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The Life, Works, and Strange Disappearance of Ambrose Bierce

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“An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge,” by Ambrose Bierce is a haunting piece of literature. Often, stories that dark must come from someone’s haunted mind. Bierce, by some estimation, lived in a haunted world himself, dying under strange circumstances. But, what happened to Ambrose Bierce? And why is the disappearance of Ambrose Bierce so strange? Dissecting his death is actually quite revealing. We find ourselves confronted with a man who lived through traumatic warfare. Additionally, we find a man who committed himself to literary works of bravery, honor, and death.

The Life and Times of Ambrose Bierce

Bierce was born on June 24th, 1842, in Meigs County, Ohio, though he spent his youth in Kosciusko county, Indiana. As a young man, he worked as a printer’s apprentice. Eventually, Bierce fought on the Union side during the Civil War in the Union Army’s 9th Indiana Infantry. Moreover, he took part in the battles of Shiloh and Chickamauga. In 1864, Bierce received a head wound during the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain.

As written by the Ambrose Bierce Letters Project: “It was during the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain that Bierce was wounded in the head by a Confederate sniper and evacuated to a military hospital in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Bierce would later recollect often in his writings about the head wound, stating at one point, that his head had ‘broken like a walnut.'”

From here, he saw himself out of the Civil War.

After the war, he he worked at various newspapers as reporter and editor. These newspapers included the News Letter, the Argonaut, the Wasp, and the San Francisco Examiner. As stated by Ohio History Central: “During his lifetime, Bierce published numerous works. He became well known for his sarcasm and his interest in supernatural topics.” Books by Bierce include Nuggets and Dust: Panned out in California by Dod Grile (1873), Cobwebs from an Empty Skull (1874), The Devil’s Dictionary (1906), and Tales of Soldiers and Civilians (1892).

Bierce’s Writing as Reflection

His Works

Bierce’s writings show his worldview. Though dampened by the horrors of the Civil War, Bierce engaged with fantastical ideas in his stories and books. In discovering what happened to Ambrose Bierce, we can investigate his works.

  • “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge”: A Confederate sympathizer is hanged after he tries to burn down a Union Bridge. The story deals with the supernatural insofar as what humanity experiences shortly before death.
  • Nuggets and Dust: Panned out in California by Dod Grile: Stories of “cynical wit” showcasing Bierce’s dry apathy and resentment.
  • Cobwebs from an Empty Skull: Morality vignettes that ere on the side of the macabre. These dark musings show Bierce’s worldview as a product of his wartime understanding.
  • The Devils Dictionary: As the description states, “A virtual onslaught of acerbic, confrontational wordplay, The Unabridged Devil’s Dictionary offers some 1,600 wickedly clever definitions to the vocabulary of everyday life. Little is sacred and few are safe, for Bierce targets just about any pursuit, from matrimony to immortality, that allows our willful failings and excesses to shine forth.”

Bierce’s Worldview

It is fair to say, as many others have pointed out, that in order to understand what happened to Ambrose Bierce, we must see his personality. For one, he was a scornful person. His view of the world came from the dangers and violence he endured on the battlefield. His sardonic commentary on society and warfare fiercely deconstructed perceptions of honor and the romanticism of warfare. Bierce’s beliefs about such affronts developed from violent experiences. One can only watch so many people suffer wounds and die before they turn their back on the world at large.

In “Blind Superstition, Cursed with Illusions: Masculinity and War in Bierce’s ‘Chickamauga,’” writer Salina Patterson writes that Bierce saw the devilry of the world in the face of plumes of gun smoke and the terrifying screams of his friends and neighbors during battle. “Bierce experienced the death and destruction in some of the most infamous battles of the war and later used that experience with ‘brutality’ to expose the failings of romanticizing and glorifying war in his writings,” she states. In other words, Bierce may have had cause to fit the moniker Bitter Bierce, as he was sometimes referred.

How His Cantankerousness Led to His Demise

Bierce left the United States in 1913 to report on the Mexican Revolution. Before that, he had become reclusive and had written little, aside from The Shadow on the Dial and Other Essays (1909), a collection of his stories, and a book on writing titled “Write it Right.” After sending a note to a relative detailing his intentions, Bierce presumably left to Mexico.

In his letter, he wrote: “Goodbye. If you hear of my being stood up against a Mexican stone wall and shot to rags please know that I think that a pretty good way to depart this life. It beats old age, disease, or falling down the cellar stairs. I shall not be here long enough to hear from you, and don’t know where I shall be next” (MacGowan).

The theories surrounding Bierce’s death aren’t as far-ranging as you would think. Mostly, they fall somewhere in the “he died during the revolution” category.

“One story says Bierce sustained serious wounds at the battle in Ojinaga. He made it to the border and into the States, but he died without identification or any papers in Camp Marfa,” states Doug MacGowan writing for Historic Mysteries. Other sources state that a combatant killed Bierce near the village of Icamole. Still, more accounts claim that he actually continued living long after the Mexican Revolution with eye-witness testimony to prove it (Gander).

In the end, Bierce’s true death may never be known, but if we are to believe his letter–Bierce himself is probably okay with that.

Conclusion

It can be difficult to ascertain the motivations of somebody as complex and forthright as Bierce. Thus, “What happened to Ambrose Bierce?” is a tricky question, and the disappearance of Ambrose Bierce is more revelatory. Thus, some conclusions can be drawn: Bierce spent much of his post-war life writing about the horrors of that conflict; likewise, Bierce’s need for honor and a death that transcended his own disdain for rot, aging, and wallowing in self-pity is clear. In this fashion, heading to Mexico to be apart of something important leads us to conclude that Bierce wanted to go out with a bang. Interestingly enough, his ending perfectly mirrors the often strange and violent endings of his stories.

Works Cited

Ambrose G. Bierce – Ohio History Central. ohiohistorycentral.org/w/Ambrose_G._Bierce.

Gander, Forrest. “Very Trustworthy Witnesses.” The Paris Review, 27 Oct. 2014, theparisreview.org/blog/2014/10/17/very-trustworthy-witnesses/.

MacGowan, Doug. “Disappearance of Ambrose Bierce – Historic Mysteries.” Historic Mysteries, 12 Sept. 2020, historicmysteries.com/disappearance-ambrose-bierce/.

Patterson, Salina. “Blind with Superstition, Cursed with Illusions: Masculinity and War in Bierce ’s ‘Chickamauga.’” The Oswald Review: An International Journal of Undergraduate Research and Criticism in the Discipline of English, 2016, https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1163&context=tor.

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George Eliot’s ‘Silas Marner’: Redemption and Love

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Can a person change after a grievous trauma? Can a miser be reformed to see the light of love? George Eliot attempts to answer those questions in her novel Silas Marner. Similarly, it’s worth noting that George Eliot is the pen name of Mary Ann Evans. A Victorian novelist, Evans wrote such novels as Adam Bede (1859), Middlemarch (1872), and Daniel Deronda (1876). According to multiple sources, she used a “masculine” pen name to separate her writings from “previous work.” This allowed her “to escape the stereotype that women’s writings were limited to lighthearted romances.”

