Examples Of Syntax In The Scarlet Pimpernel

Makaylee Roylance
Honors English II
Ms. Lovelace
2 December 2016
The Scarlet Pimpernel, by Baroness Orczy, is a book that has been loved and revered for more than a century since its original publishing in 1905. This book is set in the year 1792 amid the Reign of Terror in which aristocrats are getting slaughtered daily by guillotine. The Scarlet Pimpernel and his band of followers are out to save them. From the perspective of Lady Blakeney, a great struggle between the mysterious Scarlet Pimpernel and Chauvelin, a french agent, is revealed. Orczy wrote using excellent foreshadowing and syntax, but at times there was poor plot development.
Orczy used foreshadowing throughout her story predominantly to hint at who the scarlet pimpernel is.

In the very first chapter the author tells that the Scarlet Pimpernel is the master of disguise. Not a page later there is an old woman loudly proclaiming that her son has the plague. The instant she says that everyone is hurrying her out of the city as fast as possible. This was foreshadowing that the old hag was actually the scarlet pimpernel making an escape with a family of aristocrats. A few chapters later, Chauvelin gains the knowledge that the Scarlet Pimpernel will be in at a party in a dining room at one o'clock. When he enters the dining room the only person inside is Lord Blakeney sleeping. Chauvelin would never suspect Lord Blakeney, for he was widely known as a very inane and dull-minded man; However, this was just foreshadowing that the Scarlet Pimpernel's identity was Lord Blakeney who had hidden his true ingenuity and cleverness.
The overall plot and storyline was good, but at times the plot development was not good. From the beginning of the book Lady Blakeney was forced to betray the Scarlet pimpernel, who she did not know was her husband. One would expect some major complications to come up that the characters would have to work through, but there were only very minor complications to lord Blakeney's plan and everything went as expected despite Lady Blakeney's major mistake. There were also many things that just so happened to occur that took away the suspense and helped the Scarlet Pimpernel to save the men. One instance of this occurred when Chauvelin was about to get on his boat in pursuit of Lord Blakeney, a strong storm picks up, which causes Chauvelin to be stuck on England's shore while Lord Blakeney sails on to France.Aside from these issues, there was never any major climax. Throughout the last few chapters of "The Scarlet Pimpernel," Orczy seemed to be building up for some big conflict between Lord Blakeney and Chauvelin. Instead, the Scarlet Pimpernel tricks the french agent into avoiding any struggle between the two of them. This was an underwhelming climax and resolution after all the build-up beforehand.
The syntax, much like the foreshadowing, was of very high quality.

Each word appeared to be carefully thought out and considered. Orczy used many literary devices such as metaphors and personification, and she always had excellent sentence structure. These were all demonstrated when she wrote: "He made her eyes glow with enthusiasm by telling her of his bravery, his ingenuity, his resourcefulness, when it meant snatching the lives of men, women, and even children from beneath the very edge of that murderous, ever-ready guillotine" (p.166-167). She also had skillful use of adjectives and adverbs, which she often used to build suspense. This can be seen in words and phrases like "even children," "very edge," and "murderous, ever-ready guillotine" (p.167). These literary devices and writing techniques give "The Scarlet Pimpernel" a very sophisticated and mature feeling.
In "The Scarlet Pimpernel" Orczy wrote with great foreshadowing and syntax but sometimes her plot development lacked. This book was well-written and enjoyable to read, and it would be best for young adults and teenagers with a high reading level. This is because "The Scarlet Pimpernel" was not usually fast-paced and the writing was very mature and old, which can take time to get accustomed to. Though this book is not for everyone, overall it is very

good.