Persuasive Word Choice

Persuasive Word Choice

Answers

Q 1: How can we tell the author’s opinion of the subject of the surveillance society from the start of the article?

From the italicised introduction to the article, and from the description of surveillance as a ‘dark art’ in the first sentence, with its implication of black magic, we get the impression that the writer is suspicious of the merits of surveillance.

If an article on this topic had been written by a police spokesperson talking about the benefits to the public of CCTV camera, he or she would not have used the phrase ‘dark art’.

Q 2: For each of the words from paragraph 2 below give: - their denotation, - their connotation (in this context) and

- a comment on the effect of these words i.e. how these connotations keep pushing the writer’s hostile point of view

Word Denotation Connotation

bottomless very deep, limitless

Also suggesting that we’re not talking about the infinity of space, rather the ‘bottomless pit’ – often used as a reference to hell, suggesting disapproval




trawl to catch fish with a trawl net pulling through

the water

here it means to make lots of passes through the information to catch the slightest wrong-doing




stuff worthless material /

information

the suggestion is that a lot of this information is useless, trivial, unimportant, but it is still irresistibly tempting




warrantless without justification or authorisation

this suggests the authorities are taking illegal liberties with our personal data




intrusion sense of entering uninvited

here with the idea of thrusting in a forceful way like a burglar, intent on harm




dataminers digging into data mining has the connotations of networks of tunnels underground. working hard at getting at that which is hidden or difficult to retrieve but, in this context, attacking privacy




hard (intelligence)

definite, solid there is a slight suggestion that the information is not to the benefit of the person, harsh, producing bad results




idle lazy the idea that even while doing almost nothing , vast amounts of ‘hard’ information can be accumulated against a person




tremble shake the connotations of this word with fear and alarm are possibly exaggerated but nevertheless show the writer’s distaste for surveillance




massive very large, weighty

this intensifies the scale of the government’s extreme power by giving the impression of an extreme dimension

Q 3: What is the effect of putting the ‘technical’ phrase ‘social network analysis’ into inverted commas?

The inverted commas cause the reader to take a second look at what seems to be an important technical term and realise that it just means ‘counting people’s phone calls’.

Q 4: What does ‘cluster pattern’ mean in this context?

It means looking for frequency of phone calls concentrated in particular areas.

Q 5: What sinister connotations is Raban hinting at?

‘Cluster patterns’ is a description of a statistically significant group but also has connotations of concentration of incidences of disease (like CJD).

Q 6: Consider ‘terrorist cell’ and ‘bridge club’. What are the associations of each of these?

A terrorist cell is a group of people whose purpose for meeting is to plan death and destruction; a bridge club is a group of people intent on pursuing a social, peaceful pastime.

Q 7: How does the juxtaposition work in ridiculing the attitude of the NSA?

The inability on the part of NSA to distinguish between the two by merely counting phonecalls seems to Raban a very fundamental flaw reflecting the stupidity or pointlessness of the activity as a security device.

Q 8: What are the connotations and the effect of ‘machinery’ and ‘furniture (of life)’ on your view of this aspect of American society?

‘Machinery’ – an engine that has been set into motion as an essential part of the NSA system. This suggests that there is an inevitability and unstoppability about the NSA systems as if they had been set in motion and no-one was likely to stop them.‘furniture (of life)’ – suggests that the apparatus of state security has become almost as familiar and unnoticed as the furniture people have around them in their homes – accepted rather than noticed.

Q 9: What connotations, scientific or otherwise, are suggested to you by each of the three terms: ‘magnetometers’, ‘BioWatch air-sniffers’, ‘razor

wire’?‘Magnetometer’ – sense of scientific expertise with perhaps a touch of absurdity / Starwars since it measures the earth’s magnetic field (!)‘BioWatch air-sniffers’ – sense of absurdity / gobbledygook; the first two words might imply something cutting edge / pushing the boundaries but the other words’ implications are so low tech that the whole term suggests something cobbled together, or something in the paranormal / psychic realm.‘Razor wire’ – suggests a very old-fashioned, barbaric, crude defence system.

Q 10: What impression does the juxtaposition of these terms give of the credibility of the NSA?

All three together send out totally different messages suggesting an undiscriminating willingness to try anything that might work (without real evaluation) or an organisation of crackpots with a variety of hare-brained ideas.

Q 11: What effect does the word choice of ‘Military Reservation’, ‘desolate acres’ and ‘ailing mushroom farm’ have on your impression of the importance of the NSA?‘(Military) Reservation’ – like territory set aside for Native Americans – suggests the poverty and isolation of the area is hardly suitable for such a national agency.‘Desolate acres’ – empty miles of desert wasteland suggesting an isolation and lack of productivity.‘Ailing mushroom farm’ – series of discoloured, dilapidated domes seen from above suggests a process of decay and sickness.All of these make the headquarters of this all-seeing agency, with its obsession for secrecy, seem rather pathetic and unimpressive, which adds to his critical view of surveillance and all its apparatus.

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Persuasive Word Choice