Personal Writing #4: Quote Analysis

To improve my analysis skills, I though it could be a good idea to try and analyze a random quote to the best of my ability.

“It’s not a merit to tolerate, but rather a crime to be intolerant.” ―Percy Bysshe Shelley

First Impressions: It is clear upon reading this quote that the writer disliked intolerant behavior, either towards race, religion or other beliefs.

Paraphrasing: When he says that “It’s not a merit to tolerate someone”, he takes of the credit off the people who might seem to brag about their tolerant behavior. Finally, by completing the sentence with “but rather a crime to be intolerant”, he says that being tolerant is a requirement, not an achievement.

Purpose: I assume that the purpose of this quote is to tell people that being tolerant should not be seen as helping a person, but simply as a persons duty.

Literacy Techniques: I was not able to see any specific literacy techniques displayed in the quote. This is likely due to that fact that I have a limited knowledge of the vast amount of literacy techniques that exist.

Observations: Though I could not identify any literacy techniques, I did take note of one particular thing in the quote. The fact that tolerate and intolerant are present in the same sentence. For some reason, this struck a cord inside of me. This also pulled my attention to the presence of merit and crime in the same sentence. I don’t know what to think about this specifically, but it is something I will take note of.