Question
Which rhetorical device is used in the following statement from Mark Twain’s speech, “Advice to Youth”?
“If a person offend you, and you are in doubt as to whether it was intentional or not, do not resort to extreme measures; simply watch your chance and hit him with a brick.”
understatement
alliteration
anecdote
parallelism
“If a person offend you, and you are in doubt as to whether it was intentional or not, do not resort to extreme measures; simply watch your chance and hit him with a brick.”
understatement
alliteration
anecdote
parallelism
Answers
GPT-4o mini
The rhetorical device used in the statement from Mark Twain’s speech, “Advice to Youth,” is **understatement**. The suggestion to simply "hit him with a brick" in response to being offended is an exaggerated expression of a minor conflict, which conveys a humorous effect characteristic of understatement.