Hav Babel Rhetorical Analysis

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Pages: 7

The task of depicting the dreads, disgraces, and deaths in war through writing proves a difficult yet notable task. Those who do so can approach it in an infinite number of ways: short stories, novels, poems, and they can provide extensive, even gruesome details. War seems anything but beautiful. Violence prevails, and people inevitably suffer. Possibly because of this, many seek to reenact through writing. Shedding light on the atrocities of war and those involved can not only engage readers, but also educate them on how the present came to be. History, whether presented in non-fiction or fiction writing, inspires authors. They may wish to preserve it with their own voice. Additionally, this can also spark a newfound appreciation for life and peace in those who …show more content…
Bodies are damaged during war, and some face the misfortune of a painful and fatal injury that they have no way of recovering from. Another word Babel writes a few times is different tenses of “squeal” (Babel 240, 241) to compare what a bullet sounds like. Much like “slithering,” Babel denotes that a bullet that “squeals” sounds similar to a high-pitched voice of some kind. He gives the readers words that can help them imagine what these situations look like and sound like. Because of this, he can cut down on the amount of words he uses to create short yet effective descriptions. Finally, Babel’s phrases and sentences of description are enough for the readers to understand the character’s surroundings: “Our brigades were regrouping on the board-flat plain as the run rolled through purple dust. Wounded men in ditches were having a bite to eat.scouts were scouring the fields, searching for dead bodies and uniforms” (Babel 239). These short sentences set the scene, much like the introductory sentence. The common phrase, “A picture is worth a thousand words” alludes to how Babel