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Deliverance By James Dickey Character Analysis

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Deliverance is novel that is a thriller for the everyday reader. It is a mixture of a survival and suspense story. James Dickey’s way of writing, really helped the story. His way of explaining certain scenes really enhances the plot of the story. The setting of the story puts the reader in an uncomfortable position that they never been in. Ed and Lewis have great characteristics that really fit the story well. They both have good leading personalities, and the problem they get into they really need to use each other's skills. Dickey put a lot of elements in the story to make it the perfect thriller. The plot of deliverance is an up and down roller coaster. In the beginning of the book the reader is presented with some of the main characters, …show more content…

It shows that by going on this dangerous trip on the river, if something were to happen that Ed would lose a lot of what he loved. He even loves his job as a graphic artist(Dickey 10). He puts a lot on the line for this one canoeing trip, and he does not even know where he is going. Only one of his best friends, Lewis, somewhat knows where they are heading. The suspense of the unknowing begin to set in on the reader. All the while they are getting ready for the trip Ed is starting to have second gusees on whether he should go or not. Even Ed’s wife does not want him to go. The night before Ed goes, him and his wife talk about the trip discussing not going. This is important, because James Dickey is foreshadowing for what is to come(Dickey 12). Before the reader can even get into the main chunk of the story, they are presented with suspense. They are heading south to a place where Lewis has been before, and he said it was well worth it. The thing is, is that Lewis has never been to the place they are going. “ Both the natural world and the civilized world have their virtues, beauties, dangers, and horrors. The positive elements of nature can …show more content…

When Ed and Lewis are driving south to the river they are meeting up with Drew and Bobby, they drove through the mountains and Ed though that they were beautiful. When Dickey presented the readers with this image, it really puts that image into the reader's head. When the author can create a good image, it can make the story ten times better for the reader (Dickey 56). When Ed and his friends are on the river sounds from the forest surround them. One of the more distinctive sounds that they would hear were the rapids, or whitewater. The sounds of rushing water sets fear into Ed and the other guys in the canoes. Rapids means there is a greater chance for something to go wrong. Each time they would hear it off in the distance the reader could tell that they were getting nervous (Dickey 123). This also can get the reader more intrigued in to the story and also make the reader a little nervous as well. “ Ed is presented as being back snugly in the comfort of his family, enjoying weekend watersports on the reservoir with Lewis” (Kelly). Kelly says this in a sarcastic way, knowing that where they are going is not a very safe place. The first night they were on the bank of the river, set up camp and settled in. Lewis had bought some steaks for that night. Since they did not eat like all day the steaks tasted really good to them. This puts the reader into the characters shoes, because this can relate to many

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