The Little Mud Boy Rhetorical Devices

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Pages: 3

A common theme within both “Have You Prayed” and “The Little Mute Boy” is the search for something abstract and the imagination one must possess to understand the context of the poem. The author utilizes various rhetorical devices throughout both poems to allow the reader to visualize what the author wanted the poem to signify such as metaphors, repetition, and symbolism. Although both poems hold fundamentally different messages there are distinct similarities though the author’s use of certain literary devices.
In “Have You Prayed,” many metaphors are presented which allow the reader to imagine the author’s vision for the poem. Instead of just simply stating what the author means he uses rhetorical devices to portray his point. Through the use of repetition, of the words, “Have you prayed” it puts
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The author incorporates the word “voice” to mean something other than its literal definition. The protagonist is searching for his voice or ability to express himself and individualism. He says that the king of the crickets have his voice, meaning that authority is restricting his sense of individuality to be shown through this hypothetical “voice.” Imagination is vital in this particular poem because not only is the “voice” they are speaking of not the literal one but also the crickets are meant to symbolize something much greater. The crickets can symbolize any authority figure that is restricting of younger people. The little boy has even searches in “a drop of water” meaning that he has searched far and wide for his voice he so desperately desires. As the author includes the word “I” many times it is open to interpretation whether it is intended to mean the little boy, the author, or the king of crickets. This causes the point of view of the poem to be obscure and left for