Throughout the review, Marvin uses diction that is both positive and negative. This use of balanced ideas helps create a neutral tone and allows him to give constructive criticism. He uses positive diction to tell the readers what Vonnegut did well. He states in his review, "Mixing fact and fantasy and jumping around in time allow Vonnegut to overcome another obstacle to telling his story: 'There is nothing intelligent to say about a massacre.'" Here, Marvin tells his audience that Vonnegut's use of these tools helped him get one of his main points across. His use of words such as "mixing," "allow," and "overcome" give readers a sense that Vonnegut's novel is well-written and elaborated. Along with this positive diction, however, Marvin also uses pessimistic diction to express what he feels Vonnegut should do better or what he does not like about the novel. When Vonnegut introduces the character Paul Lazzaro, Marvin feels that this character could make Vonnegut's audience not recognize one of his points. He states, "For Lazarro, revenge is a personal matter, so he is not especially pleased by the destruction of Dresden. Because Vonnegut mentions this, readers are reminded that one of the motives for bombing Dresden was revenge for German bombing raids on England. Lazarro makes the concept of revenge so unattractive that readers are unlikely to accept it as a justification for the destruction of Dresden." The word "unattractive" gives off a negative mood and therefore persuades Marvin's readers into believing what he is saying. Because Marvin uses these negative words, readers are going to believe Marvin instead of creating their own opinions on this situation. Marvin uses both optimistic and pessimistic diction throughout his analysis. The diction used helps him persuade his audience into believing him and it allows him to create a balanced, neutral tone.
Marvin also uses a great deal of syntax in his criticism. The main tool of syntax he uses are commas. His use of commas allows him to elaborate on his review and he can add more information. This extra information gives readers more to work with, especially if they have never read the novel before. In his analysis, Marvin states, "This is certainly a good description of Billy Pilgrim, the novel's protagonist, or main character." His use of commas affect this sentence in a great deal. The first comma allows readers to see who Billy Pilgrim is and the second commas adds mroe to that. It lets readers know what a protagonist is, a main character, and it adds to the description of Billy Pilgrim. Marvin's use of commas effects his criticism in a major way. They allow him to elaborate on his postive and negative ideas and he can add more information on the characters when needed.
In Marvin's critical review of Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-Five, he uses literary tools to establish his point of view. His diction balances out his ideas with the use of both positive and negative words. A neutral tone is created by this use of diction. His comma usage gives him the opportunity to elaborate on his views and he can give more information about the characters to his readers. His critical analysis is extremely well-balanced with pros and cons of Vonnegut's novel, and it is that much more effective because of it.
