· “Pa say, Whoever listen to anything Addie Beasley have to say. She run off at the mouth so much no man would have her” (10).
· “She say, Nothing but death can keep me from it. She never write” (18).
· “And that we and the Africans will be working for a common goal: the uplift of black people everywhere” (137).
· “Today the people of Africa—having murdered or sold into slavery their strongest folks—are riddled by disease and sunk in spiritual and physical confusion” (139).
· “She’s so weak by now that all she can do is look unfriendly—I could tell I wasn’t welcome” (184).
The quote on page 10 is a prime example of the way women were viewed in this society. Woman were valued by a man’s desire to them. There worth was measured by the man, therefore if a woman was without a man, they were viewed as worthless. In the following quote, the authors’ way of wording makes the statement much bolder. By using a regular sentence followed by a three word sentence makes the statement much more powerful, and has a greater effect. By using dashes, as illustrated in quote 139, is one tactic that Walker uses profusely throughout her novel. These dashes are used because the part of the sentence in between the dashes interrupts the main idea that the sentence is trying to state. This is useful in the case of trying to put more than one main point in a sentence, you can break off and have a side note based on the same idea the sentence is portraying. Following, the next quote has the same idea. The part after the dash is a different topic then the beginning part of the sentence, but the dashes keep them related. Dashes are also used as an effective way of writing because it can make specific parts of the sentence stand out; therefore, making your main points stand out to the reader. Dashes are one of Walker’s main ways of articulating her syntax.
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I agree with your intake on how women were viewed in society. Women were not respected and were looked at as worthless and weak if they didnt have a man to support them. The dashes Walker uses in her sentences create more impact to the reader then a sentense without dashes would. It also makes what she is talking about more understandable to the reader. Walker writes very srong and creates a boldness to her writing throughg her sentences by articulating her syntax. The exaples you listed as qoutes for syntax are really strong and back up your view on Walker's writing style.
ReplyDeleteI would slightly reword what your opinion is on what the dash portrays. The dash is effective primarily in its ability to emphasize certain parts of the sentence to give the reader a better understanding of what the sentence's purpose is, rather than creating more than one main point. The dash is used simply to further a point rather than create a total new one. Also I would be more careful when writing these blogs, as I caught a few errors in your grammar. Other than that, the blog seems effective, however I do feel that it was a tad rushed.
ReplyDeleteI read this blog and was take by the comment about the way that women were valued. I think that Walker was definatelty trying to make a point out of this and I think women's rights and roles in society, then and now, are a theme of the book. Walker is opening the reader's eyes to the way that women are treated through this book.
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