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Book titles are italicized, while titles of shorter works are placed in quotation marks.
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
Narrative Essay Work--due October 17
Book titles are italicized, while titles of shorter works are placed in quotation marks.
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87 comments:
Van Egdom 5
The best narration I have ever read would have to be 1984. The narrator, Winston Smith, is a curious, and thoughtful individual. He uses superb symbolism, subtle allusions, and clever point of view. George Orwell instantly enthralls me with his world of Oceania and I cannot look away from the pages until I finish (hyperbole). BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU. Orwell introduces you to Big Brother almost immediately. This phrase symbolizes a dual twist; a big brother is supposed to look out for me, but it also represents the government spying on all of the citizens. Smith says “Shakespeare” shortly succeeding sleeping (consonance). Smith alludes to Shakespeare, which may be a subtle reference to Shakespeare’s time when things were much different. Expression of emotions and ideas were applauded, whereas Big Brother beats that out of people. The most brilliant part of Orwell’s magnum opus is his use of point of view. Through Smith, I see a world full of suffering Proles and an intellectuals “rebellion.” Smith’s rebellion like Alex DeLarge’s rebellion in Kubricks movie, A Clockwork Orange, is easily quelled by the government. Both of them go through government treatment in order to conform to society. They both are forced to conform against their will, but they conform nonetheless. Smith is like a fly; both are pesky and require little to get rid of (simile). Orwell used third person, limited omniscient for a reason. Readers are able to know what Smith is thinking, but they only get a glimpse of Oceania as Smith sees it. If Orwell had wrote through the eyes of a Prole, the product would’ve been similar to Jeannette Walls book, The Glass Castle. The Glass Castle is a great book about an impoverished girl, which is not what Orwell was going for. If 1984’s main character was a member of the Inner Party, my view would have been completely different; I might have agreed with Big Brother’s motives. Orwell’s use of symbolism, allusions, and point of view create an unparalleled masterpiece. No other book has piqued my interest and no other book has influenced my writing more. The dystopian, realistic world of Oceania that I get through Winston Smith fueled my writing for all of my essays. The world needs to change in order to not become Big Brother’s world.
Presler 7
The best narration I have ever read, "Giants in the Earth" by O.E. Rolvaag, outstrips all other pieces of literature because it effectively utilizes stirring imagery, metaphor, and third person limited perspective to dramatically portray the lives of early Norwegian settlers on the South Dakota plains. I may be biased toward this book because my beloved Norwegian heritage bears a bunch of importance in the bulk of the story (alliteration). Nevertheless, through excellent plot development and characterization, Rolvaag masterfully transports the reader to the world of the late 1800s and the settling of land near Elk Point by Per Hansa, his family, and several Norwegian friends.
Like Golding's choir boys or Defoe's Crusoe (allusion), the Norwegian pioneers must rely on their own skills and innovation to cope with often inhospitable natural conditions. Moreover, each character, especially Per Hansa's wife Beret, faces intense psychological pressure caused by the vast, empty, intimidating plains. Perhaps "Giants in the Earth" has stood the test of time so well because modern Midwest dwellers do not fully understand how difficult it was to live on the prairie in small, makeshift houses, approximately a week's journey to and from the nearest supply store. Thus, readers of the novel gain a deep appreciation for the pioneers who overcame "giant" obstacles to pave the way for their progeny. Every time a page turns in the book, new challenges emerge. For example, Beret must deliver a child without the benefit of any medicine or even a trained midwife, and Per Hansa has to deal with intrusion on his and his neighbors' lands by Irish Civil War veterans. After chapters of occasionally subtle but always intriguing action, "Giants in the Earth" resolves with a highly satisfying, albeit quite sad, surprise ending. Like waking up from a deep, restful sleep, I finished reading "Giants in the Earth" feeling refreshed with a renewed zest for life (simile). I recommend the novel to everyone, but I especially feel that anyone of Norwegian heritage should check it out.
Jorgenson 5
Reading the book I cried a river of tears. (Hyperbole) I was reading the saddest and possibly best narration I had ever read. I tried to finish through the stream of tears running down my face. Getting up from the floor, I wiped my eyes before I walked out of the silent guest bedroom that had been my escape for the day. I wasn’t about to show my vulnerability to everyone else in my house.
Earlier that day I had begun to read the 448-page book. (Flashback) My Sister’s Keeper. Jodi Picoult did an amazing job writing this book. I was not able to put it down, and I did, in fact, read the whole book that day. It was the best narration because I felt more emotion reading it than I do in most books. I believe that a truly amazing author has the ability to make the author feel so much emotion they feel sick reading it. Khaled Hosseini did this in all three of his books. (Allusion) Reading every one of them, there was a point where I got so horrified that my stomach knotted up. Jodi Picoult looks through the eyes of each of her characters by writing each chapter about the thoughts of different characters. The contrast between the viewpoints made the book increasingly powerful to the readers because they can understand the emotion of each party involved.
I don’t know if you have ever tried reading a book while your eyes are welled up with tears, but ,believe me, it becomes difficult. The words are blurred. Tears elude the eyelids and spill out, dripping, making the pages wet. Occasionally you sniffle as your nose becomes runny. It is not necessarily a pleasant feeling, though I believe it is one of the best ways a reader can feel. The author has evoked passion.
Heidbrink 1
I have a difficult time picking favorites when it comes to books, but one particular narrative that stands out to me is "With the Old Breed" by Eugene Sledge. The book is an autobiography that follows Sledge's deployment in the United States Marine Corps. Sledge was assigned to a mortar crew and fought in the Peleliu Islands and on Okinawa during World War Two (Exposition). Perhaps the most pervasive piece of literary styling in the book was Sledge's professional production of imagery (alliteration). From perfect paradise on Pavuvu, going to gruesome gore on Peleliu, Sledge satisfies (and repulses) all of the senses throughout his autobiography (more alliteration). Another striking literary device in the book is the use of juxtaposition. Coming fresh out of civilian life, he was appalled to see Marines strip corpses for souvenirs. This soon seemed like child's play to him when he witnessed the nefarious tactics employed by the opposing Japanese forces. Sledge would often think of peaceful civilian life in contrast to his reality. His reality included the Japanese, cornered on Peleliu like animals in a trap, using intimidation tactics such as corpse mutilation and nighttime suicide raids to wear down the beleaguering American forces (simile). Characterization is another one of Sledge's strong points in the book. Every man in the company was uniquely individual in his own way. Sledge developed his characters as he came to know them himself, so the reader feels as if he or she is meeting these soldiers for the fist time too. Sledge's characterization is bittersweet, because many of the men that the reader comes to know and familiarize with, come to an unfortunate, untimely end (oxymoron). His characterization slows down towards the end of the book because he undergoes a change. He stops meeting new Marines so he won't feel as much pain if they are killed in action. "With the Old Breed" is a fantastic book for those who are fascinated by World War Two; HBO's miniseries "The Pacific" is a theatrical rendition of the book for those who would rather watch the story acted out.
Baum 5
The narration that continues to remain my favorite would have to be The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks. Although this narration is not one you would typically read in an honors English course it is my personal favorite for numerous reasons. Nicholas Sparks is a skilled author when it comes to writing with emotion. Whether that emotion is apprehension, contentment, sorrow, or love, it is continually evident throughout each narration. The Last Song captures you from the beginning with its interesting main character Ronnie, a rebellious teenage girl, who wants nothing more than to leave the small North Carolina town her father resides in. In the midst of it all, along comes a boy who changes everything.
As a typical teenage girl, I desire nothing more than a pleasant romance novel. I had no idea the narration would take such a drastic turn of events. Between tears and laughs I became hooked on the novel that taught me more about life than one would expect. Needless to say the 405 page novel was effortlessly read within a day. Laugh, Cry, Hope (Asyndeton). These were the feelings that replayed over and over as I read endlessly letting my mind drift off escaping reality. In an earth-shattering climax the narration takes a new path (hyperbole).
As the main character comes to realization and acceptance with the unimaginable news, you grow as a reader as well. Your thinking becomes deeper as you yourself come to terms with the situation. Emotions pour out failing to cease. Expecting more and hoping for closure, there is a loud silence as the novel comes to an end (oxymoron). The narration taught me to forgive not only others but myself as well, and to love without limitations. When an opportunity presents itself seize it while you can, second chances are rare.
Anderson 1
My favorite story that I have ever read is a fiction novel called “The Last Song” by Nicholas Sparks. Sparks is well known author, especially for writing suspenseful love stories. In “The Last Song” Sparks shows examples of literary devices by including foreshadowing, suspense, and characterization. These three literary devices are shown very well in this story. Foreshadowing is displayed when Ronnie and Will accidently run into each other at a carnival. They then continue to cross paths throughout the next week, during these days, Will’s thoughts— time and time again— fall towards Ronnie (alliteration). This foreshadowing is important because later in the story Ronnie and Will fall in love just like in a fairytale (simile). Sparks shows suspense by using things that have happened in Ronnie and Will’s pasts. With Ronnie, Sparks brings up ‘The Incident’, he never lets the reader know the full story behind ‘The Incident’ but he gives hints throughout the book to build the suspense. ‘The Accident’ which happened to Will, is a very touchy subject for him. He does not like to talk about it because he knows he should have gone to the police when it first happened, but his best friend Scott made him promise he wouldn’t tell anyone. As the story goes on, Will learns that what Scott made him promise has caused problems for Ronnie’s family, especially her dad who Will has become friends with…You never know if Will is going to tell the truth to Ronnie and possibly spoil their growing relationship or continue to lie and hide it from her; this is where a lot of the suspense in the story builds up. Characterization is shown with the main character, Ronnie. At first she is seen to be as a tough and irritable bull, but as time continues on, she shows who she really is (metaphor). One way this is shown is when Ronnie finds little turtle eggs in front of her dad’s house and decides to spend the night outside next to them so they do not get eaten by raccoons. This loving side of Ronnie especially shows when she has to care for her dad in the last weeks he is alive. “The Last Song” has great examples of literary devices, but also teaches a lesson to not take anything for granted and to take every opportunity you get.
Kate Ellis Pd. 2
Prologue- The young girl opened the odd book with hesitation. A picture of a smiling pig on the cover reminded her of a movie from her childhood, but seemed to deter her from beginning this novel. The first sentence intrigued her (allusion). However, “One year ago, my mother got traded in for a newer model” was a different beginning then the books she normally red. She continued.
The Narration in “So Not Happening” by Jenny B. Jones is what makes the novel one of my favorites. Though it is not a classical piece of work, the novel is overflowing with Literary Devices. Jenny B. Jones (not to be confused with a fictional character of a similar name) does a marvelous job of developing every character in her book. With the main character, Bella Kirkwood, is developed using satire. Bella moves to a small town in Oklahoma that in her mind could never measure up to her life in New York City. She complains about everything: family, school, friends, enemies. She does not realize the family and friends she had in New York have betrayed her. The author plays at Bella’s shallow mindedness until it becomes a turning point in the story. The story also contains irony. Bella’s enemy at the beginning of the book is the editor of the school news paper she writes for. His name is Luke Sullivan, but she gives him an evil name, The Editor. At the end of the book things get pretty ugly so The Editor is forced to save Bella’s life (oxymoron). Sadly, after this noteworthy event they are still at odds. The third Literary Device common throughout Jenny B. Jones’s book is allusion. Bella directly and indirectly mentions multiple celebrities, movies and superheroes as she describes and interacts with other characters in her book. Her youngest stepbrother reminds her of superman because of his unusual wisdom and his red cape. Other people alluded to are Hannah Montana and Taylor Swift.
Because of The marvelous work Jenny B. Jones has done with Literary Devices I have red So Not Happening over four times, and I just keep loving it more.
Lien 7
During my seventeen years of life I have fortunately read many impressive books and narrations. However, one of my favorites so far narrated by Todd Burpo is, "Heaven is for Real". In this narration, Burpo explains the story of how his four year old son suffered a sudden and almost fatal appendectomy. Yet, the story Colton Burpo, the son, told once recovered from surgery is shocking to everyone. Todd explains and retells the story his son told him immediately after surgery. Colton once recovered, shocked his parents by telling them unexplainable visions of heaven, God, Jesus, and Colton’s own experiences when in heaven. This narration is compelling to me in many ways. Illusions, flashbacks, and active, emotional voice are three literary devices that make putting this book down unbearable. Throughout the novel the author does not hesitate to include his own feelings and emotions that he was struggling through in his son’s time of travail. I feel this is a major component to the voice in the book and it also helps the readers relate to the author and his family and what they were going through. By having such strong voice, Burpo makes the readers feel his emotions. Flash backs also provide a strength throughout the book. The order of the story skips from before the tragedy, to after. The difference in order makes it more interesting to read. Once Colton recovered from his near fatal surgery, the book flashes back to when Colton was in heaven and his experiences; but also flashes back to what the family was going through at this time. Without these flashbacks the reader would not be informed of the significance of Colton’s experiences and the amazement that is portrayed through these flashbacks. In addition, illusions are made throughout the book that adds suspense. Illusions that make the reader wonder if Colton will survive are the kind of literary devises that make turning the page continuous and easy. I never wanted to put the book down because I was always wondering what was going to happen next. If one has not read this book, I would encourage them to read it as soon as they can. This story is a compelling, heart wrenching, amazing book. It is an easy read and you won’t want to put it down.
Hindbjorgen 1
I have always had this preconceived notion that books read for English classes were not allowed to be fun. Oddly enough, deciding on the best narration that I have ever read was easier than I first imagined, and came directly from the Honor’s Eleven literary syllabus. Once again, a teacher had proved my established perceptions false. It is not necessarily my favorite book of all times, but “The Kite Runner” by Khaled Hosseini definitely is an impressive work of literature. With so much thought and meaning behind every word, Hosseini is able to paint images into my mind without me having to dig deeper. I was able to imagine Pakistan as if I had been there before. His use of imagery is impeccable. However, I found that when I did dig deeper, a whole new side of the story emerged that simply blew me away (idiom). Symbolism is present behind many of the objects, people, and situations in this narration, giving deep-seated meaning behind the story. The most profound symbolism was the pomegranate tree representing the friendship of the two main characters, Hassan and Amir, as they grow close to and apart from each other. While they are companions as children, the tree is pleased and content (personification). As the pair grows apart, and as one eventually dies, the tree becomes dead—withered and shriveled. The tree was just one of the many symbols that beautifully and meaningfully tied the novel together. Hosseini also masterfully uses allegories throughout the book to make Pakistan a realistic setting, rather than a distant, deserted desert (alliteration). By referring to different historical events, he allows a fictional work to become very real to his readers. Terrorists, wars, cities, and even people who were and are all very authentic and actual were all included in the plot to not only give the us a better understanding of the time period, but to also add a genuine legitimacy to the story. While reading, I would often get emotional or forget that the plot never actually happened in real life. I absolutely adored “The Kite Runner.”
Stensrud 5
The Holocaust had a profound impact on the world. I have always had a desire to learn more about it and I began to understand the harsh environment, and horrid treatments the victims underwent after reading “Night” by Elie Wiesel. I must admit I was hesitant at first, because I have always had the notation that books in English class can’t be enjoyable, only educational. Twelve-year-old Elie Wiesel takes you his own journey, and weaves the readers through the twists, and turns that (alliteration) are the Holocaust. Wiesel masterfully uses flashback throughout the entire novel as he recalls parts of his past. In the beginning Elie and his family remain calm until authorities begin shipping trainloads of Jews to the Auschwitz-Birkenau complex. Elie and his family realize that they are part of the final convoy. The narrative goes on to share the struggles of Elie and his father’s journey, for his mother and sister were taken away upon arrival. The author uses conflict to help describe major parts within the plot. Elie states that he sees burning infants being tossed into a pit (imagery). Elie, given another chance to live, undergoes a foot surgery while spending time in the camp. He remembers trying to nurse his dying father back to life, while trying to keep him-self alive also. Foreshadowing is always present in the novel due to the fact that Wiesel was alive to write the novel. After spending several years in the camps, a few of those years without his father, 16 year old Elie Wiesel’s camp—Buchenwald—was liberated by the United States Army is April of 1945. Many people who know little about the holocaust feel that the conditions within the camps were tolerable (understatement). After reading “Night” you will begin to understand the mental, and physically effects that will forever mark the victims of concentration/work camps. If you haven’t read this first-hand account, I would highly recommend it. Elie Wiesel brilliantly gives you an inside look at a wicked part of his past.
