Silly Senate Bill
... the nature of cats - being independent and wild in order to illustrate how the bill was a boondoggler. In addition to the logically organized arguments, many literary devices such as exaggeration, satire, contrast, personification, and parody were used as means to ridicule the purposes and the effects of the bill. The governor used a sarcastic tone throughout the argument by referring to the “so called ‘Cat Bill’”. He personified the cats as criminals who “run at large” trying to refrain from getting “pick up and imprison” by the police. These negative images contrasted the idea of cats being able to “visit a neighbor”, be “escorted” by a companion, or “perform useful services”. Such comparisons conveyed the exaggerated effort spent on these “delinquents”. In order to further supplement the argument with a more condescending tone, the governor chose sarcastic dictions such as “worthy cause”, and “unselfish effort”; words that described the legislation to be the exact opposite of his true opinions. Concluding his proposal with a line from one of Shakespeare’s Tragedies, Caesar, Governor Stevenson travestied the purpose and the whole existence of the Senate Bill No. 93. Chastising the bill was not the end of Governor Stevenson’s argument, for he had also utilized simple techniques to persuade the readers emotionally. For example, the governor chose to list the reasons of his dissension of the “Cat Bill”. Listing, rather than rambling on about different consequences and problems, had greatly impacted the readers’ min...