ipl-logo

The Subtle Knife

727 Words3 Pages

The "grand building" (Pullman, 1997 : 78) which provides the titular quote is the Pitt-Rivers Museum in Oxford. The visit to the museum occurs in the second novel of Pullman's trilogy, The Subtle Knife (1997), which sees Lyra leave her world to enter the parallel world of Will; a universe that is distinctly recognisable to that of the readers own. Whilst in this world, Lyra visits the Pitt-Rivers Museum and finds there: "an old glass case with a black-painted wooden frame [within which] there were a number of human skulls, and some of them had holes in them" (79). At this point in the narrative, she is engaged both in the act of being seen and seeing; Lyra is studying the trepanned skulls on display in the case, but also being considered and …show more content…

The museum is a space of resolution for its visitors; one which adheres to its definition as a space which is "in the service of society and its development" (ICOM, 2007) through its provision of narrative resolution and catalysis. In doing so, The Subtle Knife subverts the image of the museum in children's literature as an eternal destination for school visits and instead reconfigures the flat museum landscape as a dynamic space full of narrative potential. In a similar manner to this, Stoneheart by Charlie Fletcher transforms a school trip to the Natural History Museum in London into a life and death struggle against the fabric of the city itself, whilst A Song for Ella Grey by David Almond, a retelling of the Orpheus and Eurydice myth, sees Orpheus enter the underworld through gates on the Ouseburn, located near to the Seven Stories Museum for Children's Literature in Newcastle. Blitzed by Robert Swindells sees a school trip to Eden Camp in North Yorkshire transform into an adventure set in London at the time of the Blitz. Through their denial of the linear, passive narrative of the museum within children's literature, each character denies the definite imposition of fact upon their journey, and subsequently redefines the museum as a unpredictable space of impulse and

Show More
Related
558 Words | 3 Pages

The description of “the lights...shadowy lines of a palatial chateau” (3), the island and characters help the reader see the story as it unfolds. When “He lifted the knocker and it creaked stiffly….The door opened … as suddenly as if it were on a spring and Rainsford stood blinking in the river of glaring gold light that poured out” (4). The description of Rainsford’s appearance at the door of the chateau creates an underlying sense of dread. The reader has a macabre anticipation of what might be in store for Rainsford.

Read More
660 Words | 3 Pages

Though a children label book, The Phantom Tollbooth is a book that anyone can enjoy. Told in a third person point of view, the reader follows Milo, a child who finds a mysterious tollbooth one day in his house and out of curiosity puts it together and decides to go in and it takes him to a world that is unknown to him and where he is the person selected to rescue the two princesses Rhyme and Reason, to reunite the two kingdoms of Dictionopolis and Digitopolis. During this journey Milo learns things about himself, the variety of characters in the world, and also the lessons that he soon to start to learn. In Phantom Tollbooth, Norton Juster uses homophonic paronomasia, juxtaposition, and symbolism to achieve essence to the story, a more original

Read More
406 Words | 2 Pages

Clair alludes to the locusts and uses it as visual imagery for the empty and dry summer. Maxine Clair’s passage “Cherry Bomb” is about an adult narrator’s reminiscence of her fifth grade summer. Clair develops a lighthearted tone to portray the young and innocent narrator. As the passage develops Clair manipulates a multitude of literary devices like imagery,diction, and alludes to biblical stories to illustrate the experiences of the

Read More
427 Words | 2 Pages

Literary Analysis The Impossible Knife of Memory by Laurie Halse Anderson is the tale of Hayley Kincain, a seventeen year old girl, and her incredibly unstable life with Andy, her father. Andy is a war veteran who suffers from Post-traumatic stress disorder, and is constantly assaulted by horrific memories of the past. Hayley’s mother perished in a car accident soon after Hayley was born, while Andy was still deployed in Iraq. Hayley was raised by her grandmother Barbara until Hayley was seven, at which point Barbara died and Andy returned home to care for Hayley.

Read More
920 Words | 4 Pages

The imagery that Connell creates in The Most Dangerous Game captivates the audience into a tale that makes one’s heart stop even for a split second. The feelings of suspense are nearly tangible to the reader when the silence of the writing surrounds them. Additionally, the two contradicting moods are easily flowed through together and yet discreetly set apart due to Connell’s use of imagery in various scenes. Despite all the other literary devices used within The Most Dangerous Game, imagery has to be the element that really allows the emotions of the literary piece to connect to its

Read More
1305 Words | 6 Pages

We all have things from our childhood we remember. Maybe it’s a teddy bear from mom, or when dad brought home a computer, or a treehouse built with a sibling. We recollect these objects because they have a significant role in our lives, something about them changed us. Jeannette comes across many things during her childhood travels, they cause an immense number of problems but in the end they change her and her family for the better. Jeannette Walls’ story The Glass Castle, is filled with symbols that gradually release her and her siblings from the grasp of their negligent parents and the harrowing abyss that is their life.