Summary of Silas Marner

To Start with Controversy

Eliot’s Silas Marner: The Weaver of Raveloe, published in 1861, tells the tale of Silas Marner. The law accuses Marner of stealing church funds at his Northern England congregation in Lantern Yard. From there, he leaves his town now unwed, unfriended, and alone. He lives as a misanthrope in the Midlands, which comes close to the village of Raveloe in Warwickshire.

Furthermore, a thief steals from Silas, and he again falls emotionally sallow. His life has become a series of misfortunes. However, on the evening of a local’s New Year’s Eve party, Silas encounters a young girl. As it turns out, her mother has died from hypothermia out in the cold. Silas decides to take in the child, who he names Eppie. He finds it to be repayment for his lost money. Through child rearing, he finds himself receiving money from the child’s real father. Her real father can not tell the truth of his infidelity for fear of losing his soon-to-be-wife. He also receives a great many advices from his neighbor Dolly.

In the Ensuing Years

Eventually, years later, the son of a squire finds Silas’s gold at the bottom of a quarry. Meanwhile, Eppie grows into a proud and loved citizen. And, Eppie’s real father attempts to entice her to live with him. This is after he reveals his infidelity and after he and his wife’s child dies. Eppie declines due to her love of Silas as a father figure in her life.

After returning to Lantern Yard, Silas finds no evidence of his old village. Instead, he only finds a factory with no trace of the previous inhabitants. However, he is content and moves on with his life.

Book Blurb

From the book: “Silas Marner is an exquisite idyll which is regarded by many as the most perfectly proportioned of George Eliot’s novels. It tells the story of a lonely weaver who, wrongly expelled from the little religious community which has been the support of his life, turns into a selfish and despondent miser. When Marner’s money is stolen and an orphan child, left at his door, takes its place in his affections, his devotion to the golden-haired Eppie brings out all his latent good qualities and redeems his character. Silas Marner, with its humanity and delicate pathos, contains in small compass the qualities which have established George Eliot as one of the greatest of English novelists.”

Critical response

In looking for critical responses on Goodreads, I found there to be 21,183 five-star reviews, 28,923 four-star reviews, 23,089 three-star reviews, 7,711 two star reviews, and 3,407 one-star reviews.

In starting with five-star reviews, many reviewers pointed out the redemptive qualities of the book after “betrayal” and the character’s turn as a “miser.” Others point to its power as a “morality tale” as Marner’s transformation from astute Calvinist, to angry recluse, and back again into something wholesome was a defining characteristic of the book.

One-star reviews state that the book is a “steaming heap of tripe” and that the language is abstruse, which adds to the pain of reading “pages and pages of pointless description.” Additionally, reviewers found it “boring” and “agonizing” as even diagraming sentences from the book “finally pushed (some) over the edge into hating this book.”

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Types of Conjunctions: Correlative Conjunctions

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Connecting and showing relationships between ideas can be difficult in writing. As always, it just comes down to using the right words. Sometimes, the right words are apart of a few different types of the same idea. There are three main types of conjunctions: coordinating conjunctions, subordinating conjunctions, and correlative conjunctions.

What is the Purpose of a Conjunction?

Conjunctions really only have a few purposes. One of which is to join two ideas together (coordinating conjunctions), and provide additional details or insight (subordinating conjunctions). Correlative conjunctions have their own functions as well, which is to provide counters and correlation

Correlative Conjunctions

A correlative conjunction operates in much the same way as a coordinating or subordinate conjunction, except that they offer a counter or comparative analysis. Furthermore, these conjunctions occur as complementary pairs that operate in parallel structure.

Lastly, correlative conjunctions should be used together exclusively. That is to say, if you say “neither,” then you should say “nor.” As such, the relationship created by these conjunctions enable writers to have greater flow and control of their writing.

Further examples of this type of conjunction include:

  • both…and
  • neither…nor
  • as much…as
  • whether…or
  • not only…but also
  • as…as
  • no sooner…than

Some examples in context:

  1. “We have been both mad and sad at seeing the decline in modern cinema.”
  2. They neither wanted help nor did they require comfort in these times.
  3. Whether you eat the food or starve, we are still paying the bill.
  4. Either we all do this together or we don’t do it at all.
  5. It was not only a voracious animal, but also a excessively violent monster.

Additional examples can be found here.

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Mary Shelley’s The Last Man: A Gothic Sci-Fi Journey

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Mary Shelley has an impression on this blog, as her most famous work is easily referential. That is to say, the convenience of referencing Frankenstein: Modern Prometheus as an exemplar for gothic-horror novels is practical. However, throughout her career, Shelley published more novels that stayed within the same science fiction/grounded-in-realism genre. In the The Last Man buy Mary Shelley, the author explores these themes once again.

Summary of The Last Man by Mary Shelley

Shelley’s The Last Man tells the story of Lionel Verney. Lionel is an orphan and works as a shepherd. and his friends and family. After meeting Adrian, the former prince of England, Lionel encounters a wider world of knowledge and intellect. After the return of a war hero, Raymond, and the marriage of Lionel’s sister, Perdita, to the former, the story ramps up.

Raymond is killed in an explosion in the plague-ridden city of Constantinople. In response to this, Perdita flings herself from the homeward vessel and drowns herself at sea. No doubt from a broken heart. Afterward, a plague breaks out, and the survivors tread through an apocalyptic England until only Lionel remains. The novel explores the themes of love, loss, and survival.

Book blurb

From the back of the book: “Her 1826 novel, The Last Man, reflects Shelley’s fears about civilization and the shortcomings of human behavior. The narrarator discovers a prophetic manuscript, written in 2100 by the last survivor of the twenty-first century apocalyps, which recounts how a deadly plague spread throughout Europe and the world. The scribe, Lionel Verney, describes a world that is both fantasy, and a reflection of Shelley’s reality. She used this novel to scrutinize the machinations of politics and philosophy, and reflect upon pitfalls of human behavior—selfishness, brutality, pride—that she saw in the world around her” (Shelley).

Critical Response to The Last Man

Reception to the book is either ecstatic or (hyper) critical. On Goodreads, it has a rating of 3.36 with a majority of readers giving the book three stars out of five. Some reviewers have pointed out the timeliness of the novel in the wake of the pandemic. Likewise, others have pointed out the “poetic” prose and execution of the story itself. Less favorable reviews have critiqued the pacing and likened the book to reading a “telephone book” and finding the experience disappointing.

Impressions

I like Mary Shelley’s ideas, but I am not a huge fan of her writing. I find that she suffers from Gothic-fever in the worst way. Slow builds are nice, but so are evenly paced stories with exciting climaxes. Bram Stoker’s Dracula has an interesting form (epistolary), excellent build, and a third act that explodes the slow-burn novel. Yet, not all writers approach the genre the same, but The Last Man by Mary Shelley shows the adroitness and technique of the writer. Nonetheless, this story intrigues me, which is why I have a copy.

Works Cited

Shelley, Mary. The Last Man. Digireads Publishing. March 24, 2020. Print.

