How Jessica Mitford Uses Diction and Tone to Critique the Practice of Embalming

This rhetorical analysis of Jessica Mitford's "Behind the Formaldehyde Curtain," an expose of the American funeral industry and particularly focused on embalming, identifies Mitford's use of tone, irony, allusion, and quotation to create a negative critique.

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Bridget's feedback:

"You are doing a good job interacting with Mitford's text using specific moments and quotations. Your reader gets a good sense of Mitford's overall arguments and tone. However, I found that the paper's word choices made your discussion rather hard to follow. I would suggest proofreading very carefully for clarity and precision. I would also suggest reading over your argumentation--the balance of the paper does not feel quite settled. The final sentence of the first paragraph suggests you will discuss rhetorical choices, but the presentation itself seems mostly oriented around Mitford's purpose (the "what" rather than the "how" of rhetoric). For example, your first body paragraph does a good job presenting Mitford's word choices. However, this is followed by a rather long block quote (albeit well-formatted!) that is not analyzed at the rhetorical level. You will want to consider whether the entire quote is needed and if so what parts of it can be analyzed for tone. Some of this issue of focus may be addressed by considering the organization, including how you define your purpose for the reader. The introduction is a bit confusing--your opening lines turn out to be Mitford's argument, but the ideas are presented as the paper's position and thus focus. Instead, let us know you will be analyzing an article--don't wait until the third sentence to tell us the author and essay name. The final two paragraphs look like they could function as one robust concluding paragraph; I suggest reading them over with this suggestion in mind, or more generally, with organization and structure in mind."

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In-text citation:

(Kibin, 2025)

Reference list entry:

Kibin. (2025). How jessica mitford uses diction and tone to critique the practice of embalming. http://www.kibin.com/essay-examples/how-jessica-mitford-uses-diction-and-tone-to-critique-the-practice-of-embalming-7auVKM4S

Be sure to capitalize proper nouns (e.g. Egypt) and titles (e.g. Macbeth) in the essay title portion of your citation.

In-text citation:

("How Jessica Mitford Uses Diction and Tone to Critique the Practice of Embalming.")

Works Cited entry:

"How Jessica Mitford Uses Diction and Tone to Critique the Practice of Embalming." Kibin, 2025, www.kibin.com/essay-examples/how-jessica-mitford-uses-diction-and-tone-to-critique-the-practice-of-embalming-7auVKM4S

Footnote:

1. "How Jessica Mitford Uses Diction and Tone to Critique the Practice of Embalming." Kibin, 2025. http://www.kibin.com/essay-examples/how-jessica-mitford-uses-diction-and-tone-to-critique-the-practice-of-embalming-7auVKM4S.

Bibliography entry:

"How Jessica Mitford Uses Diction and Tone to Critique the Practice of Embalming." Kibin, 2025. http://www.kibin.com/essay-examples/how-jessica-mitford-uses-diction-and-tone-to-critique-the-practice-of-embalming-7auVKM4S.