Trump
Pathetic Paragraph 5. It dashed Mr Trump’s fanciful hopes of
Proppian Paragraph 1. Thousands of President Trump’s remaining in power after January 20 told them: “All
Villain supporters stormed the US Capitol to bring a violent Vice-president Pence has to do is send it back to the
halt to the formal confirmation of his election defeat states to recertify and we become president and you
yesterday after he urged them to “take back the are the happiest people.”
country”.
- To use the adjective ‘fanciful’ to describe
- Puts blame on Trump. Trump’s hopes can depict Trump as pathetic, as
‘fanciful’ is defined as something that is over-
- To use the apostrophe in ‘Trump’s’ imaginative and unrealistic. This implies to the
communicates to the audience that these audience that there is very little chances of
rioters belong to him, and therefore it is likely Trump to remain in power, no matter the
that he is in charge and that the rioters obey method he uses to regain his position, or the
him. The audience can make the connotations event of the riots or the recertification of the
that it is Trump’s fault. The fact that he ‘urged election votes. Trump is simply daydreaming,
them’ further supports the idea that it is his and his goals are unachievable. The audience
fault, that it was his idea for the rioters to storm may connotate him as pathetic as they are well
the Capitol and that he had persuaded them to aware that the election has happened and that
follow through. This suggests to the audience nothing can change what has already been
that Trump is a Proppian villain as he was the decided. To see Trump continue to persist
one responsible for the disruption. despite the established, factual statistics can
even paint him as delusional – someone who is
- The direct quote “take back the country” makes incredibly out of touch with reality.
the story more credible and the audience is
provided an insight with Trump and his attitude Paragraph 9. Mitt Romney, a senator from Utah and
towards the election. It is clear that he sees his Mr Trump’s most outspoken critic among Republicans
loss in the election as a threat. This can worry in the Senate, said: “President Trump has
audiences and it is possible that they will disrespected the American voters, has dishonoured
anticipate nervously what will happen in the the election system and has disgraced the office of
near future. the presidency.”
Paragraph 4. After several hours of mayhem, Mr - The use of anaphora evident in the ‘has dis…’
Trump released a short video assuring his followers repeated three times in Mitt Romney’s speech
that he understood their pain and perpetuating his reinforces the idea that Trump is pathetic. The
claims of massive fraud before asking them to go repetition of ‘has’ draws focus to what Trump
home. ‘has’ allegedly done, all which listed are
negative things. The audience may then
- The deliberately chosen verbs ‘assuring’ and conclude that Trump is a terrible person since
‘perpetuating’ depicts Trump as the Proppian he has done so many horrible things. In addition
villain in this hard news story. The fact that he to this, the alliteration of the hard plosive ‘d’
assured them and ‘understood their pain’ sounds may add weight to Romney’s words. It
suggests to the audience that he enabled them emphasises the words used to describe trump
and their actions, as he showed them empathy and his actions: ‘disrespected’, ‘dishonoured’
rather than scolded them for their actions. To and ‘disgraced’. Words with the prefix ‘dis’ are
continue ‘perpetuating’ suggests that he is also generally connotated with negative
unwilling to give up his role as president, which meanings. This indicates to the audience that
could encourage his supporters to further riot Trump is someone not to support if the
instead of calming them down because his audience wishes to live a happy, peaceful life in
supporters strongly believe in him. In a way, the America. The ‘d’ sounds may even provide a
audience could interpret the video as an revolting effect within the reader and encourage
intentional move by Trump due to the double audiences to dislike Trump
meaning incorporated within his words – or the
words that the newspaper uses. This supports
the idea of Trump being a Proppian villain.
Paragraph 2. Mr Pence, the vice-president who has
been doggedly loyal for four years, made it clear that
he would not do the president’s illegal bidding by
stepping beyond the bounds of constitutional duty to
oversee yesterday’s schedule confirmation of Mr
Trump’s election defeat.
- The inclusion of ‘Mr Pence’, the vice-president,
and the fact that he refuses to carry out ‘the
president’s illegal bidding’ can indicate to the
audience that Trump is truly a Proppian villain.
This is likely because Mike Pence is known for
being Trump’s most loyal companion, and to
lose someone so supportive must suggest that
Trump has done something terrible. It shows to
the audience the extent of how far Trump went
with the riots and the enabling of his supporters
to riot, and that the image that is connected to
Trump is so negative that Mike Pence cannot
, Proppian hero, as those who are already in
support of Biden will be further enlightened to
know that Biden equally dislikes the Proppian
villain in this hard news story just as much as
the audience.
Biden
Proppian Paragraph 1. The president elect removed his black
Hero mask, put it neatly aside next to his microphone and
apologised for the circumstances of his remarks.
