Persuasive technique when writing?

Question

I have to analyse a piece of work, and within it, there is a play on words:

citizenship is a privilege, not a right
to
citizenship is a right, not a privilege.

My question is,
What impact does this/a "play on words" have on the reader?

Answer 1

Well, the "impact" if you want to call it that, is that the meaning of the sentence is reversed. I wouldn't consider this an "impact" based on technique, though - it's more that the two sentences convey completely different ideas. From a purely technique standpoint, if the former is a known, familiar saying (I'm not really sure if it is - seems more like a statement of fact), reversing the words/meaning in the way you did could get "style points" for being wry, clever, witty or insightful (assuming your audience is familiar with the original material).

Answer 2

Personally I think the two statements both mean something different and that will have an impact on the reader depending on what is considered true.

Citizenship is a privilege, not a right. Meaning no one should get citizenship illegally.

the reverse of this will mean any Jack or Jim has the right to get citizenship, which is not true.

Not sure if I answered correct, but my lunch break is almost over so I really cant analyse your question further. I'll nip back soon and see what others have to say!

Answer 3

The impact this would have on a reader is one of emotion. Each sentence means something altogether different. For instance, "citizenship is a privilege, not a right" implies that citizenship is something that must be earned, therefore, invoking an idea or feeling that not everyone is worthy of inclusion into a certain society without first proving their worth. Whereas, the sentence "Citizenship is a right, not a privilege" implies that all people regardless of who they are have an innate right to be a citizen or to become a citizen without having to prove themselves. As for the emotion, that would entirely depend on the view point of the reader.