Rhetorical comparison is a persuasive method used to show similarities between two or more things, often in academic assignments. It can be used innocently to make connections or misleadingly to create logical misunderstandings. Other rhetorical modes include argument and extended definition.
Rhetorical confrontation is one of many rhetorical modalities that can be used to present information in a persuasive manner, usually used on academic papers and assignments. Comparison specifically focuses on showing how two or more things are similar. This can be useful for many reasons, such as to show similar treatment of common themes in the literature or to lead to logical misunderstandings, which can be useful if the comparator wishes to refer to two different things as essentially the same. Most rhetorical confrontations will take place on academic assignments, and rhetorical modes are also sometimes used to create questions. The opposite of comparison is contrast, which shows the difference between two things.
The study of rhetoric, which originates from ancient Greece, provides different modes of argumentation as methods of presenting information. These modalities can be used individually or in combination with other modalities to form an overview of a topic or present a particular point of view on it. Other examples of rhetorical modes include argument and extended definition. Most academic assignments will use numerous modalities to successfully present a viewpoint on a particular topic. Rhetorical comparison can be used to innocently show links between subjects or to establish a link between subjects to serve an argument.
There are several uses of rhetorical comparison and these can help people present the similarities between two ideas or subjects for different purposes. For example, someone writing an essay on literature might want to demonstrate that Frankenstein exhibited similar attitudes to the increasing level of scientific knowledge to many other books published around the same time. To demonstrate this, the essay writer can compare Frankenstein to other novels from the early 19th century. The author may choose to highlight common themes in Frankenstein and other novels, such as the use of science for unnatural results. The particular language used to describe the various processes scientists go through can be compared to show a similarity in attitudes towards science at the time.
While rhetorical comparison is normally used in this relatively harmless way to make connections between two things, it can also be used to make misleading connections. This leads to the possibility of misunderstanding, which occurs when two separate entities are made logically equivalent through rhetoric. For example, some might compare a government to Nazi Germany due to their intolerance of cultural minorities. While there may be some passing similarity, if rhetorical comparison is used to make a link between the two, people can logically assume that other characteristics are also shared. This can be used to mislead people into believing that two things are completely alike when they share only some characteristics.
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