Paragraph 5. “What we’re seeing is a small number of
- The use of the triplet, ‘ removed his black mask, extremists, dedicated to lawlessness. This is not
put it neatly aside… and apologised…’, allows dissent. It’s disorder. It’s chaos. It borders on sedition
the audience to read it slowly due to the and it must end. Now.
repeated commas present in the sentence. The
slow reading can provide a calm tone to the
- The use of a direct quote from Biden provides
words, and after the many paragraphs written
the audience with an insight on how he views
regarding on the hectic events that have
the rioters. To describe the rioters as a ‘small
happened which involved war language and
number of extremists’ may reassure the
certain cases of exaggeration, the audience may
audience and the people listening to him,
feel more relaxed. To have a calm tone to
because it has been made clear by him that
discuss Biden’s actions may suggest that Biden is
there are so little Trump supporters who wish to
a man who is very in control, as a person and
do harm compared to the people by Biden’s
what he does, in comparison to the rioters who
side. Knowing this, it is highly likely that the
act without thinking of the consequences. The
rioters will not get anywhere or achieve
specifically chosen adverb to describe Biden’s
anything with their extreme, intense actions.
actions, ‘neatly’ further supports this idea as it
This presents Biden as a Proppian hero as
shows the audience that Biden carries out his
reassuring his followers can encourage them to
tasks with care and caution.
be strong and endure through the situation. To
them, Biden seems capable of restoring the
- The inclusion of certain copy in the triplet may equilibrium in America with only his words.
portray Biden as a Proppian hero. For example,
to include the fact that he wore a ‘black mask’
- To state that they are ‘dedicated to lawlessness’
can communicate to the audience that he is a
implies the goals that the rioters have set in
man who is respectful to the law as well as
mind to achieve and what the support, in other
someone who is genuinely concerned for the
words, it can be interpreted that Biden is
safety of others – in particularly the safety of his
suggesting that Trump is the embodiment of
own people. It is likely that he is aware that
‘lawlessness’ and this is what the rioters are
many people are not fond of masks, and as the
‘dedicated’ to. This presents Biden as the
president to be of America, it is possible that he
Proppian hero, as he is the one standing for
has set himself as an example of how to act in
order and structure in society, in comparison to
America. To the audiences, they may conclude
Trump who stands for something that could
that Biden is much more professional to Trump
potentially harm the innocent citizens.
who refused to wear a mask and seemingly
acted like he did not care for the coronavirus.
- Short sentences evident in ‘It’s disorder.’ and
‘It’s Chaos’ may add significance to Biden’s
Paragraph 3. “All of you have been watching what
words, specifically placing emphasise on the
I’ve been watching,” Mr Biden said, his voice
words used within the short sentences. (Not
freighted with anger and disgust.
sure how that would support Biden being a
Proppian hero, only know how to unpack
- The use of a personal pronoun in Biden’s speech disorder and chaos when describing the rioters).
may make the situation that the people are in To state ‘Now.’ as its own separate sentence
more personal to them. This establishes a rather than being included on the previous one
connection between the people and Biden who communicates to the audience the urgency of
is their president. The audience may therefore the situation and the desperate need that Biden
feel more comfortable with Biden as their feels for the riots to cease. (How it makes him a
leader, and to be directly addressed with a Proppian hero).
personal pronoun can grasp their attention and
allow them to focus on his words. In addition to
Paragraph 6. “I call on this mob to pull back and allow
this, audiences of the newspaper who are in
the word of democracy to go forward,” Mr Biden said.
support of Biden may include themselves as the
“You’ve heard me say before in a different context:
ones who Biden is talking to. To discuss himself
the words of a president matter, no matter how good
with ‘I’ve’ in relation to the act of ‘watching’ the
or bad that president is. At their best the words of a
events unfold suggests to the audience that
president can inspire. At their worst they can incite”.
Biden is aware of what has happened and that
he ready to address the issues. This portrays
him as a Proppian hero as the audience feels - The juxtaposition used within Biden’s speech
more of a connection with him, knowing that he further supports the idea that The Times has
is one of the important people who has the depicted Biden as a Proppian hero. The two
power to stop the rioting and protect the verbs ‘inspire’ and ‘incite’ may indicate the two
people. people Biden, himself, and Trump. It may be
interpreted by the audience that it is Trump’s
fault that the riot has occurred due to the fact
- To describe his words as weighted with ‘anger’
that he constantly claimed the elections was a
and ‘disgust’ provides the audience an insight
fraud and encouraged his supporters fight for
on what Biden thinks of Trump and his
him, which then resulted in a riot. This binary
supporters’ acts. This can present Biden as a
opposition may highlight the difference
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card or Stuvia-credit for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller lisajiang. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for $7.09. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.