The Sandpaper Rhetorical Analysis Essay

422 Words1 Page

The passage is a representation of the protagonist’s loss of innocence; it represents a transformation from a young and apprehensive girl to a confident woman through a rite of passage. From the beginning to the end of the passage, the tone shifts from being anxious to self-assured. Angela Carter substantiates this through the use of her diction.“He dragged himself closer and closer to me” has a connotation of trepidation. Carter uses words such as dragged, harsh, and abrasive. The words harsh and abrasive, especially when paired with the word sandpaper, have negative connotations of unpleasant feelings. Carter also uses an exclamation point to authenticate the timorous voice of the protagonist. Towards the end, the tone shifts to acceptance and confidence. Carter demonstrates this by the use of words such as nascent and beautiful. “I shrugged the drops off my beautiful fur.” The protagonist is accepting the transformation into a tiger and loves the fur, unlike earlier where the protagonist was apprehensive. …show more content…

“My earrings turned back to water and trickled down my shoulders.” This represents how things of value in her old life become as common as water. The earrings have this connection to her old self and the human social constructs that come with it. “I shrugged the drops off,” in a way this act demonstrates that the protagonist no longer cares about valuables that humans care about and is “shrugging” it

Open Document