In the book Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds, he uses specific literary devices and techniques that cause this collection of poems to become one cohesive novel to portray the story of a boy struggling with the death of his brother and gun violence in his community. This story changed the way I view living in an inner city community and how that can affect a child’s development and mental state while living in that environment. Reynolds uses imagery to develop a deeper understanding of the death of a child, dramatically displays a child being shot and how our main character views this tragedy, “Her mouth open. Bubble gum and blood” (133). This disturbing piece of imagery establishes our main character’s inner conflict, indicating that Will (main
When we speak of Autobiography, we mean life writing which is considered to be a way to write and tell our own struggles and hardships in our lives. As an example of Autobiography, Lucy Grealy’s “Autobiography of a face” as the protagonist in her book, she is relatable to many Greek Mythical creatures, because of her life experiences, life events and the difficulties she faced. Lucy was born in Dublin, Ireland, her family moved to United States, to New York. She was diagnosed with cancer at the age of 9, which lead to the removal of her jawbone. Her childhood was not the typical childhood you would see in our daily life, it was harsh ,tough, full of insults, and taunts followed by the piercing stares of everyone around her, because of how she looked.
Dad called me in his room and asked me about a paper lying on his desk. It was my drawing that I did in graffiti class at school. My heart was beating fast. I could hear the thumping of it. “I never knew you did such good drawing.”
These stories show how a caregiver of a child can affect nearly every part of their development. The abuse for Dave started at the age of four and it is not clear why every reason his mother would hurt him so, however the reader knows she was suffering from
“Polar Dream” by Helen Thayer is a memoir because it demonstrates the following three elements which are perspective, authenticity, and precise language. In the text, it states “NT hands were blistered clubs and hurt every time I touched something.” This quote shows her perspective is from a first person point of view, because she states what she feels when touching something, and uses words like “I” and “my” to show that it is what she is doing herself. This emphasizes how this is from her point of view. She writes how she feels throughout, making this a personal memoir or experience for her.
In Sherman Alexie’s short story, “War Dances,” the narrator unravels in thoughts and takes us through events in his life. He picks up by speaking about a cockroach that ends up dying in his Kafka baggage from a trip to Los Angeles. The cockroach still appears many times throughout the story. The narrator spends quality time in the hospital with his father, who is recovering from surgery due to diabetes and alcoholism, all along the way while he, himself, discovers he might have a brain tumor, leading his right ear to talk about his father. Using a style of tragedy and care both incorporate together a symbolic story that would make even a plain reader feel touched, leading to the major occurrence of a theme of the importance of family.
His son marries, and the narrator and his wife age further, and the transition into old age is complete with the death of the narrator’s father-in-law. Between these events we can see large shifts in attitudes and ideas, as well as health and well-being. These factors provide clear character evolution within the
Four years ago when Jess was 6 years old, father says drawing is just thing that old ladies in damn school teaches, looking Jess. By portraying Jess getting trauma by his father, the author shows close-minded citizens of Lark Creek, thinking drawing as a girlish thing. In addition, his dad gave him an electric racing car set instead of brushes or sketchbook for Christmas present. Here, the author criticizes father, who kills unusual talent of his
(Rehman, Kazmi, Perveen, 2016). David towards the end of his story began to think that death was the only way he could escape the abuse. David’s story is the story of many other children around the world who suffer from physical, emotional and mental abuse, these children are in search of a light in the darkness for many years and David’s light in the darkness was his father in the beginning of the book but that drastically changed further on.
The Holocaust, death, and sexual identity are three very deep and profound subjects, and the comic medium helps bring these topics to life. No longer is the comic the silly humor on the back of your newspaper. Before comics used to be a form of cheap, low-class art. Spiegelman and Bechdel show that comics are even more complex than the most sophisticated high-class art. The graphic novel is a powerful literary weapon that helps authors explain the complicated and subtle nuances that are crucial to the greater story.
Author’s Crafts The way an author crafts a story strongly impacts the mood of the story. Within the novel, Drums, Girls and Dangerous Pie, the main character - Steven - is a funny, sarcastic 13-year-old, When Jeffrey, his younger brother is diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (A.L.L), his life takes a turn for the worst. However, instead of making the novel gloomy and depressing, Jordan Sonnenblick (the author) incorporated jokes and sarcastic comments into the tale.
Through the three poetically written short stories, “Gwillan’s Harp” by Ursula K. LeGuin, “The Washwoman” by Isaac Bashevis Singer, and “The Last Leaf” by O. Henry, one can obviously observe the difference between characters, plotlines, and writing styles. The single common factor that stands out in all three stories, which causes the reader a great deal of sorrow, questioning, and learning, is loss. It touches each story in an engaging way and grips the heart of the reader in order to teach a thematic message. As loss usually antecedes an ultimate redemption, each short story follows the tragic loss with a moral, and sometimes unexpected conclusion. The descriptive and unique voice of each author not only transports, but transforms the reader, through the three tales of loss.
It was their parent’s genuine love combined with absurd neglect, which empowered the Walls children with the tools to overcome the obstacle of their upbringing. It is because they knew they were loved; that the Walls children, together, transformed their stumbling blocks, created by their parent’s dysfunctionally into stepping stones, and allowed the children to strive and
John Jeremiah Sullivan’s essay, “Feet in Smoke” is a poignant glimpse at life, the human experience, and its frailty. “Feet in Smoke” focuses on an experience that John Jeremiah Sullivan’s brother, Worth, endured. Touching death. The essay utilizes imagery through vivid descriptions and “Feet in Smoke” has a particularly powerful paragraph that uses robotic imagery foremost. This paragraph, and the paragraphs that follow shortly afterwards are the crux of “Feet in Smoke”.
To Suffer or Not to Suffer As human beings, we try to eschew from the suffering and adversities that plague human morality. Nonetheless, society remains drawn to the surplus of tragedies in plays, movies, and literary works. Not only do these works provide an escape from our own hardships, but suffering and tragedy is a significant aspect to the development of human society. Personally, I have experienced my own share of sorrow, trauma, and difficulties in life. While they may not be as severe as those faced by the characters in A Doll’s House and Never Let Me Go, a pervasive theme still manifests in the presence of suffering.
