Blog Entry # 3: Syntax

· “There was fighting for that mountain too, but it was not successful, and in the fall when the rains came the leaves all fell from the chestnut trees and the branches were bare and the trunks black with rain.” (Hemingway 4)

· “At the start of the winter came the permanent rain and with the rain came the cholera.” (Hemingway 4)

· “The war was changed too.” (Hemingway 6)

· “The snow slanted across the wind, the bare ground was covered, the stumps of trees projected, there was snow on the guns and there were paths in the snow going back to the latrines behind trenches.” (Hemingway 6)

The fairly common usage of syntax by Hemingway in the novel greatly adds to his descriptive style. While maintaining a simple yet informative sentence structure, Hemingway efficiently uses syntax as a tool for the set-up and development of the plot. For example, the descriptive statement: “At the start of the winter came the permanent rain and with the rain came the cholera” (Hemingway 4), provides a view for the opening season of the story while maintaining a basic sentence structure. Hemingway also diverges from the basics with an occasional lengthy sentence that provides an effective portrayal of imagery: “There was fighting for that mountain too, but it was not successful, and in the fall when the rains came the leaves all fell from the chestnut trees and the branches were bare and the trunks black with rain” (Hemingway 4). With a fusion of both forms of syntax, Hemingway is able to effectively substantiate upon his style by providing a descriptive view of the novel’s plot.