Diction

McKenize Baumgardner
Mrs. Smith
Honors English 1
25, October 2013

Diction Essay
In Richard Hoffer’s Sports Illustrated article, “Feeding Frenzy” diction is used may times for various reasons.   One reason is to explain sarcasm towards Tyson clearly.   Another reason is to state how violent the chewing off of Holyfield’s ear really was.   Also to express the resemblance between a circus and the boxing match between Tyson and Holyfield.
The first type of diction Hoffer uses in his article “Feeding Frenzy” is circus diction.   He uses this diction to explain how the boxing match between Tyson and Holyfield compares to a circus show.   Hoffer expresses this diction by saying, “but after his sixth bout following his release from prison, after he spun out of his handlers’ control…” (1).   By Hoffer stating this he compares Tyson to a lion in a circus show.   Another way Hoffer stresses the resemblance of the match to a circus is by his statement “Tyson had somehow in his frustration, in defeat that may have been ordained in his own mind, run amok on the world’s greatest stage” (2).   Once again it compares the match to being a circus because a circus is also referred to as the world’s greatest stage.
The second diction Hoffer used was sarcasm.   Hoffer stresses this diction by saying “he had been selected sportsman of the ear” (4).   Hoffer says this to express his hatred towards Tyson.   Another thing Hoffer expressed as his hatred was when he made the statement of “he was going to be matched with Hannibal Lecter” (4).   He says this to portray Tyson as a cannibal by biting Holyfield’s ear off.  
The third type of diction used in Hoffer’s article was violent diction.   Hoffer expresses how violent the match was by saying, “watching him bite Evander Holyfield’s ears, actually chewing off and spitting out a piece…” (1). He uses chewing off and spitting out to explain the aggressiveness of the bite.   Another example of violent diction Hoffer used was “…he had featured in...