Write a rhetorical analysis of “The Cell Phone.” Write your rhetorical analysis in a personal, informal style. This is not academic writing with a hamburger structure or a thesis statement. Just start writing—jump right into your analysis in the f rst sentence, the way you jumped right into your freewriting. This is not a “correct answer” exercise, either—each reader will have unique insights about the story. This exercise asks you to write out some your insights.
Consider responding to these questions, if they’re helpful:
• Which strategies does Peter Palladini use to tell this story?
• How would you describe the psychic space Palladini constructs? • What does the ending have in it? What does it not have?
• How does dialogue work in the story?
• What does the writer show us about the narrator’s (the teller of the story) relationship with his mother? • When and how does Palladini locate the story?
• How does Palladini show the setting of the story?
• What are some detailed phrasings Palladini uses?
The rhetorical analysis is a training exercise in appreciation. By reading the writing of others, particularly those at the same stage as you, you can understand what’s possible. You may enjoy the writer’s techniques or approach. Keep these models in mind for your own writing.
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