“Education” by Ralph Waldo Emerson is a criticism of the militaristic way American children are educated. Emerson uses very organic syntactical techniques to relay the way he believes America’s youth should be taught. “Education” seems, to the reader, a collection of well-worded thoughts. Thus periodic sentence and ellipsis are used regularly to live up to the tone Emerson employs. An example of both of these types of syntax comes in the final paragraph. Emerson writes, “Of course you will insist on modesty in the children, and respect to their teachers, but if the boy stops you in your speech, cries out that you are wrong and sets you right, hug him!” The demonstration of periodic sentence is evident at the end of the sentence as the point
