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Katie Reid
Erin Workman
ENC 1145
25 February 2015
Writers and the Rhetorical Devices They Use
All writings elicit a response from its reader, whether its boredom, thrill, sadness,
intrigue, etc. What I am interested in researching and analyzing is what devices an author uses in
his/ her writing to get that response from the audience. This will be done researching and
annotating two different texts: The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe, and Uganda Be
Kidding Me by Chelsea Handler.With each writing I will go through and analyze the diction of
the text, the rhetorical and literary devices used in the text, and the meaning behind certain words
and phrase that contribute to the response of the reader. By the end of the paper I will hope to
establish a deeper understanding of the way different authors write, the literary devices they
utilize to receive the desired response they want from the reader, and the meaning behind their
words.
Mabbott reviews one of Edgar Allan Poes most famous poems, The Raven. In his
review, Mabbott, identities key components of the work that attributed to the horror ambience of
the text. He begins with the statement that Poes poem appeals to those who have known loss,
more specifically, the loss of a loved one. Poe can relate to their pain and confusion and uses the
raven to portray those emotions. Mabbott notes that before writing the poem, Poe did his
research. Poes close friend owned a bird store that had a raven. He would examine and study the
ravens mannerisms and over- all how the raven acted (Mabbott). This gave him the idea of how

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the raven would be received by the readers: creepy and mysteriously omniscient. The repetition
in the poem adds to the dreariness and the words of the raven nevermore and Lenore. With
every question the narrator asks, the raven merely responds nevermore contributing to the
growing frustration of the narrator. Given the introduction to one of Poes popular poems The
Raven and what his writings involve, his very famous short story, The Tell-Tale Heart, similar
in dark nature to The Raven, will be further analyzed and annotated.
In Hollie Pritchards review of The Tell- Tale Heart she explores the notion that the
narrator has a psychological disorder. The narrator continuously refers to his criminal act as the
perfect crime. She quotes from one of her sources The Psychology of Hatred and Cruelty,
Egocentrism is at the heart of sadomasochism: men want to feel like they are better than they
are (Pritchard). The narrator both loved and hated the man he killed, which can also lead the
reader to question his sanity. In the poem the narrator is almost trying to comfort the reader, that
he was very careful when committing the crime, he was stealthy, and kind to the old man
everyday before he killed him. In the beginning of the poem the reader is introduced with the
motivation behind the narrator murdering the old man: it was a thought that came into his head
one day and would not leave and realized he just simply did not like the mans strange eye.
It is impossible to say how first the idea entered my brain; it haunted me
day and night. Object there was none. Passion there was none. I loved the
old man. He had never wronged me. He had never given me insult. For his
fold I had no desire. I think it was his eye! Yes, it was this! He had the eye
of a vulturea pale blue eye, with a film over it. Whenever it fell upon me,
my blood ran cold; and so by degreesvery graduallyI made up my
mind to take the life of the old man, and thus rid myself of the eye
forever.
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Both The Raven and The Tell-Tale Heart will be further examined, looking at the literary
devices Poe used and the different aspects of each story.
Poe had his dark facade and short stories/poems that made a persons skin crawl and he
was able to have this effect on his readers through his diction and literary devices. However,
Edgar Allan Poe isnt the only writer that had a dramatic effect on his audience. Chelsea Handler.
A comedian of the 21 century who was one of the first successful female late night talk show
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comedians, has written several books that are vulgar, raunchy, and notorious for getting a laugh
out of her audience. Lauren Wallesers, a student at the Florida Atlantic University wrote a
research paper discussing feminism in the comedy world, and one of the comedians she
addresses is Handler. Walleser discusses Chelsea Handlers role in the comedy world and
feminism. She touches on Handlers blunt attitude and her popular reputation as being The
Unruly Woman. Handlers reputation and comedic style allows her to make her point in such a
fashion that is definitely not sugar coated. In her book Uganda Be Kidding she lives up to her
blunt reputation and I dont care what anyone thinks about me attitude when she states,
Personally, I felt terrible for telling Truth my name was Schnitzeldoodle. I still think about it.
Sometimes I just have to rock myself back and forth and say, Youve offended so many people
at this point. Dont try to keep track now, girl (Handler 15). This quote is just one of the many
examples of the writing Handler has in her books that contribute to her absurd and hilarious
reputation and the diction that gets the laughs out of her readers.