Smith 2
The best narration that I believe I have read is from the book 44 by Jools Sinclair. A girl named Abby Craig is the main character/narrator. The whole series is about how Abby dies for 44 minutes and is brought back to life with some supernatural talents. Throughout the book Abby has flashbacks to her accident on the cold winter night when she fell through the ice. This is also the Allusion of the story. She is very focused on this point in her life; and for good reason. She has problems learning and remembering things after the accident and she even has problems with playing soccer- her favorite sport. All of her so called friends and team mates have completely abandoned her. Throughout her recovery the one friend she has left is Jesse. He has been her friend through thick and thin, and the accident did not seem to change that. The irony is that Jesse isn’t even alive anymore. The point of this book series is that Abby can see dead people. That is where Jesse comes in. He helps her along the way, but for most of the first book Abby doesn’t realize that she is the only one seeing him. There are many hints left for her to put the pieces together. He is like her guardian angel. Another irony is that he is the reason she died in the first place. He was driving too fast and went off the road into a frozen lake. For most of the books Abby is trying to help the dead that come to her. She tries to do with even with the many difficulties along the way. One of the main problems is a doctor who believes that this potion he has made is the reason that Abby is alive and why she can see dead people. He tries to stop her at all costs, and he kills more people trying to replicate what happened to Abby. It is a great book and I would recommend it to anyone!
Brockey 1
Without a doubt the best narrative piece of work I have ever read is Ian Fleming's Moonraker, the third book in the James Bond series. Ian Fleming created absolute art and possibly the best fictional character ever in this series but I feel the best of the novels that I have read (so far) is Moonraker. Unfortunately is has been about a-year-and-a-half since I read this book—I may not remember every detail in its exactness—however I will do my best to reminisce on an excellently written book. Ian Fleming maintains many literary devices in his James Bond series such as amplification, allusion, imagery, irony, flashbacks, and juxtaposition (just to name a few), but the three I want to emphasize in this novel are allusion, imagery, and juxtaposition. First off is the allusions that took place nearly sixty years ago now; however, when the book was first written the threats posed were an everyday fear for many people. Ian Fleming took advantage of many people's fear and turned his already decorated hero into even more of “the man.” Moonraker's plot consists of Bond supervising the safe construction of a giant atomic missile, for which the book is named. Such a missile was actually created and used to advance missile research. The missile was named the Blue Streak and was canceled before full production. Antagonist Hugo Drax also was a secret Nazi German that claimed suffering from amnesia and a British War hero. Once the missile was to be launched (and a scene before that) Sir Drax reveals himself as Graf Hugo Von der Drache. Another allusion is revealed in the end but I can not say this allusion/fear without spoiling the book. Imagery is another outstanding literary device that Fleming uses in his novels and in describing Sir Hugo Drax he absolutely creates the perfect picture for his villain. “he was physically big – about six foot tall,...his shoulders were exceptionally broad. He has a big square head and the tight reddish hair was parted in the middle. On either side of the parting the hair dipped down in a curve towards the temples with the object, Bond assumed, of hiding as much as possible of the tissue of shining puckered skin that covered most of the right half of his face. Other relics of plastic surgery could be detected in the man's right ear, which was not a perfect match wiith its companion on the left...To conceal as much as possible of the unsightly taut skin that covered half his face, Drax had grown a bushy reddish moustache and had allowed his whiskers to grow down to the level of the lobes of his ears. He also had patches of hair on his cheek-bones...” The description does, as a matter of fact, continue and Fleming goes into great detail about how hideous Drax is. Personally, I feel Fleming loves directly creating his characters for his readers because when you meet any new character for the first time He completely informs you of their being. Finally Ian Fleming uses juxtaposition to further expand the reader's knowledge on Bond. Bond's counterpart (surprisingly female) is created to build up and push down Bond. When Gala Brand is first introduced we are painted the picture that she is going to be Bond's equal being a dedicated policewoman, having insurmountable national pride, and of course being outrageously attractive, yet she sees Bond as an interloper in the Moonraker operation and in her undercover operation on Sir Hugo Drax. She sees Bond as a “playboy-adventurer of the stereotypical secret-agent sort dreamed up by writers of thrillers and not a real detective, doubting that he can be of any use on the project.” This makes us step back and realize James Bond should not be idolized for everything he does no matter how cool he seems. Absolutely every person should read a James Bond book at a point in their life however, because James Bond is just that cool and a complete stud muffin. He takes cold showers, he is ice cold.
Holmes 2
Without a doubt, the best narrative I have ever read is the novel "I Hunt Killers" by Barry Lyga. It utilizes similes, imagery, and irony flawlessly. The story is told by Jazz, the son of the most infamous serial killer of all time, Billy Dent. Jazz is an nearly normal, nice (alliteration) high schooler attempting to lead a normal life. Of course, growing up with a serial killer for a father cannot possibly lead to a normal life. Jazz has witnessed the ins and outs of serial killings and has obtained knowledge in hopes that one day he will follow in his dad's footsteps. When horrendous murders arrise, all fingers point to Jazz as the culprit. The fact that the series of murders perfectly replicate his dad's former killings doesn't help his cause. Brutally beaten and raped, a woman is found "sunbathing" on a luscious green hill (Imagery). Like a fish out of water, Jazz hasn't the slightest clue what to do (Simile). His next step is to use his knowledge of how serial killers think, act, and live to try and rout out the killer. After some serious digging and devious snooping around, Jazz has his list pinned down to one subject: the father of a former murder victim of his dad's doing. Just as you think the story is about to draw to a close, it takes an unexpected twist. Billy Dent escapes prison and is at large, which leads directly into the next novel in the series, "Game."
Fritz 1
The best narration I have ever read would have to be Dear John. No matter how many times I reread it, it always has the same effect. My eyes become waterfalls that do not stop pouring till the book is finished (Metaphor). Nicholas Sparks has a way with words that could make any grown man cry like a little baby (Simile). Like any other teen girl, I love a love story, which is exactly was Sparks brought to life.
Within Dear John he uses irony by titling the tragic story “Dear John”. As we all know, “Dear John” is a term used back in earlier times when a girl wrote a letter to break up with her boyfriend. The novel begins with Savannah and John meeting on the beach, and they instantly fall for one another. As weeks go by, the time for John to get redeployed creeps upon them. They promise one another that they will wait and to write letters every single day. One day, John stops receiving letters. This foreshadows the next event that will occur in the story. After a while he receives a heartbreaking letter from Savannah. Within the letter she proceeds to tell him that she has found someone else and has moved on. After receiving the letter, John gets severely depressed. While still in Iraq, he gets shot. While lying in the sand, waiting to be saved, John experiences flashback to when he was a little boy with his dad, finding coins.
In conclusion, John comes back to the states because of the news of his father’s death. While back in the states, he stops by Savannah’s by impulse. It is then he finds out who Savannah married. During the whole book you spend all that time wondering who Savannah married instead of John. You are internally forced to keep reading until you find out in the last chapters of the book (suspense). This is what makes me want to reread Dear John over and over again. I would highly recommend it to any girl looking to get lost in a love story.
Martinmaas 2
The best narration that I have read is a fictional book titled “Why We Broke Up” by Daniel Handler. The book focuses on the main character, Min, who recently broke up with Ed Slaterton, the star basketball player. The whole story is written in Min’s perspective and is written as a letter that she might give to Ed at the end of the book. The letter focuses on all the reasons why Min and Ed didn’t work out and she retells the stories of them by using flashbacks. The author uses great imagery to capture the moments between Min and Ed. The author also uses great characterization to separate Min and Ed and how different they are. Min is more of an artistic girl who loves older movies, while Ed is the popular jock who acts like the king of the school (simile). As Min retells how she and Ed met and all their moments together, she has objects to remember them by including: two bottle caps, a movie ticket, a folded note, a box of matches, a pair of ugly earrings, and many more things (also pictures of them). Each object has a different story to it and she places them all in a box. I remember reading the story and I could never predict what would happen at the end of the book (flashback). The book captures the ups and downs of a high school relationship very well so it’s hard to determine whether or not Min and Ed would end up being back together. I think what I liked most about this book was the repetition of sentences at the end of each chapter like “You know I want to be a director, but you could never truly see the movies in my head and that, Ed, is why we broke up” (2). The signature sentence at the end of each chapter somehow had “why we broke up” in it which correlates with the title. I won’t reveal the end of the story or what happens with the box full of trinkets or Min’s letter though (suspense), but I recommend reading this book.
Smith 5
One of the most epic narrations I have ever read is “Heaven is For Real” by Todd Burpo. The main character is a 3 year old boy by the name of Colton, who happens to be the son of the author. Although this book was not able to be conveyed by the descriptive young boy himself, the father portrays the story just as well (point of view). This narrative account was very appealing and a constant attention-grabber like a horror movie (simile). This well-known book has a very fascinating story outline due to the fact that the little boy, Colton, undertook a very crucial surgery and supposedly experienced the life in heaven. One would think this incidence is obviously near to impossible, however, after Colton’s successful surgery, he was able to explain and give vivid details of mysteriously accurate explanations. For instance, Mr. and Mrs. Burpo unfortunately received a miscarriage during their first pregnancy, which Colton discovered because he met her in heaven. Throughout the entire book Colton randomly explains various occasions from when he was in heaven. He once described the time when he met John the Baptist. John the Baptist was described as “really nice” and also a cousin who baptized Jesus, by merely a young boy who had no knowledge of that subject, which is remarkably one of the best accounts in the bible (bibliomancy). Surrounded in a perfect world, Colton tried to illustrate all the beautiful aspects of a paradise world in which he lived in. He said that there are thousands of bright intense colors that are unknown, and also many types of animals that roam all around. This picture is undoubtedly hard to imagine but yet constantly dreamed upon (imagery). After reading “Heaven is For Real” I became astonished by the accuracy and genuineness throughout the entire book. I would clearly recommend this encouraging narration to not only spiritual people, but also to ones who want to read a compelling and powerful story.
Pearce 1
The best narration that I have ever read is “If You Survive” by George Wilson. This is the true story of an officer (the author) in the US Army in WWII. Wilson tells his story of the war from the beginning to the end: from him being in college to being drafted by the Army and fighting in the European theater from Normandy to the Battle of the Bulge.
Throughout this book, Wilson is not only battling the German soldiers, but his emotions and thoughts as well (conflict). The main battle is book is obviously the war between the Allied and Axis powers, and in this book the US is the main allied power and Germany is the main axis power. This is brought down to a lower level by Wilson as he talks about his personal experiences during the war. The most taxing battles that Wilson faces aren’t isn’t fighting the Germans, but is his emotions and thoughts which include feeling responsible for peoples death, what to do next on the battlefield, and his overall thoughts on the war once it was completed. These conflicts keep you reading as you want to find out what Wilson and his group of soldiers do next.
The way Wilson writes with such detail of the events that happened makes you feel like you are right there with him in battle (imagery). “Worst of all on the nerves was the endless pounding of the noise, the thundering blasts of artillery, and the angry staccato of machine guns” (pg 44). This is just one of many great examples of the language that Wilson uses to pull the reader in and make them feel like they are part of the action alongside him. When this vivid language is used, you don’t want to put the book down and stop reading. You want to keep going on and on.
In this book, you never know what is going to happen next (suspense). You don’t know if Wilson is going to get wounded or not, what will happen at the next battle, what will happen to another character, or how Wilson deals with his emotions. All of this suspense keeps you wanting to read more. Adding to this, Wilson will end chapters at just the right point to create a cliffhanger and sometimes he will foreshadow what will happen next to create more suspense and make the reader want to continue reading.
Once you start reading this story, there is no putting it down. When you have a few moment you will want to read it and keep going. I recommend this book to anyone, especially people who like to hear personal accounts of important events and people who enjoy books about history and war.
Dreyer 2
When trying to decide on choosing my favorite novel, many stick out in my mind. But the novel that is particularly protruding remains as one of the best fictional narrative pieces of literature I have ever read is The Great Gatsby. Although this fantastic piece of literary work happened to be an Honors 11 assignment, I do believe it holds a multitude of meaningful themes that can unlock answers to life’s questions. One of the most prominent themes in this novel deals with the American Dream. Set in the roaring ‘20s, the lovers within Gatsby eagerly climb the social latter of wealth and status. Hungry for money, readily spending it on oddities and unnecessary items, even the wealthiest characters in the novel find themselves lost in their pool of greed. While Gatsby longs to be with Daisy, the green light at the end of his dock is a symbol while contributing to the American Dream theme. The green light symbolizes hopes for the future. Gatsby’s hope for the future is to find his long lost love: Daisy. Even though he longs for her affection, his American Dream disperses, showing the readers that perhaps the American Dream can never be obtained. In addition, the characters in The Great Gatsby provide a deep analysis of human nature because F. Scott Fitzgerald offers us many foil characters. While Jordan Baker is a sporty, independent woman, Daisy Buchanan is dainty, rich and dependent flapper who loves to attend parties. On the other hand, Tom Buchanan is a harsh, controlling member of the upper class while George Wilson remains a passive member of the working class.
In the novel, the hopes and dreams for the green light at the end of the dock symbolize the American Dream, while the American Dream can diminish if the longing for the green light becomes the focus in life. (Chiasmus) When reading this book, I was immersed in the extensive scandalous lives of the main characters in the book. Fitzgerald does an excellent job of translating the reality of the separation of upper and lower classes in the 1920s. While the mood in the novel may triumph as disappointment and rejections, there is also a presence of hope and prevalent love connections between the characters. My feelings when reading the book shifted as the characters’ emotions shifted. (Mood) The partying patrons positioned throughout The Great Gatsby are accurate and deliver an exciting, thrilling story to readers—making this novel a timeless classic. (Alliteration)
Rohrbach 5
The best narrative I have ever read is “The Tell Tale Heart”, written by my favorite author, Edgar Allen Poe. (Flashback and Allusion) Back in my young years, whilst watching “Wish Bone” did I first become acquainted with this masterpiece. In my opinion, fictional narrative surpasses non-fictional. While non-fictional narratives tell stories, fictional narratives express emotions. There are emotions that real life events just cannot describe. How else could Poe express the unbearable guilt and panic, than the inevitable betrayal of the victim’s heart? Like all of his compositions, Poe uses a plethora of literary devices. At the very beginning he starts with an intentional fragment: “True.”. (Cliché) Even now when I read this tale, many would say that I am still ‘at the edge of my seat’. This composition would not be complete were it not for Poe’s classic repetition: “The ringing became more distinct: --It continued and became more distinct”,” wide, wide open”, and “a very, very little crevice in the lantern”. Edgar Allen Poe had always known how to emphasize his points at just the right moments, and this is one tool he used to do so. Lastly is Poe’s use of foreshadowing: “Why will you say that I am mad? The disease had sharpened my senses --not destroyed --not dulled them. Above all was the sense of hearing acute.” This sentence perfectly foreshadowed the murder that was about to happen, without giving away the whole story. (Alliteration) I guess you could say that I am positively passionate for Poe’s perfect poetry.
Onnen 2
I have been able to read many books in my life. When I thought of a narrative story I have read, Go Ask Alice was one of the first to come to my mind. Go Ask Alice said to be a non-fiction diary written by a teenage girl. The publisher of the diary decided to name the girl Alice. Alice is a girl with a very troubled life. She doesn't really have friends and is always alone. Her father gets a new job opportunity and Alice and her family move away. She is excited about this move hoping she will be able to have a new start at a new school. Alice quickly gets involved with the wrong group of people at her new school and begins to attend parties. At one of these parties she tries LSD for the first time. From that point on her life seems to continue down a downward spiral of drug use, some prostitution, and teen runaway issues. After using several different drugs and going through many hard situations in life Alice begins to have nightmares. Her nightmares involve maggots and worms eating away at her slowly. I found that this is a sign of a symbolism. The worms and maggots can symbolize the impulses of society on teens specifically. So many teens are encouraged to try drugs or alcohol, or engage in sexual activity. Alice's nightmares show the pressure she feels from society, she wishes to could stop the destructive path she is on but feels society won't let her. This same scenario could also been seen as foreshadowing. Alice's dreams of maggots and worms could foreshadow what is t come in her life. The maggots and worms could be seen as the drugs in her life. And because the worms and maggots are eating away at her in her dream this foreshadows that the drugs will be her downfall. Eventually, Alice will get to the point where she is no longer in control of her own life because the drugs have taken control of her. Another Literary device I found is personification. Alice refers to her diary several times which is commonly seen in journal entries. But, Alice seems dependent on her diary and treats it like a person. She writes as if her and her diary are having a conversation. At times, her diary was probably the only thing/person Alice had to talk to about how she was really feeling. In the end of the book it seems Alice's life is finally making a turn for the better and she realizes she doesn't need to depend on her diary anymore because she has found new people who will help her make good choices; they are also people who she talk to. So she stops writing in the diary. But, there is an Epilogue that reveals something different than that.
