A Heartbreaking Genius Analysis

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Eric Kim 1 November 2012 Smith 1st block Eggers, Dave. A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius. New York: Vintage, 2001. Print. 1. Point of View- it is the perspective in which the story or the book is being told in. “I put my pants back on and go back to my mother. I walk down the hall, past the laundry room, and into the family room. I close the door behind me, muffling the rumbling of the small shoes in the dryer.” (pg. 1) * This book is a biography and in a biography, it is about the person’s life. So this book would be written in first person using the word, “I”. 2. Humor- this is a use of a language when the author is trying to add some comic to the story. “ Just then I have a great idea. I try to get her talk funny, the way people talk when their nose…show more content…
Tone- the tone is the author’s attitude toward a certain subject or to the audience “Fuck” (pg. 39) * The author and the people in the book are very sentimental. Dave and his brothers and sisters know that their mother isn’t doing so well and they are worried about her breathing. If the breathing is not normal that there is something wrong with their mother. The very emotional words tell us that the people are very worried and they love their mother a lot. 5. Onomatopoeia- Words that expresses sound effects. i.e. Boom!, Bang!, etc. “Belt: Whack! Toph: (Squeal!)” (pg. 62) * This is the scene where Toph and Dave are trying to make a good use of the new apartment they are living in. They want to have fun by being creative. Their best trick is “Our best trick, though, is to pretend, for the benefit of the neighbors and whoever’s around, that I’m beating Toph with a belt. This is how: with the back deck door open, we stand in the living room and then, with the belt buckle into a circle, I yank it quickly on either end, snapping it taut and making a sound not unlike that produced if I were striking Toph bare legs at full force. When it cracks, Toph squeals like a pig.” (pg.
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