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Exploring the Bildungsroman: Lessons in Personal Growth

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Stories in which a young person must learn a lesson in order to grow as a person are pervasive in most cultures. These stories feed into the overall cultural experience of growing and thriving in society. And, they help us learn something new. Yet, they go much deeper than that, as to grow and evolve as a character, one must go through the challenges and triumphs related to coming of age.

What is Bildungsroman?

To begin, the word “bildungsroman” comes from a German word that means “novel of education” or “novel of formation.” According to sources, these novels are a “class of novel that depicts and explores the manner in which the protagonist develops morally and psychologically.” Apparently, this term was coined by Karl von Morgenstern through his lectures on the “Essence and History of the Novel” in 1820 (Trott).

Still, others define it as a “regulated development within the life of the individual is observed,” and in, “each of its stages (has) its own intrinsic value … The dissonances and conflicts of life appear as the necessary growth points through which the individual must pass on his way to maturity and harmony” (Trott). In other words, the problems the character faces in a novel contribute to their growth as an individual.

We also know these stories as “coming-of-age” stories, which are extremely ubiquitous in our society, as the themes present in these types of stories appear in numerous animated and indie-flicks.

Characteristics of Coming of Age

These are some of the characteristics of a bildungsroman—but not all. Hopefully, this is more of a guide as to what to look for when you read a coming-of-age story.

  • The character learns a lesson
  • There is a moral or ethical development
  • Identity building
  • Losing one’s innocence
  • A journey of some kind

Examples

In Literature

  • To Kill a Mockingbird (1960) by Harper Lee
  • The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884) by Mark Twain
  • The Catcher in the Rye (1951) by J.D. Salinger
  • The Portrait of an Artist (1916) by James Joyce

In Film

  • Star Wars (1977)
  • The Hunger Games (2012)
  • Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (2001)
  • The Sword in the Stone (1963)

Conclusion

To sum up, a bildungsroman tells the tale of somebody coming into their own. It’s an important story, and one that has been around for many years. As you can see, there are many in Western media, but that stretches farther back in history. Thus, by understanding this idea (and the conventions of the genre), we can internalize the makings of timeless stories to use as our own.

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The Complexity of Heroism in Literature

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While epic poetry gives us a plethora of heroism in literature, authors like Baroness Orczy explore a unique portrayal of heroism in The Scarlet Pimpernel. It is a story that interlaces elements of adventure, espionage, and sacrifice. Likewise, authors of verse, like George William A.E. Russell write about heroism in their own way with similar shades of color … and honor. In this post, we will examine how authors describe heroism during The Reign of Terror and WWI, which shows us how heroes use action and sacrifice.

Heroism and Pimpernel

The Price of Heroism

In the novel The Scarlet Pimpernel, Sir Percy Blakeney, the elusive Scarlet Pimpernel, stands as a hero whose bravery goes beyond societal norms. His identity as a foolish aristocrat and French rescuer during the Reign of Terror shows a bit of heroic complexity. Furthermore, the narrative suggests that heroism comes in unexpected forms. Sir Percy’s public persona as a dandy deceives those around him. In fact, he is using this silliness and foppishness to give the impression that he is incapable. Furthermore, the Scarlet Pimpernel’s plans and ability to outsmart Chauvelin and the French authorities shows a brave hero. Examples include the elaborate rescue operations, such as the one at the Chat Gris inn.

George William A.E. Russell and Heroism in Verse

Heroes and Mortality

Yet, heroism in literature is comes in many different forms. Let’s continue by delving into a poem by A.E. titled “The Last Hero.” Russell wrote this poem during WWI and attempted to typify a type of hero that was falling in battle every single day. AE’s poem explores this idea within the framework of mortality and life’s cyclical nature. The narrative begins with the solemn act of laying the hero to rest.

AE states, “We laid him to rest with tenderness; / Homeward we turned in the twilight’s gold.” This poignant beginning sets the tone for a reflection on the hero’s departure and the inevitable passage from life to death.

The poet contemplates the nature of existence, and they show the idea that “All the story of earth is told.” In other words, there is a sense of completion, as if the hero’s life was the entirety of the human experience. The hero’s departure is the end of a metaphorical chapter, showing the finite nature of mortal lives and mortal stories.

Heroic Virtue

An important moment, and one that suggests heroism of a specific sort, occurs when AE writes, “great deep heart like the hearts of old.” The poet tells us there is a connection to ancient heroism and virtues. These ideas harken back to a time when heroes were revered for embodying ideals that transcended the mundane. In the context of WWI, we can see how heroes were cut down in droves. Thus, there was more difficulty showing reverence when wholesale slaughter was the name of the game.

Furthermore, “the twilight’s gold” adds a melancholic yet beautiful hue to this imagery, emphasizing the fading light of the hero’s life as it merges with the oncoming night. Similarly, “a bitter remembrance blows in each face,” indicates the sorrow and nostalgia that accompany the passing of a hero. That is to say, these words reflect a profound sense of finality, suggesting that the hero’s life, like the day’s story, has reached its conclusion. This bitter remembrance handles the weight of loss.

Likewise, the dust, symbolic of mortality, and the twilight, representing the transitional period between day and night, add layers of meaning to the portrayal of heroism. “The Last Hero” deals with the theme of heroism, mortality, and the nature of life. As the author states, heroism is more than just doing heroic things. It is also taking part in the human condition, sacrifice, and honoring the past.

Conclusion

Heroism in literature, it seems, though similar across writing styles, means more than bravado and machismo. It can show us how heroes like the Scarlet Pimpernel is capable of great deeds of action and sacrifice. Heroism also shows us how somebody can be soft and caring, and they can still change the world for the better. What is more, those that wish to sacrifice themselves in wartime is expounded upon differently when considering the sacrifice of young soldiers during wartime. Readers can definitely see the difference, but it still resonates the same.

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Morgan le Fay: History, Witchcraft, and Female Empowerment

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Women with power do not have to consort with the devil in order to obtain positions of authority. That should be a given, but according to some retellings of Arthurian legend, that simply can’t be the case. For instance: Morgan le Fay. Le Fay is either the most nefarious character in Arthurian legend, or she is a simple heroine maligned by fragile beliefs of patriarchal dominance. What is more, by analyzing Morgan le Fay’s character, readers can understand her relation to medieval society as a healer and harbinger of evil. Additionally, readers can understand how Morgan le Fay’s character shows that women were maligned throughout history regardless of their deeds.

A History of Morgan le Fay

Origins

Morgan le Fays’ appearances through history are just as enigmatic as the character itself. In one way, she has ties to Morrigan from Irish mythology and “the mari-morgans of Breton folklore.” As stated by Jessica Hines in “The Literary History of Morgan le Fay,” her relationship to the “divine mother goddess of ancient Gaul” Modron.

Perhaps the first literary appearance of Morgan le Fay occurred in Vita Merlini by Geoffrey of Monmouth in 1150. In this incarnation, le Fay had both shape changing and healing powers, aiding King Arthur after the enemy wounded him. In 1165, she would appear in Erec by Chretien de Troyes as Arthur’s sister. Her appearance changed somewhat in later years as she reflects a hostile villain against the king and queen. No doubt, le Fay’s transmogrification came about with changing attitudes to supernatural powers outside the church. It also changed due to attitudes toward a woman’s place in medieval society.

