Metonymy: A figure of speech in which one word or phrase is substituted for another with which it is closely associated.

Example:

"This is another facet of the myth of the Latin woman in the United States".(Judith Cofer's essay The Myth of the Latin Woman)

Function: Cofer, instead of saying "The United States of America", only said "The United States." This symbolizes how the United States is supposed to be a country that is accepting of all peoples and nationalities, but we do not live up to our supposed values because of our judgmental views of Latinos. This is mirrored in how she left off "of America" showing that we are no longer all-encompassing.

Synecdoche: A figure of speech in which a part is used to represent the whole.

Example:

"...and that the result is, most times, a feeling of satisfaction at having won a covert when I see the cold, apraising eyes warm to my words...I have opened up some avenue for communication." (Judith Cofer's essay, The Myth of the Latin Woman)

Function: By using the word "eyes", Cofer is really referring to the whole person that is judging in this istance. She does this for two reasons. One is because it puts a mental image in our minds of the condenscending expression on the face of the white person. The other is that the only thing you can see on a person is their appearance. This emphasizes that the white people are judging the Latinos solely by what they look like and know really nothing about them.

Irony: The use of words to convey a meaning that is the opposite of its literal meaning.

Example: "She discussed Manouvrier's work at length and made much of his rnrarive claim that women, after proper correction of the data, had slightly larger brains than men." (Stephen Gould's essay, Women's Brains)

Function: This excerpt is ironic because the entire essay had been about how men were smarter than women because they had bigger brains, according to Broca, and this was actually disproven by his own standards.

Paradox: A figure of speech in which a statement appears to contradict itself.

Example: "...my mother, the real Mrs. Tan, was shouting at her boss in her impeccable broken English". (Amy Tan's essay, Mother Tongue")

Function: Tan's usage of the contrasting words "impeccable" and "broken" suggest that her mother's English, by her standards, is perfect, and that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Apostrophe: A figure of speech in which some absent or nonexistent person or thing is addressed as if present and capable of understanding.

Example: "Then come, sweet death, and rid me of this grief." (Queen Isabella in Edward II by Christopher Marlowe)
Function: Queen Isabella uses apostrophe by referring to death as though he is a person that she speaks to who can come to her. She pleads with him and speaks kindly to him, emphasizing how terrible her state is that she is asking for the one thing that most people dread.