Sunday, March 6, 2011

Syntax


·  “The Detective Division of the Las Vegas City Jail contains two interrogation rooms-fluorescent-lighted chambers measuring ten by twelve, with walls and ceilings of Celotex. In each room, in addition to an electric fan, a metal table, and folding metal chairs, there are camouflaged microphones, concealed tape recorders, and, set into the door, a mirrored one-way observation window” (215).

In this passage the reader is given a detailed description of the interrogation rooms that Perry and Dick face. It would have seemed less strenuous to explain that they had simply entered a small room with uncomfortable accommodations. These extremely detailed sentences are long and pact with abundances of minute details that allow the reader to fully experiences the views of both Perry and Dick. This kind of elaborate sentence structure is stylistic choice prevalent throughout the book and is one of the many reasons why In Cold Blood is considered a literary masterpiece.

·  “Anyone visiting the sheriff’s office, three under-furnished, over-crowed rooms on the third floor of the county courthouse, could detect an odd, almost sinister atmosphere” (190).

In this loose sentence, Capote employs the use of an asyndeton to better convey the atmosphere stated in previous sentence. He claims “secrets are an unusual commodity in a town the size of Garden City” (190). Cy combining numerous descriptive phrases, Capote is able to describe reasons as to why secrets would be impossible to hide. This syntactical device is effective in that it is able to communicate details without lengthy explanations.


·  “I remember—I think it was Monday—we drove down to the river. We parked on the bridge. You can see the house from there—the Cluttler house. And part of the land—Mr. Cluttler’s fruit orchard, and the wheat fields going away” (94).

Capote uses dashes as a method to convey interruptions between Susan Kidwell’s thought processes. The abrupt nature of the sentences allows the reader to imagine what she would sound like if they were to hear her speak. The main purpose of this particular type of sentence structure is to communicate the progression of Kidwell’s narration of the memory she has of Nancy Clutter.

·  “‘I was sore at Dick. The tough brass boy. But it wasn’t Dick. Or the fear of being identified. I was willing to take that gamble. And it wasn’t because of anything the Clutters did. They never hurt me. Like other people. Like people have all my life. Maybe it’s just that the Clutters were the ones who had to pay for it’” (290).

This passage is littered by short telegraphic sentences Perry uses to justify his actions. The main purpose of the terse sentence fragments is to convey Perry’s thought process as he convinces himself about his own motives. These sentences are supposed to mirror Perry’s thoughts as he slowly identifies his true reasons for killing such an unsuspecting family. There is a change in syntax as the sentences becomes longer and more confident nearing the last few phrases as it comes clear that Perry has come up with what  he thinks is a logical reason for his motives


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