Grammar Choices in Literature

Grammar Choices in Literature

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Grammar Choices in Literature

Samile Timmins

ENG/280

Helene Kiser

August 7, 2016

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Grammar Choices in Literature

Marjane Satrapi and Marina Nemat, two autobiographic authors of Iranian descent, have both been exposed to the terrors and devastation that took over Iran during its national revolution in 1979. From the same background and age group, the authors were separated from their families and subjected to extreme physical and psychological torture during the Iranian transition into a Islamic state. Besides being exposed to the same social context, the authors also shared the same discontent with the political scenario that took over their home nation. Despite their similarities, they found very different styles to expose their fights and conquers in literature.

In her book Persepolis, Satrapi explores the effects of the Iranian revolution on herself and her family in the format of a black and white comic novel. Because of the informal nature of the book format, the author opts to use short and direct sentences throughout most of the story. She approaches each subject directly and goes straight to the point, sometimes mixing in ellipsis and fragment sentences, as in the following example: “All bilingual schools must be closed down. They are symbols of capitalism. Of decadence.” (p. 8) The informality in her work also requires the use of contractions, such as I’m and It’s. The effect of the informal grammar choices on the overall book are visible: they promote a fast-paced, easy reading experience, not leaving much room for the reader’s own interpretation of her suffering, but rather providing a very straightforward view of her devastating escapades while being sent away to France by her family at the age of 14. The author’s grammar and structure choices also reflect the simplicity and bluntness of the mind of a young girl exposed to times of difficulties.

Nemat, on the other hand, takes a more conservative approach, from a grammar standpoint, in her book Prisoner of Tehran. Similar to Satrapi, she describes vividly the horrible experiences she faced during the revolution that destroyed many lives in Iran, but without using visual resources. Nemat’s sentences are a mix of compound, complex, and compound-complex sentences. Her detailed description of events is never short of modifiers and sentences that flow together to compose an intrinsic view of her reality during the late 1970’s. Presented in an almost poetic form, Prisoner in Tehran bring the reader to the confinements of Evin, the famous Iranian prison in which the author was held during her teenage years.

When analyzing the way both authors approach the beginning of the revolution in their writing, their differences in style and formality become clear. Following are two excerpts taken respectively from Satrapi’s Persepolis and Nemat’s Prisoner in Tehran. The fragments are used in their work to introduce the scenario of the story, and are found in the first pages of either book. Satrapi introduces the revolution in a short and straightforward sentence: “In 1979, a revolution took place. It was later called the Islamic Revolution.” (p. 7) While there are no informal constructions in this particular sentence, one can notice the bluntness of the story—a writing style that is fitting for the comic novel. Meanwhile, Nemat explores the depths of her memories and paints a perfect, poetic picture of her years of suffering, as exemplified below:

When I put my hand on the heavy wooden main door, a snowflake landed on my nose. Tehran always looked innocently beautiful under the deceiving curves of snow, and although the Islamic