Connection to Witches and Witchcraft

Morgan le Fay’s history inevitability coincides with the history of witches and witchcraft. Her symbology as a powerful woman of nature undoubtedly lent itself to this image. By appearing as a powerful female with magical powers of healing and nature, her visage is that of one that stands as a contrast to King Arthur in Arthurian legend. In fact, through her embrace of naturalistic powers and healing abilities, she plays the role of tertiary practitioner.

At the height of witchcraft trials and wrongful executions (1500-1660), witch hunters burned (or hanged) innocent women for many reasons. This was during what was called “The Great Hunt.” Witch hunters accused upwards of 80,000 people and they saw to the murder of at least half of them. Consorting with the devil was a major cause of concern for many societies and maintaining the status quo was likewise important. Thus, accusations of deviltry in communities carried with it grave promises and prompted factually-dubious investigations. Yet, accusations were time-consuming and expensive, so not every accusation went to court. But, the rumors of witchcraft certainly existed which was damning enough for the social structure of a village.

Nevertheless, comparing Morgan le Fay in literature to witches, we find parallels to other women of lore and history.

Joan of Ark being one of them.

Witches of History

Joan of Ark and Anne Boleyn

National Geographic states that St. Michael convinced Joan of Ark, a medieval peasant, to fight against the English for the French. In battle, “she helped liberate the city of Orleans, invigorating the French troops’ morale.” However, after the English took her hostage, they burned her at the stake in 1431 for witchcraft.

As some sources stated of accusations, “maleficium” or sorcery, “prompted a wide array of suspicions.” Accusations typically included dying or diseased livestock, blighted crops, aggressive storm, feuds, rivalries, or something political in nature. What is more, Anne Boleyn, the unfortunate wife of Henry VIII, could not provide him with a male child. So, the court found her guilty of “adultery and treason,” and the king saw her beheaded. Later, accused of “being an 11-fingered witch.”

Link to Morgan le Fay

What these women have in common with Morgan le Fay is her power and her place in society. As Mark Twain writes derisively of feudal society and its related ills to the Gilded Age, we also find his wit in comparing le Fay to what used to be sorceresses in the 1500s and 1600s–witches. She is cunning, evil, shrewd, and quick to murder. And she focuses on torture as a means of extracting crucial evidence. When Morgan le Fay needed to become a frontline character in Arthurian legends, she became more malicious, violent, and vengeful. Those practicing witchcraft, too, went from healers to vile vagrants and connivers.

Witches as Devil-Worshipping Healers

Witches as healers predate the long-standing synonymy of witches and the devil–even though modern interpretations are far more feminist and favorable to witchcraft as empowerment. Then, their reputations became blackened by society when it was necessary. Perhaps, the spread of male-dominated religions ruled out “female deities” who had long “Trained in the sacred arts” and “became known as wise women.”

The transformation to devil-worshipper happened to real women just as Morgan le Fay’s transformation happened ot her fictionalized self.

“Centuries later, this fear of witches spread to Europe … when the plauge decimated Europe by killing one in three people … Amid the panic, many attributed their misfortune to the Devil himself–and his suposed worshippers.”

Of course, when hysteria takes off (like The Dancing Plague of 1518 [Choreomania]) it is impossible to stop and the stories keep building, from allegations of late-night rituals, to sacrificing infants, to naked dancing and sexual promiscuity. As it stands, any person with authority would look at torturing and murdering the innocent as the work of a sorceress or witch as well.

Traditional Views of Morgan le Fay

With many interpretations, Morgan le Fay comes off as evil in comparison to her brother King Arthur, and often is the cause of his undoing, as she mothers their incest-child, Mordred. However, in earlier texts, Morgan is actually a helper and healer of Arthur in Avalon (and in one account the ruler of Avalon), where she holds the house and tends to her brother. For instance, Le Fay’s appearance in Monmouth’s Vita Merlini (1148) is as a healer and helper to Arthur.

Later writings, such as the Vulgate Cycle (1215-1235) characterizes her as a malevolent force capable of great black magic which both harms people and hides her true age.

In Morgan le Fay: Origins and Evolution, researcher Andrea Whyland writes that Morgan’s change in the Vulgate Cycle shows that she is no longer a background player, but an active participant of the story. She states: “Morgan now lives in a castle, instead of the Otherworld of Avalon. Her magical powers suddenly became tools used for evil or manipulative purposes. This stands opposed to her history healing which is seen in earlier works. From this point forward, Morgan also plays more of an integral role in the sequence of events.”

Additionally, Morgan becomes a sexual being, attempting to seduce and capture Lancelot on multiple occasions. Her sexuality and penchant for magic aligns her with a certain amount of “witchiness.” This extends beyond the early cycles she appears in and into the 1600s. At this time, where women with power were viewed as evil, harassing hags. As such, in later writings (“Suite du Merlin” and “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight”), Morgan conspires against the heroes from Merlin to Arthur to exact revenge for love lost and to shame the entire Round Table.

Appearance in Popular Culture

In Mark Twain’s A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court, Morgan le Fay is a variety of things: she is smart, she is a talker, she is interesting, and she is charismatic.

“She caused us to be seated,” states Hank Morgan, the protagonist, “and then she began, with all manner of pretty graces and graciousnesses, to ask me questions. Dear me, it was like a bird or a flute, or something, talking.” (Twain).

However her reputation preceeds her.

“… for I knew Mrs. le Fay by reputation, and was not expecting anything pleasant,” Hank states. “She was held in awe by the whole realm, for she had made everybody believe she was a great sorceress. All her ways were wicked, all her instincts devilish. she was loaded to the eylids with cold malice.”

And it is shortly after her kind introduction that she reveals herself, her true self, by stabbing a man with a dagger who dared to accidentally touch her. Her duality is almost Elizabeth Bathory-levels of wickedness. A ruler with literal skeletons in her closet.

Conclusion

Le Fay has endured a history of change and manipulation. However, there is one thing that has remained consistent–the spirit of her character as feminine power. Granted, often that power is perceived as evil or overbearing. Yet, by looking at her ability as a sorceress and a healer, readers find a character rife in autonomy and agency. These two qualities are important. The society contemporary to her interpretation may perceive that as evil or untoward, but from modern perspectives, Le Fay has proven resilient and capable of standing up to male-dominated legends of yore.

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‘The Island of the Blue Dolphins’ by Scott O’Dell Review

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The Newberry Medal winner The Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell is an interesting book. It pits the will of a young girl against many dangers in an isolated setting. The struggle for survival in this text captures an intense narrative about making difficult choices at a young age. Sometimes, young-adult fiction can miss the mark with young people’s lives–and sometimes they can be visceral. Throughout The Island of the Blue Dolphins, we see a coming-of-age story about survival and being at ease with your circumstances.

