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- Close Reading Analysis of Last Of His Kind
-
- The 33rd President of the United States of America, Harry S. Truman,
- had over ten biographies published about him, each one being different
- from one another. This book is especially unique due to its style, easy
- reading, and simple sentence structure.
- The tone of the book Last of His Kind, by Charles Robbins, is best
- described as informative and effusive, in other words the book is very
- outgoing by often giving "fun facts" and a great deal of insight. There
- is also some juggling of conversation between Harry, his friends, and
- the author. This "juggling" helps to give the book its own distinct
- style and also keeps the reader focused. The authorÆs view towards
- Truman was very admiring.
- The style is informal for conversations due to the use of jargon like "I
- put up a whirlwind membership campaign for the Kansas city Automobile
- Club and made a good living at it." This suggests that Truman is being
- involved in automobiles and often gives a little insight. Also, it
- often seems as though Harry is speaking to the reader directly. Slang is
- also a big part of conversation mostly because of the authorÆs attempts
- of making the conversations appear more life-like by giving the people
- the southern accent that they had. Slang sayings like "àyou were late
- and you caught the devil" are also often used, throughout the whole
- book. Other slang words like "Bum," and "gimpy" are also being used.
- The formality and informality fluctuates between the author and Harry.
- When Harry is speaking the style is informal but when the author is
- speaking the style switches to high formal.
- The sentence structure is basically simple and conversation-like when
- Truman or his family/friends are speaking but changes to compound and
- sometimes complex when the author is speaking. A good example would be
- "à[s]o I came to the United states senate and went to workà (notice the
- simple words) Beyond pointing out that both his opponents had not been
- above seeking PendergastÆs helpà." Notice the change of style between
- TrumanÆs sentence and the authorÆs. Figurative language like metaphors
- and similes are only used in conversations. Most sentences are clear,
- organized and parallel. They are also very specific when referring to
- certain actions in the past that will affect the future. The sentences
- are mainly short thought they sometimes tend to run on. (nobody is
- perfect)
- The diction, often formal when the author speaks, tends to push towards
- formal due to the choice of elegant words used, but when Truman speaks,
- it tends to be informal and neutral. Denotation and connotation, even
- though its hardly used, it is used when Truman speaks about his wife,
- Bess, and daughter, Margaret.
- The syntax maintains an active voice throughout the whole book and only
- is passive in a few small spots. The sentences are loose in some parts
- and become periodic in other parts; it mostly depends on what is going
- on. A good place to find periodic sentences is around the atomic bomb,
- and the firing of Gen. MacArthur. Parallel structure is maintained
- throughout the book and is sometimes not parallel when Truman speak. The
- syntax is generally simple and only slightly becomes complex when the
- author speaks.
- Simple syntax, a peaceful tone, and great insight on Harry S. Truman
- all contribute to the style of the book making it unique and
- captivating. The mixture of first and third person point of view
- combined with all the other good aspects of this book make it not only
- interesting but also bring it one step closer to grammatical perfection.
-