In the memoir titled Lessons From a Hustler, Peter Mountford tells the story of his unstable yet exciting life while working at a pool hall in Washington D.C. Mountford, an American novelist and writer of numerous short stories, goes through these chapters of his life using various types of rhetorical devices in order to add imagery into the reader's head. Through these uses of rhetorical devices, I believe that Mountford manages actively entertain his audience. While at times the entertainment concept of Mountford’s writing takes away from his purpose, Mountfords vivid imagery in the story allows for him to give his audience exactly what they want: entertainment. These rhetorical devices include, imagery, similes, as well as colloquialism. These descriptive devices further allow the reader to embrace themselves into the memoir; causing them to not only relate to the events, but live them. While Mountford looks to entertain his audience through his text, he also wishes to get across to his audience the point that the past is something that relies on perspective; that there is never a right answer as to how something may have occurred. As stated at the very end of Mountford’s memoir, “We had a blast. Then again, maybe I was the only one having fun” (Mountford 65). Being that many of his colleagues faced struggles as racism, poverty, and hospitalization at his time working there, he cannot say that the experience was joyful for everyone else, in fact it remains a mystery to Mountford; he will never know exactly how his friends and co-workers felt about Babes, the raggedy old pool hall in Washington D.C. Not only could this essay be seen as a source of entertainment for an audience looking for a story on hustlers in Washington D.C., but it can be seen as a cry for help from the author: a cry stating that he is afraid that the most wonderful moments of his life could have potentially have been the worst for those closest to him.
No comments:
Post a Comment