“STOP THE SLAUGHTER”
Straight Man“STOP THE SLAUGHTER” is the central slogan of a rapidly organized protest at the Campus Duck Pond. First displayed on placards and chanted by the crowd, it becomes a direct accusation against William Henry Devereaux, Jr., binding the protesters’ defense of the ducks and geese to their opposition to him.
Wording and Circulation
The slogan appears on protest signs carried as equipment is brought toward the pond. Devereaux notices that some placards place a blown-up photograph of him at their center, using the grainy image from his book jacket to represent the alleged villain. He admires how efficiently the protesters have assembled their signs and mobilized: they have had only about fourteen hours to organize, find the photograph, enlarge it, and mount it on sticks.
From Chant to Accusation
As the crowd gathers around the ducks and geese, protesters link arms into a semicircle, forming a protective line and daring harm to approach. The chant changes from “STOP THE SLAUGHTER” to “STOP DEVEREAUX. STOP THE SLAUGHTER.” The added command makes the slogan both a defense of the animals and a public denunciation of Devereaux. The crowd has grown to about a hundred and fifty people; a sound man says the recording is ready as Finny the Goose breaks through the human line and trumpets.
Rhetorical Force
The slogan’s force comes from its shift between a broad moral appeal and a named target. “STOP THE SLAUGHTER” casts the protest as protection of vulnerable animals; placing Devereaux’s name before it turns that appeal into a personal confrontation. The placarded photograph reinforces the transformation, reducing the gap between the man at the pond and the villain pictured on the signs. Devereaux decides it is time to leave, prompted not by fear for his safety but by Missy Blaylock’s remark that some things never change.
