The Perfect Storm: One Red Pen's Fury
Below is my assignment, a response to the novel we must read for English. My only regret is that this may mortally offend my instructor since she clearly holds the novel in high esteem.
The Perfect Storm Response
“Anything in direct quotes was recorded by me in a formal interview, either in person or on the telephone, and was altered as little as possible for grammar and clarity. All dialogue is based on the recollection of people who are still alive, and appears in dialogue form without quotation marks.” [Junger, XIV]
Sebastian Junger’s method of distinction between interview quotes and recollected dialogue fundamentally flaws his grammar in “The Perfect Storm.” If all dialogue is really based on the recollection of persons still alive, then in essence all dialogue was recorded by the author “in a formal interview, either in person or on the telephone,” at one time or another and the distinction is superfluous. The conflict in The Green Tavern that introduces Mary Anne to the reader is an early example of the author’s failure to communicate well with the reader. The lack of verbal signifiers leaves entire sentences inappropriately punctuated and waters down the dialogue to imperceptibly blend in with its supporting text. Junger’s negligence also dissolves the distinction between interacting persons, so several conversations are open for misinterpretation as the subject’s thoughts or a monologue.
There is a clear alternative to disregarding quotation marks when defining dialogue, italics. The use of italics targets text for the reader’s benefit and communicates the author’s silent notation without interfering with the basic rules of punctuation. The result is a seamless conversation between the storyteller and reader. The author’s attempt to convey journalistic attention to detail is noted, however, the result of this muddled method leads to one of two conclusions. The grammatically fatal decision to forgo quotation marks is either Sebastian Junger’s vain attempt at novelty or a painful display of ignorance.
This example is verbatim.
…She’s a tall blond who inspires crushes in the teenaged sons of some of her friends, but there’s a certain no-nonsense air about her that has always kept Bobby on his toes. Oh shit, here she comes, he whispers.
He hides his beer behind his arm and pulls the sunglasses down over his black eye. Mary Anne walks up. What do you think I am, stupid? she asks. Bobby pulls the beer out from hiding. She looks at his eye. Nice one, she says.
I was in a riff downtown.
Right.
Someone buys her a wine cooler and she takes a couple of sips. I just came to make sure you were getting on the boat, she says. You shouldn’t be drinking so early in the day.
-“The Perfect Storm” by Sebastian Junger
The Perfect Storm Response
“Anything in direct quotes was recorded by me in a formal interview, either in person or on the telephone, and was altered as little as possible for grammar and clarity. All dialogue is based on the recollection of people who are still alive, and appears in dialogue form without quotation marks.” [Junger, XIV]
Sebastian Junger’s method of distinction between interview quotes and recollected dialogue fundamentally flaws his grammar in “The Perfect Storm.” If all dialogue is really based on the recollection of persons still alive, then in essence all dialogue was recorded by the author “in a formal interview, either in person or on the telephone,” at one time or another and the distinction is superfluous. The conflict in The Green Tavern that introduces Mary Anne to the reader is an early example of the author’s failure to communicate well with the reader. The lack of verbal signifiers leaves entire sentences inappropriately punctuated and waters down the dialogue to imperceptibly blend in with its supporting text. Junger’s negligence also dissolves the distinction between interacting persons, so several conversations are open for misinterpretation as the subject’s thoughts or a monologue.
There is a clear alternative to disregarding quotation marks when defining dialogue, italics. The use of italics targets text for the reader’s benefit and communicates the author’s silent notation without interfering with the basic rules of punctuation. The result is a seamless conversation between the storyteller and reader. The author’s attempt to convey journalistic attention to detail is noted, however, the result of this muddled method leads to one of two conclusions. The grammatically fatal decision to forgo quotation marks is either Sebastian Junger’s vain attempt at novelty or a painful display of ignorance.
This example is verbatim.
…She’s a tall blond who inspires crushes in the teenaged sons of some of her friends, but there’s a certain no-nonsense air about her that has always kept Bobby on his toes. Oh shit, here she comes, he whispers.
He hides his beer behind his arm and pulls the sunglasses down over his black eye. Mary Anne walks up. What do you think I am, stupid? she asks. Bobby pulls the beer out from hiding. She looks at his eye. Nice one, she says.
I was in a riff downtown.
Right.
Someone buys her a wine cooler and she takes a couple of sips. I just came to make sure you were getting on the boat, she says. You shouldn’t be drinking so early in the day.
-“The Perfect Storm” by Sebastian Junger