In the incredible life I have lived, the amount of books I have immersed myself in is surprisingly lacking. (Authorial Intrusion) However, the single greatest narrative, pardon me, the single greatest BOOK I have read in my 17 years, 2 months, and 29 days of life is Green Eggs and Ham. I believe this is the greatest book I have read because it supplies: bildungsroman, a clever rhyme scheme, internal conflict, and entertainment for all ranges of people whether that be age, gender, or any difference between two people. Seuss also uses his story as an ironic statement, meaning to tell people that if you try to shut out anything that is new, you may miss out on anything that is delectable. (Flashback) I remember back to when my dad would read this to me and I would have him read it to me, then I would read it by myself as I simply was insatiable with respect to Seuss’s flow and ease of literature. Still a source of enjoyment, I keep it on my book shelf in case I need to remember the “Good Ol’ Days” where there was little to ever worry about, besides maybe how much time I got to play outside. (Imagery) The orange cover with green-yoked eggs and green colored ham stands out as an instant satisfier; the pictures used as a background on every page jump forward as opposed to back due to the contrast of white page to bold characters. I, personally, was a Dr. Seuss fan, and possess nearly all of his more famous writings as all of them are clever, and seem to change meanings over the years as I have gained experience and have gained intelligence to grasp some of the hidden messages that were hinted at in the works. Because of how well it attracts both extremes in age, and everything in between, I believe that Green Eggs and Ham was the greatest narrative story ever written.
West 5
In 1960, Harper Lee published the novel To Kill a Mockingbird. This is by far my favorite narrative writing. The literary devices she most commonly uses are symbolism (which is used extremely often), foreshadowing and similes. She tells about a time when racism was rampant, and she had first-hand experience with it. The most obvious use of symbolism in the narrative novel comes in the form of the mockingbird—an innocent song bird that are symbolic too Tom and Boo, who are innocent men accused of crimes they did not commit. Another symbol is the last names; Tom ROBINson and the Finch family. Both are names of innocent birds, which symbolize the innocents of these people.
The next literary device that is used is foreshadowing. Lee expertly uses foreshadowing with the death of the mad dog. It foreshadows the tragic death of Tom Robinson—both being black. The next example of foreshadowing in the novel is when Atticus says it is not time to worry; this foreshadows that there will be a time to worry coming soon, when he is not suspecting it. Miss Maudie, after her house catches fire and burns down, does not mope around or pout. She immediately starts rebuilding her house and garden, thus symbolizing strength and integrity. Mrs. Dubose is another example of symbolism. Even though she knows she is going to die soon, she still is trying to better herself by defeating her addiction to morphine.
The last literary device used is similes. Harper Lee uses similes such as “Jem waved my words away as if fanning gnats.” She uses similes to portray her message without directly saying her thoughts. She saw all of what was wrong with society and beautifully narrated in this novel her thought on society at the time.
Gingles 7
I know that this may be very unoriginal, but to be honest, my all time favorite narrative is J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series. I thought that it was expertly written and that there was much thought put into the making of these epic novels. She starts the series by introducing a very by the book, basic family: the Dursleys. I believe the purpose in this extraordinarily dull chapter, is to give an explanation as to why they later treat Harry the way they do. It also foreshadows the rest of the story. You get a brief glance at the world of wizardry toward the end of the chapter, but not enough to explain what Harry’s story is. Later we find out that he is actually a wizard and that the Dursleys new about it all along. This explains why they have always treated him with such utter disrespect. An ordinary family wants nothing to do with an extraordinary boy. They would much rather spend their time doing boring day to day activities as they always have. Throughout the rest of the series, I learned more and more about the wizard world and what a dangerous place it can be. Harry also has a nemesis that makes an attempt and ending Harry’s life in every book. As the series goes on, Harry’s challenges get bigger and bigger until he must face his destiny in the final installment of the series. The reason I chose this series was not only because I enjoyed a peculiar story, but that the plotline behind it was immensely complex and well thought out. Throughout each book, Rowling makes small mentions to things that at the time, appear to be nothing, but in the last book, turn out to be an essential part to the story line. For example: Harry’s first golden snitch returns in the last book to be one of the most important of tiny trinkets that one could ever imagine. If you have not read the Harry Potter series, I would recommend it above all others, for it is without a doubt, one of the best narratives ever written.
McIlravy 2
I have never been extremely interested in books. For the most part, reading bores me and keeps me uninterested. Although I don’t spend much time with my face enthralled in a book, there are a few narrations that interest me. “Perfect Chemistry” by Simone Elkeles blew me away (idiom). Elkeles uses characterization to illustrate the characters in the first chapter. Brittany Ellis has the perfect life as a cheerleader with a perfect boyfriend that plays football. The two have the stereotypical relationship of high schoolers. Brittany gets involved with Alex Fuentes and threatens her flawless reputation she has worked so hard for. As a teenage girl I love the romance involved. Love and lies (alliteration) shape this story into a dramatic novel about an intense and epic love story. The book is told in a limited point of view. Each chapter is told by either Brittany or Alex because it is from each of their points of view. Wanting to keep her perfect reputation, Brittany keeps Alex a secret from her friends and her boyfriend. Many problems arise throughout the pages of this novel. Simone Elkeles uses the literary device of conflict. With family issues, boyfriend problems, conflict within oneself, and lying to friends, Brittany needs to decide what is best for her. Brittany comes to realization and acceptance of how her life really needs to be. With so many drastic events and changes in mood in this novel, I found my emotions changing as I continued to read. From being sad, to extremely happy that a smile is literally on my face as I read, “Perfect Chemistry” keeps readers interested and intrigued. Reading this book not only once, but a total of three times, it is absolutely considered my all-time favorite novel. I suggest it to any girl, or guy if interested, looking for a captivating love story. I am extremely enthralled to reflect on the interesting events of this fascinating novel (alliteration).
Quanbeck 5
When I read “The Kite Runner,” I was a girl in Pakistan, sitting beneath a pomegranate tree and watching two young boys grow (metaphor). Hosseini brought his characters and settings to life by using vivid descriptions and enthralling verisimilitude (hyperbole). While reading, I always felt informed of the fictional situations and was not left wondering what to imagine.
The imagery used in Khaled Hosseini’s “The Kite Runner” contributes to the reasons I rank the best-selling book as the most impressive narration I have read. Hosseini expertly employs symbolism and foreshadowing, in addition to imagery. As the novel progressed, I awed at the subtle hints of symbolism that had previously been detailed in the book. The black bear symbolically represents Baba, Amir’s father. Amir dreams of his father wrestling a black bear, yet he cannot tell which figure is Baba and which is the bear. Amir’s fears of his father and of hardships are shown within his dreams. Eventually, Amir will become brave and brace himself for a challenge against the black bear (alliteration). Another symbolic point, which is often overlooked, is a brief scene in Chapter 8 when Amir is watching zoo animals. As soon as those nearby him look away, Amir throws a stone at the bear. Though this event is not mentioned in recaps of symbolism from “The Kite Runner,” I believe the moment is an early example of Amir attempting to overcome the threatening black bear. He symbolically attacks his own challenges and arrogates power.
Foreshadowing is used frequently in the novel. In a confrontation with Assef, Hassan threatens to take out Assef’s eye with his slingshot. The threat foreshadows what will come much later in the book when Sohrab carries out Hassan’s threat. Hassan’s initial moment of bravery in Assef’s ominous shadow is echoed by Sohrab in the future, and Assef loses an eye to Hassan’s kin. Foreshadowing gives depth to books, and Hosseini uses the literary device to give readers epiphanies as they piece together his puzzle.
“The Kite Runner” was an intense read that instantly captivated me. I was immediately pulled into the book not by its story, but by Hosseini’s artful writing style. I truly admire Hosseini’s beautiful, fluid writing, and I hope to emulate his methods while still maintaining my own unique style.
Gacke 2
This past summer, I took pleasure in reading the talented Khaled Hosseini’s latest novel, And the Mountains Echoed. Truly the best narration I have ever read, the novel is profoundly and cleverly composed. Taking us on a journey of five decades, Hosseini creates a masterpiece on every page, filling each with overwhelming imagery that inspires or haunts our minds. Nine chapters beautifully build the book—a new attitude, a new character, and a new setting taking over each distinct section. Hosseini utilizes diction to clearly let the readers know about the shift in character. From three-year-old Pari, to ten-year-old Abdullah, to elderly servant Nabi, the diction Hosseini uses perfectly personifies (alliteration) the narrating character. Grasping at the realism of the present-day devastation of Afghanistan, Hosseini portrays numerous themes in his novel, including how the past can haunt the present, the relationship struggle between siblings, and the independence one must learn to move on.
Intrigued by the fantastical story Saboor, the father of Abdullah and Pari, narrates to his children, I was hooked on the book from the opening sentence. In the story, the evil div, a monster, arrives at a village, pursuing his long-held mission to take one child from a household, but forcing the parents to choose which child. This opening story serves as foreshadowing to the first main conflict: Pari, Abdullah’s younger cherished younger sister, is sold to a wealthy family. The trend of sibling conflicts continues throughout the novel. Decades later, Hosseini faces us with the sickly aftermath of the war; houses are burnt to destruction, children are begging on the street, and sickness and injury permeate the country. Hosseini’s words are so powerful that you can feel the heavy weight of suffering, smell the gruesome odor of sickness (imagery). The slightly tragic mood throughout the novel leaves us on an inspiring note, in hope that we might look up to this beautiful tragedy (oxymoron).
Beldin 1
Personally I have always found fictional narratives to be the most fulfilling to read. But, I recently read the book, Skinny by Donna Cooner. Cooner had struggled with obesity for many years before she had a Gastric Bypass surgery. She relays details of her own life in the life of 14 year old Ever Davie. The narrative itself holds many literary devices such as: irony, allusion, and many incidents of flashback. Ever has a classic Cinderella situation in her life, her mother died leaving her with her father. Her father remarried and ever inherits two new sisters. The only thing ever finds wrong with her life is that she is 14 and weights 302 lbs. Ever has a voice in her head in which she calls Skinny. This voice in her words tells her what every one things of her. Convinces Ever that she has no friends and she truly is a loner (conflict). Ever is constantly believing everyone hates her and she even hates herself. She says eats “healthy” at lunch to give her classmates the illusion she is healthy, but they don’t see her in the bathrooms stuffing three or four snickers down her throat to quench her want for the chocolaty, sugary goodness (imagery). The only person who ever really accepted Ever was her best-friend Rat. Rat is a character with a name that makes him sound as if he is sneaky and conniving, when really he is a sweet genuine person and he really cares about Ever’s well being. Rat and Ever’s step-sister help her through her long journey after having a Gastric-Bypass surgery. Both bring ever to a better place then she has ever been before. With new found strength Ever finds a way to escape all the jeers of Skinny and be the person she always wanted to be.
Zahn 5
Nicholas Sparks, a man who every teenage girl loves. The man who is known as, "the world's bestselling author of love stories". Sparks is one of the world's most beloved storytellers with over 80 million copies of his books sold. My favorite book of his would have to be Safe Haven. Safe Haven, like most of Spark's book is filled with emotions. Like many teenage girls, there is nothing I like more than a nice romantic novel. I had no clue that once I started the book, there was turning back or putting the book down. The book is about a young, mysterious woman named Katie who appears in a small North Carolina town of Southport. Reluctant at first, she draws herself into two relationships; one with her neighbor named Jo and another with a widowed store owner Alex, with two young children. The book is filled with suspense, raw emotions, passion (asyndeton). The first 16 chapters of the book, Katie narrates her life in Southport, she tells us her emotions and about her friend Jo and her relationship with Alex and his kids. In the first 16 chapters, we also find out that she is scared, everything she does, she does it with hesitant. This serves as a foreshadow to the reason why she is in Southport in the first place. The rest of the book goes back and forth from Katie in Southport to her husband, Kevin, whom she escaped from and his thoughts. While Katie is living life (alliteration) in Southport with her new family, her husband, Kevin, is in a frenzy trying to find her. The way Sparks composes his books, makes us as readers sit at the edge of the seat because we never know what will happen next. This book ends with a happy ending but it took a lot to get there, from all the happy sad (oxymoron) events that occurs.
Long 5
When I think of “epic” books, the first one that comes to my head is “A Walk to Remember” by Nicholas Sparks. It is hard not to cry like a baby while reading it (simile). Not only is it a perfect love story, but it has a lot of meaning behind it. I could not put the book down, I read the whole thing in one day (flashback). Within “A Walk to Remember” there is foreshadowing, irony, and flashbacks. Landon, a 57 year old, narrates the novel reflecting on events from 40 years ago. Jamie, a very quiet girl who takes care of her widowed father and carries around her bible along with her school books everywhere she goes, seemed very content living in a separate world from all the other teenagers she went to school with. No boy had ever asked her out, certainly not a boy like Landon. Within the novel, Landon and Jamie end up having to spend an afternoon together because Landon got in trouble and was paying the consequences. Jamie on the other hand, was just volunteering from the goodness of her heart. The two start talking more and more, and although either of them expected it, Landon finally asks Jamie out on a date. There is a certain line in the novel that stands out when you read it. Jamie says, “Promise me Landon that you will never fall in love with me.” Of course, Landon eventually falls in love with Jamie. After Landon has told Jamie that he has fallen in love with her she has a bigger secret that she shares. She is dying of cancer. Landon tries to find the strength to do what is best for both of them. He finally asks her to marry him. While reading, I could picture Jamie walking down the aisle with her father looking sick, but still as happy as she had ever been (imagery). After a short year being married together, Jamie dies of cancer, but the memories they shared are forever remembered by Landon.
Peltier 1
The joy of reading came late to me. I always saw it as a daunting task that I tried hard to avoid, until middle school where reading became more enjoyable. While reading many, different books that range from the Harry Potter books to Karen Kingsbury’s books on 9/11. Books that dove more into the emotion, intrigued me.
Ironically, one of the books I grabbed off a clearance table at a bookstore turned out to be one of the best books I have ever read and led me into a wonderful series. Before Green Gables (by Budge Wilson) is a prequel to the Anne of Green Gables series (by Lucy Maud Montgomery); it wonderfully creates imagery allowing the reader to picture this orphan being shuffled from place to place. An example of this elegant imagery is “as the train slowed, she could hardly wait to step out onto the wooden platform—to inhale the pungent sea smells; to follow the flight of squawking gulls; to watch the fishermen unloading their catch…”(Wilson). Not only does Budge create perfect imagery but he include metaphors in order to accumulate even more attention. As metaphors fill the book in endless ways, satire continually is a major factor in how the main character Anne is perceived. Anne’s hair is described as being orange as carrots. While every home, that she is in thinks that she is a devil because of the bright orange hair. Due to this constant, ridicule of Anne’s hair reader subsequently empathizes with her. Through all the death, she has seen Anne is still looking at the good in people.
Anne’s spirit is everlasting. I became Anne when I read this book (metaphor). The emotional toll that Anne was put through is more than any child should have to deal with. Anne’s many misfortunes multiply to massive tragedies (alliteration). Her life is as tragic as Shakespeare’s play “Romeo and Juliet” (simile). Reading which was once a daunting task for me has finale become a major part of my life. My biggest regret is not being able to read more books on my own during the school year. All of the literary terms that used to seem like a waste of time to study make sense now. They allow books to grasp my attention, and I willingly relinquish the desire to put down a book. With the knowledge of these plentiful and with a medley of the literary devices I arm my self to take on the narrative essay that is to come.
Wilson, Budge. "On the Way." Before Green Gables. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 2008. 381. Print.
Kruse 7
The most interesting and enjoyable book I have had the fortune to lay eyes on is commonly known as Alice in Wonderland, but the correct title for this novel is Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. I also enjoy the sequel, Through the Looking Glass, but have not read it quite as many times as it’s predecessor. This work of fiction is pure whimsy and wonderment to minds of all ages. Lewis Carroll is a master of language—that is certain. Throughout the story, he uses puns and plays with words’ meanings to boggle and impress our minds. He also uses many alliterations, forms of personification, and metaphors. Wonderland has so many possibilities, and Carroll manipulates language to stretch them. Alice—in all her befuddled wonderment (caesura)! I love Alice because, in a sense, she grew up with me. Alice grows and shrinks, and everything in-between whilst wading about in the whimsical world of Wonderland (alliteration). She experiences discomfort, sadness, and frustration about her absurd changes in size, which represents her growing up, something we can all relate to. Alice’s adventures were purely entertainment in my younger years, but as I have grown older, each time I read it I have a newfound delight and appreciation for the text. One of the themes in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland that I have found is that life can sometimes be a pointless riddle. Riddles like “Why is a raven like a writing desk?” with no real answer pepper the book and cause me to wonder: Why do we so avidly seek to piece together the puzzle of life (anadiplosis)? Some questions that arise may seem to have perfectly logical answers, but like Wonderland, some things just do not make sense. Alice experiences these frustrations that are all too real in our world. Alice’s adventures, thanks to Carroll’s impeccable writing, are as enjoyable for us as they are frustrating for Alice.
Grage 2
The best book that I have read to this date is “Heaven is for Real” by Todd Burpo. Burpo used allusion, imagery, and bibliomancy perfectly. The author was the father of Colton, the son whom this true account is regarding. Burpo was a priest in a small town in Nebraska.
