In the nonfiction novel, “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil,” American author, John Berendt, gives his account of a 1981 murder case that took place in Savannah, Georgia. Even though during the 1980s, United States as a whole is heading towards prosperity as the Cold War ends in 1981, he repeatedly touches back on the undercurrent southern racism. Berendt draws a vivid picture of Southern Gothic weirdness to convey, using real life occurrences and characters, the idea of what kind of people exist in the community to readers of all places. The writer uses rhetorical devices such as description, foreshadowing, and dysphemism to successfully depict the occurrences in suspenseful yet humorous tone.
The use of description really brings the
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Quoting Jim Williams, “If there’s a single trait common to all Savannahians,”... “it’s their love of money and their unwillingness to spend it.”(Chapter 1 Pages 9-10) It gives a general mindset of the society from a character who hints a future conflict that involves money. The relationship between Jim and Danny is actually very obvious, Jim states “This is not the first time something like this happened… He’ll be charming and sweet-natured... ‘I’m calling from the jailhouse…I think Danny is improving a little”(Chapter 1, Page 19-20) It clearly proves that William and Danny is too familiar for a part-timer refinishing furniture to storm in and out of the house, shooting a German Luger, and calling William of all people to get him out of jail every time. Another statement from Williams explaining his parties, “ The second… for gentlemen only.” also hints at his interest without the public nor the reader knowing. Berendt uses transitions at the beginning of a new chapter to connect to his last sentence of the preview chapter. In this way, the last sentence of each chapter leaves a foreshadowing effect on the reader when they catch