Rhetorical devices
In “Second Generasians”, Sarfraz Mansoor uses rhetorical devices to support his arguments and make them more appealin…
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Allusions and direct references
Throughout the article, the writer uses allusion (an implied or indirect reference) and direct references to support his arguments and give more depth to his message.
At the start of the article, the writer directly references Monica Ali’s novel Brick Lane (p. 135, l. 4), the musical Bombay Dreams (p. 135, l. 6), and the television programme Bollywood Queen (p. 135, l. 8-9). These forms of entertainment, all of which draw on Asian culture, were very popular in Britain at the time when the article was published. The writer uses these references to justify his statement that British Asians have a strong influence on British culture (p. 135, ll. 2-3).
The wri…
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Antithesis and juxtaposition
Antithesis (two opposites put together for a contrasting effect) is present when the writer speaks about the confidence displayed by the new generation of British Asians. This confidence is the opposite of the previous generation’s lack of confidence, which he alludes to in the following statement: “They are not apologizing for their cultural heritage, but are making a virtue of it instead” (p. 136, ll. 16-1).
The writer creates antithesis by presenting the opportunities found by immigrants in Britain in contrast with the danger of losing their Pakistani and Muslim identity. He introduces this idea in a simple manner: “Coming to Britain offered new opportunities, but it also presented dangers.” (p. 136, ll. 15-17). Manzoor continues to ex…
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Imagery and metaphors
Imagery is used to encourage readers to imagine Britain through the eyes of the writer’s father: “He left Pakistan (…) and travelled more than 6,000 kilometres to a cold, wet land, full of pink strangers who spoke a different language.” (p. 135, ll. 21-25). The writer’s words depict Britain almost like an alien planet, emphasizing how different it was from Pakistan.
The phrase “Brits with brown faces” (p. 136, l. 30) also creates imagery and helps the write…
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Tricolon
Manzoor uses tricolon (a series of three parallel words, phrases, or clauses) to make his ideas more memorable and give more depth to his message.
For example, to show the type of jobs available for immigrants in Britain, he states: “The country needed factory workers, bus drivers, and postmen.” (p. 136, ll. 1-2). This highlights the fact that immigrants were typically expected to take low-end jobs, supporting his previous statement that the British did not want to do these jobs, so they offered them to immigrants (p. 135, ll. 14-16).
We encounter another example of…
