A concept that interested me in chapter 3 was a Hyperbole. A hyperbole is a rhetorical device that uses exaggeration. This device interests me because it is used all the time in society. Everyone uses this device even when we are not trying to persuade or manipulate our audience. For example, a lot of students say that “Class was so boring I wanted to kill myself”. In reality they really didn’t want to kill themselves but they just thought it was so dreadful and boring. Another example, is if it was windy or a little chilly outside some people might say” WOW, my feet are frozen they are about to fall off”. Realistically, feet just can’t fall off and they meant that it was cold. Most of the time a hyperbole is to exaggerate the truth and at times can damage some ones credibility. Like the “little boy who cried wolf”, is probably not so believable when the story is told.
I agree that hyperbole is a very common rhetorical device used in everyday life. Nowadays, I feel that hyperbole is used at a way to describe a moment or situation. My English teachers have always supported the use of description, such a saying "There were millions of ant." This helps the writing in that it gives the reader a sense in how many ants there are, meaning there are a lot (as oppose to saying there are 356 ants). Of course as the reader, we know there are not actually millions of ants, but the exaggeration lets us know there are copious amounts.
ReplyDeleteThe concept you chose caught my attention too. I had no idea what a hyperbole was until I read about it but I do agree that we use them everyday. We never pay attention to the things we do throughout a day but most things we do have something to do with our communication skills. People tend to persuade or manipulate others without any intentions to do so. I believe that it is just a part of human nature. I also agree that using hyperbole can damage some ones credibility because they become unreliable when using hyperbole. All of the Rhetorical devices are used in a daily life for most people.
ReplyDeleteYes I agree that hyperbole is used very often. Saying, “kill myself” is what students actually most often say. I believe this is because teens and young adults go through tough obstacles when all they want to do is have fun. I say it all the time when i'm both bored and or embarassed. With your example of a hyperbole about the frostbite, however, is false. This is because when a body part is frozen, it can, in fact, literally fall off so this example would not work. But it's easy to see you understand the concept of a hyperbole in the first example.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with what your saying, without hyperboles life is definitely boring. We use it everyday either with our friends, speeches, or even videos. Most humor comes out of hyperbole just to express the topic even further. Sometimes my friends don’t understand the comedy in stuff and I would like to act it out again to them but with a little more of my own exaggeration so they get it. in the we all just have our laughs. Same with the videos today people post on facebook, I see it everywhere. Everyone enjoys it and without it in our life it will have no meaning and fun!
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