Preview

The Rhetorical Analysis Of The Million Pound Bank Note

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1711 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Rhetorical Analysis Of The Million Pound Bank Note
THE RHETORICAL ANALYSIS OF THE MILLION POUND NOTE Huang PAGE 4
Running Head: THE RHETORICAL ANALYSIS OF THE MILLION POUND NOTE

The Rhetorical Analysis of The Million Pound Note
Xiao Huang
Shenzhen Middle School

Background The Million Pound Bank Note is a short story written by American writer Mark Twain, and it was published late in the end of nineteenth century. It is notable to mention Mark Twain that he was highly praised by his friend, William Dean Howell, that ?Emerson, Longfellow, Lowell, Holmes?I knew them all and all the rest of our sages, poets, seers, critics, humorists,; they were like one another and like other literary men; but Clemens was sole, incomparable, the Lincoln of our literature?. Most of his
…show more content…
(Rasmussen, 1995) And Mark Twain want to point out the malicious face of the money worshiping and the social phenomenon of pursuing money and celebrities blindly. From my point of view, this novel successfully exhibit the truth and reality of the contemporary sociality, and reproaches and mocks at the attitude of those middle class and the public whose behavior could be considered as a type of money-worshipping.

Plot Summary Mark Twain?s novel, The Million Pound Bank Note is about the story of an American young man was accidentally floated to Britain, and started his new life with a one million pound note. Henry Adams, the protagonist of the novel, was a common clerk and enjoyed his peaceful life as a normal kind citizen do. However, he faced a boating accident and floated to London. When he got really desperate that he had lost all of his belongings and identifications, and the
…show more content…
In the novel, there are some twists and turns as the ethos that Mark twain used in the novel. At the beginning of the novel, Henry got desperate about his future life not only because of the situation that he became the foreigner and was away from his motherland, but also because of the want of fundings to survive. And just after some days, he was found by the brothers, who offered Henry the bank note. And then he soon uncovered it was a great note that might not be accessible for practical daily use. However, the restaurant owner did not question about the source of the note, but allowed Henry to have meals whenever he wanted fore free. Similar to the restaurant owner, the clothes-shop keeper also have a great turn of treatment and attitude. Both of the owners thought Henry Adams might be a eccentric rich businessman, and loved to act as a beggar, especially the second owner. In the novel, the owner of the shop said in a quite impolite and impatience way, that ?Come, come. Give him his change, Tod. Quickly!?, as if he did not want Henry to exist in the shop any more. Even the servant mocked at him that ?Oh, you haven?t? Well, I thought gentleman like you carried large change.? and also that ?Oh, of course we can change a large bank note.? The servant thought that Henry would just take out a little money or even just some coins.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    The Quicken Loan ad begins by telling the audience what could happen if everyone got quick easy loans. It explains the how Quicken Loans wanted to create a completely online mortgage rate system which would allow people to simply chose a rate that appeared to be good. This process of choosing random mortgages seems oddly familiar (2008 recession), when the housing market crashed after mortgages ran rampant. This ad is a very good example of a slippery slope fallacy. Rocket Mortgage assumes that people who can get achieve mortgages, will buy then homes, from there they will buy household items such as furniture and appliances, which in turn would boost, therefore stimulating the economy through the workings of the capitalistic system. Then at…

    • 194 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    William Hazlitt’s colorful word choice and creative syntactical structures utilized within the passage serve as the means for him to develop his position about money: that a “want for money” is certainly the fountain of much sorrow.…

    • 412 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Money: The Unauthorized Biography produces several key themes: that money is a social invention, how money can check & balance governments, and the constant struggle between public & private entities over the control of money. The first two mentioned definitely take the driver’s seat within the Money: The Unauthorized Biography, though the latter theme is commonplace within both books. Money: The Unauthorized Biography references the abuse of…

    • 726 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Lewis Lapham stated that the “American faith in money easily surpasses the degrees of intensity achieved by other societies”. As time goes on, it has become apparent that “money means so much to us” but it is only paper and that in actuality it cannot bring happiness. In my opinion, Lewis Lapham’s take on the attitudes toward wealth in the United States are correct. Jay Gatsby from F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby and the rising rate of depression that is extremely apparent amongst the adolescent population both agree with Lapham’s opinions.…