Colton was a three year old boy who went through an emergency appendectomy. After scarcely missing death, Colton started telling his parents, little by little, on how God had came and spoke to him during surgery. He would say things that God had told him and just carry on the conversation just like it was any other conversation. He would say things that his parents couldn’t believe that he would know, like about his grandfather that had died before he was born. They began asking Colton questions about God and what heaven was like, gaining knowledge each day. Being blessed by the Bible (alliteration), Colton would be able to tell stories that are specifically written down in the Bible. Being the age that he was, his parents would have to find the right opportunity to ask him or else he would get bored in this conversation. Todd asked him specifically what Jesus looked like; he wanted to know awfully bad so they went to a bunch of religious museums until they found a portrait that looked identical to Jesus: says Colton. Colton’s parents were not the only ones who got to learn from his experience.
My pillow cried (personification) while I read this book; reading about a three year old barely missing death is awful and saddening (mood). It was amazing to see a miracle come out of this story and to learn some amazing things that I never thought I would ever be able to obtain. This book helped me grow religiously and spiritually with God. “Heaven is for Real” was what I needed to take a step forward in my faith.
Tingle 2
My favorite narration would be the Harry Potter series. Of course I can't pick a single book of the series that's my favorite but they're all written quite similarly that they're all seen as epic in the same context to me. The talent J.K. Rowling uses her exquisite writing skills to create this fantastic series, all which includes devices like allegories, symbolism, and even descriptive language like cacophonies.
Her books released and started off with a bang (onomatopoeia), and it's no surprise that they did. She surely should (alliteration) produce more literary works, even though the Harry Potter series has ended. J.K. Rowling has even made it into the top 50 list on Forbe's List of the World's Most Powerful Females due to her influence caused by her wealth from this series. Before she wrote these books, she was nearly eating off the streets, she was so poor (hyperbole). I truly aspire to learn more and to improve my writing techniques in order to match hers in a similar fashion so that one day I can possibly be an exceptional writer like her.
Schroeder pd. 2
Heaven is for Real by Todd Burpo is one of my narrations because of the flawless imagery, vivid flashbacks, and the suspenseful story line. This non-fiction story is about a four-year-old from Nebraska who undergoes emergency surgery and slips from consciousness and enters heaven. Colton Burpo survives surgery and later on shares with his parents what he experienced. While he was in heaven he met his miscarried sister that no one told Colton about, his great-grandfather who died 30 years before Colton was born, and then went on to share impossible to know details about each. Colton’s dad, author of the book, captures the vivid images Colton described about his sister and grandfather. In this narration the young boy exuberantly explains (alliteration) all the neat events he witnessed.
As the author talks about the horrifying experience about his son being in the hospital, (flashback) he uses a great deal of suspense. Before taking Colton to the hospital, he had been having some major health problems. Since the boy was so young, it was hard for him to communicate with his parents exactly what wasn’t feeling right and no one knew at the time the large mass in his stomach could be life threatening. It created a feeling of uneasiness inside me (mood).
One memory Colton had was looking down on the doctors working on his body and seeing his dad praying alone in a small room and his mother praying on the phone. A fe years later, while being with his father in their basement, Colton picks up a picture of his grandfather in his youth and knows that this is his grandpa even though he had not met Colton during his lifetime. Colton goes onto explain that nobody in heaven is old and nobody wears glasses. This book is truly magic. (Metaphor)
Smith 1
Mounds of mountains pilled high of millions of novels, narratives and nonfiction books are in our means in order to gain factual material and messages or simply in favor for merriment (alliteration). Growing up from a young child to this day, I have read many books, from a five hundred-page book to a little picture book. As it is any author’s goal, the intent of writing a story is for the reader to never wanting to lay the book down. On this blog, I decided to take a different view. As a child, Dr. Seuss captured my attention in the old, classical tale- Cat in the Hat; therefore I thought Dr. Seuss’s writing was well fitted for this blog (His books are bursting with literary devices). With his solitary ways of writing, I always found myself rereading Cat in the Hat. The whole story is based off of personification—giving an animal human-like-qualities. Dr. Seuss achieves successful short stories by adding character in all of his writing. He seizes attention; starting off the short story with an irrational plot—two kids stuck inside on a rainy day, bored to death (Hyperbole)…Until something went BUMP (Onomatopoeia)! The Cat in the Hat appeared. The cat conveys trouble all throughout the story. And the fish in the bowl protests all of Cat’s ideas because he knows the mother would refuse the crazy activities coming from Cat. It would be feckless to articulate the whole storyline of The Cat in the Hat just because majority of students have encountered the book as a child. But ultimately, it is safe to say that Dr. Seuss acquires great examples of literary devices and obtains the kid’s attention with a crazy storyline!
Buse 2
Last year when I found myself completely emerged in a book found on a high school syllabus I was shaken to my core (idiom). Previously, I had found occasional stories that I enjoyed reading, but the never-ending discussion about symbols and purpose and word choice and everything, made me hate the book by the end of the unit. I understand that teachers want students to comprehend the authors meticulous literary devices because this comprehension will lead to appreciation and this appreciation will lead to a love of literature--but to me, it's often overkill (anadiplosis). I was enthralled by Kite Runner as soon as we were shown the introduction power point--and this enthrallment only grew as I read Khaled Hosseini's beautiful depiction of an Afghan boy's life. The symbolism hidden amongst words of anguish and terror connected with an intensive and curious reader in a way only a reader who wants to understand will. My favorite symbol in the story is often the most thought of symbol-- the red kite. This symbol is my favorite because it is not mentioned in the story once, but in the beginning, the middle, and the end of the epic tale. I also was enchanted by the authorial intrusion in the novel because it is not found in many of the stories I commonly read so it was a welcomed novelty to me. Finally, the suspense in this novel is unparalleled. I was asking questions and hypothesizing what would happen after the first two pages, and for me, this was the only novel that comes to mind that enticed me within every the first ten pages. Besides the masterful story-telling of Hosseini, the book taught me an abundance about a country I have grown up hearing about but have never been taught about. The way we read this book in class, could have been taught in a history class- except this time, I actually remember learning it. Kite Runner is the only school book I have cared to own, and since I finished the novel, it has been passed from friend to friend because I spoke so highly of it. This beautiful collabaration of words made me understand Afghan culture like an anthropologist while being as capticated as a child at Dinsey Land (simile). The novel resonated with me on so many levels of my life, taught me so many things and had the most captivating plot I have read--and that is something only one novel I have read has done for me.
One of the better books I have read would have to be The Old Man and the Sea by Earnest Hemingway. At first I was reluctant to even start the book and did not know what to expect. After reading into it a ways I found myself engrossed in the struggle the book portrays and constantly rooting for the success of the poor old man. I particularly admire how much symbolism Hemingway uses in the narrative. He often uses elements of nature to represent parts of our everyday lives. While he goes into detail about the sea and fishing, the story remains relatable and does not become stale because of unnecessary verbiage. In doing this, he gives me a connection to the story even though I may know little about fishing or the ocean. Such a feat takes great skill as a writer. Hemingway succeeds in doing this because he focuses on the struggle. Throughout the story the old man faces on challenge after another, and Hemingway puts you right in the boat with him, feeling all the pain and triumph as it comes. His descriptive power helps me to feel as though I was part of the action, and living through the old man’s eyes. I became so engrossed that I began to feel the same emotions as old man: the desperation, the endurance, the triumph, and the tragedy. Through it all Hemingway showed that it is not the victory or defeat that is the end game, but rather the struggle itself and how we choose to fight it. I can apply this same principle to my life, provided I remember that life is not about an end goal or victory, but about the struggle and how I choose to live each day.
Bingen 7
Of all the books I have read, the one that I remember most is Night, mainly because of its moving story and the unparalleled narrative abilities of its author Elie Wiesel. The novel centers around the autobiographical account of the author, who was imprisoned at the Auschwitz (Assonance) death camp in Germany during the Holocaust. I personally find the Holocaust morbidly interesting so when I got the chance to read about a personal account during English class, I was immediately immersed in the book. In fact, the narration of the novel was so effective that I often read ahead just because I wanted to find out more about what happened to Elie and his family. The story begins with Elie and his family on a train that, unknown to them at the time, was taking them to Auschwitz. Once there, Elie was separated from his mother and siblings, never to see them again. All he had left was his father so when he became ill, Elie had to scavenge food like a hyena just to keep him alive. (Simile) In addition, Elie gave either all or part of his ration to further increase his father’s chances of survival, becoming skinny as a pole in the process. (Hyperbole) Despite Elie’s best efforts, his father eventually succumbed to his ailments. Unfortunately, Elie was not even able to give him any proper burial as his father was brought to the ovens likely before he even stopped breathing, which also serves to strengthen the power of this narrative. The graphic details make the story seem more real and help readers connect with the author on a much more personal level than most novels. Also, given its impact on readers, one would expect a much longer work than it actually is. Containing only 120 pages, Night is not even close to the longest book I have read but it is by far the best. Despite its lack of length, Night packs in a plethora of emotion, a deeply moving story and a thoroughly informative account of what Holocaust victims went through, which in itself is a remarkable achievement.
Antrim 5
The best narration I have ever read would have to be "The Lucky One" by Nicholas Sparks. He is an amazing writer who understands how to lock people in and making them not want to put the book down. Sparks' talent using literary devices such as, foreshadowing, allegory, characterization, flashback, and suspense helps build up the story in a brilliant way. In “The Lucky One” Sparks foreshadows when in the beginning Logan (one of the main characters) and Keith (the ex husband of Beth) meet for the first time. Little do they know that they will get into a quarrel when they meet again and for the rest of the story. The allegory in the beginning with Beth’s photo found by Logan will in the end mean more than is seems. Logan finds the picture and it saves his life many times in Iraq. His friend tells him that it’s a lucky charm and he has a debt to pay back to the woman in the picture (Beth). So Logan finds the woman in the picture (Beth) and wants to work for her to repay his debt. Logan ends up falling in love with her and her also with him. In the end, the picture ends up saving Beth’s son and Logan all in one night making the picture Logan found a bigger symbol than he thought it was in the beginning. Sparks characterization was done exceptionally well. When Sparks described Logan, Beth and all of the other characters, I could easily picture what they looked like in my head, there body language and personalities. Flashback is a great way to explain a characters back story. Logan’s back story was very well done. Sparks made him out to be a deep man who had a lot on his mind. The flashbacks helped demonstrate how much of a deep man Logan was. Near the end of “The Lucky One” the suspense kills you if you don’t keep reading. The way Sparks built up the drama with the fight between Beth and Logan and the storm directly after and Beth’s son going missing in the midst of all this, really adds to the suspense. Sparks made it so there was so much going on and so much to worry about that you couldn’t wait to read the rest. All of these literary devices together made one heck of a book. In my eyes, Nicholas Sparks is one of the greatest authors of the time because of his use in literary devices. If ever given the chance to read any of Nicholas Sparks books, take it. You will not be disappointed.
Kline, 5
A stunning masterpiece, Victor Hugo's Les Miserables is by far the best novel I have ever read. Set in 1800's France, it follows the life of a man named Jean Valjean who, in attempts to feed his starving family, steals a loaf of bread . (Characterization) He is caught and sent to the galleys for a total of 19 years. After serving his time as a prisoner, Valjean struggles to find his way in society until he meets Bishop Myriel. Through the bishop, Valjean is set on the path to heaven, living an honest life. He breaks parole, creates a new identity for himself, becomes mayor rural town, and along the way, meets Fantine. Fantine is a young, poor woman with a small child who is turned to poverty and prostitution in order to pay for her daughter. Valjean is moved by this woman's tale, and promises to grant her dying wish—to care for her daughter, Cosette. Meanwhile, Valjean's past is starting to catch up to him. An inspector named Javert, who was prison guard during Valjean's time in the galleys, recognizes Valjean through his false identity. From this point on, it is Javert's goal to catch Valjean, and send him back to the galleys for breaking parole. However, Valjean must keep his promise to Fantine, and save Cosette from a life of poverty and misery. Cosette, clueless to Valjean's past, grows up admiring her father figure for the kind and generous man he is. Cosette soon falls in love with a boy named Marius Pontmercy. The problem is, Marius is one of the leaders of a rebel group that is trying to start the French Revolution (allusion). Almost as soon as they realize their love for each other, Marius has to go off to fight a losing battle. Valjean at this point, is upset about the idea of losing Cosette to Marius, but he chooses to put her wishes before his own (antithesis). He risks his own life by going to the barracks in attempt to save Marius and in doing so, reveals himself to Inspector Javert. Here, is where I will finish my extremely brief synopsis of the gargantuan novel, so that I don't give away any of the glorious ending. However, I will say this much, the last three to four hundred pages or so made me cry more than I have in my entire life (flashback) (authorial intrusion).
The emotional catharsis captured in the pages of Les Miserables is greater than any other book I have ever read. Hugo uses countless literary devises to make the story real. The most notable are the varying points of view, gripping imagery, allusions, creative archetypes, and superb characterization. As a side note, I dare anyone and everyone to read this novel because, although it is long, you will NOT regret it.
Clark 1
By far, the best narration that I can recall having read is "Powder" by Tobais Wolff. The story tells of a young man and his father leaving on a ski trip just before Christmas. The opening of the story involves the boy’s father pleading with his mother to allow him to take his son on a trip to Mount Baker. The setting explained in these first sentences indicates that the author (alludes) to the fact that his mother and father are no longer together with his telling of the last time he was “allowed” to take him that ended with the two sneaking into a night club to see a performer which angered his mother. Just reading this opening paragraph, I understood what the whole story would be about and was hooked, a simple story of a father trying desperately to keep the last shreds of his family life together. The author's use of (imagery) in these sentences is simple, yet speaks to the character of the father as the boy says he promised, with his hand over his heart, to have him home by Christmas Eve. As the story progresses with the father and son enjoying the last few runs on the mountain, the boy notices that the snow is falling heavily and the time indicates for the two to head for home. The young man’s mind goes to his home and the dinner that was waiting for him with the green tablecloth, the plates with the holly pattern, the red candles waiting to be lit, and the food that was awaiting his return (Imagery). After a short while the father and son are stopped at a barricade and are told that the snow has become so heavy that the road home is closed and it is here that I was finally made aware of the (Conflict) of the story, how will these two make it home on time to appease his mother? After a short stint in a local diner the father disappears, only to reappear later as if to be waiting for something miraculous to happen. The miracle just happens to occur when the two were questioning their situation. The police officer who had barricaded the road flies by with his lights on and the two rush to their vehicles and make toward the barricade. They approach the barricade, move it to the side, and push through the torrent of snow-covered road ahead of them. I fell in love with the story right here as the two have an inspirational conversation; with the father doing his absolute best to be confident of his skills, while at the same time undermining the intelligence of the decision he had made to break past this barricade. He says to his son that he should never try doing this as he doesn’t have the particular skill of “great driving” and should leave it to those who do while reassuring the boy that his skills, different from his father's, are wholly more useful. The father tells the boy about his uncanny ability is being able to think ahead as his greatest skill and the author seems comforted by this fact until he realizes that there would undoubtedly be officers on the other side of the closed road waiting for their arrival. At this point he gives in to the absurdity of his father’s decision and listens to the sounds of the road, the car, and the weather and speaks of how wonderful it was to watch this man do what he does best and let whatever consequences just happen. This story is one of my favorites because in three pages the story of a young man and his father bonding over what could have been a miserable experience and just in the nick of time make it home and giving a sense that just “letting it ride” doesn’t have to be something to be feared.
The most enjoyable literary work I have read to date would be Exit Here by Jason Myers. Exit Here entices readers with its tale of the young adult Travis, a young adult trying to reconstruct his lost social life after moving away to college and witnessing tragedy. Travis becomes consumed by the life of partying and doing drugs. Therefore, he loses connection with all his prior friends, and his life periodically falls apart. Jason Myers is a master of suspense. Throughout the composition foreshadowing is used to allude to the specific event that changed Travis’s life back in Hawaii. Like a jigsaw puzzle, Travis’s tale of enjoyment and sorrow gets pieced together through brief flashbacks of the event in question (Metaphor). Only in the end does the truth come out only to blow the mind of all emotionally dedicated readers.
Travis begins the novel distant and out of touch with his friends of old. Throughout the novel he begins reacquainting himself with his past compatriots. As the novel progresses Travis discovers that the tether between himself and his friends had been severed (Simile). As he matures and develops a plan for life, his comrades cling to their old life of partying and begin to slowly separate themselves from Travis. Myers’ exquisite use of framing device shows the progression of Travis as a person and how he ends up similar to how he did in the beginning, isolated from society.
