Mark Twain was effectively able to use rhetorical devices such as tone and imagery in "Corn Pone Opinions" to inform the reader of his perspective on public opinion. The tone of the text is informative and insightful because Twain is aware that trends occur due to popular opinion. He provides examples of fashion trends, such as the hoop-skirt along with pointing out how people are only followers and not leaders. These instances occur in politics, religion and literature as Twain makes references to Shakespeare and various factions. Twain's informative tone contributes to his connection with self approval since he states that people throw away their own self opinion due to subjective and emotional circumstances.
Twain uses imagery to support his purpose along with utilizing anecdotes and examples as supporting evidence to emphasize his point. Twain's anecdote in the beginning of the text served to introduce his topic and included imagery to appeal to the reader's senses. He mentioned a time when he was younger and how he used to know a black slave who was a skilled orator. People would not acknowledge the slave, but Twain was heavily impacted when the slave stated, "You tell me whar a man gits his corn pone, en I'll tell you what his 'pinions is" (717). He presented Twain with the idea that people join the bandwagon in order to fit in with the rest of society.
 |
|
One of the issues brought up in the essay is whether to side with the minority or majority when it comes to forming your own opinions. Twain states that corn pone opinions stand for self approval and argues that self approval is achieved through society’s approval. I agree with Twain as the inevitable result is conforming to others. Some people genuinely care about what others think about them and hold it in high regard. Twain's use of these rhetorical devices made it easier for readers to understand his viewpoint by putting them in his shoes. His examples helped to make the text lighthearted and make the reader more open to his opinion.
I agree with the fact that we inevitably conform to others. Even though non-conformity is a thing, It's almost as if it's human nature to want to fit in as gathered from "some people genuinely care about what others think about them". This ties in with the fact that corn pone opinions are the result of siding with the majority and assimilating your ideas.
ReplyDeleteI really liked your conclusion paragraph; it brought the entire argument together. The examples you provided in the opening paragraph, such as the hoop skirt, and then connected it to politics and literature, were nice details to add and make for a good introduction to the topic you discussed later. While you did provide an example of an anecdote Twain used in the text, you provided no examples if imagery. Maybe that one example was supposed to serve as both an example ff imagery and an anecdote, in which case, I feel that a further explanation was needed. I agree that people tend to conform to others' opinions. People adopt others' fashion or way of conduct so that they can be accepted as well.
ReplyDeleteI like how your writing is very organized and easy to understand. You have many examples, but most importantly, you are able to connect to the main argument of the text.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with the fact that Twain's text was insightful. He tends to scrutinize the world around him which could be seen in his examples, such as the one about bottles of wine. Every time you attend a formal dinner, you tend to ignore the tiny details, such as the number of bottles of wine in each table. This reflects his analytical personality, which he indirectly portrays in his writing.
ReplyDeleteI agree that Twain's use of rhetorical devices aided the reader in understanding his viewpoint. Though i do not believe that everyone takes opinions from society and do not think for themselves, his use of rhetorical devices aided me in seeing the opposing argument in an effective way. As you said, it did indeed open me up more to his opinion.
ReplyDelete