In his introduction to the book, Behind the Dream, Clarence B. Jones uses various rhetorical devices to achieve his purpose of introducing the reader to the book. The first device he employs is imagery, which helps the reader visualize the scene and feel the emotions of the quarter-million people who stood shoulder to shoulder on the lawn during the March on Washington. Jones uses phrases like "their hearts beating as one," "hope on the line," and "something so elemental" to convey the intensity of the moment and the significance of the event.
Jones also uses metaphor to compare the March on Washington to a tsunami, a shockwave, a wall, a living monument, a human mosaic, and an outright miracle. These metaphors serve to emphasize the magnitude of the march and its impact on history. They also create a sense of awe and wonder in the reader, making them more interested in learning about the event and its significance.
Another rhetorical device that Jones employs is contrast. He contrasts the widely shown images and film clips of the march, which are black and white, with the vibrant colors of the day that are not part of our national memory. He also contrasts the written word with the flat motion picture, arguing that the density of the written word makes the movie a pale artifact in comparison. These contrasts serve to highlight the importance of context and the need to understand the full story behind the March on Washington.
Jones also uses repetition to drive home his point about the importance of context. He repeats the phrase "text without context" and argues that it would be quite a loss to have only the mythology and text of the event without the specifics and the context. This repetition emphasizes the importance of understanding the full story and knowing the work that went into the march and the speech, which can magnify the resonance of hearing those famous words "I have a dream" in that phenomenal, inimitable cadence.
In conclusion, Clarence B. Jones uses a combination of imagery, metaphor, contrast, and repetition to achieve his purpose of introducing the reader to the book, Behind the Dream. These rhetorical devices help the reader visualize the scene, feel the emotions of the quarter-million people, emphasize the magnitude of the event, highlight the importance of context, and drive home the point about the significance of the full story.