ipl-logo

Word Choice In Madeleine Roux's Asylum

935 Words4 Pages

The dystopian realistic-fiction novel “Asylum” tells a tale of three characters by the names of Abby, Jordan, and Dan becoming friends at a college preparatory over the summer. Unlike years past, the college preparatory that these three characters are attending is moved to an old, unused asylum due to construction being done on the original building. This doesn’t seem like a problem at first, but when a mysterious killer murders two people at the college prep and the main character, Dan, starts getting threatening anonymous notes, the asylum’s past starts to reveal itself in a chilling way that connects back to Dan’s family line. Throughout this novel, the author Madeleine Roux elaborates her word choice in a way that contributes to the meaning …show more content…

For example, on page 241, she writes, “But suddenly, Dan heard a voice in that last room, and he moved stealthily toward it. ‘Please . . . P-please don’t hurt me.’ Felix. He quickened his pace. ‘P-please . . .’ it was Felix again….His throat had tightened so much, each suck of air came in with a wheeze. Pressing against the wall, he inched his head around the corner, dreading what he would find.” Here, the author’s choice of dialogue specifically conveys a suspenseful, or on-edge mood. Since Roux chooses to stutter this voice that the character is hearing and draw it out, it takes on a whole new meaning. If the author were to simply say “please don’t hurt me,” it wouldn’t nearly convey as strong of a suspenseful mood as it does. Additionally, when the author decides to use the phrase “dreading what he would find,” it raises the question of what the character Dan will find when he sees what is around the corner. It makes it impossible for the reader to stop reading before Dan knows what is around the corner out of simple curiosity. In turn, this contributes to the meaning of the text by exaggerating the point of what the character is feeling inside as he is listening to this voice cry out for help, so that the reader can fully understand the intensity of this

Show More
Related

Frankenstein Major Works Data Sheet

795 Words | 4 Pages

What is the tone/mood of this passage? Theme “I beheld the wretch -- the miserable monster whom I had created. He held up the curtain of the bed and his eyes, if eyes they may be called, were fixed on me. His jaws opened, and he muttered some inarticulate sounds, while a grin wrinkled his cheeks.

Read More

Analysis Of Firoozeh Dumas The F Word

811 Words | 4 Pages

She also portrays her tone as she writes, “I didn’t mention that I had been Julie for only half an hour” (740). This helps to show what went through the authors mind during that scenario without adding needless details or commentary. The friendly tone of the passage helps the reader feel emotionally tied to the author, which could also be described as a use of

Read More

Dissociative Disorders In Dan Crawford's Asylum

304 Words | 2 Pages

With Dan unaware of his actions, and constantly facing mild dissociative disorder, a police officer was assigned to follow his every step. The last section of the novel, Asylum by Madeleine Roux, included many obstacles the protagonist had to face. Dan Crawford, began the novel by spending his summer in the New Hampshire Prep program, as he began to uncover secrets hiding in the dorms he uncovered secrets about his past. With residing at Brookline, a shutdown mental hospital, many spin tingling secrets began to rise. Since Dan is a foster child and his biological parents decide to hide, much of his history has been covered.

Read More

A Lesson Before Dying Analysis

1085 Words | 5 Pages

But she had not heard me before and I knew that no matter how loud I screamed, she would not hear me now. ”(page 14 and 15, line

Read More

Yusef Komunyakaa's Facing It

323 Words | 2 Pages

As these emotions become more evident, the man states, “I said I wouldn’t dammit: No tears.” (3-4). The diction vividly expresses the emotions

Read More

Susan Hinton's That Was Then, This Is Now

570 Words | 3 Pages

He made her write two pages a day if she wanted to go anywhere. This eventually led to “That Was Then, This Is Now” (S.e hinton biography) . After getting through

Read More

Let Em Play God Analysis

579 Words | 3 Pages

Stevenson (the main character) uses facial expressions to show suspense, which converts into imagery. According to the text, “ [ shocked ]: Oh— hello! What number is this, please?” and “Yes. A knife will be okay.

Read More

Summary Of From Ashes By Zachary Foster

1586 Words | 7 Pages

It’s a powerful and moving opening paragraph that sets the tone for the whole story, and gets the reader hooked right off the bat. This first sentence shows that grief had stiffened and exhausted his family. He remembers the incident “too vividly”. He doesn’t even say his brother’s name, and describes the carpet as “tired”. He goes on to describe the stench of the old vacuum, evoking the reader’s sense of smell and adding onto how unpleasant the entire situation was.

