Imagine living in a town that experiences horrific, ongoing natural disasters all the time. This issue is a perennial time loop that the citizens of Tangerine County along with Paul Fisher the protagonist in the novel, Tangerine written by Edward Bloor experiences constantly. Paul Fisher’s life is being uncontrollable risked everytime he goes to the unorganized Windsor Middle School. He doesn 't know when lightning will strike or when the ground will fall right out from under him. He has to be circumspect of the natural incidents around him and his evil brother Erik with his “Erik Fisher Football Dream” disease.
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.
There are many ways an author can convey the message of any story. Elements such as the Plot, Conflict, Character/Characterization, Setting, Symbolism, Narration, and Imagery are used in these ways. For example, in the In the story "Harrison Bergeron", the author Kurt Vonnegut uses the characterization, and the conflict to communicate the message to the reader that Uniformity and strict laws lead to a loss of personal freedom and individuality.
There are many different forms of literature out in the world. They come in forms of novels, short stories, articles, and poems. They help people by allowing them to be informed about certain topics and they even make people forget about their daily lives while they enter a totally different world. If literature never existed nobody would obtain new information, they wouldn’t escape reality, famous authors wouldn’t be famous, and publishers wouldn’t be publishing any great works of art. What makes literature, literature, is its wide use of imagery and symbolism. Without it, people wouldn’t be looking for the deeper meaning of a certain phrase and they wouldn’t be imagining what the character is going through. Besides, the authors work would
Literature is a medium that enables people to effectively express their opinions and perspectives. Being the vast genre that it is, fiction presents writers with the opportunity to utilize literary devices in their pieces. These devices help in communicating the message of the author’s work. Several fictional texts use common literary devices such as metaphors, similes, symbols, and imagery. These devices allow for writers to personally involve readers with the author’s message. Specifically, allowing for the writer to demonstrate a sense of cultural identity through their writing. For African writers David Don Mattera and David Diop, the use of literary devices is essential in conveying the message of their texts. When analyzing Mattera’s “Afrika Road” and Diop’s
Soto’s “Small Town with One Road” is a poem that deeply touches upon the issues of Latin Americans stuck in small towns. With the use of literary devices such as similes and imagery it illustrates the deep pain in the townspeople’s hearts. In line 24 the speaker thinks “Papa’s fields wavered like a mirage”(Soto “Small Town”) which shows the illusion of a perfect life in small town fading away. This is a simile that hints at the imperfections hidden in the small town of the speaker’s upbringing. The imagery in the poem such as "And its black strip of highway, big-eyed With rabbits that won't get across"(Soto “Small Town” 2-3) paint a picture of what the quality of life is in the town. The people in the town are caught in a cycle that keeps them in the town with only a few who make it through(Soto). The town is reminiscent of an old western town seen in movie that give an air of poverty and misfortune (Davis). The rabbits can also be perceived as a metaphor for all the young hopefuls in the town who have no way out.
It is very important that writers are able to send a message to their reader with their book. Authors best do this by bringing about empathy. In order to send this message, authors often develop strong characters that go through various problems and struggles. The book, To Kill a Mockingbird, shows this very well with its characters Scout Finch and Tom Robinson. This book helps the readers learn from the character’s reactions to their problems. Also, the idea that authors build well developed characters to bring about a deeper understanding is shown through the poem Sympathy by Paul Laurence Dunbar. In this poem, the speaker explains of being trapped in the things that society says about him. Through these texts, it is evident that authors can best create empathy in their readers by developing great characters because when characters go through daily events that are challenging and troublesome, the readers are able to relate and understand what they are going through or we are able to learn from their experiences and influence us to adjust our lifestyles.
Belonging: “(of a person) fit in a specified place or environment” (www.Dictionary.com 1). Generally, every person goes through a phase of figuring out who they are and where they belong. Using her poetic and relatable writing, Cisneros vividly illustrated what it’s like to question your sense of belonging through Esperanza in the House on Mango Street and Chayo in the Woman Hollering Creek. Both of the characters crave to fit in and find their place in life. The vignette “Those who don’t” relates to the short story, “Bread” in the Woman Hollering Creek because they both emphasize the effects of belonging to Chicana areas.
