Wednesday, October 6, 2010

The Scarlet Letter-- Prose Analysis 1 of 2 by Erica

Text from the Novel—Page 69-70

   He was small in stature, with furrowed visage, which, as yet, could hardly be termed aged. There was a remarkable intelligence in his features, as of a person who had so cultivated his mental part that it could not fail to mould the physical to itself, and become manifest by unmistakable tokens. Although by seemingly careless arrangement of his heterogeneous garb, he has endeavored to conceal or abate the peculiarity, it was sufficiently evident to Hester Prynne that one of this man’s shoulders rose higher than the other. Again, at the first instant of perceiving that thin visage, and the slight deformity of the figure, she pressed her infant to her bosom with so convulsive a force that the poor babe uttered another cry of pain. But the mother did not seem to hear it. 


Analysis:

    During this passage, Hawthorne is describing a man in the crowd that is drawn around Hester Prynne. He writes in an objective point of view and has a unique choice of words, which I find interesting. Hawthorne writes using extensive vocabulary and a mixture of sentence structures, which exudes a sense of his intelligence and his educated background.
    This paragraph is a perfect example of his dynamic writing, because he uses different types of sentences. While reading the passage, I noticed that the first and second sentences were complex sentences, the third was a compound- complex sentence, the fourth, another complex sentence, and the fifth was a simple sentence. He also switches between periodic and loose sentences, which can be seen in the second and third sentences. Hawthorne uses uncommon, descriptive words throughout his writing. For instance, he uses the words furrowed visage and heterogeneous garb to help describe the man in the crowd. These words, although not often used, give a higher, more thorough description of the man. Because of his writing style, which proves to be effective, he was able to describe occurrences in the story and give the reader a greater understanding of characters and the story in general.
   Hawthorne writes in a way that I find very entertaining. He uses many elements to add substance to every sentence of his work. His sentences are thought out and quite fun to read because he writes in a complex and formal way. In this way Hawthorne is able to boost his credibility as a writer and his effectiveness of the text.

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