"His eyes were very dark brown and there was a hint of brown pigment in his eyeballs. His cheek bones were high and wide, and strong deep lines cut down his cheeks, in curves beside his mouth. His upper lip was long, and since his teeth protruded, the lips stretched to cover them, for this man kept his lips closed. His hands were hard, with broad fingers and nails as thick and ridged as little clam shells." (Steinbeck 6).
The phrase "his" something is repeated. The purpose of this repetition is divided into three groups. First of all, Steinbeck uses this as an intro to the transformation that Tom goes through, changing from a very self-oriented person to a worldly man. This repetition serves to function the great attachment Tom had to his physical self. Secondly, the repetition also serves the emphasize his gender, creating a theme of gender roles that later appears in the text. Lastly, it plainly shows the type of simple man Tom is.
A big theme in the text are that of transcendentalism. Tom plays out a classic transformation. At first he is unaware of the "truth" of the universe, and as he is exposed to the way life that people are really living, he learns of the way things are run. The application of the repetition is a device used to show how Tom was in the beginning. The constant use of a possessive pronoun shows how Tom really identified with his personal self, allowing himself to feel detached from everyone else, and not a noticeable attachment to the Over soul.
Similar repetition is later used to show how Tom has changed, however this is not in this section.
A not as important function of the repetition is the introduction on gender roles. The masculinity of the repeated pronoun "his" is used to show the big emphasis on the male gender at the time. Also used to emphasize the change when the gender roles are flipped in times of necessity, as people become more in tune with their common man.
A plain way of stating the facts that are describing Tom shows the type of person Tom is. A simple format of information implies a simple person to begin with. These parallels are emphasized with the use of repetition. The lack of hard evidence for this statement introduces the possibility that the basic way of stating the facts is used to show the non-emotional characteristic of one's physical appearance. Because is in not emotionally attached to his self, he cannot act in a selfish manner, but this is contradictory to previous insights.
Very insightful reading and explanation of the repetition. Well done.
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