Gloria Anzaldúa’s “La Prieta” tell her struggles with identity by talking about prejudices she dealt with while growing up. These prejudices, such as colorism, sexism, and heteronormativity, were not only held by people outside her social groups but within them as well. Anzaldúa goes on to explain the way identity is formed by intersecting factors and not only one aspect of someone’s life therefore denying one factor of identity can cause isolation and self-hatred.
Selena Quintanilla’s father once said, “We have to be more Mexican than the Mexicans and more American than the Americans.” In today’s society, many have encountered the challenge of not being able to be who they really are because they fear not being accepted by others, more specifically their culture. But, what happens when an individual is part of two worlds that have just as many rules? Gloria E. Anzaldúa was a Mexican-American writer and poet who made a major contribution to the fields of cultural, feminist, and queer theory. Anzaldúa identifies as a Chicana and speaks different variations of Spanish, some of which she exhibits in her works. In her short story “How to Tame a Wild Tongue”, she centers on the struggles of self-identity that
Lamb to the Slaughter is an action packed short story about a wife who is let down by her husband and proceeds to kill him as an act of revenge. Obviously much more happens in this story consisting of humour, action, mystery and irony. Roald Dahl is a master of writing short stories in ways that attract readers, draw them into what is happening through using literary elements and universal themes to make the story relatable to the readers. In this story the main literary elements were foreshadowing, situation and dramatic irony, imagery and symbolism which really drew me in and kept me attached to the story. Literary elements are what make a story powerful and attracts readers to continue reading in the story and in this story they highlight the universal theme of Revenge and Betrayal. This essay will explain those literary elements, how they allow
Throughout history, many influential writers have used literature to teach people about human nature; these writers used their works improve the morals of humanity. In the 18th century, Romantic and Gothic writers used many literary elements to make their works more meaningful. These included figurative language, symbolism, imagery, allusions, mood and tone to enhance the theme in their stories. Two men who did this were the Gothic writer Edgar Allan Poe, and the Gothic romance writer Nathaniel Hawthorne. The works “The Masque of the Red Death” by Poe, and “The Minister’s Black Veil” by Hawthorne, are examples of using literary elements to enhance theme. In “The Masque of the Red Death”, the main character, the prince, locks the aristocrats
In her poem “Borderlands,” Gloria Anzaldua strategically exposes readers to the true form of the Borderlands region as she conveys the internal incongruity that is rife with this state. As she characterizes the nature of the Borderlands, extending the idea of the Borderlands from a geographical region to an extensive social phenomenon, Anzaldua emulates an experience that is shared by many; conquered by fear.
For centuries, literature has been essential. It connects people all over the world through stories and even poetry. Literature serves as an educational implement. Individuals can benefit in multiple ways from literature. Through Oates story I realized that literature pieces can have a deeper meaning and have hidden messages. Literature helps individual’s express their emotions, gain knowledge, and become informed, making it vital for education.
Tony grew up well aware of the vast cultural differences of the American population, which lead to social, cultural, and economic unrest. He saw the struggle that many went through in order to coexist and survive, and he himself experienced those hardships. Hillerman not only witnessed and experienced the troubles of his environment but he also studied them, and how they affected the people of different backgrounds, and in turn, how the people responded to the issues they faced. His novels incorporated the issues that the people of the Southwest dealt with, they did not focus on the issues themselves, but how the issues affected the lives of ordinary people and the environment in which they live. Hilleman’s novels include people from different Indian tribes, Anglos, Hispanics, and internal migrants who came to New Mexico: he masterfully intertwines the values and ideology of those people, which exposed the world to the different points of view, as well as the cultural diversity within the Southwest. Tony’s readers experienced life in the Southwest through his writings because it gave them a detailed perspective of the people and their surroundings.