As Louise Erdrich tells her story of The Round House, choosing to use Joe’s character as the narrator shows how he tries to learn the difference between right and wrong in terms of Lark’s sentence. While he is only thirteen years old, this novel’s coming of age during the harsh reality of his mother’s abuse helps the reader learn more about the case of his mother’s rape as well. By choosing Joe’s character as the narrator, the overall mystery of the story is intensified because the reader is understanding what really happened to Joe’s mother along with him. Understanding the story itself from Joe’s perspective is also positive because the reader gets a less opinionated stand point of the situation as opposed to one of the older characters who are wiser and more understanding of the general laws in relation to the justice served from the case. Therefore, readers get multiple stand points from Joe’s experiences while he comes to the conclusion of killing Linden from his belief that revenge is the only way to serve him justice. Although Joe believed that it was only right to kill Linden, Erdrich’s technique in using Joe as the narrator teaches the great coming of age lesson that as people grow up …show more content…
By telling Joe to stop looking for the attacker is only feeding him to keep going because children usually like to do the opposite of what their elders tell them. Joes’ childish instinct to kill Linden in the end only intensifies the idea that while his parents did not keep him within their “web”, his action was not right because Linden’s right to be free in the world was said under law orders. Even though Joe’s dad pleaded for him to stop, he felt that standing up for his family was best because it only felt like it made sense to him at the
“paper round, birthday- plus my nan sent me a bit and I was saving up for a computer” Jam is a very kind boy, but wanting more instead of being Laurens best friend. As a reader, you will know that Jam loves Laurens without Lauren even knowing. You also see Lauren’s view on him, which shows us that she doesn’t have a clue that Jam likes her. The author makes Jams a powerful character in the book by making Lauren forget about the small important things going on whiles she thinks about all the big things in her life; Focusing on the small things can help you fix the big things in
In the short chapter, “The Branch,” from the book The Beet Queen by Louise Erdrich, the author substantially relies on imagery and mood to paint the abstract concept that environmental impact can seduce to transformation. Structuring the setting, Erdrich establishes the two main characters, Karl and Mary, whose hope is deeply devastated by new surrounding conditions as encountering “dirt,” “chill,” and “watery wind.” Marking the period of the Great Depression in 1932, the author adopts the historic setting to echo the hopeless atmosphere in the American society, which makes it possible to inspect the main characters’ mood. Individuals perceive the world differently; in lieu of analyzing the environmental impact on the two children in general,
So he stands up for himself, which shows he is strong. Joe-Boy is a bad friend, he was teasing Vinny about the dead boy in the text it says “ Are you going to let your mom control your life or what”? And” you going to jump down and touch the dead boy’s face beneath the rock”. That shows that he is getting out of Vinny’s comfort zone, which makes him a mean friend.
As a means of assessing the extent to which the work was successful, I evaluated the books ability to answer the questions the author himself posed to the audience. These questions were discussed in the introduction where Ozment presented two questions before he launched into the narrative in search of their answers. Ozment asked: “What exactly had [Anna] done to cause her father, the Burgermeister, to denounce her as an “evil serpent” and the government of Hall to declare her a renegade?” and “Why did the behaviour of one woman rivet the attention and disrupt the lives of so many important people for so long a time?”. According to Ozment, answers to these questions can be found “in the internal workings of a distant society and in the inner lives of people who were both like and unlike ourselves” (3). Therefore, in considering whether or not this book was successful I looked
The narrator in Louise Erdrich’s The Strange People is characterized as a doe, a “lean gray witch” (i, 20) and finally, a “shadowy body.”(i, 25) Her own actions ultimately trigger this transformation, and are further emphasized through three jarring shifts within the poem. Despite portraying the narrator as prey in the beginning, she is not faultless. By placing double meanings on the word “burning,” (i, 6) it allows the self-destructive actions of the narrator to be evident. Also, by juxtaposing the cold and warmth described in the poem, the reasoning behind the doe’s self-destructive actions is explained, and ultimately paints her in a more nuanced light. Even so, her self-destructive actions highlight the consequences resulting from her attempt at self-preservation. She transforms into a “lean gray witch” to save herself, and yet it destroys her self-identity. The poem exposes the bleak yet nuanced consequences of destructive desires and self-preservation, and how even when necessary and justified, leads to the unfortunate loss of one’s identity.
As opposed to communicating his outrage he tries to avoid panicking. This is either an indication of incredible resilience or utter shortcoming. There, on the other hand, is a moment when Joe demonstrates that his pride has been harmed, to be specific when he leaves the coin under his wife's cushion in the wake of laying down with her. This is a sudden turn in an identity that is apparently unequipped for harming someone else. Anyhow who can accuse the poor man for he has seen his entire world go into disrepair after the treachery of his loved one. The integrity of his character is completely shown in his pardoning toward the end of the story.
