All 6 Uses of
rhetoric
in
The Sunlight Dialogues
- But to speak of him as mad was like sinking to empty rhetoric.†
Chpt 2 *rhetoric = the use of (or study of using) words to make a point
- Sam was a man who appreciated the important things: a sensible brief without rhetoric, good common sense about the problem in Asia or tapping phones, good plumbing in the house.†
Chpt 3
- I'm sick of it, she thought, but even as she thought it she knew it was rhetoric.†
Chpt 4
- Don't be fooled by rhetoric.†
Chpt 11
- I told about their shocking tactics against Medicare—the banquets for doctors' wives, for instance, where the wives were given a speech that was an absolute tissue of lies, a speech that ended with outrageous rhetoric, more moving than any account of a lynching, and the final line: DO YOU WANT THAT KIND OF WORLD FOR YOUR DAUGHTERS AND SONS?†
Chpt 11
- Nuper asked softly, rhetorically.†
Chpt 17rhetorically = in a manner that uses words to make a point
Definition:
the use of (or study of using) words to make a point -- typically implying skillful use
Rhetoric is used with many connotations. "Effective rhetoric" has a positive connotation, If someone says something is "just rhetoric," they're implying that the words may make a good surface impression, but they are lacking in substance.