For this paper, you will need to rely extensively on your text. I suggest you read it carefully. For
further insight, you can look into the following authors and their respective contributions to the
study of rhetoric (as highlighted in the chapter):
 Kenneth Burke……………… Rhetoric as Symbolic Action
 Lloyd Bitzer………………………… Rhetoric as Situational
 Mikhail Bakhtin and Wayne Booth…. Rhetoric as Narration
 Carole Blair and Lester Olson………… Rhetoric as Display
Choose a narrative:
 Novel
 Movie
 Poem
 Short story
 Play
 Etc.
Recalling the functions of rhetoric, discuss how rhetoric functions in the narrative. Here are some
questions you may want to consider in your analysis:
 Did the creator (i.e. author) of the narrative have an intent other than to entertain?
 Did the choice of narrative “type” (i.e. a poem vs. a movie) play a role in the function of
rhetoric in the narrative?
 Is the narrative used to “bring together individuals separated from one another by
alienation and competition” ?
 Does Burke’s concept of identification play a role?
 Is there extensive use of symbolism in the narrative?
 Can the narrative be analyzed in terms of Burke’s dramatistic pentad?
 Is there form (i.e. syllogistic, qualitative, conventional) in the narrative?
 How did the situation (per Bitzer) play a role in the rhetoric of the narrative? Consider
exigence, audience, contstraints, response.
 What role does language (per Bakhtin) play in the rhetoric of the narrative?
 Is the creator’s (i.e. author’s) voice (per Bakhtin and Booth) evident in the narrative?
 What role do images (“The Rhetoric of Display”) have in the rhetoric of the narrative?
Note that these questions are not meant to be answered in your paper. They are
rhetorical!…meant to make you think on the topic.