Renique Sands
Brenna Crowe
11/10/2022
FIQWS 1011: Thoughtful Choices,
Composition for Scientific World
Rhetorical Analysis
In this essay, I will be writing about the rhetorical features dealing with the text The Tent by Margaret Atwood. There are three types of rhetorical appeals: logos, pathos, and ethos. This text follows pathos because it deals with many emotions from both the characters in the story and the person reading it. She also uses many rhetorical devices like hyperbole, irony, metaphor, personification, and simile.
I like the irony in the text the author describes of the main character speaking about the many dangers and how they want to keep their loved ones and themselves safe while also not knowing what is outside of the tent they inhabit. It is almost as if the character is aware of their own mortality and powerlessness but can only do what they can, which is to remain safe in the tent and hope that they can escape the dangers outside. The irony of the situation creates a sense of fear and tension in the reader as they can sympathize with the characters in the text.
She also compares the noise outside to the howling of the wolves, using metaphors. This comparison of the outside forces to wolves adds to the sense of danger and vulnerability that the character is feeling. This choice of words also creates a sense of unease, as wolves are seen as dangerous predators, implying that the characters in the text may be in grave danger if they venture outside. With this comparison, the reader can fully understand and appreciate the characters’ fear of what lies beyond their tent. This irony, coupled with the use of powerful metaphors, heightens the readers’ understanding of the situation and creates an even greater sense of fear and tension in them.
The tenuousness of the author’s world is beautifully portrayed in the title piece, “The Tent.” Although the reader is aware from the outset that this vast and unsettling wilderness is nothing more than an extended metaphor, Atwood’s writing is so potent that the reader feels as though they are in the tent, shivering from the cold, fearing the dogs and howlers, and writing through the burning paper, “Because what else can you do?” (146)” “The Tent” In order to convey the vulnerability of writing in a world that frequently feels vast and overwhelming, Atwood exhibits her mastery of metaphor. Many writers can identify with Atwood’s portrayal of the human experience of feeling small and helpless in a vast and unpredictably changing world. In The Tent, Atwood compares the struggle of a writer to find their place in the world to the setting.
It doesn’t surprise me that these passages, which are the most overt allusions to her writing career and her personal opinions on it, have been the focus of every advance review I’ve seen for the book. But anyone who has been paying attention shouldn’t be shocked by it. In order to distinguish between the act of telling stories the voice we use to tell them and the stories themselves, Atwood has always taken great care in her writing.
How many of her books conclude with the tales being lost, forgotten, or thrown away at the whims of a whimpering fate, or a shaky interpreter? The voice that tells a story is dishonest and unreliable; it constantly obscures and complicates very basic concepts and ideas. When Atwood looks back on her career, she is more struck by the quiet dignity of stories than by the authority of her own voice. She is able to bring complex and sometimes controversial stories to life without allowing her own biases or preconceived notions to interfere with the narrative The stories—any stories—would be fantastic, she seems to be saying, if these damned humans weren’t always getting in the way and messing things up. She frequently creates a world in which characters are striving for honesty, but never quite reach it, as the language is so often manipulated by authors and society So many of Atwood’s books conclude with the tales being lost, forgotten, or thrown away at the whims of a whimpering fate, or a shaky interpreter, emphasizing the idea that we are often unable to grasp and comprehend stories in their entirety. Through her work, Atwood brings to light the complexity of storytelling and how often language can obscure the true meanings of stories.