Cocaine plays a huge role in the novel as Travis and his friends abuse the drug to escape their bleak reality. Cocaine as well as the other drugs Travis consumes symbolizes how dismal his life and friends really are. Many of the characters consume cocaine constantly (alliteration), due to their overuse of the drug they experience the most horrific life changing events. Travis himself becomes more and more addicted as the story unravels. Proportionally his life takes the same nosedive, until he takes the initiative to break the vicious cycle. Similarly he begins to repair his shattered life and do what’s morally right. Unfortunately the ending of the novel witnesses Travis’s life, despite all his efforts, crumble before his very eyes.
My favorite book is My Sister’s Keeper. This is written by Jodi Picoult. I have read this book numerous times. I do not always remember all of the small details but overall the story is very moving because it is based on a true story. This creates one of her strongest literary devices to be diction. Diction is using a character’s language to describe them through the way they speak. The whole book is written from different points of view. This helps create many different sides of the story but yet they are all telling the same story. She also uses imagery. She does not hide all of the horrendous things that are happening to Anna, who has leukemia. This helps create a clear picture of what is going on in all of their lives. One last literary device that is used well in My Sister’s Keeper is multiple narrators. This is important in the book because all of them are reacting differently to Anna having leukemia. Some of the emotions that the characters have are not entirely expected. Expected are the feelings of sadness but not the feelings of anger at the child with leukemia. Leukemia causes their happy family to have an immeasurable amount of stress and tension between each other.
When I read this story I enjoyed it so much because of the constant action. There is always numerous different events happening at once and Jodi Picoult shows this with the different character’s perspectives. This entices the reader to keep reading. I enjoyed her book so much that I went out and bought the book. The book also made me cry. I find it extremely helpful if the author brings you into the story and makes you bond with the characters. It was easy to connect with the book because it was over the topic of leukemia. No one wants to hear that a family member or child has leukemia. It was a book filled with exponential amounts of passion; pathos.
My favorite book is My Sister’s Keeper. This is written by Jodi Picoult. I have read this book numerous times. I do not always remember all of the small details but overall the story is very moving because it is based on a true story. This creates one of her strongest literary devices to be diction. Diction is using a character’s language to describe them through the way they speak. The whole book is written from different points of view. This helps create many different sides of the story but yet they are all telling the same story. She also uses imagery. She does not hide all of the horrendous things that are happening to Anna, who has leukemia. This helps create a clear picture of what is going on in all of their lives. One last literary device that is used well in My Sister’s Keeper is multiple narrators. This is important in the book because all of them are reacting differently to Anna having leukemia. Some of the emotions that the characters have are not entirely expected. Expected are the feelings of sadness but not the feelings of anger at the child with leukemia. Leukemia causes their happy family to have an immeasurable amount of stress and tension between each other.
When I read this story I enjoyed it so much because of the constant action. There are always a million different events happening at once and Jodi Picoult shows this with the different character’s perspectives. This entices the reader to keep reading. I enjoyed her book so much that I went out and bought the book. The book also made me cry. I find it extremely helpful if the author brings you into the story and makes you bond with the characters. It was easy to connect with the book because it was over the topic of leukemia. No one wants to hear that a family member or child has leukemia. It was a book piled with plenty amounts of passion; pathos.
My literary devices: anadiplosis, hyperbole, and alliteration.
Arens 2
To me the best narration that I have read would have to be A Child Called It by Dave Pelzer. This book is the story of young Dave’s life with an abusive mother. The mom would play “games” with David pretty much trying to kill him. While reading this book you feel sympathy for David and hate for the mother. The author uses suspense within the book many times. He uses suspense while talking about being at school and what he is looking for when he gets home. Even during the “game” his mother plays with him the reader has a feeling of suspense and sorrow. The mother treated David like a dog (simile). He had to live out in the garage with nothing but a cot and no blanket. David was the “smelly kid” in class. He had no real friends and his own brothers treated him like a slave. Throughout the period of time David is with his mother he is in a lot of pain and wants her dead. One of the “games” she played was locking David in the bathroom with nothing but a bucket full of ammonia and bleach and told him to have the bathroom clean within a short amount of time. David could not breathe and ended up on the ground gasping for breath close to death (imagery). The author used a lot of imagery within this book. I could not put it down because of the anticipation of what would happen next. This whole book is an example of a flashback on David’s life. The author is in fact the little boy within the story. The book creates a feeling of despair, distraughtness, and doubt (alliteration). This book uses a lot of literary devices like suspense, imagery, and flashback. I would recommend this book for anyone.
Swanson 1
I have not read many books in my life. Though there is one book that I have read that I consider to be the greatest narrative that I have read. Now normally when I have to read a book for class, I don't see it as a book that I would enjoy, but when in 10th grade English, I had to read Night by Elie Wiesel. Wiesel talks about his times spent in the concentration camps as a Jew during World War II. In his novel, he uses literary devices to get his points across and to show his readers what really happened to him during the years of imprisonment. He uses a lot of imagery to show his readers exactly how things happened using many details along with it. Some examples of his imagery would be him seeing a pile of infants in which the Nazis were about the set the pile on fire. Also about everyone's health and them getting emaciated saying that they were nothing but bone. Wiesel also uses similes and metaphors to compare living in the concentration camps and having live in the ghettos after they were forced out of their homes. Wiesel also used hyperbole in his novel to get readers to think about what he went through and how bad it really was. Anything history related fascinates me, and the Holocaust is an interesting one indeed. Once I heard in English class that we would be reading a autobiography type of book of a survivalist of the Holocaust, I knew that this book would be a very good read. I finished the book ahead of the scheduled time we were supposed to read it by because Wiesel kept wanting me to read ahead and see what would happen next. This book uses plenty of literary devices to keep readers stuck on the book and I would personally recommend this book to any of you who has not had the chance to read it yet.
Staab 5
Having to chose my favorite narrative story is incredibly hard. I came home crying the first day of Kindergarten because I didn’t learn how to read. Almost eleven years and hundreds of books later I can’ chose a favorite one. From J.K Rowling to John Green my favorite books reach all ends of different types of books. But one book that I could read for the rest of my life is John Green’s ‘The Fault in our Stars’ and ‘An Abundance of Katherines’ .
‘The Fault in Our Stars’ is filled with symbolisms, so many that my brain hurt after I read John’s reasoning behind them all. “Q: Why the name Augustus Waters? A: There’s a lot of water in the book. Ke moments occur in a city famous for its canal, a city that engineers basically built by pulling away the water, and Hazel is herself a person surviving thanks to doctors pulling away the water in her longs. Also, water is both a Source of nourishment and a potent force of destruction.” (Green, John. The Fault in Our Stars. New York: Dutton, 2012. Print.)
Also in this book John has many allusions. He references, Julius Caesar, William Shakespeare, and his quote “The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves.” and that is a direct allusion to the title of the book. Green also makes allusions to “The love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, T. S. Elion, “Ceci n’est pas une pipe,” Magritte, Zeno’s Tortoise Paradox, Maslow’s Hierarchy of Need, and “The Red Wheelbarrow,” William Carlos Williams. ("The Fault in Our Stars Allusions & Cultural References." Shmoop. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Oct. 2013.)
In the Abundance of Katherines the main character Colin makes up many ananagrams, although I can’t recall which words he exactly uses, I do remember when he finds this town, and a new Katherine, he spots the Archduke Ferdinand’s grave site. The lore is the town bought the body to help out Austria in times of need, when if fact it is Katherine’s great-great(?) grandfather’s name mixed into an ananagram.
Paul 2
By far the best narrative I have ever read is The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks. I discovered this book when I took a trip to Barnes&Noble where it was screaming my name from the moment I picked it up.(personification) Once I started reading it I was hooked; putting it down only when I was completely finished. This book put me on an emotional roller-coaster, as I was seemingly bawling throughout the whole book.(hyperbole) Being a stereotypical girl, I always enjoy a good love story; of course, being written by Nicholas Sparks, The Lucky One fit those requirements.
Having a limited attention span I need books that attract me from the start, The Lucky One succeeded at this. The book starts off with several literary devices. Sparks begins this novel with a flashback to when Logan Thibault—the main character—was stationed in Iraq he sees a photograph of a smiling young blonde buried in the sand. He attempts to find the owner, but when he fails he decides to keep it. Soon he finds himself having extraordinary luck; luck that keeps him alive. When he returns to the US, he and his dog Zues— used as a symbol of protection and love—set out to find this women who presumably saved his live. In Hampton, North Carolina he is able to find her. Although, not at first, he soon falls in love with Elizabeth Clayton. However, they do not become happily married (oxymoron) without a conflict. Although Logan’s initial plan was to show Elizabeth the picture he could not get himself to do it. This became a problem when Keith (Beth’s ex-husband) finds the picture. This creates dramatic irony because we know Keith had the picture but Logan did not know. The conflict occurs because Beth finds out about the picture via Keith, she was devastated due to the fact that she had given it to her brother who passed away at war. It is also ironic because we know that Logan and her brother were in the same company but no one else does. As the story unfolds, the question is will Beth ever understand and forgive Logan. Readers who can relate to love, drama, and hard dedication will enjoy this novel, and even the movie, as much as I did.
Ask, pd 5
Without a doubt, my favorite piece of literature that I have read, is Roots by Alex Haley. Besides the fact that Haley and I share the same name, I stumbled upon the use of diction in the novel. The book is about slavery, and words were written, as they would say it. (Master is Massa) I found this was also true in Huckleberry Finn, but Roots surpasses that by far. The second literary device that I like in the novel is the use of pathos. It is amazing how much I cared for these characters by the end. Yes we learn about it in school, but we never realize just how terrible slavery was. Some may snicker at that statement with a rebuttal of "of course we knew it was bad, it's slavery.' but the book give you a new insight on it, particularly the trip over to the Americas. Kinte is on a ship for three months, nearly always shackled, vomit and feces fill the space, and what little food there is, tastes like garbage. He develops decubiti (bedsores) from not moving, and thus cutting of circulation, killing the tissue, and leaving exposed muscle on splintery wood. I didn't think I could ever feel that sorry for a character. The point of view was also different from anything else I had read. It was in third person, but it frequently switched from one main character to the next because the book takes place over a span of 250 years. The first time it happened I was shocked because I came to the realization that I wouldn't ever hear from the other characters ever again, and that they are gone forever. It is a kind of suspense, very odd kind, but unique.
This novel is just all around amazing, I have to thank my aunt for forcing me to read it. I would wish more people would read this novel, despite it being as wide, tall, and thick as a textbook, with smaller font. Let me tell you, yes it takes ages to read, but every minute will be enjoyed, and it is almost like a ongoing TV series. Read it. It will not fail to impress you. (coming from a guy who doesn't read very often, or if he doesn't have too).
Lusk 5
As a student, my list of novels and narratives that I have read extends to what is assigned to me. When it comes to picking out a book that interests me it’s very hard. I have never described myself as a big reader. However, last summer my mom bought me a book and begged me to read it (alliteration). She said it was a big hit among teens and that it would catch my attention (personification). The book is entitled “The Last Song” by Nicholas Sparks. This book was so intriguing that I never wanted to put it down. As I can tell from scrolling through the comments, it must have been a hit among teenagers. Nicholas Sparks is known for his masterpieces. He is a god of romantic novels (metaphor).
“The Last Song was so captivating because of the way that Sparks portray and develops his characters. As it the story goes on, the reader becomes attached to the characters and creates their own opinion about each. Sparks uses many literary devices to build his book. One that is used all throughout the story is suspense. He gives hints about a certain incident that happened previously without telling exactly what it was. At the end of the story when we find out we are able to put all the clues together and make sense of them all. Another literary device that he uses is symbolism. The piano is the main symbol in this book. It connects Ronnie and her dad and symbolizes their relationship. She stopped playing the piano at a young age when her father left her and then when she returns with him for a summer many years later she is hesitant about playing it. When she doesn’t play it her relationship with her father is foggy and not good. As she begins to play it more you can see the relationship between the two grow. Nicholas Sparks does a good job using a wide range of literary devices throughout his narrative and because of it, it has made it an epic narration.
Knudtson 7
The best narration I have ever read was Kite Runner. It was a hard debate between my top two; Kite Runner surpassed the Redwall Series written by Brian Jacques. The reasons for these words are this, Kite Runner is a phenomenal book. Kite Runner was one of the three book in my highschool career that I wanted to keep reading because I wanted to know more, I wanted to know what was next. Kite Runner was amazingly descriptive. It was not always detailed in a good sense as certain scenes, though powerful, were not necessarily wanted to be read among my classmates. Even though I may not have wanted the descriptions I am very happy they are there. Another reason I got into it was the sympathy for young Hassan to have gone through what he has, and what a “great friend” Amir was. It was astounding how the author, Khaled Hosseini, could help change the feelings toward Sohrab between: “He is has an amazing aspiration to please his father.” then, BAAAM! “that does not matter, he is the worst companion conceivable.” Even my emotions changed from love to hatred, then back to love. I did not always understand why this happened. The third literary device Khaled Hosseini used was symbol. Most books use these as way to give either an underlying message or a parallel one. My classmates and I had a project to construct a kite in Mrs. Sazama’s class including, I believe, three symbols. Some of these wonderful symbols are the two kites, one being a beautiful red and the other a deep blue. Another major symbol is the monster in the lake. This may just be a made up dream to comfort Amir for his upcoming challenge in the Kite Fighting. I believe it is a symbol of Amir, as later that day Hassan is raped in an alley has Amir stands by idly. Amir is the monster Hassan’s dream. These three literary devices make Kite Runner an amazing book that I would recomend to anyone, and everyone.
Literary devices: Alliteration, onomatopoeia, and Imagery
Wright 1
Throughout the extent of my seventeen years-- I have consistently dreaded English class, year after year, the time came to read another dull and monotonous novel. Ugh, great… (Flashback) As I am handed, yet another, book from my instructor, I glance down to find the quality in quite poor condition; the outside cover is washed out, the spine is completely unattached from the page—countless bending and twisting as if were an Olympic gymnast. In the mist of my amusement, wink wink, I am interrupted by the wincing image of a child covered head-to-toe with bruises engulfing almost every inch of the child’s fragile body; a weak victim of child abuse. My naïve and banal personality towards author’s and their wondrous masterpieces vanished almost instantly. Warm and heavy-hearted applause is showered upon autobiography author, Dave Pelzer, also known as The Child Called “It”… His extraordinary heroic, yet, painful tale is based off of his sinister worst nightmare; his own mother. Pelzer explains his childhood in graphic detail, from his mother shoving him in to a scalding oven to the constant fight for food: “As I held a piece of frozen pumpkin pie crust or a bit of a taco shell, I was the King, and like a King on his throne, I gazed down at my food and smiled” (79). Pelzer’s mother targeted only him with intense rage and brutality; he despised her to such an extent—gas chambers were established inside the household. (Imagery) The gas chamber was a punishment, in which Pelzer received frequently, in fact, multiple times a week. The chamber consisted of ammonia and Clorox coherently mixed into a bucket. The bucket was placed along side Pelzer, trapped inside the family bathroom. Due to the hazard chemical mixture, oxygen was limited and he noticed his breaths were slowly getting shorter and began to feel light-headed; the fumes blocked the oxygen from reaching his brain and lungs. Fortunately, by the gift of God’s miracles, Pelzer eventually was released from not only his hellhole of a home, but also liberated from his mother’s nefarious reigns. (Theme) Pelzer’s writing offers hundreds of thousands of individuals one particular emotion; hope. The hope for a brighter, joyous day-- the hope to cast away all sorrow and doubt-- and the hope that no matter how awful, tragic, or feckless our lives may seem, having faith makes that teeny-tiny light at the end of the tunnel, a little more, optimistic…
Dykstra 7
As I am such a huge fan of books, I find it very hard to narrow down "the best narration I have ever read" to just one book. However, one narration I read recently which I found to be most enjoyable and striking is "American Psycho" by Bret Easton Ellis. In this book, Ellis uses a number of literary devices, including symbolism, stream of consciousness, and flashbacks, to make the narrator of the story, Patrick Bateman, jump off the pages (metaphor). Despite the utter loathing one must feel for Bateman when reading this story, Ellis manages to make readers feel undeniably sympathetic for this man, who is a cold-blooded killer, yet as fragile as a baby (simile).
The symbolism in "American Psycho" is absolutely phenomenal. Although the book is full of symbolism, my favorite example of this is the ending of the last sentence of the book: "...and on the sign in letters that match the drapes' [red] color are the words THIS IS NOT AN EXIT." Without spoiling the book for those who may desire to read it, these words symbolize how Bateman can do as many insane, disturbing things as he wants, but this will not make his dull life any less banal. When I arrived at this point in the book, I became a bumbling baboon, as I found this so poignant I was at a complete loss for words (alliteration & metaphor).
Ellis also uses stream of consciousness very effectively, occasionally incorporating sentences that are each literally pages long. These sections describe what Bateman sees and hears, and are so terribly boring that they truly give readers a sense of how dull and uninteresting Bateman finds his life. They allow readers to get inside Bateman's head; they perhaps allow us to understand why Bateman does such awful things.
