· “Then my eyes fell on the bound and cast white mass pointing at me, and as it was always to do, it brought me down out of Finny’s world of invention, down again as I had fallen after awakening that morning, down to reality, to the facts” (116).
The separation of this sentence into four distinct parts represents how the accident has had an impact on Gene in regards to so many levels. In addition, the repetition of “down” is a syntactical device that allows the author to further emphasize Phineas’s physical fall, as well as the decline that the their friendship is going through because of the accident.
· “As I had to do whenever I glimpse this river, I thought of Phineas. Not of the tree and pain, but of one of his favorite tricks, Phineas in exaltation, balancing on one foot on the prow of a canoe like a river god, his hand raised arms invoking the air to support him, face transfigured, body a complex set of balances and compensations, each muscle aligned in perfection with all the others to maintain this supreme fantasy of achievement, his skin glowing from immersions, his whole body hanging between the river and sky as though he has transcended gravity and might by gently pushing upward with his foot glide a little way higher and remain suspended in space, encompassing all the glory of the summer and offering it to the sky. Then, an infinitesimal veering of the canoe, and the line of his body would break, the soaring arms collapse, up shoot an uncontrollable leg, and Phineas would tumble into the water, roaring with rage” (75-76).
In this excerpt, John Knowles’s utilizes a long sentence saturated with specific detail to mirror Phineas’s influence on Gene’s life and Gene’s perception of his best friend. By employing extremely detailed descriptions in Gene’s interior monologue, the author is trying to convey how Phineas has such an authoritative status in Gene’s life, and is almost an idol to him, since Gene is capable of recalling even minute features and describe him to such an extent. The length of the last two sentences of the passage aid in symbolizing the accident at the tree. The long sentence represents the monotonous life that Gene had before the incident, where he was always overshadowed by Phineas’s charming personality and physical athleticism. The long sentence detailing Phineas is then interrupted by a sentence where Phineas crashes into the water. This interlude in syntax displays how the crash physically broke Phineas when he was at his peak, in addition to how sudden and unexpected his actual fall from the tree branch was. Furthermore, the diction in the long sentence has positive connotations, such as “perfection,” “gently,” “glide,” glory,” and “god;” all of which depict the flawlessness that Phineas was before his accident. The second sentence however, is filled with sharp and negatively connotated diction such as “uncontrollable,” “tumble,” “roaring,” “collapse,” and “rage;” which emulate the hardships that he faces after he breaks his leg.
I agree with the way in which you have elaborated on the author's use of syntax to portray Phineas and Gene's relationship. In your first quote, the syntax demonstrates the different stages in the two's friendship. Usually, Gene would be willing to be caught up in Phineas's fantasies. However, each time he notices the cast, Gene is brought back down to reality and is forced to recognize that their friendship cannot be as it was before the accident. I commend you for seeing the syntactical device of "down" that is utilized to exemplify the fall of Phineas and their friendship. The second passage strongly uses syntactical devices to illustrate Phineas and Gene's relationship and you have clearly demonstrated your understanding through the use of your insightful analysis. Diction in this passage categorically shows the phases of their relationship. In the beginning it seemed to be perfect, until the point of Phineas's accident that caused a strain in their friendship.
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