Analysis Of The Seven Husbands Of Evelyn Hugo

How could a novel written centuries ago be relatable for teenagers of the 21st century? Although the far history has its fair share of wondrous writings, most notably being William Shakespeare’s plays, there is no benefit for students to bore themselves in a story that they find has no relevance. Instead, there are far more benefits in a story that not only has great literary value, but relevance that enables students to make connections to their life. In The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, the author, Taylor Jenkins Reid, writes an authentic and relatable novel for youth, while not compensating for its literary merit. Thus, the book The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo deserves to be read by high school students in an English course because of

To demonstrate, when Evelyn recounts her experiences with men, she explains, “[there] are people who see a beautiful flower and rush over to pick it. They want to hold it in their hands, they want to own it. They want the flower’s beauty to be theirs, to be within their possession, their control” (Reid 105-106). In this quote, Reid selects words such as “hold” and “own” that employ the literary device of tactile imagery; they compel readers to visualize Evelyn as a commodity that can be “within their possession”. In doing so, Reid’s use of imagery is excellent for students to analyze, as it challenges readers to more intimately imagine the objectification Evelyn has endured through her description of the flower, and explore how it influenced Evelyn’s character, mistakes, and negatively impacted her friends and family. Furthermore, the quote also challenges readers to think metaphorically. Within the quote, Evelyn compares how men treat her to a “beautiful flower” that “they want to own”. Likewise with tactile imagery, this metaphor emphasizes the dehumanization that Evelyn faces as a result of her ‘vixen-like’ appearance, and is rather seen as a product to be owned—like the flower. This metaphor is important for students to interpret because of its relevance to 21st century issues of women being objectified. In fact, the combination of tactile imagery and the metaphor truly puts the reader into the perspective of how it feels to be an objectified woman. Further, it allows readers to easily empathize with Evelyn, and other women who undergo the same injustice. Thereby, due to the unique combination of tactile imagery and metaphor that enables students to connect to 21st century issues, The Seven Husbands Of Evelyn Hugo deserves to be analyzed in an English