the same time, he constructs an analogy meant to suggest that trying to help the girl might be the best course of action: “An affluent neighborhood at the beginni…

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Imagery and metaphors

The essay includes several instances of imagery and metaphors which create mental images for the readers and convey deeper meanings. For example, when the writer mentions “There was a lot of human computing to be done.” (ll. 32-33) he uses a technology term to suggest that he is the one being used (controlled) by the digital technologies and not the other way around.

The metaphor of digital devices as “dimi…

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Sarcasm and parallelism

Sometimes, Foer relies on sarcasm to convey criticism. For example, putting the word ‘forward’ in inverted commas is meant to suggest the opposite, that the writer does not believe the world is necessarily heading for a better future: “Each step ‘forward’ has made it easier, just a little, to avoid the emotional work of being present...” (ll. 100-102)

Similarly, the writer expresses his concerns about the future genera…

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Repetition and tricolon 

Repetition helps the writer to highlight ideas and structure them. For example, to emphasize the drama of the girl he sees crying, Foer mentions that she repeats the same words: “…heard her say, ‘I know, I know, I know’ over and over.” (ll. 10-11)

Repetition is also used in the form of anaphora in combination with tricolon. Anaphora means repeating the same word(s) in the beginning of consecutive clauses. Tricolon means mentioning things in threes. Both devices are used to make the writer’s point more memorable…

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