Language Features used in Don't Call me Ishmael Rhetorical devices: language devices that are used to persuade an audience Metaphor: when one thing is said to be something it is not; using words in a non-literal way. For example: ‘Her heart of stone’. Simile: making a comparison between two things that may be somehow related. For example: ‘The bruise was as round as an egg’. (signal words: like or as) Irony: a literary device in which the apparent meaning is the opposite of that intended, and is made clear by the context or tone Hyperbole: exaggerating or overstating something, usually deliberately for effect. For example: ‘When the puppy looked at me I just melted’. Or ‘If you make me wear those shoes to school I’ll never speak to you again’. Understatement: making something seem less serious than it really is (the opposite of hyperbole). For example: ‘There was a bit of congestion on the freeway’, to describe a lengthy traf c jam or ‘I was starting to get a bit worried’, when lost for three days in the bush.
ACTIVITY ONE DRAW UP AND COMPLETE A TABLE WITH THE FOLLOWING HEADINGS. Find an example for each of the five devices.
Rhetorical Device Quotation from Don't Call me Ishmael (with page number)
ACTIVITY TWO
Read Chapter 12 ‘Geek seeking Missiles’ of the novel Don’t call me Ishmael! In this chapter a new and very individual student arrives at the school, James Scobie. React on the author’s use of language devices to create tone, such as humour.
Comment on the way humour has been used in Chapter 12. Explain how the writing could be considered humorous, and why the author has done this. (Hint: Think about the purpose and audience.) (2–3 sentences)
ACTIVITY THREE As you know, language is a VERY powerful tool. Choose one of the following situations from Don't Call Me Ishmael and write a PEEL paragraph to explain how language is used as a powerful tool in this situation. Include a quote.
Language used in Miss Tarango’s chair challenge
Scobie uses language to counteract Barry Bagsley
Scobie uses language to inspire the football team
Scobie uses language in the debates
Barry uses language to humiliate and exert his control
Razza uses humour to deal with situations, relieve tension and put things in perspective
Consider Ishmael’s struggle to express himself in public and his decision not to use words to get revenge against Barry
ACTIVITY FOUR CHOOSE A CHARACTER FROM THE NOVEL TO COMPLETE THE FOLLOWING ACTIVITY Write two different paragraphs about your chosen character using examples of evaluative language and rhetorical devices.
Your first paragraph (a) should position a reader to view the character positively.
Your second paragraph (b) should position a reader to view the character negatively.
Write about 3–4 sentences per paragraph.
ACTIVITY FIVE A writer can reveal aspects of character both by ‘telling’ the readers what the character is like and by ‘showing’ the readers. A writer might ‘show’ readers what particular characters are like in many different ways – by how they move, by their mannerisms, by what they do, by their interests and attitudes, by how they speak, by their appearance and by their name. Discuss ways in which the characters of Prindabel, Bill and Razza are ‘shown’ in Chapter 21?