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An Example Of Manna Walking Rhetorical Analysis

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12/06/2015 - Manna Walking Summative - Part A Using my prior knowledge and details inferred from the short story, “Manna Walking” by Dawn Karima Pettigrew, I am able to tell what Food Stamps, A&P and Navajo are. Furthermore by using examples in the text given by the author, I am able to identify three examples of strong writing in the text such as the concrete and selective language the purpose of the text, and the voice created by the author. Firstly from my prior knowledge I know that Food Stamps are a system of aid used in the United States of America for families that require benefits as a method of surviving hard times. From the cashier’s reaction in the story of “she sneers as Manna pays her with many coloured food stamps”, I am able …show more content…

As someone who has a need for them, such as manna, they are invaluable. Furthermore, from what I am able to infer from the story, A&P is a grocery store chain in the United States of America. I did not know what it was before reading the text, however by reading such excerpts as “the cashier in A&P” and “wheeling the baby and the groceries out of the icebox of the A&P” I was able to come to the conclusion that A&P is a grocery store. I also know that it is a store in the United States of America by the author’s view on presidency and food stamps; “it would be tragic to work so hard to be president and then end up engraved on a food stamp instead of a dollar …show more content…

She uses her vocabulary and word choice very efficiently that presents an image to the reader from the very first line. She describes the cashier as “the kind of blonde poured out of a bottle.” This immediately conjures an image of a classic teenage girl brimming with insecurity that has to judge others and dye her hair to hide her flaws. This shows an interesting contrast as the one that is being viewed as inferior in this situation is Manna - yet she is the one that is the most comfortable with who she is. A second example of concrete and selective language is the inclusion of small details that helps to draw a picture for the reader. For example when Manna is leaving the grocery store parking lot, she walks away from “the burned out ampersand on the neon supermarket sign, and the sale on sprinklers and the almost genuine Navajo ashtrays.’ By including these details, the reader is taken into the story in their mind and it helps them to empathise with her situation. It is only if you are actually in a place that you are able to identify small details; the author including them into the story really helps to paint an image in the reader’s mind. For example without the inclusion of such small details, then the reader would never be able to accurately imagine the location or Manna’s situation, something I believe the author is trying to achieve with this

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