The poem, ‘Delilah’, by Carol Ann Duffy revolves around the biblical myth of Samson and Delilah. In the bible, Delilah was bribed by the Philistines to figure out the source of Samson’s power. Subsequently, she trapped him in her love and later betrayed him by cutting his hair, his source of power, in order to weaken him and make him vulnerable so that he could be captured by the Philestines.

Duffy not only portrays the power dynamic between Samson and Delilah, but also characterizes Delilah as equally powerful.  For instance in the first stanza, Samson wishes that Delilah teaches him ‘how to care’ and when Duffy tries to explain it, Samson immediately ‘reached for his beer’ and started bragging about his accomplishments and power. Duffy portrays the informality of Samson, further representing men in society, through the imagery of reaching to his beer because, it displays that Samson in reality is not interested in learning where he takes the conversation about being vulnerable and filled with emotions as casual and insignificant. This idea is further developed when he talks about his accomplishments instead of listening to Delilah, as it depicts his pride in himself, his accomplishments and power. Additionally, since Samson interrupts Delilah, Duffy portrays that women are always quieted in situations where they can share their expertise, because in a male-dominated society, it is normally seen that women teaching men is considered to be degrading. Moreover, while Samson describes his accomplishments, Duffy’s use of rhyming words emphasizes on the idea of violence, and strength which is normally associated with a man’s accomplishments in which they have to power to destroy their enemies and their power. However, Duffy, later contradicts this ideology of men as the only beings having strength and power through the imagery of Delilah ‘sharpen[ing her] scissors’, and cutting his hair to drain and destroy his power. The image of a women sharpening scissors is quite striking in the eyes of the society they lived in, and therefore Duffy cleverly contradicts the stereotype of women, and indicates that men are not the only ones that hold the power to destroy someones life and power.

Anthony Bourdain, an American Chef, reflects on the representations of Mexicans in his post through the repetition of the pronoun ‘we’, the use of personal anecdotes as well as pathos. Through the repetition of ‘we’, Bourdain highlights the collective perspective and actions taken by Americans in response to Mexican people and food. For instance, the first paragraph introduces Mexican food and its commonality in American Society as well as the need of Mexicans in the American society in terms of cleaning the house, cooking for them, and looking after their children, therefore, portraying the cultural integration of Mexico as well as the necessity of Mexicans in the US despite the ‘hypocritical attitude towards immigration’ and racial injustices. Additionally, Bourdain shares his experiences with Mexicans. For instance, when Bourdain visited the ‘small towns [in Mexico] populated mostly by women’, he shares about their kind nature and their long days ‘waiting for calls from their husbands, sons and brothers who have left to work in [the Americans’] kitchens in the cities of the North’. Through this personal anecdote, Bourdain arouses empathy for the Mexicans who work hard and are away from their family in order to work with and for Americans. Moreover, through this anecdote, Bourdain’s use of pathos appeals to the emotions of the audience, therefore, making the audience understand the trouble Mexicans have to go through, further representing the lives of Mexicans in the US. 

Carol Ann Duffy uses various different types of tones in order to portray Mrs. Sisyphus’ feelings about her husband. For instance, Duffy reveals her feelings of anger and annoyance for her husband through the use of a furious tone in the first line of the poem, ‘That’s him pushing the stone up the hill, the jerk’. Through the use of ‘jerk’, Duffy displays that Mrs. Sisyphus is comfortable with referring to her husband with insulting names (such as ‘jerk’ and ‘dork’), therefore, portraying the lack of intimacy in their relationship as well as the fact that she does not respect her husband. Duffy uses another type of tone, which is an aggressive tone when Mrs. Sisyphus says, ‘He’s a dork’. This is to emphasize the neglect, thus, hinting at the loss of intimacy between them. Moreover, towards the end of the poem, Duffy uses a desolate tone when Mrs. Sisyphus, ‘lies alone in the dark, feeling like Noah’s wife did, when he hammered away at the Ark’. This suggests that Mrs. Sisyphus, herself feels isolated and neglected by her husband due to the actions he takes. Through the use of different tones, Duffy reveals the neglect from both sides of the relationship, therefore, portraying that both are unhappy with their relationship and one part of it is just the lack of intimacy.