Dinosaur Rhetorical Analysis

From Child to Adult as From Human to Dinosaur

Perceiving dinosaurs as a realistic career choice, children mutate into a tyrannosaurus rex, destroying everything in sight. Their kryptonite, their worst enemy, their parents, annihilating their childhood dreams and stopping them in their tiny child sized tracks. As children grow and become adults, society forces them to get a job the world considers realistic and thus, shoving them down a path of hopelessness and despair. In the short story Dinosaur, Bruce Holland Rogers uses simple syntax, fluctuating mood, and figurative language to reveal the theme that every moment in life should be valued.

Rogers uses simple syntax to show how life should be cherished, letting every moment have its full effect.

The protagonist simply goes through his basic life “a tax accountant” even though he regrets it and “it ma[kes] him, well, small” (Rogers 1). The elementary style diction allows the reader to feel the protagonist’s mood, making connections to their own life as he did his past. The protagonist should not worry about picking a job because “[h]e c[an] make a lot of money” (Rogers 1). He should instead appreciate the time spent picking a career that he will enjoy (Rogers 1). With money comes problems, and life should be about the times spent valuing life itself, and those in it. The protagonist can choose any career he wants to pursue such as a “A fireman” or a “policeman”. Maybe he can become “a soldier” or “some kind of hero,” something big. (Rogers 1). Repetition helps show how the protagonist takes all of these for granted. Despite having so many choices, he lets people tell him what career he should have because “he [is] very good with numbers” (Rogers 1). This deploys the idea that people should not rush choices in life, instead valuing them to the greatest extent and taking the correct path for them. They should feel happy in life, unlike the protagonist who continues to feel “smaller” as his career starts ending and he becomes “a retir[ing] tax accountant who forg[ets] things” (Rogers 1). As shown in the uncomplicated style of Dinosaur, an awful reward that accompanies adulthood, forgetfulness affects most. The older a person becomes, the more they can forget things like “tak[ing] the garbage to the curb” as the protagonist does (Rogers 1). The simple syntax shows that life should be simple, happy, and enjoyed before the complications of age.
Rogers uses a fluctuating mood to reveal the theme that every moment in life should be valued and that life is not consistent. The author starts with the protagonist “very young,” “wav[ing] his arms” and “tromp[ing] around the house” (Rogers 1). This creates a nice sense of imagery, allowing the reader to detect a happy mood that shows the protagonist enjoying the benefits of childhood and showing his appreciating toward life. This is not long-lived as the mood quickly darkens. The protagonist meets resistance in the continuation of his happiness. His mother tells him “You are not a dinosaur,” stopping him in his tracks and halting his imagination (Rogers 1). Soon after, his father asks him “what do you want to be?”, also causing him to halt his imagination (Rogers 1). His career is decided quickly as he becomes a “tax accountant”, setting him up for “regret[…]” and feeling “small” (Rogers 1). The protagonist hits an all-time low in his life during his adulthood. During this time he remains oblivious to the need for appreciation of life. He starts “forg[etting]” to do things like “[..] take the garbage to the curb, […]to take his pill, and […] to turn his hearing aid back on.” This creates a sad mood. As the protagonist hits the end of his life, he realizes that he wants to be a kid again. He “forg[etts] what his mother [was] t[elling] him”, that he is not a “dinosaur” (Rogers 1). As this realization strikes, he sees that he should have appreciated everything in his life more, valuing every moment.
In Dinosaur, figurative language reveals the theme that every moment in life should be valued and cannot be taken too seriously.

As a person becomes older, they begin to forget things. One day, the protagonist starts “walk[ing] by the lake” where “he [starts] forg[etting] what his mother was t[elling] him” (Rogers 1). As he starts “forg[etting] that he was not a dinosaur”, he mutates into one, “blinking his dinosaur eyes in the bright sunlight” (Rogers 1). This turn in plot paints a figurative picture, symbolizing the author’s true meaning. As the protagonist continues through life “small” and full of “regret[…]” for being a tax accountant, he comprehends that his life has flown by, leaving him in the dust. It takes all but a moment for him to realize that he would rather be a child and that he should have valued his childhood instead of taking it all for granted. As the protagonist “feel[s] the familiar warmth on his dinosaur skin,” he notices how life would have been much more enjoyable if he had taken time enjoy his senses more. Life is about taking time to enjoy the nice shade, the warm sun, and the cool autumnal breeze on your skin in order to value every moment. “[w]atching dragonflies flitting among the horsetails at the water’s edge”, the author understands the key to observation in life. Typically, the average person rushes throughout life, attempting to finish a million things at once and rushing to grow up. This does not allow him or her to take time to enjoy the views, a key aspect of life. Without these views, life lacks enjoyment and cannot be

valued.
Bruce Holland Rogers uses the short story Dinosaur, filled with simple syntax, fluctuating mood, and figurative language, to reveal the theme that every moment in life should be valued. Simple syntax shows the simple things that should be valued. A fluctuating mood shows that life’s mood does not always stay consistent. Figurative language shows how everything in life cannot be taken too seriously and must be interpreted loosely. Taking anything in life for granted will leave a person wondering where it went wrong.