Rhetorical Terms

The gentle breeze plays across the tops of tropical palm trees moving the fronds gently back and forth against the backdrop of the brilliant azure blue sky accented by picturesque patches of fluffy white clouds. A loosely woven rope hammock tied between two majestic palm trees beckons beach-goers to recline on it's soft decorative blue and white striped pillows and enjoy the sights and sounds of the sparkling crystal-blue ocean just steps away.

You have just been caught in a travel gaze. This is one rhetorical tool that may be used by a travel company to capture a specific audience and entice them to purchase a vacation. The tourism industry knows how to utilize this specific tool to attract and entice their desired clientele. This specific tool helps them to achieve their desired result. Specific projects require specific tools. A political gaze used in a travel brochure would not bring the desired result just as using a toothpick to serve spaghetti would have unfavorable consequences. Each tool has specified uses and will bring about varying results as they are applied properly. Five definitions of rhetorical terms follow below to help establish how to apply each tool and bring about the desired results of a project or paper.

1. Travel gaze: An image viewed or described that portrays a travel destination. This can be one that has already been visited and brings to mind pleasant memories that the viewer would want to repeat, or portrays places that the audience desires to visit. 

2. Political gaze: An image used to bring about emotions that entice voters/decision makers to respond in the direction of the politician, party, or agenda etc.

3. Persuasive Theme: A theme or topic used to set a mood or create meaning. Always universal, these themes will resonate to any group of people regardless of culture, race, or religion. An example of a persuasive theme is xenophobia: an extreme dislike of people from other countries.  This is going on in the Middle East right now.  People here are taught and encouraged to hate westerners-everything they portray and stand for.

4. Master Narrative: Influential stories that stand the test of time and help to shape a specific group of people classified by country or culture etc. An example would be the story of George Washington cutting down the cherry tree and his honesty about the event.

5. Compare and Contrast: A tool used to help draw attention to details and make decisions between items. Comparing helps to bring an understanding of all similarities of two objects or images while contrast brings to light the differences.