Summary of the Blue Dolphin

The Island of the Blue Dolphins is about Karana (Won-a-pa-lei), a Nicoleno girl who lives alone on an island off the coast of California. Karan lives alone on the island after her people engage in a battle with Russian fur hunters. Karana takes to her new life by adapting to the island without her community while battling feral dogs. The story revolves around her struggles and her reticence to be rescued.

Back of the Book

From the book: “In the Pacific there is an island that looks like a big fish sunning itself in the sea. Around it, blue dolphins swim, otters play, and sea elephants and sea birds abound. Once, Indians also lived on the island. When they left and sailed to the east, they leave a young girl behind. This is the story of Karana, the Indian girl who lived alone for years on the Island of the Blue Dolphins. Year after year, she watched one season pass into another and waited for a ship to take her away. But while she waited, she kept herself alive by building shelter, making weapons, finding food, and fighting her enemies, the wild dogs. It is not only an unusual adventure of survival, but also a tale of natural beauty and personal discovery.”

Critical Response

Most critics and reviewers praise the novel. It is a Newberry Medal-Winning classic, along with a Hans Christian Andersen Medal. On Goodreads, the novel has 108,363 five-star reviews. Reviewers write that its lessons in survival and readability are beneficial. One reviewer wrote: “Karana’s remarkable story is not to be missed. A story that is enjoyable for adults as it is for older children!”

However, the book also has 10,168 one-star reviews, with reviewers stating that the book relies on stereotypes of Indigenous Americans. Additionally, reviewers have pointed out the “two-dimensional” characters. They also stated that the reader should see far more growth in the main character over 18 years.

Impressions

Negative reviews aside, I had a recent thought about The Catcher in the Rye as a book that I still can not really get behind, even though I read it precisely when I should have read it as a young person. I may be a phony, but I can see how the appeal of this book has waned in the new era of social understanding.

The development of this character over the course of the novel is an important plot construct to note. She seems to be a living, breathing character who is quiet industrious and capable of success. As a coming-of-age story, it shows the reader how somebody from a different background and different view of life and change into somebody capable of surviving on their own. The Island of the Blue Dolphins creates understanding. That is really important for a book.

On the blog, I have looked at a few novels about survival that stand as great testaments to children’s literature. These novels include Hatchet and a few others. I think I will give this book a reread at some point to just take in the multimodal accompaniment that this novel has created, from movies to critical responses in print.

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Greek Mythology Origins, Chaos, and Gaea

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Where does one start with the origins of Greek Mythology? After all, it can be difficult to understand the difference between myths, legends, and tall tales. Perhaps at the creation of everything is the only place to start. Greek mythology really begins with Gaea and move ahead from there in a linear fashion, a little at a time.

A Prelude to Mythology Origins

If you are new to Greek mythology, all you have to know is a couple of things:

  1. Myths are used to help explain the world. They answer the why question using fantastical elements (magical weapons, monsters, and heroes);
  2. Personification is when we give human characteristics to nonhuman subjects;
  3. Before the start of the world, there was only emptiness and Chaos.

Putting the World Together in Darkness

According to Greek Myth, in the beginning of the world, the vacant void of space existed everywhere. Chaos personified, made of void, mass, and darkness, reigned in this vacuum.

Though, sooner or later, the void began to fill as Gaea emerged from this nothingness. She appeared on her own, created by Chaos, along with her two siblings. Those siblings are Tartarus and Eros, who were the deities of the Underworld and Love, respectively.

More gods were to follow (created by Chaos), including Erebus (Darkness) and Nyx (Night), who together created Aether (Light) and Hemera (Day). Nyx, too, created a family on her own, including: Moros (Fate), the black Ker (Doom), Thanatos (Death), Hypnos (Sleep), Oneiroi (Dreams), Geras (Old Age), Oizus (Pain), Nemesis (Revenge), Eris (Strife), Apate (Deceit), Philotes (Sexual Pleasure), Momos (Blame), and the Hesperides (the Daughters of the Evening).

All the same, Gaea in Greek myth is an important deity. She was “described as the giver of dreams and the nourisher of plants and young children.” In time, she created the universe and Earth as we know it, giving names and gods to the things that shape our world, such as Uranus (the sky), Ourea (the mountains), and Pontus (the sea).

Everything in Greek mythology needed some kind of name or characteristic so that it fit within a narrative. For example, the mountains are not just rocks, but a character named Ourea. They are the child of the primordial progeny of Gaea. Now, being personified, we as listeners or storytellers can learn something about the world, and, more specifically, about the mountains.

On Greek Mythology and Personification

It is important to note, and as mentioned, that Greek Myth focuses on personifying elements and objects to give life to their stories. After all, the Earth is quite a character, and tying that into something like the creation myths of a culture is important work. Gaea can get into trouble, or it can be a seething tempest that is up to hear with its husband. By creating these personified character, the Greeks were able to not only share wonderful stories, but they could also explain their world. Gaea, though factoring heavily into a creation story, gives life and purpose to the Greek people.

Conclusion

Gods take on many different forms in the origins of Greek mythology. They can either be humans or simply forms with names ascribed to them. This is an important fact to understand. For the Greeks, all things in the world needed some kind of personification to answer that why question.

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Psycho by Robert Bloch: Understanding Inspiration

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Author Robert Bloch was an important writer in the history of the horror genre. He is also somebody who contributed a great deal to multiple formats of writing—short stories, screenplays, etc. Psycho (1959) by Robert Bloch, is a mainstay of the horror genre and has spawned multiple movies and television shows.  By examining this landmark novel and its source of inspiration, writers can see the true nature of inspiration.

‘Psycho’ by Robert Bloch Summary

Psycho details the story of Norman Bates, who is a caretaker at an off-the-beaten-path motel in Fairvale. His mother dominates his life, who refuses to let the young man out of her peremptory grip. They argue about the failing motel, whose business has been recently rundown by the relocation of a nearby highway. 

After his mother murders Mary, a woman who is on the run for stealing cash from her real estate client, Norman disposes of the body. Afterward, he continues caring for the motel…and its aging matron. After the woman’s sister, Lila, Marion’s ex-boyfriend, Sam, and a private investigator, Arbogast, come looking for the now deceased woman, Norman’s mother strikes again. This time, she kills Arbogast with a razor while the former two are out investigating. 

After further inquiry by Lila and Sam, some revelations occur. First, Norman’s mother has been dead for years, and Norman spent time in a mental institution. Second, Lila finds the corpse of Ms. Bates in the fruit cellar, Norman attacks her. Horrifyingly, he is is wearing his mother’s clothes. Luckily, Sam stops Norman. The explanation given is that Norman turned into his mother after a bout of matricide in which he poisoned her and her lover out of jealous rage. Confined to a mental institution for life, Norman psychologically transforms into his mother. There, he deigns to prove that he wouldn’t dare even hurt a fly. 

How Inspiration Informs Our Novels

The Gein Inspiration

Inspiration can be a tricky thing to conjure. You may have to be in the exact right mood. Or, maybe you have to be lying in bed in the morning, or maybe you have to be taking a shower…or perhaps you are just out mowing your lawn. Regardless, inspiration will come smack you right in the head with a great idea. 

