McEwan tells the story through his first person narrator, Joe. His ideas come across as contrasting, maybe hinting at his future lack of structure as a result of these events and the trauma they cause. The first sentence in the chapter is ‘The beginning is simple to mark,’ however in this chapter alone there are many theories and ideas thrown out there despite very little information being given away. He explains this by saying later “I am holding back the laying information”…”because this was a time when other outcomes were still possible”. With this, Joe describes many things in his current situation such as his girlfriend and the different settings in a large amount of detail, however, the one thing he does not describe once and the reader is given no information on is Joe himself- this could have a deeper meaning in the sense that Joe may be a man who always thinks about other people (however this may be contrasted with his deep sorrow and feeling of selfishness for releasing the balloon).
The Diary of A Confused Soul When Dave Eggers’ wrote a book about his life, it seemed as if he copied and pasted parts out of a diary. Eggers densely detailed young adulthood could have possibly been from past, written memories of some sort. Not only did that make the book hard to read, but also left a few readers baffled. Eggers, author of A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, used an unconventional writing style that made the book confusing to read. Eggers’ used a writing style that contained paragraphs lasting for several pages.
Christopher Boone, who suffers from Autism, tells his story in a way where he does not comprehend everything that happens around him. The choice of narrator had the largest influence on the novel because it was written almost in a different language. Details were explained but with Christopher, he had no full understanding behind those details. In situations that seem normal to the reader, Christopher reacts by curling into a ball and hiding or screaming because that is the only thing he instinctively knows to do when he is not “safe”. With that the reader is left to piece together the meaning of other characters around him.
Vernon Guy Dickson in his article attempts to illustrate to the readers that it is difficult to obtain a conclusion whether the novel is factual or fabricated. The evidence presented in support of both points of views leaves the reader indecisive on which point of view should he/she hold towards the authenticity of the novel. A majority of critics hold an opinion that the story of Oroonoko is true because Behn has once lived in Suriname; however, other critics believe the story is fabricated because of some information provided to the reader that “neither Behn or Oroonoko could have known.” Vernon Guy Dickson goes in greater depth with his analysis of the novel, and as he critiques the novel he shares with the readers all of the evidence for his opinion why the story could be factual or fabricated. In society, the pressure on writers is tremendous. To become a successful writer, a writer must provide a plot that is capable of appealing to the reader’s imagination and senses.
“Gothic literature is concerned with the breaking of social and moral codes” – to what extent do you agree with this criticism of gothic writing? Gothic literature often encompasses a large amount of taboos and transgressions that continue to populate the genre today, in which the breaking of social and moral codes is still a popular element that is continually explored. However, critiques often focus upon the driving force behind this exploration within the genre and its effectiveness where moral and social codes remain largely culturally relative and the line between normal and abnormal is unclear. This ambiguity continues to puzzle both readers and critics alike in a fashion that only breeds curiosity and fascination within society of what social and moral codes are available to be broken, particularly within literature. In many ways, the character of Heathcliff within Wuthering Heights may be seen as a complete antithesis to the conventions of society; the name “Heathcliff” acts as both his Christian name and surname in contrast to the inhabitants of Wuthering Heights with many names shared across the generations.
Barriers to Critical Thinking Enculturation, denial, and schemata are three obstacles that people, like this author, have worked on removing from their thinking skills to have more productive critical thinking. Critical Thinking is a key tool to gain knowledge on subject matter known and unknown. Enculturation encompasses everything you learned from your upbringing by your parents, to the community you live in, and everything in between. Enculturation has been an obstacle in many cases when someone introduces world views into a conversation. This author was raised in the southeast of the United States giving him a minor view of what the rest of the world may think about a particular situation.
Most people in our society today deceive others regarding the real situation around them to the point where they have been deceiving themselves. Through Morrison’s novel, Sula, her essay, Black Matters, and the painting Sisters of the Sun by Keith Mallet, it can be seen that sometimes people fail to see the inevitable events around them and ultimately lead to their realization that they are actually the ones who are problematic in their own lives. Deceiving ourselves can lead us to realize that we are actually the ones who are as problematic as our peers. This can be demonstrated in the novel, Sula, by Toni Morrison. Sula and Nel had been friends since they were very young.
The narrator still believes that others are blind to his existence, but at this point in the book, they are almost glorifying it because of the speech. This proves to be a hypocritical point in the novel for the
Her point of view tells the story of the main character, Jim Burden, who remembers specific moments in an abstract pattern in his life about his Antonia. This is so because the collection of books that make up the novel, My Antonia, is about Willa Cather; the narrator's idea of what and to what point Jim Burden remembers. Miller also states that the novel "lacks focus and abounds in irrelevancies" (Wells 1). This is due to the fact that Cather didn't provide a consistent character portrayal throughout her novel. Another critic, Kim Wells, asserts Miller's opinion on the novel because as he states the novel has many "variations from a theme" (Wells 1).
At first the narrator speaks in an omniscient voice that seems to be able to tell us the truth about the events presented in the novel and to control the story and the characters in an effective way. As the narrative progressed, the narrator begins to be more and more uncertain of his or her own design. The voice becomes suddenly faltering and unreliable, misjudging the characters and making false prophecies about the story: "I always believed that girl was a pack of lies. "(Morrison, 35) The narrator becomes too intrusive and looses his or her