First They Came Analysis

Authors, although you may not notice at first glance, always have a specific style of writing that effects the tone of their writing. Scott Simon's, "SEVEN DECADES ON," and Martin Niemoller's, " First, They Came," equally show how each's style contributes to the two of their text. Some examples of style that effect tone is sentence structure, vocabulary, and use of irony.

Niemoller and Simon's text both use their own type of sentence structure and vocabulary to add to the tone of their writing, and make their individual tones be unique to their own style of writing. Niemoller uses short, multi-part sentences to stress a big point in a small amount of words. One example of this can be found on lines 4 and 5 of "First they Came...," where it

He also uses this craft to develop his tone on line 1 of the poem, where it states," First they came for the Socialist, and I did not speak out- because I was not a Socialist." Martin likely does this in the poem so the reader can easily comprehend a large experience in a short amount of time and words. Niemoller use's short-precise words to give his tone more of a depressing and reflective feel. Contradictory to Niemoller, Scott Simon's, " SEVEN DECADES ON," use a different type of sentence structure in his style to contribute to his tone. He prefers to use more quotes and longer sentences in his writing. An example of this can be found in paragraph 6 of "SEVEN DECADES ON," where it states, "'...On whose branches little raindrops shine,' she wrote, 'appearing like silver, and at the seagulls as the glide on the wind. While it last, I cannot be unhappy.'" Simon use's quotes like this to farther develop thinking, while giving much detail about what is happening. Simon use's these long detailed quotes from Anne to give his tone a feeling of hope and ambition. The two authors use very different

Both of the authors write their text in the time period of the Holocaust. Niemoller list names of groups that were persecuted during the Nazi Revolution, while Simon is writing about a Holocaust victim. They most likely both mention the time period not only because it contributes to their topic, but to give their tone more of a serious and hopeful ambience. The two writers also both use irony in their styles, although they use different types of irony they both use it to farther develop their text. The poem, "First They Came...," uses dramatic irony to make the reader feel a sense of his regret and to make the reader personally reflect what he experienced. Almost counteractive to Martin, Simon uses situational irony to show the feeling of hope and comfort in his passage. So overall the two-text use time period and irony in very similar ways to contribute to the tone of their