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Looking more in depth of one of Edgar Allan Poes most famous short stories The TellTale Heart, it is possible to dissect the text and come up with possible meanings behind what

Poe is saying. The plot of the story begins immediately, without introduction or warning, we are
flung into the narrators madness. The narrator begins with the description of his heightened
sense of hearing, that he hears all things in heaven, hell, and on earth (Poe). Throughout the short
story the narrator is constantly defending his sanity as he explains his plot for the murder of his
elderly roommate. Poes choice of diction for the narrator is that of a determined mad man. Here
we see the development of the character that Poe is creating. Poe uses several distinct qualities to
make sure the reader knows who this strange man is. A similar tactic is used in the comedy
world. Robert Reid, a former improviser at Second City, was asked several different questions in
relation to his writing devices he uses when conducting different sketches for his shows. When
asked: When writing a sketch for your improvisation comedy shows what do you include with
respect to how you want the audience to react? Reid answered:
Strong characters. A character is not just a funny accent and a change in
your spine (spine = how you carry yourself - hunched over or walk with a
limp). A strong character has many layers of detail. You dont necessarily
add those details to the sketch you are writing but rather use the detail to
create a filter with which you look through when writing dialog for the
character. If I know that my character used to be homeless then I know
that his lines of dialog will come from a different place than that of a
Merrill Lynch Vice President who grew up with a silver spoon in his
mouth. I create my characters almost always off people I have
observed/met in life. The more layers of detail you add to your character
the more the audience will believe in them. NOTE: The audience can
sniff out a poorly constructed character. I include content that will create
reactions other than laughter. A laugh is awesome because it is positive
feedback on something that you created but a different reaction such as a
heart-broken awwww is the best because the audience member wasnt
prepared for that reaction. I like to manipulate the audience and create
those surprising reactions/emotions.
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Poe was not the only author to use the devices he used in his stories and poems; it is common to
see this in several different genres.

The character Poe has developed (the narrator) loved his roommate but hated him at the
same time, this contradiction adds to the ever- waning sanity of the narrator, and allows the
reader to come to the early conclusion that there is something psychologically wrong with the
narrator. The old man was kind, however, his peculiar looking evil eye drove the narrator to a
new level of madness. Poe chooses the number seven for the amount of days that the narrator
plotted the old mans eminent doom. Throughout history, dating back to the biblical times, the
number seven has had a distinct relation to divinity and divine perfection (gotquestions.org). In
the bible it says God created the universe in seven days and throughout the bible, stemming from
the story of the creation, the number seven is seen associated with Jesus or churches or parables.
Given this reference the reader sees that the narrator may compare his preparation and devotion
to the act to that of perfection, or to someone who is a master at planning the perfect murder, a
pre-meditated murder of divine level. When the narrator describes how stealthy he carried out his
peering into the old mans room every night he references the minute hand on a watch, A
watchs minute hand moved more quickly than did mine. This gives the reader the opportunity
to appreciate how meticulously the narrator carried out the task of placing his head in the room,
and again diminishes the narrators sanity when the reader takes into account that the narrator did
this every night for seven days straight. Throughout the seven days the narrator is extremely nice
to the man (so he says), which also adds to the oddity of the murder, given the contempt the
narrator feels towards the old man. The old man sits up in his bed as soon as he suspects
someone has penetrated the peace of his slumber. Again the narrator waits, motionless, in the
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room in front of the, now awake, old man. During the hour of anticipation Poe uses this chance
to insert death into the picture. He capitalizes Death, personifying it, as he talks about the

