ANALYSIS OF SYNTACTICAL STYLISTIC DEVICES IN “JENNIE GERHARDT” BY T. DREISER

Abstract

This article aims at describing syntactical stylistic devices used in the novel “Jennie Gerhardt” by Theodore Dreiser. This study was conducted using a content analysis method. The novel “Jennie Gerhardt” by Theodore Dreiser was taken as the source of data. Based on the data analysis, the novel uses several types of syntactical stylistic devices, such as repetition, asyndeton, inversion, parallelism, rhetorical question, climax and question in narrative. The syntactical stylistic device mostly used by the writer of the novel “Jennie Gerhardt” is enumeration and the least frequent devices used are climax and chiasmus.

The actuality of an investigated problem in the given research is connected with its insufficient development and importance of a role of stylistics in the modern linguistic world. As many reviews of linguistic literature show, stylistics was considerably often the object of independent researches, whereas to the work of separately taken author (in particularly Theodore Dreiser’s “Jennie Gerhardt”) was almost never given an attention at all. That may be caused by the fact that the novel was one of his earliest works and had much less popularity among readers comparing with his another work “An American Tragedy”.

The aim of our research is to study, define and analyse the syntactical expressive means and stylistic devices found in Theodore Dreiser’s “Jennie Gerhardt”, their role in the formation of the author’s writing style.

Theoretical value of our research is determined by the author’s appeal to the stylistic features of Theodore Dreiser’s work “Jennie Gerhardt”.

The practical value of the research: it may be successfully used in developing the educational and research programs in Lexicology, Stylistics, in the practical course of English, in improving writing skills, for compiling dictionaries for practical language learning and it will lead to a better understanding of English.