A Visit From The Goon Squad Analysis

In a novel that jumps between periods of time and interchanges multiple characters, Lou Kline is one of the only consistent elements throughout the entirety of A Visit From the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan. Lou is first portrayed hostily as a abhorrent, egocentric man who fears growing older. In the next chapter, the reader’s perception of Lou is altered from a sleazy man to a more paternal figure, and the reader understands that while Lou has done despicable things, he is not completely immoral. Altered again, the final image of Lou is that of pity - as a dying man, his failures are recounted and he is therefore at his most vulnerable. Egan’s non-linear structure of the novel allows the reader to see multiple sides of Lou Kline through different character perspectives, and in the end amplify the merciless effect time has on a destructive urge to remain youthful and assert dominance to “win” at everything.

People read countless stories that have a variety of themes in them. When people read “Angela's Ashes” by Frank McCourt, and “The Street” by Ann Petry, they can probably sense that there is something similar among the two stories', and that's because they share a common theme. The theme is how people can persevere through problems that they encounter. The reader will discover this similar theme of persevering through problems with the way the authors utilize the character of characters feelings and personality, the way setting creates a backdrop that establishes the tone of the story, and events that cause conflict to the character.

As a result of the weak action made by Lennie, Candy and Crooks in the novel, the theme is revealed. The events that were taken place and the responses from the characters showed that they were weak and couldn’t handle situations. Weakness which cannot be improved until they are

In the Introduction, Steven Gillon says that his book “develops themes that tie these events together.” What themes connect these seemingly random events? Does he accomplish

The theme of the novel is that your culture and background does defy you. In other words, being in a gang or group doesn’t mean you're not unique. For example, Ponyboy is in a gang/hood group “The Greasers” and does things like mug and snatch like the other members of the group, but this doesn't mean he doesn't have a different personality than the others. Another theme in the novel is the power of brotherhood. This is a sub-theme because it not confronted to the readers until the end of the novel. On page 176, Sodapop Curtis said, “ We ought to be able to stick together against everything if we don't have each other we don't have anything.” This quote struck out to me because throughout the

An example of the best moment from the book was when Donovan took the joystick and controlled Tin Man at the robotics meet, and he destroyed the other school’s robot, in a very epic way. The theme of this book is that everybody plays an important role in a team or group. This is the theme because even though Donovan was not smart, he was a very important member of the robotics team, due to the fact that he was very unique. This theme is very relevant to me and society, because most of the people participate in a team or association, and they might not feel like they fit in or even belong here. I participate in a soccer team, and sometimes I feel that I am useless and not needed, but when I reflect upon the theme of Ungifted, I feel like I am needed because everyone has a special something that nobody else has. For example, at my soccer team, I’m not a sprinter so people always outrun me on short distances, but I have the stamina to keep on running and working for my

A theme is the meaning behind a story, occasionally defined as the moral of the story. Themes can differ from one end of the world to the other, as it does in many books. The Droughtlanders by Carrie Mac is a futuristic version of the world which has been divided into two parts. The rich and the poor, the healthy and the sick, otherwise known as Keyland and Droughtland. Keyland is where all the rich people with extravagant lands and lives live. Droughtland is a disease-ridden land where all poor people are being forced to live. Society treats Droughtland poorly and they decide to take action. Thus starting the revolution. Carrie Mac portrays many themes in different ways throughout the book. However the major theme the book revolves around is that; No matter how rich or poor a person is, or what gender, race, or sexuality they are, in the end, they are all the same and deserve to be treated equally. In addition, the book shows that when everyone is treated equally there is so much more that everyone can accomplish. The theme is being portrayed through the narrative point of view, setting and atmosphere, and character development.

Theme is the hidden morals within a piece of literature that the author is trying to get readers to understand. In both Angela's Ashes and The Street, we can distinguish a similar theme. One similar theme in both stories is struggling to get through life’s complications. After reading the two different excerpts, we can use character, events, and the setting to further our understanding.

Finally, the authors demonstrated theme by using the setting of the excerpts. To start, McCourt states ”You can look in people’s windows and see how cozy it is in their kitchens with fires glowing.” in this exerpt calles Angela’s Ashes. Angela is jelous of the way that the other families get to live a happy life, but she has to steal from the happy families in order to make her own happy. This shows how when you are not as lucky as others, you tend to do things to make youself feel better than them and you may hurt them in order to do so. Also, Petry excerpt called The Street

“The Goonies” is a movie I never really enjoyed. Although it wasn’t my favorite movie,

One way the author conveys the theme is through the main character’s actions. She strives to be like an American girl and is stubbornly blind

The third and final term I will be examining is motif. The motif I chose was death. Death is certainly the most obvious and common motifs I believe is represented in this story. Death is literally everywhere in this book. Starting from chapter one when the civilian is incinerated by the Martian’s blaster, to the giant alien machines that crawl across planet Earth destroying any person or structure in its path. The main character visits many towns in his attempted escape from the seemingly inevitable doom that is followed by the invasion. Death has stricken almost every town he comes across. Whether it be a random body he sees, or a person from the group that travels with him, the narrator is almost always around death. The only time death can be represented as a good thing is when the narrator reaches London and sees the Martians lying dead in their defeat from disease.

To me, what made this book most fantastic was simply the author’s choice of words and how she was able to reveal so much through about a character’s emotions while never simply stating them. So much power comes in an author’s ability to truly make you feel everything the character does, as this keeps the reader engaged in the story and always want to know more. One of my favorite examples of how Egan does this in A Visit from the Goon Squad is during chapter eight when you learn the story of La Doll, or Dolly, as she rebranded herself to escape the shame of her past mistakes. Her daughter Lulu, a young girl who has grown up with no one but her mother, tagged along on one of Coco's risky business trips to take Kitty Jackson, a washed up actress, to her new fake boyfriend, General B. "Twenty checkpoints presaged their arrival at the general's compound. At each, two soldiers with submachine guns peered into the black Mercedes, where Dolly and Lola and Kitty sat in the backseat. Four times, they were forced outside into the scouring sunshine and patted down at gunpoint. Each time, Dolly scrutinized her daughter's studied

investigation and comparison of the film Menace II Society and the social and economic issues

According to Joanou (2006), states the following statistical rate of juveniles in prison, there are over 120,000 juveniles incarcerated in detention centers across the United States and upon release seventy-five percent of juveniles will either return to prison or will die on the streets. Joanou (2006) Movie Gridiron Gang is a depiction of a true story about probation officer, Sean Porter, at Camp Kilpartick Juvenile Detention Facility in Los Angles California, where he helped turned adolescents inmates into a football team. Sean Porter and Malcolm Moore are both probation officers that work at Camp Kilpartick, where there job is to work with the convicted gang members to reform them before they are released, but the gang warfare makes