Rhetorical Analysis

Trenia Pardue
Mr. Cook
Honors Literature
11 November 2014

Any story can be good, but when a story is amazing, chills run down ones body. Kurt
Vonnegut, the author of Harrison Bergeron and Gabriel Garcia-Marquez, author of Blacaman

The Good, Vendor of Miracles both use the rhetorical devices of irony and symbolism to
develop characters and tie to the themes that are portrayed in the two stories. The two short
stories, Blacaman The Good and Harrison Bergeron, share the rhetorical devices of irony
and symbolism and the effect those rhetorical devices have on the stories develops characters,
ultimately revealing the themes of the narratives.
Irony in Harrison Bergeron connects to the character as a symbol. Harrison Bergeron is
one of the main characters that exists in the society of the story. Harrison is introduced as
George and Hazel Bergerons fourteen-year-old son (Vonnegut 7). Hazel and George had to fit
the stereotype of the perfectly average intelligence (Vonnegut 7). The irony appears when,
George, while his intelligence was way above normal, had a little metal handicap in his ear
(Vonnegut 7). The irony behind this is that this society is supposed to be equal, but it is not.
Others have to wear more handicaps, just like Harrison. Harrison Bergeron is not equal to
anybody. He wears more handicaps and is smarter, taller, and more handsome than anyone
else. The character of Harrison Bergeron symbolizes rebellion and change, but quickly is shot
down by the power of the authority.
Irony in Blacaman The Good connects to the character as a symbol. Blacaman The
Good is portrayed in the story as Im Blacaman the Good (Garcia-Marquez 275). Blacaman is
watching Blacaman the Bad persuade his audience of his product he is trying to sell. Blacaman
the Bad rolled me up in some barbed wire, rubbed rock salt on sores, put me in brine from my
own waters, and hung me by the ankles for the sun to flay me (Garcia-Marquez 278).
Blacaman the Good goes on to explain the harsh punishments that he had experienced with
Blacaman the Bad. In turn, Blacaman The Good says, I bring him back to life once more, for
the beauty of the punishment is that he will keep on living in the tomb as long as Im alive, that
is, forever (Garcia-Marquez 282). The irony that is shown is the actions of Blacaman The Good.
He was not expected to be like, if not worse, than Blacaman The Bad. It was ironic for
Blacaman The Good to turn around and torture Blacaman the Bad for the rest of his life in his

grave, instead of fitting his name and actually being good. Blacaman The Good is a symbol for
revenge and satisfaction.
Character development connects to the theme by developing the characters and
showing their changes. As seen in Harrison Bergeron, he is a symbol of rebellion. His
development in the story ties to the theme of equal is not always equal because his character is
changing and developing according to this theme. Harrison changes and develops from
exhausted and weary to rebellious and strong. In Blacaman The Good, Blacaman the Good is
the symbol for revenge. He develops to be this symbol by fitting into the theme of hate that is
presented in the story.

Theme connects to the character of Harrison Bergeron. The theme, equal is not always
equal, is introduced in this piece of writing. Harrison Bergeron,flung away his rubber-ball nose,
revealed a man that would have awed Thor, the god of thunder (Vonnegut 12). The societys
goal is to make everyone equal, but that is not the case. Harrison Bergeron represents
everything, but equality. He represents a rebel. The character of Harrison Bergeron connects to
the theme of equal not always equal because his representation in the story helps convey the
inequality that exists.
Theme connects to the character of Blacaman The Good. The theme of hatred is shown
in this story. Blacaman The Good says, I began to get my revenge for his infamy, and then I
revived him inside the armored tomb and left him there rolling about in horror (Garcia-Marquez
282). His character connects to the theme of hatred because he is presented as a good person
in the beginning of the story. Blacaman the Good turns out to be a person who is full of hate and
revenge for Blacaman The Bad.
In conclusion, irony and symbolism connect to the development of Harrison Bergeron
and Blacaman The Good by revealing the themes that are portrayed in the short stories. The
uses of irony and symbolism by both Gabriel Garcia-Marquez and Kurt Vonnegut help to build

the characters throughout the story and bring out the strong themes that are seen in both short
stories.

Trenia,

Thank you for working hard on this and getting all of the parts in on time! You have
matured regarding your time management.
Make sure that you know the MLA format, or that when you see an error you verify what
to do online. Also, work on developing a critical readers eye, so that you can catch small errors
and irregular sentences.

GRADE: 42/50