Samantha Trujillo

Rhetorical analysis: Fourth of July Final copy

October 22, 2014

Within Lordes narrative Fourth of July expressing her aggrieved emotions

toward those who feel acceptable to discriminate and are prejudice, Lorde shifts
from the exhilaration from her childhood family trip to Washington, D.C to
desolation caused by the inequality proceeding in America which stripped her of her
purity in order to illuminate the new and crushing reality (P7) of what pronounced
the irony which lies at the base of our nations distort morality.
After her parents avoidance of reality of racism, Lordes description of the
brightness of D.C demonstrates how her childhood was torn from her; the overall
result was that humanity is not fully aware of the harsh realities and discrimination
occurring in the community. In particular Lorde uses color imagery frequently
throughout her narrative. Therefore the imagery she uses in the text grabs the
audiences attention by her describing the color of the different attractions in
Washington, D.C such as the monuments. This allows for the audience to get a clear
picture of the end result of what shes left with, which is the whiteness. In addition
to Audre Lorde using imagery she includes epiphora as well. The repetition of the
word white at the end of each successive clause illustrates an epiphora. By Lorde
doing this she emphasizes the color imagery conveying in her piece. On the other
hand Lorde also utilizes polysyndeton. The use of polysyndeton portrays an effect
that slows down the sentence and appeals to the audience by describing her
feelings at the end to express how she felt towards the discrimination she

experiences on the trip. The framing of the repetitive word and stresses her
multiple experiences by her explaining certain events that has happen to her on the
trip such as the waitress incident. In cohesion the polysyndeton allows for the
phrases to transition in an orderly fashion.
If Lorde did not find the audacity to voice her experiences of racism then
many people would still not fully understand the impact discrimination had on
families, individuals, and in communities, we as Americans would still not grasp the
whole picture of inequality. We need to be aware of the harsh realities faced in
society, so we can make practicable changes to humanitys future. By learning
through the narrators experiences and hardships in life people can gain knowledge
of what it felt like to feel mistreated and as a general species we can never make
the mistake of repeating history again or every discriminating a person or a group of
people.