The semicolon at the end of the line suggests that there is more to the story of Milly untold, and that the rest of the story is up to the reader’s imagination. “The semicolon is sometimes described as stronger than a comma but weaker than a period” (Penn). The reason it is described as weaker than a period, is because it symbolizes less finality, as the sentence does not end when there is a semicolon, it continues a little further before ending. The inability of a semicolon to end the line reflects that the couplet is not completely exposed to conventions, and is still free from its mechanic form. This shows that Milly is still not entirely exposed to conventions that will dominate her life through rules. However, the fact that a semicolon
"But her story lasts for six." This quote is saying that her story lasts for six more months, but there is more foreshadowing to the end of this passage then this single excerpt. The fact that it said it was a ‘calm night' makes you wonder if something is going to happen. If this night is calm, then another is most likely going to be chaotic. Also, it says the calm will last for three more months, then things will dwindle into chaos. So three months of calm, and Liesel's story only last for six months. ‘What is going to happen that will end all of this?' The foreshadowing excerpts seem to ask the reader. Though life is good now, it was not going to last. Something is going to happen that will change Liesel, but it does not hint at whatever
Lynne Truss tells the reader that the semicolon is something that will propel thought in a sentence. The difference between a period and a semicolon is that a period means that the two sentences have nothing to do with each other. While the semicolon means that the two sentences have something to do with each other. I relate this to when people get a tattoo of the semicolon to draw attention to mental health. I enjoy the reflation that when someone gets a tattoo of the semicolon they want the same meaning that Truss means that both points of life are important and the event light propelled the next chapter of the person’s life.
McTeague's dream is, "to have projecting from the corner window a huge gilded tooth." That is his ultimate goal, but he is aware this is unobtainable for himself at the moment. The narrator admires this about McTeague, because he is aware that McTeague is fine with his situation now while also knowing that most people in his situation would not handle it as well as McTeague does, as well as have his driving force of a dream. This would no doubt come from the narrator's knowledge that McTeague is slow, young, and even innocent. Although, this is overshadowed by the narrator's admiration in McTeague's content with his situation. In the final line, that slight tone of pity emerges once again. This comes from the author's diction and syntax. The use of a semicolon really shows the pity the author has for McTeague in the second half of the sentence, "but yet such a thing was far beyond his
After reading “Semicolons: A Love Story” by Ben Dolnick, my view and knowledge of semicolons changed. The first thing I learned is that I had no idea someone could write about punctuation by telling a story and relating it to personal experiences. For example, the author begins the article talking about when he was a teenager that he did not pay much attention to semicolons. Over time the author started noticing and was fascinated with how these semicolons were used as well as how he could use them in his own writing. Another thing that I learned was the definition of a semicolon. The author states “a semicolon is used to separate parts of a sentence that need a more distinct break that a comma can signal, but that are too closely connected
This emphasizes her craving to talk to others. Even though Curley’s Wife gets shut out by the other men, she still is determined to make conversation with others. She looks at the bright side and tries to be cheerful to not let Curley get to her.
Dillard’s use of punctuation is mediocre, for example when she wrote that she “would have died happy, for nothing has required so much of [her] since as being chased all over Pittsburgh in the middle of winter‒running terrified, exhausted‒by this sainted, skinny, furious redheaded man who wished to have a word with [them]” (Dillard p.21). This is a great example of how Dillard uses punctuation, in this case dashes, in a sub-par way. There is not a need to have this sentence phrased how it is, and could be easily re-written to be much easier to understand. Vowell, however, uses dashes in a much better way when she interrupts herself mid sentence, explaining how “[her] father’s sarcastic American history yarns rarely go on for long before he trots out some nefarious ancestor of [theirs]‒[she] come[s] from a long line of moonshiners, Confederate soldiers, murderers, even Democrats‒he cracks that the merchants hired some ‘community-minded Southern soldiers from North Texas’” (Vowell p.17). Vowell’s use of the dash is far superior to Dillard’s, as it is written very well and it is actually useful. Without the dashes and what lies between them, the reader would lose examples of to what extent her dad goes off-topic about their ancestors. Another bad use of punctuation is when Dillard recalls that “the oldest to Fahey boys were there‒Mikey and Peter‒polite blond boys who lived near [her] on Lloyd
