A Perspective On the Subject: Using Contrast and Juxtaposition

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 Analyze 
Use the basic features.

Profiles may offer a clear perspective on a subject, but unlike an argument for a position or a justification of an evaluation, which tell readers directly what the writer thinks and why, profiles may be more effective when they provide information and ideas that allow readers to draw their own conclusions. One strategy is to use transitions that point out different elements and identify the contrast between them.

To learn more about transitions, see Chapter 13; transitions indicating a contrasting or opposing view are listed on p. 556.

They may have looked like candy in the plant, but in the barroom they’re carrion once again. (Edge, par. 14)

A related strategy is to juxtapose (place next to one another) contrasting elements without explaining the relationship between them:

They were candy in the plant. They’re carrion here.

ANALYZE & WRITE

Write a couple of paragraphs analyzing how Coyne uses transitions indicating contrast and juxtaposition to convey her perspective in “The Long Good-Bye: Mother’s Day in Federal Prison”:

  1. Skim Coyne’s profile, highlighting the transitional words and phrases that indicate contrast. Analyze at least one of the contrasts you’ve found. What is being contrasted? How does the transition help you understand?
  2. Note in the margin which paragraphs focus on Coyne’s sister Jennifer and her son, Toby, and which focus on Stephanie and her son, Ellie. What differences between the two families does Coyne emphasize? Contrasts tend to be worth pointing out when there are also important similarities. What similarities do you think Coyne wants readers to think about?
  3. Consider how Coyne’s use of contrast and juxtaposition—between people, between the world of the prison and the world outside, and between what is and what could have been—helps convey her perspective on the plight of women like her sister and children like her nephew.

    Question