You have now given a general definition of your subject, and one good way to proceed with your explanation is, as stated above, by means of repetition in other words of your first statement, thus:—
A real snob values the opinion of an ignorant rich person more than that of an intelligent poor one. He is fawning and meanly polite to influential men, and rude and overbearing to those who have no recognized position. A snob will run hat in hand to open a door for a wealthy woman of rank, and will not give a helping hand to a poor woman who has fallen down.
This sort of repetition serves to make perfectly clear the idea involved in your first statement.
85. Exposition by Contrast.—A further device in explanation is contrast, showing the ways in which the subject of your exposition differs from its opposite. The explanation of the snob might be continued by contrasting him with a perfect gentleman, thus bringing out more clearly the offensive qualities. Or, you might go back to the sort of comparison you used in explaining courage, perseverance, etc., and compare the snob to a person thoroughly rude, a boor, showing how he differs: the snob is rude only to people who, he thinks, have no means of punishing him for it; whereas a boor is rude to every one.
Exercise 133.—1. Bearing in mind these two new methods for explanation (repetition and contrast), as well as the methods previously explained (comparison and examples), explain the use and value of the study of geography, arithmetic, history, manual training, music, drawing, gymnasium work, military drill, sewing, reading aloud, spelling, a foreign language.
2. Explain (as if to a boy or girl younger than you, who asks, "What is it for?") the purpose and value of the following:—
A debating society; a literary club; a nature study club; a "Do as you would be done by" association; amateur theatricals; athletic contests; an aquarium; zoological gardens; city parks; public libraries; foreign travel; picture galleries.
86. Exposition by a Figure of Speech.—One of the most forcible and graceful means of exposition is by the development of a figure of speech,—a simile or metaphor.
I consider the human soul without education like marble in the quarry, which shows none of its inherent beauties until the skill of the polisher fetches out the colors, makes the surface shine, and discovers every ornamental cloud, spot, and vein that runs through the body of it. Education, after the same manner, when it works upon a noble mind, draws out to view every latent virtue and perfection, which without such helps are never able to make their appearance.... Aristotle tells us that a statue lies hid in a block of marble, and that the art of the statuary only clears away superfluous matter and removes the rubbish. The figure is in the stone; the sculptor only finds it. What sculpture is to a block of marble, education is to a human soul. The philosopher, the saint, the hero, the wise, the good, or the great man, very often lie hid and concealed in a plebeian, which a proper education might have disinterred and brought to light.—Joseph Addison: The Spectator.
Exercise 134.—I. Proverbs are really only figures of speech, and explanation of these should be based to some degree on the model above. Try to explain fully, as if to your younger brother or sister, the true meaning of any of the following expressions, using all the devices for exposition which you have been studying. Think carefully before you begin to write and make sure that you fully grasp the real meaning. You will find examples and anecdotes illustrating your point particularly useful in this sort of explanation.
1. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. 2. Don't count your chickens before they are hatched. 3. A rolling stone gathers no moss. 4. The more haste the less speed. 5. Birds of a feather flock together. 6. Better an empty house than a bad tenant. 7. Make hay while the sun shines. 8. Enough is as good as a feast. 9. A burned child dreads the fire. 10. Strike while the iron is hot. 11. He laughs best who laughs last. 12. He that lives in a glass house should not throw stones. 13. Necessity is the mother of invention.
II. Expound in the same way the following quotations, as if you were trying to give a full realization of all that they mean to some one who sees them for the first time and does not quite understand them:—
1. Sweet are the uses of adversity.—Shakspere.
2. He who loses wealth loses much; he who loses a friend loses
more; but he who loses his courage loses all.—Cervantes.
3. He who knows most, grieves most for wasted time.—Dante.
4. The wicked flee when no man pursueth.
5. A soft answer turneth away wrath.
6. A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches.
7. Books are the best things well used; abused, among the
worst.—Emerson.
8. Charity is a virtue of the heart, not of the hands.Exercise 135.—I. Try to explain what Washington's Birthday means to us; St. Valentine's Day; April Fool's Day; Commencement Day at a school; Arbor Day; Thanksgiving Day; Christmas; New Year's; Labor Day; Fourth of July; Decoration Day. An exposition of this sort may be very straightforward and simple, only a paragraph long, or it may be as elaborate a composition as you can make it; but in either case you should try to express sincerely the deep feeling which underlies most of these festivals. Choose some favorite of yours in the above list and try to express why you are fond of it and impressed by it.
II. Following the same method, look up the facts in regard to some foreign customs, and write an explanation of what you imagine to be the feeling underlying All Souls' Day in Paris; the pilgrimage to Mecca of the Mohammedans; the pilgrimage in India to the Ganges; cherry-blossoming time in Japan; Primrose Day in England; the Fourteenth of July in France; and other festivals of which you can learn.