Analysis of the Excerpt Place of Sorrows from On the Road with Charles Kuralt

In the excerpt “Place of Sorrows” from On the Road with Charles Kuralt, by Charles Kuralt, there it explains the battle of Little Big Horn and all the unfortunate event that lay there during it. Three main literary styles used in this excerpt are diction, syntax, and organization. The name of this excerpt shows that it will be saddening and sorrowful type of story.

The author uses sorrowful diction that contributes to the saddening tone of the excerpt. Such as, “defending a nameless brown hill.” This quote shows that the location got its name, Little Big Horn and Greasy Grass although at the time it had no name at all. Another example of this type of diction is, “there is melancholy in the wind and sorrow in the grass and the river weeps.” The quote exhibit’s the intense description of activities that were executed during the battle of Little Big Horn. The author uses many other examples but none were more important than two.

The organization of this excerpt is mainly in chronological order. It is from start to the end of the battle, which shows why he chose to use this organization. It show the details in a way that it can be best understandable. Throughout the excerpt the focus changed from explaining what happened to the aftermath.

The syntax of the excerpt is exceptionally important to what the author is tryimg to portray. The ideas that show visual picture are in long statements such as, “When at last Custer brought his two hundred…a thousand mounted warriors coming straight for him.” Another long explanation is what happened to Reno’s men and another later in the section, part that has ideas on what happened when the Army returned to the Indians’ land. A very important piece is the repetition of the terms wind, grass, and river in the beginning and end of the entire excerpt.

In conclusion the excerpt of “Place of Sorrows” there are many key factors of this great text using the diction, organization, and most importantly the syntax of the whole excerpt. Also as been proven here the most powerful sentence of the excerpt is “There is melancholy in the wind and sorrow in the grass and the river weeps.