Everfair Rhetorical Analysis

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There is a liberating feeling of freedom in taking an adventure by yourself. This is the case in Nisi Shawl’s novel, Everfair, with the use of tone and imagery to demonstrate the positive change in Lisette’s mood, from being irritated prior to riding the bike to then being joyful after. The tone demonstrates Lisette’s physical discomforts with the natural environment, but later shifts to an appreciative attitude towards nature’s beauty. Shawl establishes these discomforts by using phrases like “crushed stems” and insects “waiting to bite”. The negative connotation of these words further connects the tone of Lisette’s view of the forest. After Lisette gets on the bike, there is a shift in the tone from irritation to joy and glee. As she begins to “[go] faster” she finds a sense of “freedom”. …show more content…

As she once was constricted by the forest, she is now greeted by a river. Shawl has changed the atmosphere of the text, she is now “laughing” and expressing the genuine “happiness [she] has found” from her bike. The result of riding the bike is Lisette’s mood being uplifted, compared to when she first found this bike. The shift in tone further portrays the complex experience of Lisette riding her bike. Similarly, Shawl uses descriptions of physical irritants to help visualize Lisette’s annoyance of the forest, but after she gets on the bike, the setting appears lush and vibrant. As Lisette is walking forward on a “narrow forest path” she has to move “underbrush” to prevent the wheels of her bike from getting stuck. The description of the forest further shows her attitude. Just as she is leaving she feels the “vexing heat”,and leaves the “dark-leaved woods behind her”. Shawl purposely used words like vexing and dark to visually connect to Lisette’s tone of annoyance and irritation. Once she is on the bike, there is a shift in the imagery, comparable to tone. As she is on her bike, the setting changes and becomes more

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