Whatever it is that works for you, works for you. 

The story of Ed Gein inspired the story behind Psycho (1959) by Robert Bloch. Gein also has a relationship with multiple personality disorder and murder. For instance, he had murdered two women and set himself about crafting a skin suit after his own mother’s heart. In this case, inspiration came from real-life scenarios. Additionally, it comes with some past stories of Bloch’s earlier works that also dealt with multiple personalities and grim situations.

As written by Galaxy Press: “In this regard, Robert Bloch’s protagonist, Norman Bates, was much like Gein. Bloch realized, ‘I’d discovered how closely the imaginary character I’d created resembled the real Ed Gein both in overt act and apparent motivation’.”

Bloch wrote Psycho over a six-year span in Weyauwega, Wisconsin. As Bloch later stated, he based Psycho on a “situation rather than any person, living or dead…” 

As Shane Nyman writes in an article for Post Crescent: “Living only about a 35-minute drive from Plainfield, the already-accomplished Bloch read about the discoveries at the Gein family farm when it hit the papers in 1957. Two years later, the world was introduced to Norman Bates.”

Bloch’s Version of the Story

And, yet, Bloch also disputes the claims of his immediate knowledge of the incident. He wrote in his 1993 memoir that he knew “very little” of Gein at the time of his writing, only realizing the connection years later when writing an essay about Gein. He soon realized that there were lots of similarities between his novel and the case. 

I think, in this way, inspiration was a sort of parallel thinking in the ether. It was the right time and place for the story to happen, and so was the Gein case. It’s horrible to think, but lots of murders occur and books are written at the same time. Some of them build traction with the public and some don’t build traction at all. It’s an Overton Window of sorts where whatever is happening in the zeitgeist propels a story to success. Yet, two sources of inspiration can happen in tandem. 

Conclusion

Regardless of how you are inspired—whether by true crime events now or later—inspiration can bring forth interests that we already have and allow them to proliferate on the page. Bloch loved true crime, such as Jack the Ripper and Lizzie Borden, so it makes sense that inspiration came to Robert Bloch for Psycho in the form of his interests. 

He was also devoted to strange fiction and tales of the macabre, which even featured his mentor’s death:

The Library of America states that: “One of the stories Bloch wrote while (H.P.) Lovecraft was alive featured Lovecraft as a character, killed by a monster. Weird Tales required Bloch to get the victim’s permission before publishing the story, and Lovecraft authorized Bloch ‘to portray, murder, annihilate, disintegrate, transfigure, metamorphose, or otherwise manhandle the undersigned in the tale entitled THE SHAMBLER FROM THE STARS’.”

In so many words, find your inspiration where your love is at, whether that be stories like Psycho by Robert Bloch about killers in the Midwest, or stories where you yourself are doing the killing.  

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Greek Myth: Uranus, a Monster Who Created Monsters

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As mentioned in a previous post, Greek mythology is a complicated web of characters birthed by multiple deities. The birth of Uranus (son of Gaea) in Greek Myth also has his own part in creating monsters, both figuratively and literally. In examining his birth and rise to power, we can see how he created the more modern understanding of warring gods who fight for control of mortal fate and destiny.

The Creation of a Greek Myth Tyrant

In Greek Myth, Uranus (also known as Ouranos) was born from Gaea. The lady of Earth grew lonely and wanted company and birthed him on her own. Afterward, Uranus ruled the sky (or the Heavens), and his siblings ruled the mountains (Ourea) and the sea (Pontus). Uranus successfully wielded this domain expertly, too, as it was from Uranus’s lungs that we have the air with breathe. He contributed monumentally to the construction of Earth’s livable habitat. Thus, it stands to reasons that Uranus was the all powerful deity of Earth, and its first ruler.

It was not long before Uranus slept with Gaea and began to make children–of which they had many. These included the three Cyclopes, six daughters (Theia, Rhea, Themis, Mnemosyne, Phoebe, and Tethys), and six sons (Oceanus, Coeus, Cius, Hyperion, Iapetus, and Cronus). The latter two-thirds would make up the Titans (Britannica). Moreover, and for future reference, having copious amounts of children was a through line for Greek mythology.

Overthrowing the Primordial God

Now remember, we have personified characters here, so both Uranus and Gaea are the Heavens and the Earth and they are making children. However, Uranus didn’t want children for one reason or another so he stashed them away inside of Gaea’s (or Earth’s) body. Uranus’s actions made Gaea bitter, and so she plotted to repeal her husband’s actions by convincing her children to revolt against him. However, all of her children were afraid of Uranus’s power; well, all except for one–Cronus.

After crafting an adamite scythe (or a scimitar in some stories), Gaea gave it to Cronus and told him to hide in wait for his father who would come to lay with her. And, indeed, Uranus was a randy god and came to lay with Gaea. At this point, Cronus emerged from his hiding place in his mother’s womb, and he used the scythe to castrate his father.

Remember, too, as with all stories, Greek mythology has been told differently through the years. For example, another retelling features more than just Cronus getting involved with castrating Uranus, and the details are as follows:

“Four of these (sons) positioned themselves at the corners of the world, ready to grasp their father as he descended to lie with Earth, while the fifth, Kronos (Cronus), took his place in the centre and there castrated Ouranos with an adamantine sickle.”

Uranus, meanwhile, either died or fled, but not before the spurt of blood from his wound further impregnated Gaea with the “avenging” Furies, the Giants, and the Meliai; and, “avenging” is right because Uranus’s overthrow creates the beginnings of war that would continue through much of Greek mythology.

Conclusion

Uranus wasn’t a good guy, but he did do a lot to create the world. Though, we can see in our story about Uranus that there is a lot to learn about the world and about ourselves.

Number one, we have a lesson on the creation of our planet and how the air we breathe and the Heavens above came into creation. Number two, we have a lesson about taking care of your children lest you create bitter hatred in your family, which might also be a lesson about caring for those around you.

Lastly, and as we will see in future posts, Uranus’s actions bleed into other characteristics found in his children (Cronus for sure), and the Furies, and the Cyclopes.

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A River Runs Through It and the Stories They Tell

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“Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it,” writes Norman Maclean in A River Runs through it and Other Stories. “The river was cut by the world’s great flood and runs over rocks from the basement of time. On some of the rocks are timeless raindrops. Under the rocks are the words, and some of the words are theirs. I am haunted by waters.”

I like taking walks in the city I live, and I also like taking photos of the river that runs near my house. The river is an interesting place to watch, because of the birds and the other animals, but there is also a lot going on there depending on the time of year. A lot of boats in the summer. Shanties in the winter. Leaves on the breaks in the fall.

There are stories there.

The Waters and Their Stories

Whether the waters are haunting or not doesn’t matter too much to me, because there lots of other stories to tell. Most of them don’t involve the early death of one’s sibling or the fear of drowning when rafting the rough currents. Similarly, the stories get me thinking and that’s a good way to spend an evening or a morning. It’s especially true if you are trying to make sense of one that’s tricky.  