Read More

Maynard Straker In John Harwood's The Asylum

1075 Words | 5 Pages

Authors create a large array of characters with different personalities and traits. Some of these characters are meant to be relatable and establish strong connections with the readers, while others are meant to do the opposite. In the novel The Asylum by John Harwood, Maynard Straker has many secrets and commits misdeeds that cause physical and mental harm to others, ultimately contradicting his position as the superintendent and chief medical officer at the Tregannon Asylum. Maynard Straker is a character whose contradictory behaviour as a medical officer leads to a weak connection with the reader because he hides his past and intentions from everyone, proving he is not as trustworthy as someone of his position should be. To begin, Straker is a secretive character whose hidden past and intentions cause the reader to believe he is suspicious because doctors are generally trusted with the lives of their patients.

Read More

Fahrenheit 451 Quote Analysis

680 Words | 3 Pages

“He opened his own mouth and let their shriek come down and out between his bared teeth. The house shook. The flare went out in his hand. The moonstones vanished. He felt his hand plunge toward the telephone.

Read More

Im The King Of The Castle Analysis

832 Words | 4 Pages

One of the many good examples of this is in chapter 3, when Kingshaw attempts to find peace but instead finds danger and pain in the form of a crow attack. Hill uses sound imagery widely in this extract to help create a sense of fear and tension. From the crow 's wings "making a sound like flat leather pieces being slapped together" to "the silky sound of corn brushing against him", these descriptions make the piece more realistic and enable the reader to put themselves into Kingshaw 's shoes. Adding to the sense of panic, Kingshaw is repeatedly said to be "sobbing and panting" and "taking in deep, desperate breaths of air", which in a literal sense shows that he is afraid. Alliteration is also used with 'deep, desperate ' which in a way creates a heaving sound when read, tying into the idea of 'desperate '.

Read More

Rhetorical Analysis Of Frankenstein

466 Words | 2 Pages

At first, it is more frightened since the creature just woke up and doesn’t understand what is going on around him. But once he is in the forest the tone changes to one of compassion since he was saying “ I was a poor,helpless,miserable wretch; I knew, and could distinguish, nothing; but feeling pain invade me on all sides, I sat down and wept (Shelly 91).” As the scene changes to depict his days it turns into a more joyful. These tones make the reader get the sense of how the character feels at that time.

Read More

Essay Comparing Tell-Tale Heart And The Yellow Wallpaper

1192 Words | 5 Pages

She explains “Such contradictions not only betray the narrator’s dependence on the oppressive discursive structure... she jumps from one thing to another producing paragraphs that are usually no more than a few lines in length” (Haney-Peritz 116). She jumps from sentence to sentence because she is scared and is caused to go even more insane because of the oppressive power structure she is

Read More

What Is Feminism In The Yellow Wallpaper

1155 Words | 5 Pages

Enclosed to the four wall of this “big” room, the narrator says “the paint and paper look as if a boy’s school had used it” because “it is stripped off” indicating that males have attempted to distort women’s truth but somehow did not accomplish distorting the entire truth (Perkins Gilman, 43). When the narrator finally looked at the wall and the paint and paper on it, she was disgusted at the sight. The yellow wallpaper, she penned, secretly against the will of men, committed artistic sin and had lame uncertain curves that suddenly committed suicide when you followed them for a little distance. The narrator is forced to express her discomfort with the image to her husband, he sees it as an “excited fancy” that is provoked by the “imaginative power and habit of story making” by “a nervous weakness” like hers (Perkins Gilman, 46). Essentially, he believes that her sickness is worsening and the depth of her disease is the cause of the unexpected paranoia.

Read More

Carrington Ball: A Narrative Fiction

8696 Words | 35 Pages

Lilly could almost pretend the nightmare of the past few weeks never happened, and Lilly had met Dominic here under the glittering chandeliers and elegant attire of high society. She was back. Dancing, laughing, and floating as Dominic led her through the dance. All too soon, it was over and Lilly’s hand was claimed by Chance. The evening moved quickly as Lilly danced and danced, until finally her aching feet could take no more.

Read More

More about Word Choice In Madeleine Roux's Asylum

Related Topics

Open Document