Term: The insertion of some verbal unit in a position that interrupts the normal syntactical flow of the sentence.      

Example: Those two spots are among the darkest of our whole civilization-pardon me, our whole culture (an important distinction, I've heard) which might sound like a hoax, or a contradiction, but that (by contradiction, I mean) is how the world moves: not like an arrow, but a boomerang. -Ralph Ellison, Invisible Man 

Function: Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man uses parenthesis to express his understanding of human civilization. Ellison's tone is informative, intelligent, and enlightening. In this paragraph, he speaks of the modern culture and how it is a contradiction in itself, but also in the direction of progression in which it moves. He highlights that the civilization's progress moves like a boomerang, with the boomerang always coming back to the original place where it was thrown, representing a world without progress."(an important distinction, I've heard)", the parenthesis help Ellison convey his personal opinion but also give a hint of sarcasm, expressing that he doesn't take the progress of modern civilization seriously. Ellison creates a very distinct opinion on the progress of civilization with the use of parenthesis. 

Term: involves placing side by side two coordinate elements, the second of which first serves as a explanation or modification of the first. 

Example: The mountain was the earth, her home. -Rudolfo Anaya, Albuquerque 

Function: Rudolfo Anaya uses an apposition in her book to give a modification of what she calls home. Whereas the Earth is everyone's home, to her the mountain is specifically her home. In the bigger picture, the mountain serves as a safe house for her, as shown through the apposition. 

Term: the deliberate ommision of conjunctions between a series of related clauses. 

Example: I came, I saw, I conqured -Julius Caesar

Function: Julius Caesar, through the asyndeton, creates a hurried rhythm that emphasizes one of the greatest military defeats ever. Without the use of conjunctions, readers read the asyndeton very quickly, and get the sense of urgency to read it again. In Julius Caesar's case, "I came, I saw, I conquered" is simply stated, but has such great value that the statement does not need to be overdone with conjunctions. Through the use of this asyndeton, Julius Caesar creates a sense of power and might. 

Term: The deliberate use of many conjunctions

Example: I said, "Who killed him?" and he said, "I don't know who killed him but he's dead all right," and it was dark and there was water standing in the street and no lights and windows broke and boats all up in the town and trees blown down and everything all blown and I got a skiff and went out and found my boat where I had her inside Mango Key and she was all right only she was full of water. -Ernest Hemingway, "After the Storm"

Function: Ernest Hemingway uses a long polysendeton to express the grand amount of damage caused by the storm. The polysendeton makes readers slow down, because the effect of it is to slow down the rhythm of the sentence, and concentrate on what was damaged and how many things were damaged. Although the list of things that were damaged is very long, the conjunction "and" adds even more length to the list, emphasizing the damage. With the use of polysendeton, Hemingway creates an effect of saddness and despair. 

Term: The deliberate use of an understatement

Example: It isn't very serious. I have this tiny little tumor on the brain. -JD Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye

Function: In the book, The Catcher in the Rye, JD Salinger uses a litotes to magnify that a character has a brain tumor. Obviously, a brain tumor is a serious thing, so with the understatement above, Salinger conveys that the character is trying to push aside the dangers and act like it is no big deal. Also, the litotes adds sarcasm into the situation, making everything a bit humorous, even thought it is really not. The tone the author creates with this litotes is sarcasm and fear.