In Robert Louis Stevenson’s poem “Looking-Glass River” he states: “Smooth it glides upon its travel / Here a wimple, there a gleam– / O the clean gravel! / O the smooth stream!”

What this means is, I can’t speak for the clean gravel in my neck of the woods, but I believe I’ve seen a wimple and gleam here and there as I follow the shore on either side. Often, I’m silently confronted by early risers out for their morning strolls or nightwalkers seeking the evening calm.

“I do not know much about gods; but I think that the river / Is a strong brown god—sullen, untamed and intractable,” wrote T.S. Eliot in The Four Quartets. “The river is within us, the sea is all about us; / The sea is the land’s edge also, the granite / Into which it reaches, the beaches where it tosses.”

Spirituality and the Waters

The divinity placed upon water itself is apparent in much religious writing. It is a cathartic and purifying method of being born anew. Water has been of critical importance to both maritime law and commerce for ages, importing and exporting food and famine, war and peace. It has also been a source of wonder and musings about existence.

In “The River,” Ralph Waldo Emerson penned:

And I behold once more

My old familiar haunts; here the blue river,

The same blue wonder that my infant eye

Admired, sage doubting whence the traveller came,—

Whence brought his sunny bubbles ere he washed

The fragrant flag-roots in my father’s fields,

And where thereafter in the world he went.”

The words Emerson chooses, including “Admired” and “sage” dignify the waters in a way that create a spiritual understanding. Additionally, blue wonder and blue river speak to the calming feeling that water imparts to humanity. According to Emerson, the waters are something to truly behold.

Conclusion

Mostly, we don’t know where the river’s been or where it goes, because we can look at it and think about the images it conjures in our animal brains; but, mostly, walking by the water gives me piece of mind. Yet, there are many things to see and there are many things to think about.

I am about both sometimes.

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Crafting Atmosphere in Writing for Better Stories

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Atmosphere is an essential part of reading and writing. It is a catalyst for all of the feelings that a reader will experience throughout a book or story. There are not many books that are devoid of atmosphere, and if there are–they are probably experimental in nature. Atmosphere is hard to avoid in writing. It can be a subconscious effort from a writer describing their life or the fictitious lives of their characters. In this post, we are going to discuss the idea of establishing “atmosphere” in stories.

Defining Atmosphere in Stories

In defining atmosphere, Merriam-Webster states that “atmosphere” is a “surrounding influence or environment.” It is also, “the overall aesthetic effect of a work of art.” Additionally, it is stated that “atmosphere” is “an intriguing or singular tone, effect, or appeal” in a piece of writing. In combining these ideas, we can see that atmosphere is like the coat a story wears to give off some impression. Gloomy coats give off gloomy vibes, while sunny coats give off sunny vibes.

Another way to view “atmosphere” is through the mood an author establishes in a story. Mood, in this instance, refers to how the reader feels when they are reading a story. For example, when reading a horror story, you might feel scared, anxious, or apprehensive about what is to come next. The mood, however, differs from atmosphere, as mood is an overall feel of the writing in the moment, as opposed to atmosphere, which is the aesthetic, or the feel of the writing from cover to cover.

Specifically, these two words are interested in describing two bits of minutia in writing: the micro-feeling of words (angry and worried), and the macro-feeling of words (creepy or strange).

Identifying Atmosphere in Fiction

In looking for examples of atmosphere, it can either be difficult or extremely apparent. For instance, in The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury, we have a “nostalgic” atmosphere that appeals to Bradbury’s youth and memories of Halloween night. The story tells the tale of a group of boys who ventures with a mysterious man named Moonshroud on Halloween night to save their friend pip. The story uses an overtly “sensory-driven” atmosphere, as Bradbury’s poetic style fixes on the reader’s senses to overdrive the narrative in imagery.

Here’s an excerpt:

Eight boys made a series of beautiful leaps over flowerpots, rails, dead ferns, bushes, landing on their own dry-starched front lawns. Galloping, rushing, they seized a final sheet, adjusted a last mask, tugged at strange mushroom caps or wigs, shouting at the way the wind took them along, helped their running; glad of the wind, or cursing boy curses as masks fell off or hung sidewise or stuffed up their noses with a muslin smell like a dogs hot breath. Or just letting the sheer exhilaration of being alive and out on this night pull their lungs and shape their throats into a yell and a yell and a … yeeeellll!

The Halloween Tree | Ray Bradbury

In examining this excerpt for atmosphere, let’s dial into the “nostalgic” part of it, as Bradbury takes us through the motions of boys hooting through the spookiest night of the year. If we use our previous simile in that atmosphere is like a coat on a story, then we are looking at a sentimental view of boyhood.

Bradbury states that there is a frantic sort of energy amongst the boys. The energy is both frantic and exciting. It is happy. Who doesn’t have this memory of Halloween? The feeling is there but at a much larger level than say, “happy” or “joyous,” which is more definitive of mood.

Additionally, the “sensory” portion of our atmospheric analysis can be pulled from the same excerpt. For example, “dead ferns” references our visual senses, because we can see that in our mind’s eye. Bradbury finishes the description with “letting the sheer exhilaration of being alive and out on this night pull their lungs and shape their throats into a yell and a yell and a … yeeeellll!”

Our auditory senses are pulled toward the enthusiastic scream of the boys. Enthusiasm, in this case, being descriptive of mood, while the sensory feeling of description is the overall atmosphere. Bradbury’s The Halloween Tree is replete with sensory descriptions, and these descriptions build the atmosphere.

Tips for Writing Atmosphere

One tip in tracking atmosphere or even implementing it in your own writing, is to treat atmosphere as a post-writing/reading consideration. What did the book feel like across the whole body of the work? What feelings did you experience the most, and what word comes to mind that describes all of those emotions?

After you have answered these questions, you can begin going back through the text and sprinkling in your atmosphere. In this way, you need to identify the atmosphere itself. If you are writing a noir mystery, you might want to add more smoky rooms and shadows. If it’s a romance story, adding more fluffy language may better mold your story to the genre.

Conclusion

There are many techniques in writing, so deciding which ones to employ is essential. Atmosphere may seem like a small detail–but it is a major element. The atmosphere of a text describes the larger picture of a work of narrative. It steers us in a larger direction rather than touching on our lesser feelings, such as horror, happiness, and anger. The atmosphere of a novel can sometimes be difficult to track, as a reader has to take the whole of the text into consideration rather than just a few examples here and there.

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Why Writing Simply for Clearer Meaning is Important

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Often, beginning writers write long, winding sentences that lose track of their meaning. Typically, this happens because novice writers have a lot to prove, and simply do too much. What budding writers forget is that writing simply for clearer meaning is important. Writing simply is an important function of writing because it shows that the writer has a direct command of language. In this way, they are able to say more with less. It is okay to write big, long sentences with lots of punctuation and conjunctions from time to time. Yet, it is an entirely other thing to write simple, direct sentences that pack a lot of meaning.

How Can Writers Write Simply for Clearer Meaning

To start, a simple sentence has a subject and a predicate, and this also makes it an independent clause. Both terms are interchangeable: simple sentence = independent clause.

