Stylistic analysis as an English reading and writing methodology

Stylistic analysis as an English reading and writing methodology

Stylistic analysis as an English reading and writing methodology extensively elucidates people’s conceptualization of a text, its contents, and, subsequently, the application of language within the text. As such, stylistic clarifies the language use within a specified text and further interprets informational arrangement within the said text while utilizing various rhetoric and stylistic devices, altogether. Besides, stylistic analysis is essential in the perspectival understanding of a text apart from its intended author meaning as it gives the reader the freedom of forming various argumentive points by utilizing the authors central rhetorical and literary components. In that sense, “The Racial Politics of Time” by Brittney Cooper, which was presented to TEDWomen in 2016, is synonymous with both rhetorical and stylistic items that significantly enable the reader to understand the perceptions of time through racial politics among the African American community. Within the broader African America community, time has a racial factor which mainly stems from the inherent politics of time. Accordingly, “colored people time” or “CP time” among the community members is widely understood as the time in terms of racialized politics in which the people identify with, including the past, present, and future CP time. In so doing, Cooper extensively adopts stylistic analysis in her writing to elucidate the varying perceptions of racial politics of time synonymous among different members’ community members. Cooper’s style in “The Racial Politics of Time” strikes with rhetorical effectiveness as it adopts the inclusive “we” to identify with the different racial politics of time inherent among different African Americans.

Accordingly, Cooper extensively uses the extensive we as the focal style point to lead to the consequent understanding and interpretation of the subsequently utilized literary and rhetoric components in “The Racial Politic of Time.” Mainly, the inclusive “we” is meant to create an emotional appeal with the members of the African American community and their subsequent attitudes and perceptions about racialized politics to the concept of time. In so doing, Cooper draws upon three significant time frames – the past, present, and future, altogether which are useful in understanding and interpreting the politics of race along these time dimensions.

Arguably, Cooper extensively utilizes symbolism to draw to African Americans‘ perception of time. Mainly, he refers to the time in the context of “colored people time” to substantiate that the text’s context specifically discusses time in the context of African Americans and their subsequent interpretations of the politics of race within these different time frames (Cooper para 1). Accordingly, the internal use of “we” alongside the symbolism of “colored people time” creates a particular emotional appeal about the disheartening racial politics pervasive across the different timelines in African American history. Besides, Cooper further uses symbolizing when reflecting on his childhood and how his mother often told her, “We will not be those black people,” to point to colored people and their inherent perception of time (para 2). In that sense, understanding the symbolism of time in relation to colored people often accentuates the many social injustices faced by African Americans historically, presently, and likely to be experienced in the future.

More so, Cooper’s styles integrate the inclusive “we” with an arguably series of rhetorical questions. Mainly, the use of rhetorical questions alongside the style is intended to evoke the readers’ logical response to questions raised by the narrator regarding time perceptions among the African American community members. Although these rhetorical questions demand no conclusive answer, the subsequent response evoked is enough to satisfy the author’s conclusions about how African Americans perceive issues of racial politics across a broad range of time frames. For example, Cooper uses the following set of rhetorical questions “Why are you stuck in the past? Why can’t you move on? (para 10). To evoke somewhat of a logical response in the reader. In so doing, these rhetorical questions are aimed at arguing conflicting perceptions of racial politics across the races. Whereas a black person is presently concerned with the past justifications of racism, a white person alludes that there have been significant strides made to address racism, and at present, it is not worse like it was in the past.

Overall, Cooper’s style in “The Racial Politics of Time” adopted the inclusive pronoun “we” to allude to African Americans, and create a synonymous emotional and logical appeal about the racial discrimination state of circumstances ailing the community members. Accordingly, these forms of racial discrimination are perceived through the context of time drawing upon the history, the present, and the future for the black people. Additionally, the subsequent adoption of literary use and rhetoric manifested through the adoption of symbolism and rhetorical questions throughout the text’s context satisfy the relatedness to Cooper’s style of using the inclusive “we”. Hence “we” both construct the text’s symbolism and informs its rhetorical usage to satisfy the readers’ understanding and interpretation of the narrator’s context.