Spot the Devices

Rhetorical devices and figures of speech are everywhere. They're not just decoration, either. They make argument effective and communication interesting. One recurring feature of JustRhetoric will be a look at rhetoric in action - in comics.

Take a look at the above Hi & Lois and see if you can spot the three rhetorical devices at work. Scroll down for the answers.

Here they are:

1. Alliteration: Bites & Nibbles, Gulps & Gobbles

2. Analogy: People buy houses like they eat food. When eating a food for the first time, people are hesitant and reluctant, taking a small taste (a bit or nibble) to see if they like it. When people know they like a food they eat it eagerly, gulping or gobbling it down.

3. Commonplace: People want full course meals at discount prices. In other words, people want a bargain, they want to get something for nothing or for less than it's worth.

The argument runs as follows: The housing market must be picking up because people are looking into buying house (a bite). Behind this is the warrant, or assumption, that people look at houses only, or mainly, when they're interested in buying. (People don't window shop houses.) But, the counter-argument runs, if people are interested in buying a house, that must mean they have money to buy a house. If they have money to buy a house and are interested in buying a house, why don't they buy a house? (You can see an enthymeme at work here. Can you reconstruct the syllogism behind it?)

There follows the response, or qualification: True, it seems that people have money to buy a house, but they don't want to spend what's necessary. They don't want to pay full value.

Left unsaid - it is only a comic, after all - is why they don't want to pay full value. Do they really not have the money? Perhaps they are just "window shopping". Perhaps they have some money, but not enough. Maybe they expect houses to sell for what they sold in years past. Maybe they think the seller has room to negotiate. You can see how arguments over these points would influence arguments over future policies - whether about the housing market or how Lois tries to close a sale.

Now, go enjoy the rest of the comics!