Read More
1936 Words | 8 Pages

It grabs the reader’s attention immediately with its opening sentence, “I lost an arm on my last trip home.” This foreshadows the violence and physical suffering that Dana will face in the novel. The police officers, who arrested Kevin because they believed he was responsible for Dana’s injuries, foreshadows the abuse of power that the authority figures, in this case Rufus and his father, will display. The reader also gets a look at Dana’s hesitation to tell the complete truth out of fear of being disbelieved or considered

Read More
264 Words | 2 Pages

In Maxine Maxine’s narrative, “Cherry Bomb”, it openly shows how she uses literary techniques of symbolism, imagery, and allusion to characterize her childhood innocence being destroyed. Maxine uses these literary terms to characterize her childhood memories being destroyed by an incident in the summer. In the narrative, she talks about how it affected her and her perception. She mentions people and objects in her story. Every detail she described was an important factor in her life.

Read More
929 Words | 4 Pages

When Silvey found himself unable to follow his promising career of interpretive dance due to a knee injury, he turned to his former passion; writing. Silvey always had a desire for southern gothic fiction; chiefly focuses on damaged, delusional characters. His inspiration being regional American writers such as Twain, Lee and Capote. Silvey knew he wanted to demonstrate and explore his capabilities within Jasper Jones. The ‘sloughing of innocence’ was a key input; “that moment where the bubble is burst and you're suddenly exposed to the real truth of things and the blind trust of childhood dissolves”- (Craig Silvey, 2016)

Read More
1088 Words | 5 Pages

Using distinctively visual, sensory language and dramatic devices in texts allows the reader and audience to view as well as participate and relate to different emotions. In the fictional play “Shoe Horn Sonata” written by John Misto, 1995, Misto sets the scene by using dramatic devices to address the extremely confronting circumstances that the protagonists, Sheila and Bridie experience. Similarly, in the poem “Beach Burial” by Kenneth Slessor, 1944, Slessor too uses extremely strong visual language on the subject of war to overcome the gruesome realities of the subject matter. Misto’s play “Shoe Horn Sonata” shares the impacting journey two young women are forced to face, spending 1287 days in captivity in a Sumatran war camp, during world war two.

Read More
731 Words | 3 Pages

The book Tangerine is a novel written by Edward Bloor, the main conflict in this story is about a main character, a kid named Paul, is coming to an understanding of his dark past. The genre of this book is a realistic fiction. Motif is a …. The motif in this story is sight. In this novel even though Paul is visually impaired, he can “see” things that others can't or won't see.

Read More
1063 Words | 5 Pages

Raymond Carver is said to be one the most influential American writers and poets in the 20th century, especially in his works of short stories. One of his most famous pieces is “Cathedral.” This well-known short story is the final piece in Carver’s collection Cathedral published in 1983. Carver includes much symbolism through the story’s plot, structure, point of view, tone, and character build. The depictions of each character’s experiences, the irony in the story, and hearing the narrator’s point of view in “Cathedral” work in harmony to support its themes that prejudice and ignorance as well as the nature of reality are present and change throughout the course of the story, and all lead to a strong character development by the close.

Read More
400 Words | 2 Pages

Ray Bradbury uses several craft moves throughout his dystopian story names ‘The Veldt’. Using imagery, foreshadowing, and irony; Ray Bradbury enriches the story with these varying craft moves. Each is used to place the setting and feel of the story in the readers’ minds. Imagery is a craft move that was used to detail important areas in the story and help sell the scene Bradbury is creating to the reader. This is used to build a mood; one in particular is suspense.

Read More
524 Words | 3 Pages

Alice Walker uses imagery and diction throughout her short story to tell the reader the meaning of “The Flowers”. The meaning of innocence lost and people growing up being changed by the harshness of reality. The author is able to use the imagery to show the difference between innocence and the loss of it. The setting is also used to show this as well.

Read More
528 Words | 3 Pages

The narrator then proceeds to show Robert what a cathedral looks like by taking his hand and drawing a cathedral on “a shopping bag with onion skins in the the bottom of the bag.” (Carver 110) . Through this bricolage, the narrator closes his eyes and has an epiphany, for in this moment where his eyes are closed, hands intertwined, he truly sees, and “ ‘It’s really something,” (Carver 135). It’s the minimalistic approach that prefaces this big event that really showcases the theme. Carver’s use of colloquial language, in creation of an increasingly relatable scene allows for the reader to empathize with the narrator, allowing for a much stronger impact when the epiphany occurs and the story’s theme has been

Read More

More about The Subtle Knife

Related Topics

Open Document