The Lost Salt Gift Of Blood Language Analysis

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Good evening. As you guys probably know, your teachers invited me here to speak to you about your area of study for the HSC, the power of language. I’m seeing a lot of blank faces. Perhaps we should start with what is meant by that. What IS the power of language? Basically, a good composer uses a range of different language techniques to reach their audience and create context and purpose, or to convey a message. One of my favourite examples of this can be found in an infamous piece of writing, the Gettysburg address. For those of you who haven’t heard of it, the Gettysburg address is the speech that American president Abraham Lincoln delivered on a battlefield in Pennsylvania after a decisive battle during the civil war. It was short, only about two minutes in duration, and at the time passed off as insignificant, valueless. This same speech is now recognised as an outstanding example of a…show more content…
Another outstanding composer who can recognise and utilise the power of language is Alistair McLeod. His short stories are laden with implied meaning and encourage his audience to think more in-depth about the themes and ideas displayed in his texts. His collection of short stories, The Lost Salt Gift of Blood, is set in Nova Scotia, a remote region of Canada where Gaelic is still spoken and tradition triumphs over technology. It explores many universal themes, like man vs. nature and tradition vs. individuality. The stories are often disturbing, delving deep into the realm of human emotion. He uses vivid imagery to describe the setting, often using the environmental aspects of the story to set the tone, or metaphorically to describe inner battles or feelings. Perhaps to convey just how powerfully McLeod uses language, we need not go past the title of the story I have studied. However I will tell you a little about it so that you can understand

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