It's All About The Wordplay

Why would Capote narrate so thoroughly and give so many details in a chapter titled "The Last Who Saw Them Alive?" Exactly because they were the last people who saw those six who we know will die, before they do. The long sentences, syntax, and specific descriptions, the way the author writes, supports what Capote is showing.

The word choice is also specific. The words he uses and order in which he places them makes me consider his sentences different from how most people today speak. I question myself whether it is a certain accent from Ohio, the sentence construction from 1966, or just Capote's style. Some of the words he included that I didn't understand were:

Austere: strict or severe appearance

Gewgaws: worthless, showy things

Mongrel: dog without a particular breed

These I wrote down without research because I remember from my job as a Lexicologist. I'll just give myself a pat on the back.

Tidings: announcements

Hued: color or shade

Keening: wail in grief for a dead person

Scuttling: Run hurriedly or furtively with short quick steps

I actually think these last two words sound mysterious... somebody keening means somebody has died and any person scuttling could be a suspect... hmm.

Lastly and severely out of topic, I found a reference to Gulliver's Travels, which I remember from the multiple choice test I took last week, on page 26: "Presently, more calmly, Mrs. Clutter asked, "Do you like miniature things? Tiny things? " and invited JOlene into the dining room to inspect the shelves of whatnot on which were arranged assorted Lilliputian gewgaws..."

Last thing, I promise. It's funny that Mrs. Clutter, who is a wreck of a person and owns a collection of mismatched things, has a last name that is defined as "a collection of things lying around in an untidy mess." It's all about the wordplay.