Blog Entry #3 Syntax
· “Nothing endures, not a tree, not love, not even death by violence” (14).
This quote, as said by Gene at the beginning of the novel as he is looking at Devon from a flash forward fifteen years, expresses one of the central themes of the novel, rather, that time heals all wounds. The syntax in this sentence mirrors Gene’s calm acceptance of time as it is structurally simple and balanced. Also, the anaphora used by the repetition of “not” puts emphasis on each clause. This repetition Knowles uses makes this sentence stand out amidst the paragraph, drawing attention to its important theme and foreshadowing.
· “Nylon, meat, gasoline, and steel are rare. There are too many jobs and not enough workers. Money is very easy to earn, but rather hard to spend because there isn’t very much to buy. Trains are always late and always crowded with “servicemen.” The war will always be fought very far from America and it will never end” (41).
This quote begins with listing syntax which emphasizes the attention to detail as Knowles begins to convey the struggles of living on the home front during WWII. It continues using antithesis and the symmetrical sentence structure to highlight very clearly the issues Americans are facing. Putting “servicemen” in quotations lends to Gene’s, the narrator, disapproving tone toward the war and the hyperbolic sentence saying the war “will never end” and the overall balanced sentence structure of the quote as a whole illustrates the detachment and hopeless war can cast on its citizens.
· I found it. I found a single sustaining thought. The thought was, You and Phineas are even already. You are even in enmity. You are both coldly driving ahead for yourselves alone. . . . I felt better. Yes, I sensed it like the sweat of relief when nausea passes away; I felt better. We were even after all, even in enmity. The deadly rivalry was on both sides after all.
The syntax of this reflects the panicked thought process Gene is having at the moment. He begins with a telegraphic sentence declaring that he is in understanding of the situation. He proceeds to comfort himself in the second person using an anaphora by repeating the word “You”. Then he repeats the phrase “I felt better” as if he is reassuring himself. The whole train of thought is brought to life by the syntax because it mirrors the sporadic way his thoughts are flying across his conscience.
What stood out to me from this analysis is parallel structure. The reptition of "not" in the first example and of "I felt better" in the second one add an air of confruency and sel-connection to Knowles' writing style. Since the first example comes from an adult Gene flashed forward fifteen yearr, and the second example is from teenage Gene at school it helps to solidify the adult and the teen as one character.
ReplyDeleteAnd always--in a way common to most first-person narratives--the language often expresses the mind of the narrator, and is in the form of informal, incomplete thoughts.
I absolutely love your syntax examples! I remember highlighting the first quote in my book, but I could never figure out what it truly meant. I now see that Gene's acceptance of nothing lasts forever relates to his feelings about Finny's innocence. I also think that sentence foreshadows the fact that Finny's death is inevitable. I agree that the syntax of the second example leads to the detached tone of Gene. This is one of the very few times that Knowles actually talks about life on the home front. He usually focuses on the primary setting of the novel, the Devon school. The third example was my favorite because of the author's use of repetition and the capitalization of "You". Like you said, the telegraphic sentences aid in the development of his thoughts and convey his struggle to convince himself of their equality.
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