Accumulation

__//Accumulation//__


 * D** **efinition::** Accumulation is the aggregation of expressions, or descriptiveness. While the term accumulate can refer to anything that gradually gathers, when used as a stylistic device it refers to a "gathering" of adjectives used to describe a person or situation.


 * Origin::** Late 15th century, from the Latin //accumulat-//


 * See also::** Accumulate

Definition taken from (oxforddictionaries.com).


 * Examples** from text:

1) In James Finn Garner's //Politically Correct Bedtime Stories,// he retells the classic fairy tale of Little Red Riding Hood, but in "politically correct" terms. His series of retold fairy tales was released in 1994, which was in the height of the politically correct movement. Garner tells the story in a way as to not offend anyone, but mostly poking fun at the movement. In his efforts to use politically correct terms, Garner strands multiple words together to describe a certain character or situation.


 * One example of this comes when the wolf meets Little Red Riding Hood in the woods and remarks that it was not safe for a girl to walk in the woods alone, to which she responds "I find your sexist remark offensive in the extreme, but I will ignore it because of your traditional status as an outcast from society, the stress of which has caused you to develop your own, entirely valid, worldview" (Garner 1). Little Red could have answered simply, but by using these descriptors Garner provides a more detailed explanation of why she feels the way she does. Another example is when Little Red arrives at her grandmother's house and wants to feed her the food she brought. She says: "Grandma, I have brought you some fat-free, sodium- free snacks to salute you in your role of a wise and nurturing matriarch" (Garner 1). Garner could have just said "snacks" but instead he described them so as to describe the kind of food that was "correct" for the people of the time to eat. In addition, the piling of exclamations from Little Red when she exclaims "what big eyes you have!...what a big nose you have!...what big teeth you have!" (Garner 1) can also be considered an example of accumulation.

2) In Marie de France's short story //Bisclavret,// Bisclavret is a baron in Brittany who is well-liked by many people, especially the king. Every week he would disappear for three days at a time. Finally his wife asks him where he goes during this time and he admits to being a werewolf. He explains to his wife that in order to return to being human, he must hide his clothes. His wife becomes disgusted by him and hides his clothes so he must stay a werewolf forever. There was a knight in the area who had loved the wife for a long time, and the two get married.


 * [[image:Biscover.jpg width="180" height="267" align="right"]]As the wife is finding out about Bisclavret's secret about being a werewolf, de France begins to tell how the knight loves her and how he wants to marry her. The wife isscared and disgusted by Bisclavret. De France describes the relationship between the knight and the woman as this: "...Who had loved her for a long time, who begged for her love, and who had dedicated himself to serving her" (de France 3). The repetition of the actions of the knight (who had done this, who had done that, etc.) is an example of accumulation. Another example is when Bisclavret returns to the king's castle and attacks the knight. "Bisclavret saw him, ran toward him at full speed, sank his teeth into him, and started to drag him down" (de France 5). The build-up of his actions is another example of accumulation.

(EM)