Near the end of the book, flashbacks are often utilized. Instead of normal flashbacks, however, these flashbacks show how Bateman now perceives past events, rather than him remembering how they truly occurred. Through these, Ellis proves how confused Bateman is about his own life, and also makes a point about how our own perceptions can be incorrect. "American Psycho" is a deeply disturbing book which forces all readers to question their own lives, and I would recommend it to all mature and intellectual readers.
Berberich 2
As I have grown up I would have to say my favorite classification of books is nonfiction. One of my favorite books I have read would be Nicholas Sparks book The Last Song. The story contains much suspense, imagery, and foreshadowing. The imagery Sparks uses to keep a reader into his books is extensive. The story is truly unique; the way Sparks kept me involved was making me laugh, cry, and the urge to read more. The story starts off with an intriguing character named Ronnie, who at the time is confused with the direction of life. The unique idea about The Last Song is Ronnie faces numerous things in her life other teenagers do in theirs. For the summer Ronnie’s mother sends her and her brother to their fathers, to stay out of trouble. Ronnie ends up falling in love with a boy and her brother spends quality time with their father. The suspense builds within the very beginning of the story when the camera continually flashes to the past and to the current day of the father’s (life inside the church). In the end of the story the reader learns Ronnie’s father is sick and sentenced to die with only a few weeks of their summer left. However, as Ronnie’s father becomes more sick she breaks up her boyfriend and focuses her time on her father. Towards this part of the book I was on the verge of tears, because the time Ronnie spends with her father is the last she is ever going to have. Once Ronnie’s father dies in the end of the book I was so emotionally taken in with this book I was balling. (Which was awful for me at the time; I was in study hall!) The last few pages of the story is where I predicted foreshadowing. Ronnie’s boyfriend Will returns to her at her father’s funeral to express his condolences and Ronnie and Will get back together; while the story is complete with a satisfying ending. The Last Song is a great story with an amazing ending, incorporated with numerous literary devices. The message behind this story is do not take anything for granted.
Lien 5
One of my favorite books, though for children, is The Indian in the Cupboard written by Lynne Reid Banks. It includes the element of foreshadow as the mother finds importance in saving the key from her mother’s possessions. The key is so important that the author has her wearing it on a ribbon draped on her neck. The key, when put into the cupboard, is what holds the power to turn the toys to living objects. Not only does the magic captivate readers but the first person narrative does as well. Omri, the main character, is telling the story the whole time giving the reader an idea as to what is going on through Omri’s perspective. It draws the readers in because they are then put into the narrator’s shoes and are often times drawn in and lost in the book. This makes it difficult to put the book down because you are only given the sights, thoughts, and ideas of the narrator—you are not omniscient—that puts a strain on being able to know everything that is going on. When you don’t know what is going on in everybody’s mind, you can’t guess as easily as to what is going to happen next. However, the largest literary element used throughout this book is personification. Without personification in this book, there would be no story. Banks brings the Native American toys to life. These toys end up being the main focus of the story because they are the subjects that teach Omri so many life lessons, most importantly responsibility. These toys are allowed to move around and communicate as humans do after the first turn of the magic key into the cupboard. The toys are stripped of this privilege after the second turn of the key. This was one of the best books I have ever read since I never really did enjoy reading in elementary school, this book changed that for me.
Klamm 2
While The Road is not my favorite book that I have ever read, the way Cormac McCarthy writes is unique, startling and moving. With very little punctuation, including no use of quotation marks, the actual task of reading and understanding The Road can be quite difficult at times. It is like reading a map without any of the streets labeled; you can still get to where you are going but it will be much more difficult (Simile). Without the help of punctuation, you as the reader are forced to focus more than you usually would on what the characters and the author are saying and this builds better understanding off the story. The story is about an unnamed father and son team that has survived through an unexplained apocalypse. The plot follows these two as they try to survive, fighting off constant fear, the cold and cannibals (Alliteration). One of the best things about The Road is the imagery that is used within. He describes everything that is bad within the post-apocalyptic world as being dark, black etc., while everything that is good is describe as being light or white. For instance, the general destruction of the landscape is described as being a bleak, dark grey and generally horrible. He employs alliteration in describing the bleakness saying, “Nights dark beyond darkness and the days more gray each one than what had gone before” (McCarthy 1) He describes the boy’s hair as having a golden light quality which emphasizes the goodness within him. McCarthy also uses many similes and metaphors throughout the novel. One important simile sets the theme for the rest of the book. He talks of how the world is fading away, “like the onset of some cold glaucoma dimming away the world” (McCarthy 1). Overall The Road is a great example of a narrative story that employs many literary devices to make life after world destruction seem possible and real. McCarthy simply blew me away with his mastery of the written word (idiom).
McCarthy, Cormac. The Road. New York: Vintage Books, 2006. Print
Kramer 2
From Dr. Seuss books to 500 plus page novels, I’ve read my fair share of books. I’m not one to read and re-read books; however, “Thirteen Reasons Why” by Jay Asher I cannot seem to put down. Each time I read the novel I am blown away by something new I encounter (idiom). The book captivates a reader and pours out with mystery (personification). This book depicts the story of a young man, Clay, who receives an odd set of cassette tapes (ah yes those were the days)—only to find out they were sent from a dead classmate of his. He questions how she could have sent them, she killed herself right? Throughout the book he figures out how he, along with others, plays a role in pushing Hannah, who committed suicide, over the edge (idiom). Hannah holds thirteen different people from her high school accountable for her death. As if they should have known, should have realized, what horrid things they were putting her through. The Clay becomes wrapped up in the tapes.
Essentially the tapes are a flashback on Hannah’s last months. She recounts the physical and emotional scars engrained on her body. “ ‘Good morning, Hannah,’ it says. And every night when I get ready for bed. ‘Sleep tight’” (68)(personification). The “it” Hannah is referring to is a scar one of her “friends” left on her body. She not only has a constant physical reminder but also now she cannot forget the event correlated with it. Throughout the book Jay Asher creates suspense. It kept me turning page after page. From a syntax point of view a majority of the sentences are fragments. Partially due to the fact that the book is conversational and contains a lot of dialogue. The fragments also emphasize Clay’s incomplete thoughts out of shock and disbelief. Hannah also uses short phrases, indicating that either the tapes were difficult for her to record, or her intent is to make her message simple so everyone will understand her pain. Lastly, another interesting literary device used would be the points of view. Asher switches between Clay being the narrator and Hannah taking over as narrator. I believe this helps the novel to be more dramatic and have more of an impact. If Clay were to tell everything from his point of view the book would be quite bland. “Seeing” things through the view of a suicidal teenage girl gives the reader more of a chill and interest.
Overall, this is by far one of my favorite books and I suggest anyone go and check it out.
Spurlin 2
Singling out my favorite book with respect to its narration proves difficult. However, Lone Survivor, by Marcus Luttrell with Patrick Robinson, utilizes excellent narration. Prior to this reading I never understood the sacrifices soldiers take, nor did I realize how much respect they deserve until I read this eyewitness account. As Marcus Luttrell narrates, the story opens with him describing the agonizing pain of the loss of his Navy SEAL teammates. Heartfelt motivation leads him across the country to sit down with widows to discuss the quintessential heroism fought on the battlefield until their husbands’ last breath. Making the cut for the Navy SEAL takes incredible determination, although harder, it is similar to training for a marathon (analogy). Luttrell uses vivid and profane language to describe his experience in Afghanistan. In one instance he is dodging millions of bullets while carrying his partner, Murphy, to a shelter to die more peacefully (hyperbole). Navy SEALS are trained to be the world’s most acute warriors; Luttrell’s teammates were overly arrogant in their abilities of training. He even mentions in a casual manner nobody is tougher than the SEALS. His pride rubbed off of the U.S. military rubbed off on me (idiom). Utter silence blanketed the mountains, trenchant rain heightened their senses, and fortitude buried fear of spies (personification x3). My body was frozen in fear when the battle began and saddened when it was over, his vivid language of the battle on the ridge kept my attention longer than any other book. In fact, I was startled when a bang sounded off in my house during the battle scene my heart raced, yet I could not put the book down. In this fight for his life he repeats over and over that he wants to see his family again and feels obligated to the story of deceased teammates. I was moved by this because mister tough guy expressed affection and proved humanity has its limits. Ultimately, splendid narration makes a tremendous difference in the reader’s experience.
Congratulations Brian! You finally have a real date. However, thanks to your bad luck, you forgot the most important thing on a hot date like this one. No, you didn't forget to shave. You didn't forget to shower either. Cutie-patootie is hungry, and leave it to you to forget the food. Way to go. You need a fast fix, and fast. Where's the best place to get cheap crap for cheap? Lucky for you, your friendly, neighborhood Wal-Mart is actually not that close, or friendly. While you're strutting around its aisles, surrounded by screaming babies and annoying foreigners, you look to your left and see it. As you stare down that short, fat thing with huge, hairy feet, you propel yourself backwards in repulsion thinking "Dear God, what is that thing?" You haven't seen a more hideous creature (Anecdote). What is it? Could it be a dwarf? Or do they prefer the term midget? I can never be sure. Perhaps it is a pigmy from the bowels of the Congo. Although, they don't often leave Africa, so that’s not very likely. More importantly, where did that halfling coming from? Surely someone knows where these Shire folk originate. Allow me to introduce you to J.R.R. Tolkien, author, visionary, genius (Anastrophe). I can assure you, this fine specimen of a man will assuredly know that that thing you saw was called a hobbit. In Tolkien's book, conveniently named The Hobbit, he goes to great lengths to explain these mysterious beings. Often he employed Narrative Intrusion to his work to add little tidbits of extra information about these enigmatic creatures, that mere third-person storytelling would be hard-pressed to compete with. Although, it would be foolish to think that such a wise man would only write about Hobbits in his book. He writes a grand tale about underdogs and proletariats, good and evil, death and destruction, all with a refreshingly humorous tone and a light-hearted personality to boot. And rest easy Brian, there's no romance aside from Bilbo and his Hobbit hole (sorry ladies). He illustrates his beautiful world excellently with vivid Imagery and great detail. He weaves the masterful story of Bilbo Baggins through the use of Bildungsroman, showing him grow and progress for the better as a character and as a hobbit, overcoming innumerable and seemingly indomitable obstacles.
Jackson 5
I would have to say that The Great Gatsby would be my favorite novel. Mainly because the new movie came out the same year as the year i read it but also because of the amount of literary devices F. Scott Fitzgerald uses in it. Symbolism is the most obvious as the book is littered with different symbols such as the green light at the end of the dock symbolizing the action to go and try to start a relationship with Daisy, and the color of his clothes and car symbolizing coins and money (alliteration) Flashbacks are also used, most notedly the flashback of Gatsby telling about his past in the war. Fitzgerald also uses similes. One of which is when Nick is narrating to the audience about one of Gatsby’s parties, “In his blue gardens men and girls came and went like moths among the whispering and the champagne and the stars”. I saw one of the older Great Gatsby’s and the new one. I actually do like the new one more as i think it seems to follow the book closer even though the music does not fit the time period. I felt both the movie and book really drew you into a different world and time to make it feel as if you were there (simile). Unlike a lot of books and movies this seem like one you could read or watch a few times before it becomes mundane. The characters are fresh and believable that cross with heated drama and tension to depict a wonderfully chaotic atmosphere (imagery). This mixed with a plethora of similes, metaphors and perfectly placed symbolism creates a novel that can be enjoyed by many. It is obvious that many people adore this book as it has been produced into 6 different films starting in 1926 in a silent movie to today’s 2013 production featuring Leonardo DiCaprio.
PART TWO--Because apparently there's a word limit
For all of this and much, much more, The Hobbit is a truly a remarkable work of art. Tolkien draws his Mona Lisa with pristine beauty and grace (Metaphor). However, it wasn't a Hobbit wandering the local supermarket that I decided to pick up the book for myself. I first desired to gaze upon its pages after watching the movie adaptation of some of Tolkien's other novels, more specifically, The Two Towers. My father was watching the movie on the big screen--a whopping 36 inch brick--and when I saw those armor-clad orcs plod across the grassy fields of Rohan, their footsteps thundering and their black armor piercing my soul with fear, I hid my eyes behind my hands and begged it to... keep going. Something about those roaring monsters intrigued me. I could see their swords and spears between my slightly split fingers and the eventual release of my hands, and I saw a battle was coming. I could see my Legos come to life up on the TV, and when they threw their bodies upon the walls of Helm's Deep like water on rock, the intense bloodshed, yet the serene storytelling had me hooked like a crack addict. After finishing the movie, I was told there was a movie before it, so we watched it. Then, sometime later, I was told another movie was coming out, so we watched it. Shortly thereafter, I was told there were books. Already quite the bookworm, I screamed like a little girl inside my soul (not out loud of course) and rushed immediately to the nearest library to get my hands on the beautiful gem that was a copy of Tolkien’s first book in the Lord of the Rings Saga, what is only now becoming a cinematic masterpiece. The Hobbit was in my hands and its gripping charm and driving storyline had me reading that book like it was my job. Eight hours and one book later, I put down what is no longer my favorite book ever. The Hobbit, for all its action and humor, for the deep, moving storyline and for characters that make you want to kiss them one minute then deeply desire defenestrating them or other characters the next, cannot be my favorite book. Sure it was at one time, but just as a progressing writer will write bigger, bolder stories stronger, faster, and better than he ever had before, a progressing reader will read bigger, bolder stories stronger, faster, and better than he ever had before.
Looking back on the times I was being forced to read books for English I still remember disliking the process very much. Now that I have finished reading these books I realize the two that stand out very much are Kite Runner and A Tale of Two Cities. The thought of processing words to form coherent sentences and paragraph generally chases me from reading larger novels such as this, but I have learned that the reward received after is satisfactory. After analyzing and resolving all the questions the book has given me I have really learned to appreciate these works.
From the beginning I had no idea where A Tale of Two Cities was headed aside from the obvious revolution. When I recall reading this novel I appreciate the character integration among two completely separate classes, the location ties between two locations that did not seem to be directly connected, and the overall experimentation with things that would not have normally fit together given the circumstances. Both this and Kite Runner stressed the importance of having intense, suspenseful situations to keep the reader intrigued in between the dry but crucial dialogue. To me a lengthy book needs to have these moments because it is not the process of reading that the reader remembers but the story itself and being able to enjoy the complexity of every aspect that makes such stories great. These novels also have a great sense of realism when it comes to timelines. They embody such a real life timeline that its actually believable how long it takes to resolve or not resolve the issues given. The encompassing idea to a great narrative is to have a unique, original story that distracts the reader from the actual reading process and is easy to remember for years to come.
One of the best narrations I have ever read is The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster. The first time I ever read this book, I was about 8 years old. Since then, I have probably read it around 20 times. My copy of the book has a creased, cracked cover, and worn out pages that demonstrate how much use this book has had(alliteration). This book is incredible in many ways; it is clever, ironic, and very entertaining. The Phantom Tollbooth is descriptive and magical, appealing to young children, and as the reader gets older the book only becomes better, as they discover and appreciate the multitude of puns and clever jokes on every page.
This book not only contains many literary devices, but it point them out and takes them in an entirely new direction. It makes jokes in the magical land where idioms and sayings are literal, like the chapter in which they accidentally jump to the literal island of Conclusions, or they take a wrong turn and end up in the Doldrums. This book is stuffed with puns. The main character, Milo, runs into fascinating characters like the Whether Man, the Humbug, the Spelling Bee, and the Which. These interesting characters also lend themselves to the use of irony, as they often are not who they appear at first to be. Finally, the most important literary device for me in this book is imagery. This book has some of the most descriptive, interesting, vivid imagery I have ever read. It was certainly the first book I had ever read with this kind of imagery. Nothing in this book is the way you would expect it to be, and it is all so bizarre that the descriptions really lead you into a whole new world. Reading this book is like looking at a picture, because you can imagine everything perfectly in your mind(simile). The feeling is as if you are in the book, experiencing the same things as the characters.
This book is not only fun to read, but it really makes you think about things from a whole new perspective. It helped me appreciate language and acknowledge all of the things we never think about when we read, write, and speak. 10 years after I first read this book, I still love how the story describes the taste of letters and words, the sight of sounds, and the literal meaning behind things we say every day. Reading this book is a piece of cake(idiom); the 256 pages will turn themselves as you adventure through this narration.
Murtha 5
My favorite book is While My Sister Sleeps! Barbra Delinsky interlocks her audience right away by presenting the conflict between two sisters, Molly and her older sister Robin. Molly has an internal conflict between her busy life and keeping up with Robin who is an amazing athlete. The need for sleep take priority over her sisters morning run and later finds that her sister was transported to the nearest ICU. The plot builds as Robin’s condition continues to worsen. Molly takes the blame all on herself because she was not with her sister on the morning of the crash. Not only is she feeling guilty for her choices; her family starts to turn on her and each other. One conflict after another presents its’ self to the family and they struggle to stay together. The plot thickens as secrets begin to unfold about Robins past and why all of a sudden her heart failed on her. The intense novel keeps the interest of its’ readers attention locked on Molly’s dissembled life and Robin’s life threatening condition.
