Rhetorical devices
In his article, James Hamblin uses rhetorical devices to create a connection with the readers and encourage them to accept his arguments. By using rhetorical devices, the speaker also makes his ideas more appealing and memorab…
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Allusions
At the start of the article, the writer alludes (refers indirectly) to society’s double-standards concerning the display of emotion by women and men: “Hillary Clinton has been criticized over an absent smile. For the same thing, a man can be respected.” (l. 9-11)
To characterize Trump and his masculinity, the writer makes an allusion to Trump’s tall buildings: “Trump is a man who has demonstrated a propensity to fill the major cities of …
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Direct references
Throughout the article, the writer uses direct references to support his arguments and make the article more appealing.
The writer calls Trump “a caricature of a man’s man.” (l.12). Here, the writer references traditional masculine traits, as “a man’s man” is a common phrase for a successful man who is a role-model for other men. By calling Trump a caricature of this type of man, Hamblin not only criticizes Trump but also indirectly criticizes his supporters.
To emphasize Trump’s exaggerated masculine behavior, the writer compares him to Vladimir Putin and makes a direct reference to publicity photos of Putin: “He hasn’t gone full Putin and hunted shirtless on horseback” (ll. 15-16). The photos, which emerged online in 2009, show the then Prime Minister of the Russian Federation shi…
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Imagery and metaphors
James Hamblin uses imagery at the start of the article to create a caricature of Trump by personifying his face, giving the impression that Trump is impersonal and fake:
The muscles in Donald Trump’s cheeks are out of practice at smiling. They pull sideways when he is amused, but rarely upwards. When they attempt to create a smile (…) his face seems to be saying to him, ‘What are you trying to do?’ (ll. 1-7)
The writer creates imagery as he suggests that the Trump skyscrapers demonstrate Trump’s inclination towards a very obvious, aggressive type of masculini…
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Parallelism
In the article “Trump is a Climax of American Masculinity” by James Hamblin, we can also find some examples of parallelism, which refers to the repeated use of a grammatical structure to make the writing rhythmic and more interesting.
To create an image of Trump’s traditional masculinity, the writer uses four parallel phrases:
He shouts and bullies and berates people. He speaks mostly in superlatives and mentions himself in most sentences. He plays golf and has a head full of hair (…). He hasn’t gone …
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Humor and irony
Although the writer’s tone is usually serious, he also uses irony and humor to highlight Donald Trump’s sometimes absurd masculine behavior.
For example, at the beginning of the article, Hamblin uses irony to suggest that Trump does not know how to smile and is unaware of the fact that his smile looks fake: “Donald Trump’s cheeks (…) pull sideways when he is amused, but rarely upwards. When they attempt to create a smile (…) his face seems to be saying to him, ‘What are you trying to do?’ ” (ll. 1-7). This also creates …
