Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Blog Topic #3: Syntax

  • “Maybe she would pretend that I was her boy that was killed and we would go in the front door and the porter would take off his cap and I would stop at the concierge’s desk and ask for the key and she would stand by the elevator and then we would get in the elevator and it would go up very slowly clicking at all the floors and then our floor and the boy would open the door and stand there and she would step out and I would step out and we would walk down the hall and I would put the key in the door and open it and go in and then take down the telephone and ask them to send a bottle of Capri Bianca in a silver bucket full of ice against the pain coming down the corridor and the boy would knock and I would say leave it outside the door please. Because we would not wear any clothes because it was so hot and the window open and the swallows flying over the roofs of the houses and when it was dark afterward and you went to the window very small bats hunting over the houses and close down over the trees and we would drink the Capri and the door locked and it hot and only a sheet and the whole night and we would both love each other all night in the hot night in Milan” (Hemingway 37-38).
  • “We think. We read. We are not peasants. We are mechanics” (Hemingway 51).

Hemingway’s choice of syntax influences the style and tone of the novel. He uses short, staccato sentences to show simplicity, while also using long, run-on sentences to create a more elaborate setting. Hemingway is known for his bare, straightforward prose due to his few adjectives, plain words, frequent repetition, and simple sentences. His use of longer, more complex sentence structures contradicts the style of writing that he is known for while also paving the way to make his tone more apparent, one of disjuncture and alienation. Hemingway feels the need to reinforce the idea that everyone does not need to conform to society, and they all have choices to make when it comes it difficult decisions.

1 comment:

  1. I agree completely with your analysis of Hemingway's use of syntax. His short, simple sentences are very refreshing and bring a more basic tone to the story, while his occasional lengthy sentences provide for an effective description and diversity of structure. Together these two forms of sentence structure create a basis from which Hemingway establishes his overall objective: to give the piece a tone of alienation and disjuncture.

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