shadow Death casts on the old mans life unbeknownst to the frightened victim. This gives the
reader the chilling realization that the old mans end is near and the narrator is merely waiting for
the perfect moment to make his next move as he talks about Death.
When describing (what he believes to be) the heart beat of the old man, as he grows
anxious of the circumstance he finds himself a part of the narrator states.It increased my fury, as
the beating of a drum stimulates the solider into courage. After reading this the reader is now
undoubtedly convinced that the narrator is mad; even though the narrator mentioned he has
astounding hearing abilities, how would it be possible for him to hear the old mans heart beat
from across the room. This gets the audience thinking, is it the old mans heart beat or the
narratorsThe narrator may believe the hears the old mans heartbeat but mistakes it for his
own. When the narrator slowly ignites the lantern to the point where there is a microscopic ray
only on the evil eye, this dehumanizes the old man. If the narrator is only able to see the eye-the only part of the old man that the narrator hates-- it makes it easier for the narrator to kill the
old man, which he then does so by dropping the bed on the old man after pulling him to the
ground. Since the old man has been dehumanized by the narrator it makes it easier for him to
dismantle his body, placing his body parts under three floorboards. Here the reader is presented
with another divine number, three. This adds to the seemingly divine perfection of the murder
committed by the narrator. The number three, similar to seven, is found all throughout the
bible as representation of something divine or holy. Jesus rose on the third day after being
crucified, there are three forms of God, and several other examples.
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Poe uses several different devices in this story to add to the frightening vibe of the
context. Authors and performers sometimes have similar devices they use for their writing. In

improvisation there are a plethora of different techniques comedians use to get a laugh out of the
audience. Reid was asked about the different devices he uses and he answered:
Call back - This is when you bring back a joke/funny moment from earlier in the
show. The audience finds great enjoyment in this because they recognize it and
appreciate it returning. Now, the more heavy-handed you are with using this the
less funny it is. If you can be crafty or sneaky in how you re-use the joke the
better the response will be. Now, this leads me to my next technique which is the
Rule of Three. A joke is funny the first time and second time but significantly
funnier the third time. However, the joke will fall flat on the fourth time. So, a
call back should only be brought back 3 times. In musical improv there is a
device call Setup and Payoff, which allows the improviser to improvise a song
and still make it rhyme. So if you are singing a song about doctors and you want
your rhyme to end with Stethoscope, you would begin your cuplet with a
word/phrase like need to cope or rope. Ex: I know youre in pain but you
need to cope; breathe deep so I can hear with my Stethoscope.
When the police arrive at the narrators door after receiving a call from a neighbor
concerning a shriek (from the old man as the narrator leaps to pull him out of his bed). The
narrator is completely calm because he knows he has executed his plan brilliantly. It is only
when the police nonchalantly chat in the room where the dismembered old man resides, just
underneath the narrators chair. The narrator has gotten away with his crime, however, the
increasingly loud ringing in his ears leads him to the paranoia that the officers can hear it and
suspect him of the murder of the old man, but taunt him as they continue on with their casual
conversation in front of the narrator. Poe is adding suspense to the story as the reader knows
what the narrator did and knows that he got away with the murder but he is on the verge of
ruining everything with his paranoia. Could the ringing in his ears be his suppressed conscious
screaming at him to confess? The reader may ponder this as the story comes to the end when the
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narrator exclaims: Villains! I shrieked. Dissemble no more! I admit the deed! Tear up the
planks! Here, here! It is the beating of his hideous heart!

