Practice Diction Analysis

In Chapter One of The Mezzanine, Nicholson Baker's elegant and flowing elevation, journalistic and descriptive denotation, and slightly sweet musical tone convey the vivid detailing of the narrator's office. Although there is not an emotional tone to the passage, it still presents a brilliant and exact description of the building and its surroundings. His scholarly word choice is depicted through "radians of black luster that ride the undulating outer edge" and the lobby's "towering volumes of marble and glass." His denotation is evident through the descriptions of "the struts and piers" and the "black Penguin paperback and small white CVS bag" which are clearly easy to picture. The mood isn't very uplifting, but the connected words of "sunlight," "glossy," and "shine" help to emphasize the melodious sound that Baker employs.