Different Tropes in an Article
1. Incongruity, Irony, Paradox, Oxymoron
Incongruity, irony, paradox, and oxymoron are related concepts in which contradictory ideas are stated for a variety of purposes. Incongruity occurs when an author surprises readers by doing the opposite of what one would expect. Because Rowling creates exotic and strange names for most of her characters, including for many who are Muggles (non-magicians), readers probably expect that she would give the strangest sounding names to the most magical of her characters, but the names she gives to the members of the most important magical family are Tag Heuer Replica Watches so ordinary (Arthur, Molly, Fred, Percy, Charlie, George, Bill, Ron, and Ginny) that they stand out as incongruous when compared to such other character names as Stan Shunpike, Nymphadora Tanks, Bellatrix LeStrange, and Pius Thicknesse. In most writing, it would be the latter names that would stand out as incongruous.
One of the most famous ironic names in all of literature is the biblical name of Lucifer, which translates to “bearer of light,” as shown in such related words as lucent, translucent, illuminate, luminous, and luminary. In the Bible, Lucifer was the name originally given to an archangel who later rebelled so that he became known as Satan or the Devil. Rowling borrowed this ironic name, slightly adapted, to name Lucius Ma/foy, whose surname translates to “bad faith.” Other characters whose given names and surnames seem paradoxical include Amicus C arrow, Lavender Brown, Kings ley Shacklebolt, Viktor Krum, and St. Brutus.
Rowling also uses incongruities to remind readers that they are in a fantasy world as when she refers to such impossibilities as Decoy Detonators, Headless Hats, Snargaluff Juice, and Dr. Filibuster’s Fabulous Wet-Start, No-Heat Fireworks. And while Panged Frisbees, Extendable Ears, and Ever-Bashing Boomerangs may not be impossible, they present incongruous images.
2. Innuendo
Innuendo relates to extra meanings that are so subtle only some readers catch onto them. The primary purpose of a name is simply to identify someone, so if a name happens to have another meaning those readers who understand the allusion get something extra. An obvious example is the name of Harry’s mother, Lily. In the language of flowers, lilies stand for purity. In contrast, Lily’s sister, Petunia, who serves as Harry’s foster mother, has a name that symbolizes anger and resentment. Both ideas are supported throughout the series.
3. Meiosis
Meiosis is the use of understatement to diminish the importance of something. Rubeus Hagrid, who takes care of the animals at Hogwarts, is a master at this. He calls the vicious and powerful, three-headed dog that guards the Sorcerer’s Stone Fluffy. And when his hippogriff (a huge and powerful creature with the hindquarters of a horse and the head, beak, and wings of an eagle) gets in trouble for helping Sirius Black escape, Hagrid changes Buckbeak’s name to the humble-sounding Witberwings. That Rowling believes in the power of meiosis is also shown by her Riddikitlus! charm that students are taught to use to turn a boggart (a fearsome creature) into something amusing or laughable.
4. Metaphors, Similes
Metaphors and similes are comparisons. Similes are more obvious because the author identifies them as a comparison by using such terms as like or as. Rowling does this when in Book Seven she says that Bathilda Bagshot “is as nutty as squirrel poo.” However, in Rowling’s fantasy world, she is more likely not to tell her readers that she is making a comparison (as is done with a simile) but instead to just present concepts and leave it to her readers to make connections. While some critics interpret metaphors in a general way to include practically all of the techniques we are writing about, other critics prefer a more limited definition. People have to bring a href=”http://www.kopeez.com/B-Replica-Tag-Heuer-Watches-65.html”>Tag Heuer Replica their life experiences to interpreting metaphors, and so for some, but not all, readers The Thief’s Downfall, which is a waterfall in Gringotts Bank that washes away or steals all charms and enchantments meant to conceal an individual’s true identity, is a metaphor for Christian baptism. A metaphor that has a more universal application is The Order of the Phoenix, which is a metaphor for rebirth and for making the world right after things have gone terribly wrong. On the other side, the Death Eaters are metaphors for horror and the end of the world. In trying to answer the great questions of life, people are forced to use metaphors as shown by the riddle in Book Seven, “Which came first, the Phoenix or the flame?” The answer is “A circle has neither a beginning nor an end.”
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