    • 395 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In “The £1,000,000 Bank-Note,” Twain uses satire to highlight the power of money and its influence on the behavior of people from all classes of nineteenth-century English society. The earliest examples of satire in the text are when Henry meets the owners of the eating house and the tailor shop. Both owners regard Henry as an upper-class gentleman and allow him to make purchases on credit based on his perceived status. In fact, when Henry warns the proprietor of the tailor shop that he may have to wait an indefinite amount of time for his dues to be paid, the proprietor doesn’t seem concerned at all. He says, “Indefinitely! It’s a weak word, sir, a weak word. Eternally—that’s the word, sir.” The proprietor’s use of the word eternally stresses…

    • 473 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In spite of the reality that people endeavor to make money and share their materialistic capabilities, the lonely heart cannot be comforted by the power of money. For example, after Jay Gatsby attained fortunes, Gatsby was always lonely and depressed. As a result, Gatsby invited numerous of guests and hosted obscenely lavish parties, “I keep it always full of interesting people, night and day. People who do interesting things. Celebrated people” (Fitzgerald 90).…

    • 184 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Mark Twain is often thought of as the most cynical writer in American literature. A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court is perhaps one of greatest works. In this amusing story, Twain takes an American entrepreneur from his own day and age, and thrusts him back to the age of King Arthur. The novel is therefore about how a nineteenth-century American industrialist might act if he found himself in medieval England. Mark Twain sees the Industrial Age in which he lived as a rabid attempt to exploit everyone and everything. And, that's exactly what Hank Morgan, also known as the “Boss”, does when he gets to Camelot.…

    • 490 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Many people are manipulated by money and material possessions. In their greed lies many lessons that can be applied to our society as well as many lessons to be learned from their lust for money and material goods. Our society is controlled by money. As well as the production of money is controlled by society, it’s a two way street.…

    • 665 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hazlitt RH Analysis

    • 481 Words
    • 2 Pages

    In this world, money is a necessity. In William Hazlitt’s critical and didactic excerpt from, “On the Want of Money,” he bears witness and exposes to his audience that although money is not necessarily a source of happiness, it is fundamental in order to achieve any other sort of joy and comfort on earth. Hazlitt employs adverse diction and the layering of evidence through syntax to then further his argument on the necessity of money.…

    • 481 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    This recurring theme of conformity reflects Twain’s anger stemming from the mass blindly abiding by the set political and societal dimensions established in the society. But his writing reveals more about the mind and art of Twain than its clearly anti-war, anti-chauvinistic theme indicates. Through the voice of his character, Twain echoes his own ideals and personality. This attack on conformist attitude paints his desired picture of a world in which he visualizes each individual with a unique identity, and this uniqueness can only come when each individual designs his or her own…

    • 1371 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Gilded Age Analysis

    • 467 Words
    • 2 Pages

    “Get rich; dishonestly is we can. honestly if we must.” was a remark made by Mark Twain. To him, it seemed as if our country lived by that motto. However, many didn’t and couldn’t deny this, since no government was safe from corruption and no person immune to the disease known as greed. Powerful organizations, known as political machines, not only influenced county…

    • 467 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Money is of major importance in today’s society. If you have an abundance of it, it could vault you into a life of friends, leisure, and fame. Contrarily, a lacking of it could leave you with absolutely nothing but shambles. Indeed, that is the point William Hazlitt attempts to make in “on the want of money.” By using appeal to prosperity, contrasting of ideas, and the idea of ethos, Hazlitt effectively persuades the reader that money is needed to achieve their desired goals.…

    • 761 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Twain’s strong use of rhetorical language enhance his essay to the point of being able to persuade. He provides concrete evidence to support his claims, and therefore, his essay contains a strong backbone. Twain presents solid evidence to support his cause, and his rhetoric allows for…

    • 580 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Mark Twain is one of the world's greatest authors. Samuel Langhorne Clemens, better known by his pen name Mark Twain. He was an American author and humorist. He always wore white suits because he loved the attention. A main focus of Mark Twain is how Olivia and Sam met, about Olivia and Twain, Olivia and Twain's son, Olivia and Twain's children, death of Mark Twain, and death of Olivia Clemens.…

    • 1130 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    An important character in American history is Samuel Langhorne Clemens. He is recognized more commonly by his pen name Mark Twain. Twain was an influential writer in the eighteen and early nineteen hundreds. He is known for his novels, letters, plays, short stories, and drawings, but mostly for being an exemplary writer. Culturally and historical important books, written by Twain, include Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer. Twain also wrote travel books while he was abroad in the Middle East and Europe. One of which is entitled The Innocents Abroad1. Twain details his travels and experience in the Holy Land as well as his encounters with natives in a light-hearted book, which became…

    • 2961 Words
    • 12 Pages
    Powerful Essays