8/12/2019 dont read this it sucks
1/3
Stover 1
Dylan Stover
Pearcy
English 10 H, Period 5
2 April 2013
The Hunt
Authors often utilize any method they know of to convey their
feelings. An author may
use diction, syntax or other literary devices to show his or her
tone, and this tone leads to a
readers mood. InLord of the Flies, William Golding often uses
many literary devices to build
up a tone and manipulate the readers mood. In the passage when
the savages hunt Ralph,
Golding creates an apprehensive mood through his diction and
syntax.
Goldings diction helps build and change the readers mood. By
using words such as
restlessly, rapidly, and fumbled, suspense is built causing the
reader to become curious
(Golding 197-199). All of these words contain negative
connotations, and the words often show
impatience and a desire for action, which causes much suspense.
Authors use words such as
these to cause readers to continue reading to discover the
outcome as soon as possible. Words
such as jerked, hastily, and fumbled alllead to a sense of
urgency and caution (Golding
197-198). These words all make Ralph seem to be rushing his
every action in order to find
safety for himself; Ralph cannot remain calm because he can be
found and killed whenever, so
he has to remain cautious but also act quickly. Other words like
obscurity, very slightly, and
dulled build a foreboding mood. This diction makes readers
believe a major event will happen
soon, but that does not always happen. These words usually cause
people to believe that
something will happen soon. Diction is not all that shows the
mood.
Golding uses syntax to build up the suspenseful mood. Just
before Ralph screams in the
savages face, he says, Dont scream. Youll get back. Now hes seen
you. Hes making sure.
A stick sharpened (Golding 199). Ralphs syntax becomes very
concise and compressed
8/12/2019 dont read this it sucks
2/3
Stover 2
because he panics at the sight of the savage and loses any
capability to critically think. When
faced with a life or death situations, humans only plan on fight
or flight and they do not
usually plan rationally; Ralphs short syntax shows this
irrationality of a threatened person. The
short sentences also make the events seem to happen more
quickly, which builds suspense. After
Ralph finds a safe hospice to hide in, Ralph dreads any possible
outcomes thinking, One
chanced nothing! What could they do? Beat him? So what? Kill
him? A stick sharpened at both
ends (Golding 198). Once again, Ralph panics and his syntax
condenses to the very minimum;
Golding uses this fearful tone to make readers feel a foreboding
and nervous mood. Goldings
short syntax in this passage shows Ralphs decline of sanity and
nearly complete loss of
civilization. Syntax greatly contributes to the mood of a novel
or story.
During the hunt for Ralph, diction and syntax were used often to
build an apprehensive
mood for the reader. The apprehensive mood leaves a sense of
urgency, danger and foreboding.
Readers must continue reading to discover the next events and
satisfy the feeling of urgency.
Goldings diction and syntax manipulate the readers mood
verywell, causing people to cry after
Piggys or Simons death. Any feelings can be forced onto somebody
with the right amount of
emotions.
