The Prince Of Los Cocuyos Rhetorical Analysis

Concrete Explorations In Richard Blanco’s memoir of his Cuban childhood, The Prince of Los Cocuyos, he questions the world around him and the control over his life. Blanco applies rhetoric to challenge the concrete parts of his life to empower people to explore their surroundings.

Richard Blanco utilizes asyndeton to explain the concrete parts of his life. He demonstrates his understanding of his favorite subject by stating “I was a whiz at math, and had come to trust it as something unquestionably precise, rational, reliable, true”(Blanco 200). The stating of the words “precise, rational, reliable, true” without conjunctions emphasizes each word’s importance for Richard. He views math as something with a correct and true answer, something

The knowledge of imaginary numbers leads to Richard pondering the reality of his day, “Imaginary or real cells dividing in biology? Imaginary or real French fries at lunch? Imaginary or real boys undressing in the locker room?” (200). Richard begins doubting everything he sees before math class and throughout the day. The questions about the cells, the french fries, and the undressing boys emphasize the effect one detail of information has on Richard and how truly broken he is after Julio’s death. The knowledge of imaginary numbers leads to Richard questioning his faith, “An imaginary or real God speaking to me in Father Octavio’s religion class?”(200). Richard begins to ponder how if an aspect he knew to be sure and reliable, like math, completely turns his world around, then how could he possibly be sure that God, for which there is no evidence for, existed. Richard continues to wonder about the recent changes in his life, and circles back to his late best friend, “Was Julio somewhere in that infinity where all the answers to the unanswerable lie?” (200). Richard is full of sorrow after Julio’s death and feels that the universe has to have a reason for taking away his best friend--the only person he let loose with--and wonders whether the death was just like any other or whether there is a deeper explanation. Blanco describes this dilemma in his life in order to inspire others to question their surroundings and