ipl-logo

Syntax, Imagery And Other Literary Devices Used In The Devil's Highway

498 Words2 Pages

Jackson Messling MannyBrown English 12 5 April 2024 Power, Persuasion and Beauty Response The use of specific syntax, imagery and other literary devices is what pulls together a well written story and turns it into a more refined piece of text that allows the author to separate their piece of writing from others that may share a similar plot. Luis Alberto Urrea, did a great job of using these tools of writing to his advantage to make The Devil's Highway a much more enjoyable way to learn of the struggles many face when attempting to cross the United States border. Knowing how and when to use a literary device is crucial to creating flow in one’s writing, something which certainly isn't missed on in The Devil’s Highway. Urrea uses a spectrum …show more content…

Proteins peel off your dying muscles. Chunks of cooked meat fall out of your organs, clogging your other organs. The system closes down in a series. Your kidneys, your bladder, your heart. They jam shut down. Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop. Your brain sparks a lot. Out. I am a snob. You’re going to be gone. And the men headed deeper into the desert” (128). Something this passage does well is it takes what is a very gruesome and somewhat hard to stomach piece of writing, and smoothly ties it into the story. What helps create this flawless transition is the structure of the paragraph itself. It begins by describing the brutal reality of what happens to your body when making the journey across the desert. Through strong imagery and descriptions, the thought of the severity of the situation continues to build in your mind until it eventually sets in. Directly following these strong descriptions comes a short yet equally powerful conclusion, ”And the men headed deeper into the desert”. Due to syntax, this sentence is pushed to the end to show that this is a common fate that many meet when attempting to cross the desert and that there is nothing the walkers can do but continue

Show More
Related
739 Words | 3 Pages

In the late 1800s the Chicago World’s Fair was well on its way to becoming a modern marvel of the time, little did the fairgoers know that both good and a great evil lurked among them. The Devil in the White City is a historical nonfiction book written by Erik Larson, within it there lies two stories of two very different men. The tale of good follows the life of a young architect whose goal is to make an impact on the world. How will he accomplish this? By making the, “legendary 1893 World’s Fair”.

Read More
785 Words | 4 Pages

The Devil’s Highway is a book authored by Luis Alberto Urrea. Urrea is a journalist, poet and American ward-winning writer. This book features a true story on the Mexican’s migration into the U.S. The book narrates a tragic story that starts in the May of 2001 as a group consisting of 26 men tried to cross the Mexican border into the United States to seek for job opportunities in America (Urrea, 2008). Those men started their journey and enterd the Arizona desert where they endure the travel through a deadly region in North America known as the Devils Highway.

Read More
458 Words | 2 Pages

In Washington Irving's story "The Devil and Tom Walker," the narrator Geoffrey Crayon personifies both the romantic aspect of the poem's nature which is gloomy but has romantic qualities and the devil, who is evil and dark. Mid-nineteenth-century Transcendentalism sparked the development of Dark Romanticism as a reaction. Dark Romanticism has a strong emphasis on the supernatural, on dark decaying environments and animals, and on evil characters that are prone to committing sins that will ultimately lead to their own demise. The presence of the supernatural is the first aspect of Dark Romanticism that Irving included in "The Devil and Tom Walker. " The story as a whole shows evidence of the supernatural, but one phrase in particular stood

Read More
295 Words | 2 Pages

Washington Irving was the author of “The Devil and Tom Walker”, in his early life he began to study to be a lawyer, but soon falling away from that finding he had more interest in traveling and writing. Irving’s work including, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” and “Rip Van Winkle”, became known as an important part of American heritage today. The setting was in New England, the year 1727, just at the time that earthquakes were prevaled. Around the area of where Tom Walker had lived with his wife, Tom had found an old Indian fort which he chose to rest at on his way homeward. The main characters in “The Devil and Tom Walker” are obviously the Devil, “a great black man...neither Negro nor Indian” and Tom Walker who was a “miserly fellow”.

Read More
440 Words | 2 Pages

The short story “The Devil and Tom Walker” by Washington Irving was a story based on Gothic Romanticism. Gothic Romanticism is a story written with horror and death with a magistical suspense. The Devil and Tom Walker has many characteristic pertaining gothic romanticism. The setting is medieval in a way that relates to gothic romanticism. The setting of the story “The Devil and Tom Walker “is described as a thick wooded swamp where there is a deep inlet that has two sides to it.

Read More
742 Words | 3 Pages

Humans rarely change their ways; they stay in their own worlds and always interact with the same types of people. Unfortunately, this habit often creates unseen barriers that divide and alienate human beings from one another. In Luis Alberto Urrea’s book The Devil’s Highway, Urrea provides a personal perspective to immigration by telling the story of 26 illegal immigrants, known as the Wellton 26, who are abandoned as they cross the Mexico-U.S. border. Through their story, Urrea proves there are invisible borders among people that create prejudice, such as language, ethnicity, and economic status. By reading The Devil’s Highway, it is clear that these barriers must be broken down to ensure harmony within society.

