Syntax of East of Eden

Andrea Buchanan

Ms. Sanchez

AP Language and Composition, Period 0

15 March 2010

Blog Topic #3: Syntax

Syntax

• “Maybe the less you have, the more you are required to boast” (4).
• “By disparagement, by starvation, by repressions, forced direction, and the stunning hammerblows of conditioning, the free, roving mind is being pursued, roped, blunted, drugged” (132).
• “Do you remember hearing that, old men? And do you remember how an easterly breeze brought odors in from Chinatown, roasting port and punk and black tobacco and yen shi? And do you remember the deep blatting stroke of the great gong in the Joss House, and how its tone hung in the air so long? Remember, too, the little houses, unpainted, unrepaired? .... Remember how the shades were always drawn with the little lines of yellow light around their edges? ...And then-remember?-the train whistle…and you could hear it sighing at the station. Remember?” (219)
• “Vice has always a new fresh young face, while virtue is venerable as nothing else in the world is” (415).

The syntax presented in Steinbeck’s writing first influences his style of writing. His style of writing contains sentences, phrases, and clauses that cause the reader to stop and think about the meaning of his words and identify what grander meaning he is alluding to. Frequent rhetorical questions help accomplish this task. A mixture of sentences with varying lengths contributes to the overall effectiveness of Steinbeck’s tone. In the shorter sentences, his tone is conveyed directly and to the point. However, in the longer sentence, the author’s tone is depicted through vivid adjectives that provide the reader with a meaningful interpretation of his childish and sarcastic tone.