Disorganized Syntax In Joyce Carol Oates's We Were The Muulvaneys

From the outset of the novel, Tim O’ Brien uses his literary knowledge and love for diction to bring

1. The radio not only made Connie comfortable around Arnold, it helped Arnold’s façade. As stated in the book, he dressed in a way that appealed to Connie (Oates 456). These factors made Connie trust him enough to continue the conversation with him.

In the passage from the novel, We Were the Mulvaneys, Joyce Carol Oates uses selection of detail and repetition to characterize the speaker, Judd Mulvaney as childish and afraid. Repetition is often used by characters to emphasize a point they are trying to make. However, when used in excess it makes the character look immature. Judd Mulvaney uses repetition in nearly every other sentence so this is a clear attempt by Oates to characterize Judd as immature or childish. In most cases, the repetition adds nothing to the sentence, for example, when he said, “The book was flowing below left to right (east to west)”.

Moving on, Johnston showcases diction in his essay to create complexity and prevent it from being dry by using words that are rich and descriptive. For example, “Mantled”, “Kin”, “Cupidity”, “Kindred”, “Desolated”, “Injudicious”, “Opulence”, “Ostracized”, and “Carnage” are some examples of the use of complex words in the essay (Johnston 212-214). The choice of these complex words adds depth and richness to the essay, creating precision and clarity in their meanings. It also adds credibility and authority because it shows that the author knows what he is

In a different part of the book, Vance transitions the mood by relaying another anecdote, this time with a completely different tone and diction. He discusses the sorrow he faced with losing his Mamaw, writing, “That was when I broke down and released the tears that I’d held back during the previous weeks” (172). Introducing a tone of despair adds variation to Vance’s writing and introduces an intimate side of the author, thus pulling the reader closer to the story. The different

He notices the “light is mostly drained,” the railing is “pretty damn rotted,” and the leaves are dry and yellow. These are all pessimistic and dismal observations to make about nature. These observations only reflect and coincide with his thoughts and feelings towards death. In We Were the Mulvaneys, Joyce Carol Oates uses depressing tones, repetition, specific punctuation, and dismal imagery to emphasize the narrator’s thoughts and feelings about death.

His recollections about his experience as a young boy makes the horror real and urgent for the audience: “I remember his bewilderment, I remember his anguish. It all happened so fast.” (paragraph 4) The audience’s inevitable emotional response to these memories is one of deep sadness and empathy. The need for action instead of silence in the face of such horror is made even clearer.

However, Bowen is keen to demonstrate death as highly feared and impactful on people’s lives. Life to Kathleen changes significantly after the death of the soldier she loved ‘she already felt that unnatural promise drive down between her and the rest of humankind’ (Bowen

In “The Funeral,” author Henry James evinces the narrator’s inflated sense of self through a lampoon of the lower class—primarily via tones of irreverent degradation and supercilious condescension. Amidst the impoverished masses, the speaker finds himself intrigued by their dejected existence and paltry attempt to mourn the death of Mr. George Odger, a humble shoemaker. [add another sentence] Riddled with insouciance, haughtiness, and patronization, the author’s diction divulges the pompous outlook of the narrator. For instance, the onlooker continually mocks the “spectacle” of the funeral that he describes as one he “[would] have been sorry to miss.”

The significance of the experience of transition lies in individuals gaining a deeper understanding of themselves and others. JC Burke’s prose fiction text, ‘The Story of Tom Brennan’, focuses on the transition of the Brennan family, and Tom in particular, from feelings of guilt, anger, depression and despair to acceptance, reconciliation and optimism, in the aftermath of Daniel’s car accident that caused the deaths of two innocent teenagers and the quadriplegia of his cousin, Finn. The other related text, ‘Up’, a fantasy animated film, written by Bob Peterson, reveals Carl’s transition from denying the death of his wife and regretting not fulfilling their dream of moving to Paradise Falls to unexpectedly making new friends who help him accept the passing of his wife. Both texts and my visual representation reflect the protagonists’ deeper understanding of themselves and others as a result of the transition. ‘The Story of Tom Brennan’ (2005) is about the aftermath of a car accident caused by Daniel Brennan, affecting his family and the town of Mumbilli.

This trip changed White’s outlook on life, for he finally realized that mortality was closer than he imagined. He was no longer young, and watching his son mature only made this notion more real. One day, he will be only a memory to his son, just like his father is to him. White uses a variety of rhetorical devices to convey the message to his audience that life moves quickly, not stopping for anything, including emotionally-charged diction, imagery, and personification. White uses emotionally-charged diction as a form of pathos to convey his feelings about his past and explain trouble he is having with accepting his old age.

Character Analysis in As I Lay Dying As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner has remained a fairly controversial and intriguing novel when it comes to analysis. It’s “stream of consciousness” style, extensive amount of narrators, and fragmented format leave much available for differing analysis. With the overwhelming amount of narrators comes several pivotal characters. In turn, investigating characterization becomes a popular form of analysis for this work.

Throughout life, we all go through rough moments where we think all is lost. However, we as humans always grow from these experiences and turn into beings with a new awakening and understanding of the world. In a passage from The Crossing by Cormac McCarthy, the narrator describes a striking ordeal, in which a man is coping with the death of a she-wolf. Despite the cause of death being left ambiguous, this dramatic experience has a vivid effect on the main character—causing him to change and grow into a new man by the end of the passage. McCarthy uses eloquent and expressive diction to create imagery which gives the reader an understanding of the narrator’s experience, supplemented by spiritual references as well as setting changes, elucidating the deep sadness and wonder felt by the protagonist.

When people are traumatized by an event they are pushed to experience the five stages of grief. The “Gospel”, by Philip Levine and “the boy detective loses love”, by Sam Sax both use characters that are going through one of the stages of grief. Levine and Sax both explain the thoughts and process of what a person thinks when they go through these stages with imagery. Levine uses symbolism, a sad tone, and a set setting in “Gospel” to illustrate that grieving takes you into a depth of thoughts. Sax uses anaphoras, an aggressive tone, and an ambiguous setting to convey that grieving takes you into a tunnel of anger and rage.

In many literary classics, we see many uses of literary devices, usually to portray or enhance a theme of the book. In William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying, there are many themes and many devices to depict them. But the narration/POV of different characters serves to affect the reader’s perspective, especially on the theme of family and honor- or lack thereof.