The Death Of Benny Paret Rhetorical Analysis Essay

In writing, syntax often times controls the pacing while diction allows visualization of what is written. In this essay, the writer’s purpose is to lead the reader to assume that Paret the boxer plays the role of the hero, whilst Griffith, his opponent, plays the role of the villain. Through elements like similes and rhetorical devices, the author achieves his purpose and creates an impact on the reader. In “The Death of Benny Paret,” Norman Mailer utilises syntax to call attention to diction and imagery that establishes a tone, to tag on the labels of hero and villain in addition to glorifying Paret’s death. Syntactical elements used in this piece of writing varies from parallelism to rhetorical questions, in order to achieve the purpose of glorifying Benny Paret’s death yet still managing to narrate the boxing match prior to the event. To begin with, Mailer scatters telegraphic sentences throughout the essay. A telegraphic sentence is straight-forward, without any metaphorical devices that requires the reader to take several turns before arriving at a conclusion. Along his narration, Mailer utilizes telegraphic sentences in order to describe Paret’s status, without much detail, as the details shortly follow in more complex sentences that force the reader to slow down their pace. An example of such would be when Mailer writes, “Griffith was uncontrollable,” before following up with a …show more content…
In his essay, Mailer aims to lead the reader to believe that Paret is the hero of the situation, whereas Griffith is the villain. As he utilizes various ironic devices as well as figurative language, the author is able to achieve his goal and create an impression on his audience. Syntax and diction, what allows for pacing and imagery to manipulated, is used in this piece of