Rhetorical devices in Text 3

Anecdotes and personal stories

Morris-Marr begins her article with a personal story through which she conveys her wish to have children, and the fact that their names were decided well before they were born: “Before I’d even met my husband, I’d carefully planned out the names of my future children: Grace for a girl and James or Charlie for a boy.” (ll. 1-4).

She also shares her belief that these names would have been appropriate for different careers: “They could be prime ministers or pop stars!” (ll. 6-7) This also suggests that the writer believes one’s name is very important for one’s social identity.

Her wish to have children, but also the fact that she was sure her children would have the names she originally chose, are further emphasised through an anecdote (a story with a message): “I even occasionally sketched out their names on my notebooks.” (ll. 8-10).

The writer continues to describe the difficult period that many new mothers and fathers go through once their baby is born:

The husband is still in shock from witnessing the agricultural horror scenes of the labour room, so he’s not exactly on top form. And as a new mum you are mostly tearful, hormonal and waiting for the milk to start flowing. (ll. 17-23)

Readers can imagine that the writer and her husband had a similar state of mind, and this explains how they ended up giving different names to their children. However, by describing t...