The
Effect of Authorial Choices:
Narrative
Structure, Diction, Syntax, Rhythm and Tone
The choices authors make concerning their use
of narrative structure, diction, syntax, rhythm and tone is typically
influenced by the time period in which the author lived. Classics, for example, will usually involve
the use of complex syntax and diction while contemporary authors are usually
more concise and typically informal in their diction and syntax choices. An author’s choices in diction and syntax
directly affect the way the reader experiences the worlds created. In the
classic work, Rebecca, by Daphne Du
Maurier, written in 1938 and the contemporary work of Danielle Steel’s The Ghost, written in 1993, both authors
used diction and syntax indicative of their times and produced very effective
narrative structure, taking the reader from the introduction of the story’s conflict,
up to the crisis moment and then to the conflict resolution.
In her classic work, Rebecca, Du Maurier adopted the first person point of view to form
the basis of her narrative structure: “Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley
again,” (Du Maurier 1). The reader is
introduced to the more formal diction (dreamt versus dreamed) and immediately
begins to form those internal questions, “What happened next? Why did it happen this way?” (Scott 65). Du Maurier begins to develop a very precise
and effective narrative structure, taking the reader on the character’s
tumultuous journey as she moves from being a shy, timid young girl to the
confident, strong mistress of Manderley .
The reader is introduced to the central conflict of the story at the
beginning of Chapter 2: “We can never go back again, that much is certain. The past is too close behind us…I believe
there is a theory that men and women emerge finer and stronger after suffering,
and to advance in this or any world, we must endure ordeal by fire. This we have done in full measure, ironic
though it seems” (Du Maurier 5). Du
Maurier skillfully answers the questions Scott proposed as she continues to pull
reader into the main character’s chaotic life, keeping the narrative perfectly
balanced on a thin line between good and evil.
Du Maurier employees a pattern of suspense that resemble[s] a staircase
up until the point of climax, with tension rising and falling at different
stages of the story (Scott 68). The
young character arrives at Manderley, a world that it totally foreign to her,
and must conquer a series of obstacles left behind by her predecessor, Rebecca,
who left some very big shoes that Du Maurier’s main character must now attempt
to fill. It’s the words of Beatrice, her
new husband’s sister, that haunt her throughout the majority of the storyline: “You
see…you are so very different from Rebecca” (Du Maurier 105). This statement serves to ignite the
narrator’s passion to discover who Rebecca truly was. Her quest only deepens her feelings of
inadequacy. The tension and momentum
continue to rise towards the crisis moment, which presents itself after a
single event occurs: a ship runs aground
in the terrible fog. This leads to the
discovery of Rebecca’s small boat resting on the bottom of the bay and to a
chain reaction of events, spiraling the reader to the crisis moment: “There
never was an accident. Rebecca was not
drowned at all. I killed her. I shot Rebecca in the cottage in the cove” (Du
Maurier 266). In a reciprocating
admission, the narrator finally tells her husband of the fears that have
tortured her since arriving at Manderley and his response frees her at last: “You
thought I loved Rebecca? You thought I
killed her, loving her? I hated her, I
tell you” (Du Maurier 271). In that
single moment, the momentum of the story changes as the narrator’s role is
shifted from an outsider to someone deeply involved in the outcome of her, and
her husband’s future. The crisis
resolution unfolds quickly as the shocking truth about Rebecca comes out and
Maxim de Winter is once again absolved of any wrongdoing in his wife’s
death. The story ends rather
anticlimactically, with the two main characters returning to their beloved
family home, only to find it in flames.
Upon completing the reading of Rebecca, it is ironic that Du Maurier
actually introduces the reader to the resolution at the very beginning of the
text as the central conflict of the story.
In short, her narrative weaves through a dark world only to come full
circle: “We can never go back again, that much is certain” (Du Maurier 5).
In her novel, The Ghost, Danielle Steel builds her narrative following the
literary conventions typical of her contemporary time period. Steel’s diction is informal (even in the
journals penned in the late 1700’s) and her use of syntax follows the natural
patterns of thought and speech that we, as readers in today’s times, find easy
to understand and quick to read. This
allows the reader to become deeply immersed in the lives of her characters,
quickly expanding on the position that if empathy – the ability to see the
world as others see it – is a fundamental human attribute, then the fact that
creative writing exploits this attribute is what makes it, also, a unique and fundamental
tool with which to make sense of the world (Scott 58). Steel is a master of using empathy for her
characters to drive the reader to follow them through to the end of the
story. She takes modern-day situations
that most of us have experienced in one way or another and uses her characters
to teach us (possibly) new ways of dealing with it all.
In The
Ghost, Steel introduces us to the conflict right from the start: “And now
suddenly, at forty-two, he felt as though all the good times were over. He had begun the long, slow trip down the
other side of the mountain. For the past
year, he had felt as though his life was slowly and steadily unraveling” (Steel
1). In her unique style, Steel employees
rather lengthy narrative as she sets the background for the story. She effectively tugs at the readers’
heartstrings. The reader is introduced
to the dramatic question in the first chapter when Charlie bares his soul:
“I can’t live without you, Carole…” He couldn’t think of a single reason these days
to go on living. (Steel 19)
The dramatic question,
“How will he go on living without her,” is what drives the narrative with the
particular nature of the obstacle and how it is overcome (or not) [being] a key
feature of the genre (Scott 63). In the
main character’s search to find a way to move forward, he meets several people
who have a tremendous, positive impact on him with perhaps the ghost of Sarah
Ferguson topping that list (hence the title, The Ghost). It is through
reading Sarah’s journals of her life back in the late 1700’s, following her
lifelong tale of bravery and fearlessness as she learns to live again after
escaping a brutal past, that drives Charlie to the realization that he cannot
follow her example on his own. This
sudden realization brings Charlie (and the reader) to the crisis moment and he
finally reaches out to someone he knows has her own tragic story:
“And without thinking, he got out of the
car and ran after her” (Steel 296).
“Wait!” he shouted as he came up two steps behind her. “I need to talk to you…I need to talk to
someone…” He flung his arms around in despair, as though he were thrashing, and
she could see suddenly that he was close to crying” (Steel 298).
The resolution quickly follows with both
characters understanding that one can truly come out of a tragic situation and
learn to live again. It is that lesson,
in my opinion, that is Steel’s true message to us all. The reader walks away, feeling satisfied and
hopefully carrying Steel’s meaning with them.
Danielle Steel has always been one of my
favorite authors but when comparing her contemporary work with the classic work
of Du Maurier, I was left feeling that one hundred years from now, Steel’s work
will not be considered as classic. I
will put away Steel’s book, saying, “That was nice,” but Du Maurier’s piece
will stay in my mind for a long time to come.
Her use of diction, syntax, rhythm and tone in her narrative structure
all contributed to Rebecca being
placed on the classics list and one that will be read many times in the years
to come.
Works
Cited
Du Maurier, Daphne. Rebbeca. Avon Books: HarperCollins
Publishing. New York. 1971. Print.
Scott; Jeremy. Creative Writing and Stylistics. Palgrave
Macmillian. UK. 2013. Print.
Steel, Danielle. The Ghost. Dell Publishing: Random
House. New York. 1997. Print.