A sentence is independent because it can stand on its own. So that also implies that a simple sentence should start with a subject and end with that subject doing something. After all, a simple sentence is a subject and a predicate. Therefore, simple sentences are very direct.

Henry played his guitar loudly. The flurry of music filled his head and he smiled.

The above sentences are simple but tell a great deal. We learn about Henry, that he is a musician, and that he loves music. He is probably very good at playing guitar, too, because the writer used the words “flurry” and his appreciation of this is apparent. In this instance, simple sentences help writers write clearly, stay on track, and convey meaning.

Let’s look at an excellent example of writing simply from Ernest Hemingway’s In Our Time:

“They shot the six cabinet ministers at half-past six in the morning against the wall of a hospital. There were pools of water in the courtyard. There were wet dead leaves on the paving of the courtyard. It rained hard. All the shutters of the hospital were nailed shut. One of the ministers was sick with typhoid. Two soldiers carried him downstairs and out into the rain. They tried to hold him up against the wall but he sat down in a puddle of water. The other five stood very quietly against the wall. Finally the officer told the soldiers it was no good trying to make him stand up. When they fired the first volley he was sitting down in the water with his head on his knees.”

I believe this passage is perfectly simple, and it tells the audience exactly what the need to know. Of course, if you were a writer who focuses on more flowery passages, this excerpt could be made into something more purple. Hemingway wrote in a very straightforward manner (perhaps too straightforward according to some). So, here is a reedit connecting some of the simplicity while still maintaining its thrust and meaning:

“They shot the six cabinet ministers at half-past six in the morning against the wall of a hospital. There were pools of water in the courtyard, and there were wet dead leaves on the pavement. It rained hard. All the shutters of the hospital were nailed closed, and one of the ministers was sick with typhoid. Two soldiers carried him downstairs and out into the rain. They tried to hold him up against the wall, but he sat down in a puddle of water. The other five stood very quietly, and, finally, the officer told the soldiers it was no good trying to make him stand up. When they fired the first volley he was sitting down in the water with his head on his knees.”

Both passages are simple enough. One is very Hemingway, while the other connects the ideas and avoids repetition. The first is the author’s voice, while the second is creating greater flow between ideas. Both work, and both are simple in construction. They both convey the same meaning.

Verbosity and Grandiloquence

There are writers that use long, complicated words to create mood and to set the tone of writing, and that is totally fine. Those writers are conveying different moods and tones through their use of syntax. However, those writers (Joyce Carol Oats, Flannery O’Connor, Charles Dickens, etc.) have had a great deal of experience writing. And, practically speaking, as a budding writer, the focus on simplicity should be paramount. In other words, writing simply for clearer meaning should be crucial for a beginning writer.

One thing a writer learns eventually is that a thesaurus is not necessary to be a good writer; though, they do come in handy. Yet, one’s eye is much more clear than the ocular device on one’s head, if that makes sense. Thus, grandiloquence is also not necessary for a writer to make a clear statement. Similarly, a large amount of words for wordiness’ sake is just wasting somebody’s time. Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Grey is a great example of this verbose idea. Wilde loved words and using lots of different, complicated, ones to convey meaning.

Conclusion

What needs to be said is this: a beginning writer needs to cut down the length of their sentences and their word count in order to discover what is essential. In this way, the writer can see the simple message of their story or essay. Writing simply for clearer meaning allows the writer the freedom to evolve. From a simple passage, they can continue honing the story itself or begin to add more flowery passages while connecting ideas with more creativity and clarity.

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Improving Syntax and Sentence Structure in Writing

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Writers must stop and wonder about their craft often. If they don’t, then evolving as a writer becomes impossible. One way to guarantee an evolving writing style is exploring the fundamentals of writing. By understanding what makes grammar work and function, writers obtain a larger command of language and set better routines. In this way, understanding syntax and sentence structure in writing is important for writers, so they know the best ways to formulate words and sentences.

What is Syntax and Sentence Structure?

To put it simply, syntax is the way an author structures a sentence. The Guilford College Writing Manual states that syntax is a “joystick” that allows you “to control your style,” as it “refers to the way you arrange words in such units as phrases, clauses, and sentences.”

Additionally, Purdue asserts how a writer’s sentences are written and received are “matters of syntax,” and “as are the ways that different clauses are arranged and how they flow. Choosing different kinds of syntax allows writers to manipulate the qualities of rhythm and coherence throughout a piece of writing.”

Thus, if we consider syntax, then we are considering how to structure our sentences.

What are Three Syntax Considerations?

There are many elements of writing to think about when writing. Three aspects are worth your time and consideration: sentence structure, grammar, and creativity.

Sentence Structure

The top of the list is certainly sentence structure. If you are unfamiliar with different types of sentence structures just remember that there are four main types: simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex.

  • Simple: A subject and a predicate (also known as an independent clause).
  • Compound: Two or more independent clauses (simple sentences) joined with a comma and a conjunction.
  • Complex: One or more independent clauses joined by one or more dependent clauses (and a subordinating conjunction).
  • Compound–Complex: Two or more independent clauses joined by a coordinating conjunction and one or more dependent clauses (and subordinating conjunctions.

Grammar

It is important to understand the basic conventions of grammar in writing. That is to say, there are some elements that are absolutely essential for a sentence to work. For instance, capitalize the first word of every sentence, put punctuation at the end, use commas where necessary, and make sure your ideas flow clearly. The best way to get a handle on grammar is to practice writing simply and focus on simple and complex sentences to begin with.

Creativity

The best way to describe the final syntactical consideration is by asking a writer to go to their bookshelf and open their favorite book by their favorite author. Look at the first few lines of their story. What moves do they make as authors to get across their point?

For instance, consider these first lines from famous literary works and authors:

  • The Dead Zone by Stephen King: “By the time he graduated from college, John Smith had forgotten all about the bad fall he took on the ice that January day in 1953. In fact, he would have been hard put to remember it by the time he graduated from grammar school. And his mother and father never knew about it at all.”
  • Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling: “Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much. They were the last people you’d expect to be involved in anything strange or mysterious, because they just didn’t hold with such nonsense.”
  • To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee: “When he was nearly thirteen, my brother Jem got his arm badly broken at the elbow. When it healed, and Jem’s fears of never being able to play football were calmed, he was almost never (concerned and a little worried about how you’re acting or what you look like) about his injury.”

The writers presented above use a conversational tone. However, consider that Rowling tone is a bit cheekier while King’s is a bit more colloquial. Meanwhile, Lee speaks to the youth of her characters and gives a sort of innocent retelling of events. With that said, each of these writers conveys their point clearly. We have a writing voice and that helps us convey information in our own way, whether we are informal or formal. Typically, a writers creativity and understanding of grammar and conventions guides their voice.

Conclusion

A helpful way to implement improvements in syntax and sentence structure in writing early on is to think while you write. More or less, writers should be aware of what they are doing while crafting. There are many people who write with fear, angst, and resentment, and with good reason–writing is hard. The trick is to find ways to ease the burden of the process so writers can be productive in their composing journeys.