Read More
336 Words | 2 Pages

In the short story titled The Devil And Tom Walker,Washington Irving explains that no matter how hard life is going to never sell our soul. For instance, Tom wanted to save his wife but in ordinary to save her Tom had to sell his soul. Irving’s asserts that walker had to sell his store to save his wife from dying. The author’s purpose is to convince that the audience should should never sell their soul no matter the situation. The author writes in an serious tone for the audience to realize that selling out isn’t the right thing to do.

Read More
870 Words | 4 Pages

Erik Larson writes “Beneath the gore and smoke and loom, this book is about the evanescence of life, and why some men choose to fill their brief allotment of time engaging in the impossible, others in the manufacture of sorrow”(Larson xi). In the book The Devil and the White City, Erik Larson tells a story of 2 very determined men, Daniel Burnham and H. Holmes, using their talents and determination to create good results, but also bad results; one being a very successful and good spirited architect, the other being a witty evil serial killer. It reveals how in every good act or intention, there is some kind of evil, and also the other way around. Erik Larson explores the underlying difference between good and evil, while telling 2 tales of Daniel Burnham, and Henry H. Holmes Daniel Burnham and Henry H. Holmes are alike in many ways, as explored throughout the novel. Both of these men used their determination and skills to accomplish many things, good or bad.

Read More
365 Words | 2 Pages

Nature was introduced in romantic novels and poems. In the poem ‘’Thanatopisis’’ by William Cullen Bryant he described death to something that was peaceful and to be embraced. He believed that you become one with nature, one with earth once you die. But in the poem ‘’Devil and Tom Walker’’ by Washington Irving he described death to be evil, sinful. He believed death to horrifying and something to not be embraced.

Read More
794 Words | 4 Pages

“The Devil and Tom Walker” and “The Devil and Daniel Webster”-- these Faust legends tell stories of ordinary men with thirsts for wealth and luck only in exchange for their very souls. Both were written in different time periods, where certain events and happenings influenced each of the stories and their conflicts. Washington Irving wrote “The Devil and Tom Walker” during a time of economic boom (1824). Stephen Vincent Benet wrote “The Devil and Daniel Webster” during a time of economic depression (1937). Despite the stories’ titles, both have different resolutions, depictions of the devil, and saving graces in the end.

Read More
685 Words | 3 Pages

Julia’s Methods Throughout history, the people who make the biggest difference are the ones with the guts to stick up for what they believe. The people who are unorthodox are the very people who help bring about change in an unjust society. In George Orwell’s book, 1984, Julia is presented as an unorthodox character through her various behaviors she displays throughout the book, including her interest in Winston, her secret hatred of the party, and her numerous affairs with Party members. Julia and Winston’s secret love affair was an act of outright rebellion against Big Brother. “When you make love you’re using up energy; and afterwards you feel happy and don’t give a damn for anything.

Read More
630 Words | 3 Pages

Throughout history, humans have always been afraid of anything and anyone unlike their culture. Even in the twenty-first century, there is heated debate surrounding illegal immigration in America; some believe that illegal immigrants from Mexico are stealing jobs and harming the economy. These irrational fears are discussed in Luis Alberto Urrea’s book, “The Devil’s Highway,” which tells the true story of 26 illegal immigrants who are abandoned after crossing the U.S. border. Through this true story, Urrea shows the mistreatment of illegal immigrants, and his use of historical examples reveals that immigrants have always been subject to prejudice and persecution in the United States.

Read More
596 Words | 3 Pages

In The Road, Cormac McCarthy uses figurative language, to demonstrate the difference in the people’s decisions and values when compared to the real world. The survivors of the apocalypse, including the father all had to undergo a series of radical changes in order to adapt and survive in the new world. When the father enters the house, where the people are kept for food, not only does he see naked people both male and female but also a man with his leg cut off. McCarthy writes, “On the mattress lay a man with his legs gone to the hip and stumps of them blackened and burnt” (McCarthy 110).

Read More
876 Words | 4 Pages

Superior writers use a vast number of well-used elements. It is key to use exceptional elements if you thrive to be a great writer. An example of a writer with higher-level elements is Ray Bradbury. Bradbury has a famous short story called "The Pedestrian. "

Read More
1010 Words | 5 Pages

The poem, “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost states that in life we come upon many decisions, and there are points where we have to let fate take the lead. “The Road Not Taken” uses two paths as a symbol of a life decision. To understand this poem you have to have understanding of life’s meaning. The author helps us better understand the message by his use of tone and literary devices such as metaphors and symbolism. In this poem we come to realize that life is a combination of decisions and fate.

Read More

More about Syntax, Imagery And Other Literary Devices Used In The Devil's Highway

Open Document