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. However, Andy’s past war experiences and the horrifying events that he had seen on the battlefield haunted him endlessly. Rather than living a traditional life in an ordinary home,
For instance, her famous novel ‘The Joy Luck Club’ depicts the Chinese mother and her American daughter relationship where they go through various circumstances trying to understand each other including the evolvement that comes in their relationships as the daughters know more about their mother’s life stories. Secondly, Tan considers the theme of identity in terms of Chinese immigrants and their life experiences as an immigrant in the United States. She reveals how the children born to the immigrants strive in an environment which is a mixture of American and Chinese influence. Moreover, Tan is found to have explored identity issues through her fictive creations and tackled the issue of authorial identity (Becnel, 2010). Similarly, romantic love is another subject included in the literary artworks of Amy Tan which considers the relationships and romance an important aspect of human’s life. She is found to have given equal consideration to romantic love as she discusses about the mother daughter relationship (Becnel,
The illustration on the front cover is repeated in this section when she is coming up with her big plan of action, this illustration was used in the front cover as it has a huge sense of curiosty, mystery and hope. The end of the book leaves the readers in shock but gives hope for the girl to return home again. The illustrations in this section become more vibrant towards the end of the book as she is beginning to have hope that there is a way out of this misery she is in.
Stephen king once said “Description begins in the writer's imagination, but should finish in the reader's.” That is the importance of descriptive language. Descriptive language is one reason books are so popular. It helps the reader connect with the character and helps make the story so good. It grabs your mind, and puts it in the room with the characters. In the book “The House of The Scorpion” by Nancy Farmer the author uses descriptive language and figurative language to create a mental picture, and helps to grab our attention.
The literary devices that Amy Tan use in Joy Luck Club are motifs, symbolism that develop the theme of the Joy Luck Club. the theme of Joy Luck Club is cherish the little things you see this theme many times throughout the Joy Luck club.
the book is beginning to be prevalent in our society. This book also glorifies individuality by admiring a girl who is different from everyone else. In the past, many parents have decided to
The pressure to be beautiful is an overwhelming wave that is rushing over the youth of today, particularly with girls. Girls are taught from a young age that in order for them to be worthy they must fit into a narrow, and often unhealthy, mold. Leaving many young girls vulnerable, and searching for a way alter their appearance in order to fit said mold. Covergirl, an American cosmetic brand, capitalizes off of that insecurity. In 2010 Covergirl launched a commercial featuring Taylor swift that utilizes Ethos, Pathos, and Logos; with the goal of persuade makeup wearers to purchase their makeup over other brands.
The book Dragon keeper written by author Carole Wilkinson is set in Ancient China. The story entails a young girls sojourn throughout China. During the journey, the girl changes from believing that she is unworthy of a name to somebody who has encountered everything from almost dying to damaging endless laws deserving of death.
In A.S. Byatt’s “The Thing in the Forest”, the author uses the elements of a short story to craft a dark, fairy tale. The title of the story, “The Thing in the Forest”, in the sense that it foreshadows the main idea of the story. The audience expects more than just a "thing", as listed in the title. Byatt emphasizes that the main characters are the two-main protagonist who were girls dealing with more than just a “thing” in the forest that affected them for the rest of their lives. this is the use of symbols that expresses a meaning to focus on the story. A.S. Byatt emphasizes more on the plot and setting, characters, theme and symbols.
Ray Bradbury 's “The Veldt” takes place in a house that can do anything the want which results in the main characters-George, Lydia, Peter, and Wendy Hadley not sharing a strong bond with their family. You end up having no connection to your family so you have trouble communicating and having feelings for them which results in even though the machines don’t have any feelings or connections having to machines more that other people this shows how when people use technology too much or machines. People become to rely on them too much which dehumanises them and Bradbury shows that by symbolism, imagery and dialogue.
In any picture book it’s very important to realize the art that the illustrator is interpreting. Many illustrators convey messages in their art in many ways whether it’s through color, lines, or shapes. In this particular picture book A Chair for My Mother Williams conveys the arts message through the color yet most importantly the variety of borders on each page. The book starts off with yellow backgrounds as the daughter narrates that she, her grandmother and her mother save up to buy a chair. I notice the borders change within each page. For an example, some pages have borders with pretty pink flowers which to me
“I stumble from thornbush to thornbush— my mother and father who hate each other, Rachel who hates me, and a school that gags on me like I’m a hairball” (Anderson 125). In the novel Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson there are many symbols that appear. Such as Melinda having a sanctuary and a burrow. Or the author comparing Melinda to a tree and the seasons. “Slush is frozen over. People say that winter lasts forever, but it’s because they obsess over the thermometer. North in the mountains, the maple syrup is trickling. Brave geese punch through the thin ice left on the lake. Underground, pale seeds roll over in their sleep. Starting to get restless. Starting to dream green” (Anderson 133) The author does a good job of tying all these things together.
The short story “A Pair of Tickets” which was written by Amy Tan, describes an impressive trip experience of Jingmei Woo. She is an American-Chinese and her mother has passed away several months ago. The turning point in her life is someone has found her twins sisters, who were abandoned by her mother in the war period. The story starts from their trip on the train, ends in the reunite with her sisters. In the story, the photograph runs through the text, and each time it presents differently in every setting. Amy Tan uses photos as a metaphor for connections or identification in the story.
In the book More God Less Crime the author focuses on a central topic of how faith based institution and individuals can aid in reducing crime in society. The book stresses that these new faith based policies can implement a life long lifestyle change. In our society today, there are many dangerous problems we face from false imprisonment to youth violence. Within the book in providing solutions such as rehabilitation that can eventually eradicate these problems that plague our society. By having a strong foundation of religion set in place it can help resolve unjust matters with the belief that morality is superior. By incorporating morality in inmates life 's and other members within the system, it enables them to lead a better life, by leaving their old ways behind. Furthermore, the book is divided into three sections which contain specific chapters catered to reducing crime and or explaining how it can be resolved.
Through the eyes of a young girl, an intricate story of an African American family in the 1950’s is told in Mildred D. Taylor’s The Gold Cadillac. Set in Toledo, Ohio, Taylor details the ‘s family’s journey with just a gold Cadillac and a road trip to the southern United States. Along the way, ‘Lois’ childlike innocence takes a hit once the realities of racism become part of her world. The realistic fiction transitional book utilizes key elements of fiction to tell an important story for children’s literature. The Gold Cadillac specifically employs a strong plot, detailed characterization, and historical context to support the theme of racism and the importance of familial strength.