Every Man For Himself Analysis

In Beryl Bainbridge’s Every Man for Himself, Bainbridge integrates lengthy sentences and other elongating techniques such as commas with elevated diction to reveal the narrator’s ideas more thoroughly by adding vivid imagery.

Bainbridge selects to use lengthy sentences rather than short, choppy ones because this combined with the narrative style of this novel allows the words to flow like the thoughts of any person would. This makes the writing seem more real and the thoughts of the narrator more genuine. Not only does this pacing give Morgan, the narrator, a streaming flow of thoughts but it also allows Morgan to be more descriptive as he reflects back to disturbing past memories to give the reader  vivid images of what still haunt him in the form of nightmares. “Sometimes when the dream had been really bad, Sissy would push up the balcony window telling me to suck in the night air, and those times I stopped breathing altogether , for when I looked down at the gas-lit street it had sunk beneath the sluggish waters of a canal (Bainbridge 29).” Bainbridge allows Morgan to complete his thoughts without being interrupted. When people are usually thinking about something or reflecting on past memories, their thoughts are usually continuous and this type of sentence length provides that.

Bainbridge style of diction isn’t specific to just one. She uses elevated diction in the midst colloquial diction for the purpose of a complex development to the speaker. Also, this helps draw attention to the specific word that is elevated. Instead of using words such as harsh noises, Bainbridge uses “cacophony” and instead of an item being thrown, she uses “hurled”. This instantly draws the attention of the reader to that sentence. This style of diction helps the overall character development of Morgan as it adds more of a complex aspect to his thoughts. These thoughts are what help set the tone for the passage. By using a specific diction and the descriptive style of this narrative – such as “a sudden gust of wind shook the trees in the gardens and a prolonged echoed along the streets (Bainbridge 30)-”a serious and almost terrifying tone is established.

Through these developments of sentence structure and diction for the purpose of creating detailed descriptions, Bainbridge is able to express the narrator’s complex thinking as he deals with his past.