Good Sentences

What is a good sentence? How do we know one when we see one? What can we learn from good sentences? Can we become better readers and writers by stopping occasionally to notice sentences and to examine them? We address these questions here by examining sentences from all types of sources.

Today we finally get back to the business of reviewing sentences. As the end of a semester approaches, the list of things to do seems to grow exponentially, and we can easily lose focus of what we have started and what we need to continue. Life does not end with the closing of another semester however. Learning goes on beyond the walls of the classroom as it always has and as it always should. These sentences I need to continue. And today’s sentence is one I had in mind a long time ago when I first started thinking about doing this. With only five other sentences preceding it, the route to this sentence has been direct. Today’s sentence comes from Frederick Douglass, specifically from Chapter 4 of his Narrative of the Life of a Slave. To which of the first five sentences does this one relate? And how does it relate exactly?

Sentence 6: To be accused was to be convicted, and to be convicted was to be punished; the one always following the other with immutable certainty. (Douglass, Chapter 4)

There are some fascinating aspects of this sentence, and it opens a window into the ability Frederick Douglass had with the English language in spite of his early life and as a result of his persistent effort to learn to read and write. Such an ability most people can only dream about.

The first independent clause in this sentence deserves serious examination and appreciation: “To be accused was to be convicted.” The grammatical balance of the clause provides an immediate impression. Only someone who thoroughly enjoyed constructing sentences would construct one like this. The rest of us can only marvel at the construction. This is the same basic structure as Stephen King’s “Writing is refined thinking” (see Sentence 3), in that Frederick Douglass’s sentence also forms the SVC pattern, but with different elements making up the subject and the complement.

In the first independent clause in Sentence 6, we find an infinitive that functions as the subject (“To be accused”) and another infinitive that functions as a complement of the first (“to be convicted”). The verb in this clause (“was”) acts as the equals sign for the equation the words create: “To be accused” = “to be convicted.” If this weren’t nice enough, the infinitives appear in the passive voice. Hence, “be” appears in each.

This can be an opportunity for an aside. Infinitives are formed by putting together the preposition “to” and the base form of a verb. For example, “to give,” “to discover,” and “to enjoy” are all infinitives.  In addition, infinitives come from verbs but function in sentences as nouns function. Consider the function of infinitives in each of the following examples.

(a) To give your time is really generous.

(b) His goal is to discover a cure for that disease.

(c) I wanted to enjoy the movie.

In these examples, the infinitives function as nouns. In the first example, the infinitive “To give” functions as the subject of the verb “is.” In the second, the infinitive “to discover” functions as a complement of the subject “goal.” In the third example, the infinitive “to enjoy” functions as an object of the verb “wanted.” These are all common functions of infinitives in English sentences. Now we move back to Frederick Douglass.

The nice structure and fine grammatical balance we find in the first independent clause in Sentence 6 also appears in the second independent clause: “to be convicted was to be punished” (Douglass, Chapter 4). Once again, mirroring the structure of the first independent clause, one infinitive functions as the subject of the clause while another functions as a complement of the subject.  In other words, infinitives make up both sides of the equation the words form. To further mirror the first independent clause, both infinitives in the second independent clause appear in the passive voice. Hence, “to be convicted” functions as the subject of the second independent clause while “to be punished” functions as a complement of the subject. The repetition and symmetry of the structures of these two clauses ring poetic. 

We’ve not quite finished yet as more of the sentence remains for us to consider. Immediately following the last word of the second independent clause is a semicolon (“;”), and following that we find “the one always following the other with immutable certainty.” In academic writing, what often follows a semicolon is another independent clause. In this case, what follows the semicolon does not have its own subject-verb combination, so we do not consider it a clause. Groups of words that function as one unit that do not have their own subject-verb combinations are phrases. So, what we find following the semicolon in this sentence is a phrase. What follows the semicolon reinforces what appears before it. In other words, with this phrase, Frederick Douglass states that for slaves conviction always followed accusation, and punishment always followed conviction.

Sentence 6: To be accused was to be convicted, and to be convicted was to be punished; the one always following the other with immutable certainty.

In other words, with the phrase that appears after the semicolon, Frederick Douglass reinforces the point that being convicted always followed being accused, and that being punished always followed being convicted.  Therefore, being accused was the same as being punished. As we recall the world that he describes, slaves had no recourse if their owner or another slaveholder accused them of something. Most assuredly they were punished as a result. This fine writing is a firm reminder of what for slaves was a grim truth: accusation led to conviction, which in turn led to punishment. They could not interrupt or amend the process in any way. Theirs was not a role that could effect any change; theirs was a role of doing as they were told. If that doing entailed being punished, then they were punished.

This is an example of fine writing by a fine author. Look into Frederick Douglass’s work for numerous examples of outstanding sentence making.

References

Douglass, F. Narrative of the Life of a Slave. Retrieved 3 May 2005 from World Wide Web: http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/Literature/Douglass/Autobiography/04.html  

posted by: sentenceguy at 07:39 | link | comments |

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