Chelsea Handlers book, Uganda Be Kidding Me, features six grown women taking a trip
to Africa to do some exploring, heavy drinking, and Xanax. Throughout the novel Handler talks
about their experiences and the people with whom shes with and meets in a comedic fashion.
When talking about her cousin Molly, Handler explains what her real name is.Her birth name is
Ulrike (pronounced OOL-reekie) because our mothers hail from Nazis, and in an effort to live a
peaceful life alongside our Jewish brethren, she chose her middle nameMollyto use
personally and at McDonalds (Handler 3). Any other genre of writing a reader may not expect
to see this kind of diction, but when it comes to the comedy genre and writing her books this is
how Handler likes to do it. When she mentions that her mother and her cousins mother hail
from Nazis and then states that Molly is trying to live a peaceful life alongside our Jewish
brethren the result is an ironic comedic fact when taking into account the history of the Nazis
and the Jews. You would not see Ellen DeGeneres making this kind of joke or any other semiappropriate politically correct comedian and that is what separates Handlers writings from
other comedians.
Handler has no issue with the way she writes in this book and even on the tour for the
book, she stood in front of thousands and directly quoted vulgarity from the book. A common
thing among some authors and performers is why they do what they do; they all have their
reasons. Reid was asked a question in relation to this and replied:
Because it is the one thing that comes naturally to me. I feel more
comfortable standing center stage in front of a 100 people than I do mingling
at a party of people who I only marginally know. Also, getting a laugh is the
best high in the world. Whether I am improvising and making something
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funny up on the spot or getting the reaction I wanted from a sketch, it really
doesnt get much better.

In another quote from her book Handler talks about the popular phrase money cant buy
happiness. Handler says, The saying that money doesnt buy you happiness is true. But it sure
as fuck helps (Handler 16). My being blunt and straight to the point (and also using the f word)
Handler puts a spin on the common phrase. Also when the audience reads the first part about the
joke, they may think Handler will say something wise or catchy but, instead, she throws the
audience for a loop and goes 0-100 saying But it sure as fuck helps. Handler uses a blunt
attitude and some raunchy language to catch her audience off guard and leave her readers either
extremely offended, or satisfied and with a sore stomach from laughing so hard or maybe a little
bit of both.
Like Handler, different authors and performers may also have a specific way of getting
the response out of their audience. Reid was asked what his favorite jokes were when performing
and he said:
I really enjoy cutaway vignettes. So if I am talking with people about a
funny thing that I observed or a funny thing that happened (i.e. A baggage claim
desk attendant trying to communicate with a couple from India), I dont explain
what happened but rather act out a scene of what I observed. That seems to be
the manner in which I share funny stuff with others.
So it does not matter if you are the master of the genre horror, or the comedy
queen of cursing, every author uses some kind of literary contraption that makes the
audience feel some kind of way.

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Works Cited
"Edgar Allan Poe Documentary." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 16 Mar. 2015.
Handler, Chelsea. Uganda Be Kidding Me. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.
Mabbott, Thomas Ollive. "Text: Thomas Ollive Mabbott (and E. A. Poe), The Raven, The Collected
Works of Edgar Allan Poe Vol. I: Poems (1969), Pp. 350-374 (This Material Is Protected by
Copyright)." Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore. N.p., 1969. Web. 16 Mar. 2015.

Pettigrew, Richard C. "Poe, Edgar Allan. Poe's Rime." American Literature; a

Journal of Literary History, Criticism and Bibliography 4 (1932): 151.

Pritchard, Hollie. "Poe's The Tell-Tale Heart." Explicator (n.d.): n. pag. Web.
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enre=article&rft.atitle=Poe%27s+%27The+Tell-Tale+Heart%27&rft.jtitle=Explicator+
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%29&rft.au=Pritchard%2C+Hollie&rft.date=2003&rft.issn=0014-4940&rft.eissn=1939926X&rft.volume=61&rft.issue=3&rft.externalDocID=R03413724mdict=en-US>.
Saakyan, Micharl. "Campus Times Book Review: Handler Tries to Handle South Africa." Campus
Times RSS. N.p., 28 Mar. 2014. Web. 16 Mar. 2015.
Walleser, Lauren. "TOWARDS A FEMINIST FUNNY: EXPLORING MYTH, POWER AND
POSTFEMINISM IN THE WORK OF CHELSEA HANDLER." Review. Aug. 2011: n. pag.
Web.