Npr Abstract

Jacob Park

AP Language

19 September 2014

Abstract 3

I. Plot Précis

'Language of Food' Reveals Mysteries of Menu Words and Ketchup by NPR STAFF on September 15, 2014 dwells into the ancient history of ketchup and the manifest difference between cheap and rich restaurants from the use of adjectives to describe the food served.

II.  Style

Imagery is used often in the article such as “in a salty, pickled fish that could be eaten by scraping off the goopy fermented rice…” (3). A pun was intended in the article which gave way to humor and the author also explains the use of an anagram in his elaboration of the becoming of the “ketchup”. Although there are more literary devices that define the author’s style of writing the most important ones are listed above.

III. Purpose

The author addresses the reader that the purpose of his article was to inform the individual that "ketchup" and the restaurant menus are significant. Although, the article has many historical references to establish the origin of the proclaimed sauce, subtle usage of literary terms keeps the audience intrigued. A pun, for example, was used in the fifth paragraph in the midst of all the information given concerning the sauce's past and emphasized how the Americans and Europeans felt acquiring the "fishy ketchup" in China. (The ketchup was originally made up of dried fish and other components such as rice and salt). Naturally the foreigners would question the sauce but, fortunately, quickly acknowledged the sauce and its worth; the author exclaims that this realization evidently brought forth the mass production and popularity of the ketchup. The author concludes the paragraph with a hint of humor by mentioning that the ketchup was modified by the Americans with a tiny of sugar. Imagery is also consistently used to portray the next topic that deals with menu items and their significance. The writer states that a cheap restaurant is more likely to use vague words such as “savory, tasty, and...