The reason I have come to love and reread Barbra Delinky’s book is because the troubles with family life often go unwritten in books. Delinky’s scenario may not be idealistic in my life but It relates to the pain I would feel about my sister if she, Christine, is similar to Molly’s pain. The one time that Christine was rushed to the ER my life seemed to fall apart and she made it out safe within a couple of hours. I cannot imagine Molly sitting by her sisters’ bed side for weeks on end. The thought of being that close to losing any member of my family is unimaginable to me. Delinky’s managed to capture the attention of someone that only spends her time lost in the romantic novels by Nicholas Sparks. I would recommend While My Sister Sleeps to anyone.
McGee 5
The best narration I have every read, without a doubt, is The Bible. The Bible is the inspired word of God, does it get any better than that—no. The writers of The Bible used many literary devices—most likely inadvertently. Nearly every passage has a theme, for instance the theme of forgiveness is illustrated in the parable of the prodigal son. In the parable of the prodigal son, the son takes his inheritance and squanders it on wasteful worldly desires, and then he crawls back to his father asking for work because he has hit the bottom of the bottom—a pig sty worker. His father takes him in with love, and forgives him for his foolishness. He places a robe on his shoulders, a ring on his finger, and holds a feast in his honor. Also The Bible has many parables. One of my favorite parables is the wise and foolish men building their houses. The wise man built his house on the rock, when the foolish man built his house on the sand. When the rain came, the wise man’s house stood firm, and the foolish man’s house washed away. This lesson tells people to reinforce their foundations of faith and priorities of life with God. Finally, The Bible has amazing imagery. An example of this amazing imagery would be Exodus 19:18, which states, “Mount Sinai was covered with smoke, because the LORD descended on it in fire. The smoke billowed up from it like smoke from a furnace, and the whole mountain trembled violently.” With this amazing imagery I can imagine the smoke above the mountain as it trembles so violently. The literary devices in The Bible really make it come to live. The literary devices help the bible come to live in modern times. To conclude The Bible has amazing literary devices like themes, parables, and imagery, that help any reader at any stage of life.
Grothe 2
Easily the best work of fiction that I have read recently would be Beatrice and Virgil by Yann Martel. Being written by Yann Martel, it is already going to have a ton of symbolism and literary devices. One such literary device is foreshadowing, which is used with the taxidermist in the novel. Ever since the protagonist, Henry, met the taxidermist, he just came off as a bit strange. He was really quiet, pretty much kept to himself, and was overall just a creepy guy. He gave off a really uncomfortable vibe, which everyone around Henry noticed, but for some reason he doesn't notice until it is too late. Throughout the whole novel, he gives indications that he was a Nazi, but nothing too concrete. We, as the readers, only notice shortly before Henry gets stabbed by the taxidermist at the end, unless some of us are extraordinarily bright. Several times up to that point, though, we are given small hints on the taxidermist's past, but of course, we do not pick up on it until later, because we do not suspect anything. Symbolism is also used abundantly throughout the novel. So much, in fact, that I probably missed out on quite a bit of it, but that's also probably because I can't pick them out very well. Beatrice, the donkey, and Virgil, the monkey, explain how they have been through some pretty horrific events in the past, which could easily be compared to the Holocaust. With this in mind, Beatrice and Virgil could probably be seen as the Jews in this situation, and everyone who caused them harm could be the Nazis. Martel has the taxidermist make the setting of his play a shirt, which I personally still do not understand, even though I am pretty sure it was explained to us. Overall, this was a really great read, which slowly pulled me in and immersed me into the book's world.
Pruett 7
One of my favorite narrative series, without any hesitation, is the Pendragon series. These books do not contain a single dry moment, and keep the reader glued to the words like bees on honey (simile). Bobby, the protagonist of these novels, is a boy from Earth who is shot off through time and space to different worlds. MacHale, the author, masters the literary device of imagery. Through the descriptive and entrancing words the reader is whisked away from the snowy mountains of Denduron to the barren desert of Zadaa. Machale also craftily changes the point of view, narrating a new character each time he does. Capturing each one's mindset, he gratifies the great books gloriously more(alliteration). Machale is a genius when appealing to the audience in these books. They start on Earth, where Bobby is a normal 15 year old basketball playing boy. Slowly, the books adopts a fantasy twist when Uncle Press comes in, changing Bobby's life from normal to completely bizarre and abnormal. MacHale makes the main character relatable by doing this, keeping readers much more interested in the series. MacHale also makes the stories more relatable by implementing many common Earth features into the new worlds. While in Cloral, a world that is 100% water, Bobby discovers a submersed city, similar to the legend of Atlantis. By adding this aspect into the book, MacHale entinces readers to return for the next novel in the series. The author's greatest achievement in these books, however, is his use of foreshadow. Subliminally dropping hints here and clues there, Machale is a puzzle, waiting for his foreshadows to be unraveled (metaphor). He makes the reader guessing up until the very last minute, letting suspense linger in the air as long as he can. Overall, the Pendragon series is one of the best I have read, and I will relish them for a long time to come.
Mutschelknaus 7
So far, my favorite narrative I have read is Night, by Elie Wiesel. As a young boy, Elie is a normal boy who lives in Hungary. Then one day, the Nazis occupy Hungary and his life is never the same after that. He and his family are forced into ghettos and eventually shipped to Auschwitz were he and his family face many tribulations. On the way, they spot Auschwitz and he recalls seeing smokestacks billowing out of the stacks with a very dark color (imagery). Once in the camp, Elie realized he had to fight for himself. He scavenged everything out of his rations like a hyena eating its prey (simile). Eventually, everyone in the camp comes to the conclusion that their life has little value, including his father (oxymoron). Eventually, Elie’s father dies and he is the only one left from his family that he knows of and maybe will never find his other family member. I really enjoyed this book for many reasons, one being that it is one of the most accurate Holocaust books every composed. The Holocaust has always been an interesting topic to read about for me and to find a very accurate narrative is hard to come by. It was a great learning tool and taught me just how bad these concentration camps were. Wiesel uses many literary devices like imagery, similes, and tragedy; each helped the reader understand just exactly what the characters were going through and exactly what the situation itself looked, smelled, and even tasted like (one example of taste was when Elie talked about how the soup tasted odd that day). Without these literary devices, the narrative would be very banal and not have any value in reading it. They truly do help the narrative take shape and add emphasis to the whole narrative.
Holiway 7
My favorite book is entitle I Have Lived a Thousand Years. In this work, a woman tells her personal account of life at the Auschwitz death camp in Poland. Obviously telling the story of a concentration camp calls for very serious imagery. The details she gives in this book are incredible. Unfortunately, you almost feel as if you are right there with her going through all of the pain and torture. She has lived through death (metaphor). Also, as this deals with the Jewish culture the author often alludes to the Torah. She tells us several times how she felt God leaving the people she was around, yet she knew she had to keep her faith in order to survive. The allusion to religious works shows us the true despair people faced in trying to understand how God could let them endure this. As in all auto-biographies, flash backs help us to see the characters/people more clearly. This particular author shows us flash backs to her town in Hungary, exposing each person of notoriety. These flash backs occur when she encounters someone she knows in Auschwitz, and during her time of trials with the Nazi’s. The tattoo that will forever be on her arm is the Holocaust (symbolism). She tells her story in the hopes that this will never happen again. We cannot let anything like this strike our world again (personification).
Zell 7
This may sound strange, but one of the most moving narratives I have read is a work of fiction, within a work of fiction. Stephen King, my all-time favorite author, recently wrote the novel 11/22/63. This story covers the life of high school English teacher John Epping. Epping taught classes on the weekends for adults to finally get their high school diploma, including the school’s janitor Harry Dunning. The narrative I chose is the essay that Harry submitted for his class. The essay was titled “A Day that Changed My Life”. Before we delve into the content of the essay, I want to look at one of the techniques that Harry (more so King) used in his essay. Harry was known to have a slight mental disability, but for an unknown reason. He wrote like an impaired man, spelling-wise that is. One of the sentences reads, “I never go see horra movies because on Halloween night in 1958 I lived thru one.” The very first two sentences drew me in like a fly to a sugar bowl, “It wasnt a day but a night. The night that change my life was the night my father murdirt my mother and two brothers and hurt me bad.” Chills ran down my spine reading this for the first time. The narration continues to tell the story of ten-year-old Harry’s Halloween night. Dressed as Buffalo Bob from The Howdy Doody Show, young Dunning stole a quick trip to the restroom before the trick-or-treating began. He would never make it to any doorsteps that evening. While relieving his bladder, Harry heard his father enter the house. His father was a known drunkard with a severe temper problem. He proceeds to hear his mother yell, “get out of here with that thing, youre not supposed to be here!” Then there was screaming. Harry stepped out of that bathroom to find his mother on the wrong end of a hammer. King uses the explicit detail of Harry seeing “white stuff” on the couch – his mother’s brains. Blood on the walls. His sister’s body underneath a rocking chair with blood coming out of her ears. He was witnessing his brother, now with two broken legs from his dad’s hammer, crawling away from his dad. Mr. Dunning split his head right there. Harry himself only retained a few physical injuries: a broken leg and a slightly caved in right side of his skull. The true injury was the trauma from watching the horrible scene play out before his eyes. I cannot even imagine. Reading this passage honestly makes me sick to my stomach, and gives me goosebumps. This is a horror that no person should ever have to experience. I know this is just fiction, but Stephen King always finds a way to make atrocities like this so very realistic.
Berg 2
In my opinion, fiction makes up the best form of narration. The book series that I have enjoyed the most that happens to be fiction, is the Harry Potter series: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. The three main literary devices that can be found in this series are foreshadowing, allusion, and symbolism. Foreshadowing occurs throughout the whole series, starting in the first novel with the pain that Harry feels when he and Professor Snape make eye contact during the first time that Harry is in the Great Hall as it is decorated before the endless feast with all types of delicious, mouth-watering food begins (imagery). There are numerous allusions intricately involved in each novel of the series. An extremely important allusion is Harry’s uncle Sirius Black. He is able to turn himself into a black dog to conceal himself from those searching for him, this is an allusion to astrology: the constellation, Sirius, is in the shape of a dog. Another impressive allusion found is to the historical Roman twin brothers, Remus and Romolus, who were raised by some wolves. Professor Lupin is a professor by day but is completely changed by the full moon that occurs once each month whether he is prepared for it or not (suspense). One important symbol used in this series is the sword of Godric Griffindor, he was very gallant and had a reputation for grit. The sword is a symbol for the great things that he stood for (alliteration). Along with the sword, another symbol is the very obvious symbol of Harry’s lightning shaped scar. It symbolizes the jagged struggles that Harry has to face throughout his life and how they always end up turning out okay, just like how he was okay after he was almost killed in the first movie.
Marais 7
I have always found fictional narratives to be the most satisfying to read. The best book I have read would be The Shack by William P. Young he used allusion, imagery, and emotion. I felt like I was the father. It did bring quite a few tears to roll down my face.
This novel takes place in Northwest America. The main character is Mackenzie Philips, a father of five, called "Mack" by his family and friends.Four years prior to the main events of the story, Mack takes three (of his five) children on a camping trip to Wallowa Lake near Joseph, Oregon stopping at Multnomah Falls on the way. Two of his children are playing in a canoe when it flips and almost drowns Mack's son. Mack is able to save his son by rushing to the water and freeing him from the canoe's webbing, but unintentionally leaves his youngest daughter Missy alone at their campsite. After Mack returns, he sees that Missy is missing. The police are called, and the family discovers that Missy has been abducted and murdered by a serial killer known as the "Little Ladykiller." The police find an abandoned shack in the woods where Missy was taken, her bloodied clothing is found, but her body is never located. Mack's life sinks into what he calls "The Great Sadness." This just got me so emotionally into the book i felt like i was there looking for clues to where she went or who took her. Then it has a flash back to the beginning of the book, Mack receives a note in his mailbox from "Papa," saying that he would like to meet with Mack on that coming weekend at the shack. Mack is puzzled by the note – he has had no relationship with his abusive father since he left home at age 13. He suspects that the note may be from God, whom his wife Nan refers to as "Papa." The suspense throughout the novel was unparalleled.
Rykhus 1
The best fiction narrative I have ever read would have to be the book The Old Man and The Sea. I was quite young when I read this book and I have lost it but it has continued to be one of my favorite books that I have read. Looking back now I can see the use of literary devises such as symbolism in this story. Many times the blueness of the water was emphasized; I believe this was a symbol of the loneliness the old man had when he was fighting this monster fish while on his small boat at sea. Another symbol would be the shark symbolizing the great pains and loss the old man had faced in his life.
Santiago the main character of this novel also had three dreams in this book, they were about lions playing on a beach connecting the beginning the middle and end of this novel, it showed how he really did not change after this magnificent fight and disparaging loss of the great black marlin. This really showed great parallelism through the novel. Santiago had a very cyclical view of life and death that are very fitting with these dreams along with the exciting yet tragic plot of the story.
The final literary device is that of tragedy. Few fiction novels capture the agony of the *cliché* “the one that got away,” like The Old Man and The Sea. The fight that he exhibits to finally wrangle and catch this behemoth of a marlin is absolutely outstanding. A few years after reading this story I was in Costa Rica and reeled in a sailfish (the marlin’s smaller cousin) and that was no easy feat even with modern tackle on a next to new boat. The motor did fail and we only found one life vest but that is a story for another time, we made it out alive. Santiago put up quite the fight to catch this marlin and to have it taken from him had to feel absolutely miserable. I believe this is one the few truly great tragedies that I have read, but it is defiantly my favorite one.
The all-time best piece of writing I have ever read was House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski.I first encountered this work on the back pages in the "dark parts" of the internet, years ago, where I came across a pdf of the original transcript of some of the writing. I was fascinated by the complexity of the characters and the hauntingly beautiful writing. The story focuses on a young family that moves into a small home on Ash Tree Lane where they discover something is terribly wrong: their house is bigger on the inside than it is on the outside. It’s a heavily annotated version of a heavily annotated version of a “factual” record about a family who moves into a house in Virginia where something isn’t quite right. The book has an amazing way of crawling beneath your skin and taking root. When I read it my sleep schedule, already astoundingly bad, became even more irregular. I started looking at things differently. The world changed. Not in any big way, but there was a definite shift, and that's the way this book works. It comes at you sideways.As a work in its own right, and not just as a story or series of conjoined narratives, House of Leaves will probably mean different things to different people.
Hall 5
Without even hesitating I could tell you that my favorite narrative passage would be any of Nicholas Sparks’ books. However, when having to pick one, I would say that Safe Haven was by far the best. Within this exceptional text, Sparks uses some great literary devices: conflict, foreshadowing, and suspense.
Conflict is the literary device that this entire novel is based off. Katie, the female lead, flees to a small town known as Southport, North Carolina to escape her abusive husband Kevin. This creates great conflict as Kevin becomes considerably enraged and decides to post a missing persons alert. Katie now understands that her biggest conflict when moving into this new town is to make sure her secret remains hidden. Throughout the story Katie’s conflicts continue to grow as the plot becomes more astonishing.
Another literary device you can easily pick out of Safe Haven is foreshadowing. Something you continually see in Nicholas Sparks’ books is an emotional love connection. Within the first few chapters Katie stumbles upon a young, handsome man, Alex. Sparks goes on to share the vivid detail of every thought racing through Katie and Alex’s mind. He tells how Alex sees something special inside of Katie beautiful woman he runs into at the grocery store. Using foreshadowing details you are able to pick up that these two wonderful people are bound to fall in love. Nicholas has tremendous foreshadowing skills.
The last literary device I chose from this fantastic piece was suspense. Sparks never leaves out this element. Concealed within the book, we find sparks ending many chapters with cliffhangers making us not want to put down the novel. The only thing to break the suspense is to continue reading, which is exactly what Nicholas Sparks wants you to do. With all these literary devices Sparks is able to keep the readers attention at all times, making Safe Haven, in my opinion, a must read.
Johnson 1
One narrative I have read is “Doe Season” by David Michael Kaplan. While not at the very top of my list, it is memorable because it is so explicit. “Doe Season” is very well written and provokes many topics for discussion. We read this story as an assignment in Honors 10 and it was the first narratives I thought of because it has many literary devices.
“Doe Season” is actually a literary device itself because the entire short story is an allegory explaining Andy’s right of passage into womanhood. A major device used is symbolism. Symbols are shown surreptitiously (alliteration) through the animals and objects in this short story. One of the most influential symbols is the doe itself. In my mind the doe represents Andy and when she shoots it the deer loses its innocence. Just like when Andy starts to mature she will lose her innocence. Also the owl is a large symbol constantly saying “who” (onomatopoeia) before Andy has the dream and right after to signify the scene was not real. Foreshadowing is also used in “Doe Season” because after Andy has a dream about the deer being shot in the heart they finally find (assonance) the remains and the shot is through the heart. A third device in the story is an epithet. Charlie points out that Andy’s name is an epithet because her real name is Andrea.
