AP English Language : Phrase Choice and Effect
Study concepts, example questions & explanations for AP English Language
All AP English Language Resources
Example Questions
Example Question #11 : Phrase Choice And Effect
Passage adapted from The Passing of the Armies: The Last Campaign of the Armies by Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain (1915)
The momentous meaning of this occasion impressed me deeply. I resolved to mark it by some token of recognition, which could be no other than a salute of arms. Well aware of the responsibility assumed, and of the criticisms that would follow, as the sequel proved, nothing of that kind could move me in the least. The act could be defended, if needful, by the suggestion that such a salute was not to the cause for which the flag of the Confederacy stood, but to its going down before the flag of the Union. My main reason, however, was one for which I sought no authority nor asked forgiveness. Before us in proud humiliation stood the embodiment of manhood: men whom neither toils and sufferings, nor the fact of death, nor disaster, nor hopelessness could bend from their resolve; standing before us now, thin, worn, and famished, but erect, and with eyes looking level into ours, waking memories that bound us together as no other bond;—was not such manhood to be welcomed back into a Union so tested and assured?
Instructions had been given; and when the head of each division column comes opposite our group, our bugle sounds the signal and instantly our whole line from right to left, regiment by regiment in succession, gives the soldier's salutation, from the "order arms" to the old "carry"—the marching salute. Gordon at the head of the column, riding with heavy spirit and downcast face, catches the sound of shifting arms, looks up, and, taking the meaning, wheels superbly, making with himself and his horse one uplifted figure, with profound salutation as he drops the point of his sword to the boot toe; then facing to his own command, gives word for his successive brigades to pass us with the same position of the manual,—honor answering honor. On our part not a sound of trumpet more, nor roll of drum; not a cheer, nor word nor whisper of vain-glorying, nor motion of man standing again at the order, but an awed stillness rather, and breath-holding, as if it were the passing of the dead!
What is the effect of the underlined section, "men whom neither toils and sufferings, nor the fact of death, nor disaster, nor hopelessness could bend from their resolve; standing before us now, thin, worn, and famished, but erect, and with eyes looking level into ours"?
To appeal to the reader's fear of the men being described
To describe the apparent ease with which these men overcame struggles
To describe the fallible nature of man
To appeal to the reader's dislike of the men being described
To describe the endurance of the human spirit
To describe the endurance of the human spirit
This question asks you to analyze the rhetorical elements used by the author. In this section, the author gives a vivid description of the endurance of the human spirit, suggesting that even in the face of "toils and sufferings," this group of men still had "resolve," and stood "erect" rather than giving up in the face of suffering. The description of "eyes looking level into ours" suggests that the author regarded this group of men as his equals, not as men to be feared or viewed with prejudice. His choice to describe them as "the embodiment of manhood" earlier in the sentence gives further evidence to this interpretation. He does not suggest that they are fallible, but rather underscores their endurance, and he does not suggest that they overcame these struggles easily.
All AP English Language Resources
