An Analysis of Jamacian Fragment Essay - 1044 Words

Rhetorical Analysis of Jamacian Fragment by Al Hendricks. The Jamaican Fragment is a story about a man, who during his regular walk to and from work encounters an irregularity he views as an act of inferiority. We can assume that the Jamaican Fragment is a real life experience, rather than a piece of fiction due to first person writing style. In the first paragraph the author uses visual imagery by describing the colors of the houses as well as the bungalow style house, which presents as the setting. We can start to conclude that the author is ethnic himself or very familiar with differentiating ethnic characteristics. In psychology we learn that the race we are born of, makes us better able to distinguish features and characteristics†¦show more content†¦Hendricks’ style of the essay is very important in terms of what he wants the reader to experience and how he wants them to experience the story. Words that I would use to describe the tone would be casual, curious and ironic. The author uses everyday language to create th e casual tone such as â€Å"The other little fellow was smaller, but also sturdy – he was white, with hazel eyes and light-brown hair.† (362) This casual tone permits everyone to read this essay; there is no prejudice against an educated or uneducated audience. The sentence structure used is also simple and casual. â€Å"For a whole day I puzzled over this problem.†(363) This excerpt from Jamaican Fragment is an excellent example of the curious tone that utilizes in this essay. He is taking the reader on a journey of self-discovery. The reader is also curious as to the game the children play, could it really be a game of inferiority? There is also a strong sense of irony throughout the entire essay, it is my belief that the author uses an ironic tone to further his argument around prejudice enable the reader to learn a moral lesson. â€Å"The exercise is good for me and now and then I learn something from a little incident†(362), is an example of Hendricks’ using foreshadowing as a literary technique. We know that he is going to learn something and we know by the end of the essay that â€Å"little† is very much an understatement.