The main aspect of the poem is the obvious tone shift from lighthearted comedy to contemplating sadness, starting slowly between the second and third stanza and slowly building up more and more as the poem continues. This foil accentuates the emotion of the poem, making the ending all the sadder. This sadness becoming evident in the last stanza of the poem, where the couplet pattern breaks in an
By the time Tom and Casy reunite at the cotton plantation, Tom realizes that he cannot sit and be a silent witness to the world’s injustices. At the plantation, Tom abandons the life of private thought that structures the lives of most of the novel’s male
Once the rift appears in their fidelity, both of them are very confused. Missie May has been caught by Joe in bed with Otis D. Slemmons, the bragging rich man. Specifically because this offense occurred in the bedroom, it is a threat to their future happiness. If Missie May becomes pregnant with another manís child, Joe will no longer be considered an adequate man, and Missie May will no longer be his. Joe is truly in love with Missie May, and is happy in their marriage ìThat was the best part of life-going
Edna Millay, in her sonnet, “What Lips,” describes her solitude after spending her life searching for love by having romances with several men. Firstly, Millay asks a rhetorical question: “What lips my lips have kissed, and where, and why” to explain that she has forgotten her past lovers and the reasons they were together; secondly, to provide a visual image of the speaker’s lonely, quiet, and empty state caused by not finding love, Millay states that “the rain / Is full of ghosts tonight, that tap and sigh”; thirdly, Millay uses an oxymoron, “quiet pain,” to explain that although the speaker does not remember her past lovers, the hurt from not finding love still lingers in her; fourthly, Millay provides the image of a “lonely tree” as another
This is by far the most striking aspect of Happy Endings, and even if her opinion goes unnoticed, one can not ignore the framework of this story. There are no paragraphs. There is no beginning, middle end. There is no grand introduction or stunning finale. The lack of form in this work stems from the lack of structure and depth of romantic fiction. Atwood feels this type of writing lacks emotion and conviction and can be easily thrown together and kept together by a few clichés and stereotypes. A hodgepodge of cheesy ideas that are malleable and easily interchangeable. She shakes things up by not organizing the text in sequential order, and events are not connected or presented in a straightforward, chronological order. This is a short story that lacks all the common characteristics of a short story.
Elena Gonzalez Hoggatt-Abader Engl 101 September 29, 2015 The Demands of Womanhood Society plays a key role in determining how people are supposed to fulfill their roles in society—specifically their gender roles. This means that typically the norm is that men are to be the head of the house and are to be the financial supporters while women are typically categorized as being the homemaker and caretaker. The complexity and importance of being a woman the “right” way is shown through Jamaica Kincaid’s “Girl”, a short story reflecting her growing up in Antigua.
The death penalty in the U.S. is a very serious concern still to this day. Capital punishment is the same exact thing as the death penalty, it is a governed sanctioned practice to put a person to death. The death penalty effects all people whether it be because of the crime the person committed to receive the death penalty or the person’s family. This is a major controversy in the U.S. because some people think that you should not put a person to death or keep them locked up for doing something that is not a norm. While others believe that you must have some type of punishment so that people will be more likely to not commit a horrible crime. When people do commit egregious crimes, like murder or rape, they are to be punished by law if proven
During an interview, I am always a little nervous because interviewers never ask the same questions as other interviewers. The one question I was asked time during an interview that I fear will be asked again is “On average, how many days do you call into work to say you are not coming in?” This question was and still is a little tricky to me. You have to consider that you might get sick once or twice a year. If you have children, they might get sick and need you to stay home and take care of them. So, what would be a reasonable answer to this question? When I was asked this question, I answered: “maybe between three and five days”. My interviewer looked at me with a surprised look. I didn’t get the job, and I wonder if this was the reason.
Punctuation in the form of commas and dashes is used to slow the pacing of the story and create suspense or an unresolved tone. Poe uses these dashes in “The Tell-Tale Heart” to emphasize the narrator’s madness, allowing the reader to hear and understand the fragmentation of the narrator’s thoughts on a much closer level. This is exemplified in one passage, where the narrator states “TRUE! -- nervous -- very, very dreadfully nervous I had been and am; but why will you say that I am mad? The disease had sharpened my senses -- not destroyed -- not dulled them.” This adds to a jolting tone to the passage, as the narrator begins feverently, represented by exclamation points, then suddenly pauses for extended stretches, then starts again. The long pauses between statements caused by multiple dashes in a row evoke this aforementioned madness, due to the fact that, by normal standards, a “sane” person would not speak with such a disjointed