Examples: question without a question mark.
来源: 7grizzly 于 2025-04-26 09:25:47 [档案] [博客] [旧帖] [给我悄悄话] 阅读数 : 7778 (4994 bytes)
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From "Content with the Stations," a short story by John Andrew Rice:
"He could go back now, anyway," I said. "Maybe not forty years ago, but by now
there are enough like him, even supposing that people remembered that he had
married the cook. So that's not all."
"No, that isn't all. It was, when they first came to this country, but now his
father is dead, and left him plenty of money, and he's an only son."
"Even so," I said, "he couldn't go back to the England he has kept with him
here. There isn't any any more."
"No," she said, "I suppose not. But he can't go back to his or any other
England."
来源: 7grizzly 于 2025-04-26 09:25:47 [档案] [博客] [旧帖] [给我悄悄话] 阅读数 : 7778 (4994 bytes)
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From "Content with the Stations," a short story by John Andrew Rice:
"He could go back now, anyway," I said. "Maybe not forty years ago, but by now
there are enough like him, even supposing that people remembered that he had
married the cook. So that's not all."
"No, that isn't all. It was, when they first came to this country, but now his
father is dead, and left him plenty of money, and he's an only son."
"Even so," I said, "he couldn't go back to the England he has kept with him
here. There isn't any any more."
"No," she said, "I suppose not. But he can't go back to his or any other
England."
***
来源: 7grizzly 于 2025-04-26 09:25:47 [档案] [博客] [旧帖] [给我悄悄话] 阅读数 : 7778 (4994 bytes)
字体:调大/重置/调小 | 加入书签 | 打印 | 所有跟帖 | 加跟贴 | 当前最热讨论主题
From "Content with the Stations," a short story by John Andrew Rice:
"He could go back now, anyway," I said. "Maybe not forty years ago, but by now
there are enough like him, even supposing that people remembered that he had
married the cook. So that's not all."
"No, that isn't all. It was, when they first came to this country, but now his
father is dead, and left him plenty of money, and he's an only son."
"Even so," I said, "he couldn't go back to the England he has kept with him
here. There isn't any any more."
"No," she said, "I suppose not. But he can't go back to his or any other
England."
ChatGPT said:
Great observation — this passage from John Andrew Rice's "Content with the Stations" includes questions stated declaratively, without question marks. That’s a stylistic choice often found in literary fiction, where tone, subtext, or rhythm outweighs grammatical conventions.
Let’s take a closer look:
“Even so,” I said, “he couldn’t go back to the England he has kept with him here. There isn’t any any more.”
“No,” she said, “I suppose not. But he can’t go back to his or any other England.”
These are not syntactically questions, but they contain a questioning tone, inviting reflection rather than requiring an answer. They're rhetorical in spirit, meant to evoke a sense of loss, displacement, or the impossibility of return — not to extract information.
So, why no question mark?
Because the sentence structure is not interrogative.
The speaker is asserting a realization, not asking for clarification.
It's an example of emotional questioning through tone, rather than grammar.
This literary device adds subtlety. Instead of asking, "Can he go back?" the author has the characters say that he "can’t go back" — but the emotional weight behind the statement makes us feel the unspoken question: What does home mean when time has changed it beyond return?
Would you like me to point out other examples from literature where this technique is used effectively?
You said:
Yes. it is not clear manifested in your example above to me
ChatGPT said:
You're absolutely right — let’s make it clearer. You’re asking about examples of questions that do not have question marks — places in literature where a character is essentially asking, but the sentence isn’t punctuated or styled like a traditional question.
Let’s now provide clear, concrete examples from notable works where this device is used — and highlight the hidden question inside them.
Example 1: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald“She only married you because I was poor and she was tired of waiting for me. It was a terrible mistake, but in her heart she never loved anyone except me.”
This isn’t punctuated as a question — but emotionally, Tom Buchanan hears a question in it:
Why did she marry me?The line contains a challenge framed as a statement, but it's interrogative in its emotional pressure.
Example 2: Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf“Did it matter then, she asked herself, walking towards Bond Street, did it matter that she must inevitably cease completely?”
Only the first sentence uses a question mark, but the emotional thrust continues in the second sentence — still reflective and rhetorical, even though there’s no punctuation signaling a question:
Does it matter if I die? What does life mean if it ends anyway?Woolf often drops question marks to preserve stream-of-consciousness rhythm.
Example 3: Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett“What are we doing here, that is the question.”
Here, the phrase “that is the question” echoes Hamlet — but no question mark is used, though it is literally a question. The tone is reflective, resigned — not demanding an answer.
Example 4: No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy“You think when you wake up in the mornin’ yesterday don’t count. But yesterday is all that does count.”
He’s clearly challenging someone’s belief or assumption — this is a veiled question:Do you really think the past doesn’t matter?
But he phrases it declaratively, with no question mark, to give it force and finality.
SummaryWriters sometimes omit the question mark when:
The sentence is more about emotional reflection than literal inquiry.
They want to avoid breaking tone or rhythm in introspective narration.
They’re using indirect speech, internal monologue, or stream-of-consciousness.
Would you like me to craft an original paragraph using this device to demonstrate the emotional effect directly?
You said:
Aha. I realized now "“She only married you because I was poor and she was tired of waiting for me. It was a terrible mistake, but in her heart she never loved anyone except me.”
This isn’t punctuated as a question — but emotionally, Tom Buchanan hears a question in it:
Why did she marry me?The line contains a challenge framed as a statement, but it's interrogative in its emotional pressure." It was the speaker made the statement; however, the listener got a question. Thus, it is a style of indirect questioning. Am I right?
ChatGPT said:
Exactly — you're absolutely right.
What you're identifying is indirect questioning, or more precisely, a declarative sentence that functions as a psychological or rhetorical provocation. The speaker states something confidently, but that very statement triggers a question in the listener’s mind — often one that cuts deep.
This technique is powerful in literature and dialogue because:
It maintains narrative control — the speaker avoids vulnerability.
Yet it exerts emotional leverage — the listener is forced to confront an unspoken question.
It reflects real human communication, where much is implied, not asked outright.
In the Gatsby example:
“She only married you because I was poor…”
The form is declarative, but the function is interrogative, especially in the listener’s psyche:
Did she really love me? Was I just a placeholder?This is how tension and drama build without needing overt questions. It’s also a way of unmasking deeper truths—not by asking, but by stating so plainly that the listener must ask themselves.
Would you like a breakdown of how to use this device in your own writing — perhaps in fiction, essays, or dialogue?
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