In novels, the delineation of plot and the reader’s perception of action are highly influenced by the particular way in which information is disseminated. For example, Albert Camus’ The Outsider often reads as a newspaper article, as the terse and objective style gives the novel a journalistic quality. In contrast, the style in Franz Kakfa’s The Trial is witty and more personal. Furthermore, in Giuseppe di Lampedusa’s The Leopard, the style is elaborate and romantic, which in turn aggrandizes certain events. However, the styles of these novels also dictate what is expressed altogether. In The Trial, K. and the narrator’s incessant need to ask questions without answering them results in the absence of information or clarity. Likewise, the unemotional
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The arrival of Franz and Willem at the beginning of the novel appear to catalyze the novel’s questioning nature, as they force K. to ask, “‘Who are you?’” (Kafka 4). K.’s initial question then leads to a series of other questions, as he wonders, “What sort of men were they? What were they talking about? What office did they represent?” (6). However, K. never answers these questions, and, as a result, leaves the reader in a state of confusion. Furthermore, these questions exemplify the free indirect discourse that occurs between K. and the narrator, and illustrate the way in which questions become pillars of the novel’s style and structure. However, as the novel progresses, these unanswered questions become increasingly directed towards K., who begins questioning his own actions and the justice system. For example, after K. visits Titorelli, Kafka writes, “Could he really rely so little on his own judgment already? (137). As K.’s questions are often rhetorical, they are, to a certain degree, meant to reveal something about his character or the action in the novel. Nonetheless, K.’s questions are ultimately his way to evade the answers. His evasiveness thus prevents him or the narrator from affirming anything, and in turn leaves the reader is a state of perpetual doubt about K or the novel’s state of affairs. The Trial’s questioning …show more content…
In this sense, the style is somewhat paratactic, as sentences will often contain multiple ideas that have little relation, or seem to lose their relation in the sheer length of the sentence. For example, the first paragraph of the novel is ultimately constructed as one large sentence that is subdivided with several semi-colons, and begins recounting “the steady voice of the Prince” in church, and ends describing the Magdalen, who “looked penitent and not just a handsome blonde lost in some dubious daydream” (Lampedusa 5). Similar to K.’s questions in The Trial, these long and convoluted sentences become the stylistic backbone of the novel, and shape how the plot and action is expressed. However, the novel achieves this by inserting minute details that insulate the major plot developments. The novel thus leaves the reader to filter through the occasionally menial descriptions to grasp the narrator’s true objective or the major plot development. The Leopard’s intricate style therefore entails an excess of information and description that the reader must dissect in order to ascertain
The arrival of Franz and Willem at the beginning of the novel appear to catalyze the novel’s questioning nature, as they force K. to ask, “‘Who are you?’” (Kafka 4). K.’s initial question then leads to a series of other questions, as he wonders, “What sort of men were they? What were they talking about? What office did they represent?” (6). However, K. never answers these questions, and, as a result, leaves the reader in a state of confusion. Furthermore, these questions exemplify the free indirect discourse that occurs between K. and the narrator, and illustrate the way in which questions become pillars of the novel’s style and structure. However, as the novel progresses, these unanswered questions become increasingly directed towards K., who begins questioning his own actions and the justice system. For example, after K. visits Titorelli, Kafka writes, “Could he really rely so little on his own judgment already? (137). As K.’s questions are often rhetorical, they are, to a certain degree, meant to reveal something about his character or the action in the novel. Nonetheless, K.’s questions are ultimately his way to evade the answers. His evasiveness thus prevents him or the narrator from affirming anything, and in turn leaves the reader is a state of perpetual doubt about K or the novel’s state of affairs. The Trial’s questioning …show more content…
In this sense, the style is somewhat paratactic, as sentences will often contain multiple ideas that have little relation, or seem to lose their relation in the sheer length of the sentence. For example, the first paragraph of the novel is ultimately constructed as one large sentence that is subdivided with several semi-colons, and begins recounting “the steady voice of the Prince” in church, and ends describing the Magdalen, who “looked penitent and not just a handsome blonde lost in some dubious daydream” (Lampedusa 5). Similar to K.’s questions in The Trial, these long and convoluted sentences become the stylistic backbone of the novel, and shape how the plot and action is expressed. However, the novel achieves this by inserting minute details that insulate the major plot developments. The novel thus leaves the reader to filter through the occasionally menial descriptions to grasp the narrator’s true objective or the major plot development. The Leopard’s intricate style therefore entails an excess of information and description that the reader must dissect in order to ascertain