Woessner 5
The Great Gatsby has got to be one of the greatest books I have ever gone through (alliteration). This great work of fiction by F. Scott Fitzgerald is one of the few books I have actually read all the way through. I am not a big reader, but this narrative really caught my attention and held it all the way through. In fact, I enjoyed this book so much that I went to the midnight premier of the movie with Riley Swenson at the Dawley Farms movie theatre. The movie happens to be one of my favorite movies also. In this book, James Gatz (Jay Gatsby) lives in West Egg with a huge mansion and he is very rich. Jay has fallen deeply in love with Daisy Buchanan. Daisy is married to Tom Buchanan however, so Jay cannot take her from him. Daisy and Tom live in East Egg, where it is more of the “old-money” people who inherited their money. Daisy had a green light at the end of her dock, which was like a symbol of her dying love for Jay (simile). I thought it was pretty funny when Jay kept on saying “old sport” all the time. Owl Eyes was usually a little bit tipsy throughout the story (euphemism). My favorite part of this story is when Myrtle Wilson gets run over by the car. Everyone blames Gatsby for it, but in reality, Daisy was the one driving the car. Jay kept it a secret because he didn’t want Daisy to get in trouble for killing Mrs. Wilson. No one finds out about it because Mr. Wilson goes to Jay’s house and shoots and kills Jay with a pistol, and then proceeds to kill himself. This was one of my favorite books and I recommend it to everyone.
Williams 2
To be completely honest, I do not usually read books in my free time, they usually make me sleepy and I am very picky on what I like to read. There was one book, even though I was forced to read it, that really caught my attention. It’s a book that we read in Honors English 11, “The Kite Runner”. This book held my attention and made me feel like the girls in one of the AT&T commercial, “I want more, I want more. I really like it, I want more”. It wasn’t solely the story line that made this book so interesting, it was the style and the literary devices that the author, Khaled Hosseini, used to create his master piece.
Some of the literary devices he used were symbolism, flashback and imagery. Symbolism was an important element used in this piece of work because it created a story within a story. Most of the symbols were linked together, almost creating a separate underlying message. The symbols ranged from colors, to seasons, and even to the acts by some of the characters. Flashback was used throughout the work to create suspense, keeping a reader on the edge of their seat. Also the author cleverly laced all the piece of the story together using flashbacks throughout the work. Lastly is imagery, the detail in the story, from the sounds and smells to the vibrant colors, allowed for readers that have never experienced the Middle East a full view on the lifestyle in all parts of society.
(Metaphor) “The Kite Runner” was a drug that I couldn’t get enough of, it was constantly on my mind even when we finished the story. It was so interesting I went and bought another book “A Thousand Splendid Suns” which was written by the same author. (Simile) This book was like a portal that transported me around the world and allowed me to feel like I was in the same grave situations as the characters in the book. It made me realize that everyone has their own method of healing and that we can’t run from our past because it will only find us in the future, like Amir’s past with Hassan and future with Sohrab. (Alliteration) This story will stun you speechless.
Tellinghuisen 7
One of the best narratives that I have ever read was A Helmet For My Pillow by Robert Leckie. I read this independently last year after immersing myself into the Pacific theatre of World War Two. It is an autobiography of his journey in the Marine Corps during the war. He was a machine gunner for the 1st Marine Division, the oldest division in the Marines. I was astonished by the detail in this book. The way it was described and the amount of it blew me away, and I have many critics to back me up. Robert Leckie, through his words, takes you, and immediately transports you back 70 years. His descriptions of the scenes that he observed from the hillside they were defending on Guadalcanal especially struck me. There in the bay below them, two naval fleets were locked in one of the fiercest naval engagements of the war. American seaman were getting slaughtered and there was nothing they could do. He described it like this, "I think of Judgement Day. I think of Götterdämmerung; I think of the stars exploding, of the planets going off like fireworks; I think of a volcano; I think of a roaring and an energy unbelievable; I think, of holocaust; and again I think of night reeling from a thousand scarlet slashes and I see the red eye of hell winking in her wounds----I think of all these, and I cannot tell you what I have seen, the terrible spectacle I witnessed from that hillside." (imagery) He used so much vivid description in a comparison to explain to his readers how literally unbelievable the things he saw were. Robert Leckie continues to tell his tale, and other horrors he and his comrades faced.(euphemism) He went on to fight in a couple more major battles, and many island hopping skirmishes. Many of the men who arrived with Leckie and his buddies at the beginning of the war had either died or been severely wounded. Most of those who were left, along with Leckie, had their final battle on the miniscule island of Peleliu. He himself was injured when a close artillery round flung him into a nearby tree, giving him a major concussion.
As you can clearly see, this blog comment has a (motif) of admiring and respecting the "greatest generation," and the things that they sacrificed and endured.
I have read just about every book in the young adult section in our library. I am defiantly not a stranger to reading, in fact I love it! The narrative I remember the most is Night by Elie Wiesel. I read Night in my tenth grade English class. I figured, “Oh great another boring book about something that happened in history” but I was wrong! I became so infatuated with this book that I finished the whole, 120 page, book in two days.
In the book Night a twelve-year-old Elie Wiesel brings you his own journey, and takes readers through the twists, and turns that (Alliteration) are the Holocaust. The narrative revolves around the author, who was a prisoner at the Auschwitz (Assonance) death camp in Germany. Wiesel uses flashback throughout the entire novel as he looks back upon part of his past. The story begins with Elie and his family trying to remain calm while other Jews are being sent off by trains. Then Elie and his family end up on a train that, unknown to them at the time, was taking them to Auschwitz. Once there, Elie was separated from his mother and siblings. He never got to see them again. The narrative continues on—without his mother and siblings—about the struggles of his father and his journey. All that was left of his broken family was his father and when he became ill Elie tried to do everything he could for him. Even if that meant scrounging up food like a dog just to keep him alive (Simile). During all of this Elie undergoes a hazardous foot surgery while in the camp. Foreshadowing is always present in the novel due to the fact that Wiesel was alive to write the novel. Despite all Elie’s efforts his father eventually died. Regrettably, Elie was not able to give him a proper burial as his father was brought to the ovens before he even stopped breathing. He uses a lot of imagery to show his readers exactly how things happened using many details. Some examples of his imagery would be him seeing a pit of crying infants in which the Nazis were about the set on fire. Wiesel also used hyperbole in his novel to get readers to think about what he went through and how bad it actually was. The details were so graphic that it made the story seem more real and helped readers connect with the author on a more personal level. A lot of people during this time thought that the conditions within the camps were tolerable—which is a complete understatement. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who loves history, sad, or even horrific books.
Jonathan heiberger
The best narration that I've ever read..whenever I'm faced with questions like these, I grow frustrated. I know I've read countless books with outstanding narration, but when I attempt to recall them to memory, they all dissipate like obnoxious perfume in some designer-clothes store--I know I'm surrounded by the books, but I can't pinpoint exactly what their titles were. My favorite narration at the moment, then, is most definitely "The Catcher in the Rye" by J.D. Salinger. I almost don't want to say how much I love this book, because that's exactly how every other person would say it. They'd all say "I love this book because..." and then something about how Holden is easy to relate to, and then something about how the theme of phoniness present in the book still rings true today and more things about why the book is excellent. I could say all that, because it's all so right. Holden really is easy to relate to, phoniness really does seem to be more prevalent how than ever, and all that. But the truth is, I feel like if I attempt to explain what makes this novel so marvelous, it'll lose some of it's magic--like learning how to do a card trick or finding out there's no Santa Claus or something. I'll lose some of the feeling, the so-called "teenage angst" instilled in me by Holden Caulfield if I write them down, sort of like how touching a butterfly's wings will ruin them, rendering them unable to fly again.
Present in "The Catcher in the Rye" are often-hilarious similes, metaphors, and hyperboles; all are from the point of view of a seventeen year old. After his history teacher reviews a paper Holden's written, the teacher "put my goddam paper down then looked at me like he'd just beaten hell out of me in ping-pong or something"(12). Much later, one of Holden's previous teachers from a different school called Mr. Antolini "lit another cigarette. He smoked like a fiend"(186). A last literary device, a hyperbole, occurs as the story draws to a close. As Holden approaches a carousel with his sister Phoebe, the song that's playing is " 'Oh Marie!' It played that song about fifty years ago when I was a little kid"(210).
Nitz 7
What is the best narration I’ve ever read? I can’t decide; there are too many gems out there (hypophora and metaphor). This summer, I read “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” for the first time on my iPod, and I loved it more than anything else in the world (hyperbole). Author Stephen Chbosky writes from the point of a young teenager, Charlie, to enlighten his readers to a novel (pun) point of view. The book is a collection of letters Charlie has penned to an unknown friend, and is especially powerful. Use of literary devices, hypophora, flashback, atypical syntax, and an overall virtuous diction to name a few, made ─ and will make ─ “The Perks of Being a Wallflower “a perfect impetus for a catharsis. Charlie’s sentences are short, succinct, yet they are poignant because of their bare-bones (alliteration) quality. All the meaningless fluff is removed, leaving true thoughts and feelings. The rawness makes you emotionally connect with Charlie. Charlie is like a lovable brother (anadiplosis and simile). He immediately answers the questions he frequently asks, creating hypophora.
Chbosky pulls a higher level of interest and intrigue from his readers by using the literary device, flashbacks. Charlie mentions his aunt, Helen, fairly often, but never reveals the comprehensive story. Through memory fragments, we learn more, little by little. The shocking revelations allow more us more insight into Charlie’s psyche, and explain some possible motivations for his actions.
For a long time, I refused to watch the movie version of “The Perks of Being a Wallflower”, just because I didn’t want to associate anything less than captivating with the work. Somehow, I was coerced into watching the film, and I loved that as well. About ten days ago, the same person gave me a hard copy of Chbosky’s novel; I’m already reading it over again.
Sternburg 1
As far as narrative is concerned, I would have to say that 1984 by George Orwell is my favorite. One aspect of 1984 that struck me was the book’s ability to capture pure emotion in writing (personification) which I attribute to Orwell’s use of word choice, tone, and diction. To an outside observer the story is bland, depressing, and dull. However, if one takes a closer look, he’ll find quite the contrary. Reading 1984 is like riding in a car with an awful driver (simile). When I am on one of these rides I feel a wide range of emotions, fear for my life, excitement from the rollercoaster-like zigzagging, sadness that I am going to die so young, tension as we narrowly miss a pedestrian, discomfort when my personal space is invaded by tumbling passengers, and last but not least extreme joy when I finally get out of the godforsaken metal coffin. I had a similar reaction while reading 1984. Orwell uses his word choice, tone, and diction to perfectly pinpoint pure human emotion so expertly that I truly felt I was in the novel (alliteration). I will use Orwell’s expression of hate as an example. I feel that that Orwell does an amazing job of capturing the distress, anger, and, of course, hate of the Two Minute Hate. During the Two Minute Hate, everyone stops working and goes to a room with a projector where they vent all of their anger at Goldstein, their absolute enemy. One passage in particular sums up the emotions pretty well. “A hideous ecstasy of fear and vindictiveness, a desire to kill, to torture, to smash faces in with a sledge-hammer, seemed to flow through the whole group of people like an electric current, turning one even against one’s own will into a grimacing, screaming lunatic.” The severity of their hate is mirrored by the severity of the words used. Killing, torturing and smashing faces in with a sledgehammer are brutal but so is the world of 1984. The tone of this whole passage, not just the quote, also expresses the pure emotion. With the repeating of similar, extreme passages in the chapter, I really get a feel of the pure anger that Orwell is trying to portray. The diction of this chapter also helps to make me truly feel the hate. In this chapter and in many other places in the book, Orwell writes in a sharp, and hurried fashion that makes me feel uneasy and nervous further heightening the awfulness of the anger of the citizens. I chose to focus on just one emotion; Orwell is just as adept at magnifying every other emotion present in the novel.
Larson 7
My favorite narrative book was the Hunger Games. I am not a big fan of reading but the Hunger Games caught my eye. At first I did not want to read this book but after hearing how good they were I had to see if for myself. People were saying that it was as good as watching an action movie. There were so many great reviews on this novel. When I started reading, the way the author wrote caught my eye. The author was very detailed; their goal was to make it seem as if you were in the same district as the characters. I remember one of my favorite fighting scenes. It was the beginning of the games and everyone was standing on their own pad, which they could not leave until the time was out, I remember how intense it was to read this part of the novel. I could not stop reading; it was as if I was in a moving vehicle and could not get out. I had to know what was going to happen. Those kinds of novels are my favorite. I like to be able to just flow through the pages, easily, not having to overthink the plot.
Jackson 1
My favorite narrative book was the Hunger Games. I remember reading the book and being completely intrigued and unable to put the book down. It was gripping me to the point I was focused on nothing but the book. I loved how the other used a flashback to explain Gale and Katniss's relationship. She explained why the two were so close and why Gale was taking her danger so tough. I found it ironic that Prim was chosen for the drawing and to be entered in the Hunger Games. Katniss was only worried about Prim herself being put in. She did not even consider that her sister would be put in. Reason being, Katniss's name was entered many, many times while Prim's was only in there once. The audience did not even foresee the possibility of Prim's name getting drawn or what would happen. The tone the other set was phenomenal. The whole audience reading this book was so captivated by the beautiful and elegant word choice. We were also captivated by the author's ability to not necessarily set a solemn tone, as one might guess for such a grim novel, but an intense tone. The tone of the book was never dull, even in the beginning. The audience never had an opportunity to be bored. We simply flipped page by page in order to catch everything that was going on. The mood I'm trying to convey in this selection is one of complete respect and gratitude for the author. I believe this book is one of the most well-written and will forever be remembered. This book is an example of a symbol for our generation. Some people see our generation going completely down hill with all this new technology. However, we see here that the literary world has not taken a turn for the worst. We are continuing to progress.
Polasky 5
Throughout my life, I have explored numerous genres of books with multiple literary devices. However, one book has pressed such a vivid image in my mind that it still ranks as number one after 3 years: The Hunger Games. With its excellent use o theme, emotion, and imagery, no one could deny that this novel holds impeccable literary devices. The theme from the narration itself can be considered in many lights. This book, though hypothetical, could be possible insight for the future. Suzanne Collins, the author warns us what can occur when a country can become disunified and allow a worse power to take charge. She also give out the powerful message to have courage in times of struggle and be passionate about everything that one values, because any human has the power to change anything if he or she so desires. Emotion also plays a key role in the novel, as this pulls the audience into the book. The journey that the main character Katniss endures contains one filled with struggles, not only externally but internally. This audience experiences the horrors and nightmares of being hunted by other adolescents until one remains and her perseverance for survival. Though a tough girl, Katniss has feelings similar to all humans and the author portrays them extraordinarily well through Katniss’s narration. In Collins’s novel, she does a fantastic job at making the book come alive through the literary device of imagery. Through her descriptions of her district, country, and lifestyle, Katniss paints a vivid image of the life she lives at home and the process her thrilling and horrific feat during the Hunger Games. I applaud the authors efforts in attempting to write on a sensitive and bloodthirsty topic. She accomplish her goal while maintaining a certain sophistication and class about the novel. I did not need a movie in order to see the events that were laid down in the book (though the movie was splendid as well).
Henderson7
To me the best narration I have ever read would have to be "The Million Dollar Kick" by Dan Gutman. The book’s pages taught me perseverance. (Personification) I read the book, to what seems like ages ago, in elementary school. (Hyperbole) I remember the book fairly well only because it was about soccer. Soccer is my favorite sport in the world. In the book a girl wins a contest to take a shot at a professional goalkeeper. If she makes the shot, she wins a million dollars. The climax of the story is when the main character is going up to take the kick. In the big stadium filled with many people, the main character has the feeling of nervousness like a student before the ACT. (Simile) This past weekend I took a penalty kick at the High School Soccer State Tournament. Nervousness flooded my mind and caused my stomach feel crazy. Any time someone takes a penalty kick in soccer, that player's rate is racing and beating because they do not want to miss the shot. The buildup of suspense causes self doubt in the head of the player. Can she make it? To her, no she doesn't have a chance. Throughout the book the main character doubts herself and thinks that she sucks at everything. In the end, the main character makes the goal showing that through perseverance anything is possible. This is a great lesson to be learned. As long as you try hard you can do anything. The book keeps the reader on the edge of the seat by slowly describing every little detail. I read the book in maybe four days , the constant suspense forced me to keep reading even when normally I wouldn’t. If you haven’t read “The Million Dollar Kick”, I recommend you do or at least a book by Dan Gutman.
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