Text Types, Argumentation, and Symbolism in Literature

Posted on Feb 13, 2025 in Social Anthropology

Text Exposure

Text Exposure (intended to convey and understand information related to some aspect of reality or fiction) -> Classification according to recipient: Specialized text exposition [reported phenomena and aspects requiring high skills. Texts are written by the subject who speaks and is addressed to a restricted public, that must also have a good knowledge of the subject (Treaties and journals)].

  • Classification as structure:
    • Cause and effect (of a description made and the consequences)
    • Chronological (Exposition following a temporal order of events)
  • Language Resources:
    • Vocabulary (words, technical terms. Predominantly monosemic words that do not generate ambiguity. Function in lexical selection of the recipient. Presence of neologisms related to the topic)
    • Morphosyntax (use of the indicative, the 3rd person verbal and impersonal forms. Enunciative sentences conferring dominance and coordinate syntactic structures)

Text Argumentation

This is to convince or persuade the reader, so one or more theses must appear, which are ideas that the author argues on the subject. That’s why the arguments are used to defend the thesis that is exposed.

  • Structure:
    • Introduction: Feedback that generated the text and that serves to expose the intentions.
    • Exposition: Contains the thesis which revolves around the text.
    • Development: Reasons and arguments provided by the issuer to defend their approach.
    • Conclusion: Synthesis of the above and argued previously.
  • Building the Argumentation Thesis: The text is structured around the thesis. This lies at the beginning or the end of text. The argument can be carried out in various ways:
    • Examples
    • Arguments from authority: referring to a famous author or a specialist
    • Personal experiences
    • Ethical arguments: values assumed by society: freedom, solidarity, etc.
    • Majority arguments: the number of people who support a given position
    • Fallacy

Forms of Reasoning

  • Deduction: Expose a thesis at the beginning that is validated by a series of reasoning.
  • Induction: Expose the chain that allows the argumentative thesis.
  • Analogy: Compares a known family phenomenon with a new event.
  • Concession: Accepts part of the contrary argument to construct the overall refutation of the thesis.
  • Absurd: The thesis brings adverse consequences to the past, making it fall into the realm of the absurd.
  • Dialectics: Expose different theories to find an alternative one.
  • Opposition: Presents a thesis and an opposing one.

Record of Argumentation

Use a neutral tone to show objectivity, but can use a controversial tone, an ironic or satirical tone.

Structuring Text and Language Elements

  • Sorters: Firstly, in conclusion, …
  • Cause: because, since, …
  • Consequence: So, therefore, …
  • Opposition: But, however, …
  • Attachment: as well, so, …

Broken Mirror

  • Symbolism (spaces): The abandoned tower of Sant Gervasi becomes the personification of a character, like an abandoned house that will be the beginning of a whole house in full splendor during Sofia’s childhood, and a house that will go towards decline from that time until James died in its own destruction.
  • Symbolism (relations between characters):
    • Teresa: Her flower is the rose-colored flesh, a sign of humanity; the blond red is a sign of a passion flower that will accompany Attorney Riera, the passion of her hidden love.
    • Barbara and violets: The relationship between Barbara and Valldarua, a dark color, is a sign of death, since Barbara will commit suicide.
    • The relationship between Teresa and Valldaura will be symbolized by the apple blossom.
  • Vocabulary: The characters’ feelings are reflected in it.
  • Argument: The novel contains a total of 52 chapters divided into three parts.
  • The novel postpones the psychological narrative description of the moods, passions, and characters’ psychological conflicts: The protagonists of Mercè Rodoreda’s novels are fragile women but at the same time show great inner strength.
  • Naturalism: Everything is explained objectively; an example is the house.
  • Rodoreda speaks of time. There are two types of time: chronological, which is very detailed, and psychological, which is the most used, as the characters evolve throughout the work.