Joe’s understanding of war in Johnny Got His Gun is very similar to Boy’s in the sense that he doesn’t really understand what he would be fighting for in a battle. One example of this is when Joe is at the train station with his family awaiting his send-off to war. During this send off Joe didn’t really question why he was going to war or what he would be doing in war. He went without and hesitation which shows that his
Juxtaposition is used to put two characters side by side and depict the similarities and the differences of them. Within the novel, Ethan Frome, Zeena and Mattie were two contextual characters whose individuality stood out. By studying Zeena’s and Mattie’s attitudes towards life, their roles as women in the late 19th century, their age, appearance, and their treatment of Ethan and each other throughout the novel, the reader can more deeply comprehend not only the similarities and differences of these two characters, but the function their differences serve as well. A person’s attitude towards life determines how successful they will be in life.
Through the eyes of an innocent child, the story of To Kill a Mockingbird introduces a world of corruption. In the disordered town of Maycomb, certain character traits are developed and displayed in a specific local family. The opposition against their beliefs brings daunting situations to their door. Yet, this one family perseveres through the continuous corruption of Maycomb. Therefore, this recurring motif of character development really plays into the characters and, consequently, the story. This evident pattern of courage composes the Finch family: Jem, Scout, and Atticus.
Vinny is different from Joe-Boy by, Vinny is afraid of the dead boy and so he moves to the side of the trail. While Joe-boy doesn’t and he stays right in the middle. Vinny is also concerned about the dead boy because he keeps on thinking about how he died and how four search and rescue divers did not find him after looking for two days straight. Joe-boy though does not seem to care at all and is bullying Vinny
June is an alcoholic who cannot manage to keep a job. She tried everything, from beautician to secretary, however “everything she tried fell through” (9). She has a problem with alcohol. Her sisters blame her death on her drinking problem, saying she “probably drank too much” (9). Despite these negative traits, Erdrich develops her character into a multi-dimensional portrait by allowing people to have varying views on June. In fact the novel is split into many perspectives, which challenges the reader to consider everything from multiple viewpoints. Her niece Albertine remembers her as “so sharp and determined” (9). Albertine’s view of June presents her in a different light, which enables the reader to consider a different perspective of June.
A sequence of events leads up to Joe becoming almost completely isolated from the outside world. During his time in the isolated continent, Joe becomes addicted to narcotics; he escapes his pain and anguish by succumbing to detached and paralyzed state of mind. Throughout his journey in this secluded continent, he is faced with his hatred of the Germans and his desire to enact vengeance upon them for all that he has lost. When he meets a German geologist exploring the frozen tundra, he inadvertently kills him. Joe experiences ironic feelings of remorse after so many years spent obsessing over the destruction of the Germans. There was no gratification or fulfillment, for Joe, in the German man’s death. Joe felt repulsed and an abhorrence in himself for his
The author of The Round House is Louise Erdrich . Louise is the author of fifteen novels. Children’s books , volumes of poetry , and a memoir of early motherhood. Louise had won the National Book Award for fiction, for her book The Round House. Louise was the oldest of seven children. Born July 6, 1954. Growing up in Wahpeton , South Dakota. As a child Louise was encouraged by her parents to start writing stories, as she got older she kept journals . Louise attended many colleges. In 1972, Louise attended Dartmouth College, majoring in English and creative writing. 1979 went to Johns Hopkins University to get her Master of Arts degree. After graduating from Hopkins Louise she began her novel Tracks and worked at The Circle , which was a
In recent decades, Cormac McCarthy has staked his claim as one of the all-time titans of American literature through publishing masterpieces like Blood Meridian, Suttree, and The Road. In his works his advanced level of technical mastery becomes apparent through his expertly harmonized coordination of literary elements toward certain narrative ends, such as the generation of suspense. In this light, McCarthy’s literary style is a practical one, in that he organizes literary elements in his works toward actualizing particular goals. In The Road, for instance, McCarthy directs his style throughout the text so as to maximize the feeling of suspense that readers experience throughout the book. This kind of stylistic maneuvering is expressed on pages 105-110 and pages 118-123 of the the text. But, it must be noted here that the generation of suspense in these passages does not result from similar stylistic approaches. McCarthy uses style in differently in Passage A and Passage B but ultimately toward the same end, namely generating suspense for readers of The Road. Passage A relies on dialogue to develop its suspense, whereas the style of Passage B relies on narrative action for its suspense.
I could tell from his anxious and distant eyes and his trudging footsteps that something had gone wrong. It reminded me of him coming home after the Robinson trial. His frustration and defeat were foreign to me. He had been suffering since the case made its way close to his heart - although he would never admit to it. The house now lacked the warmth it once radiated. Atticus has been spending all his hours in that little office of his and the poor children had so little time with their father. They were always eager to see him, but since Atticus’s assignment to Tom Robinson’s case, they have met only their father’s sheer fatigue and his desire to be isolated. Jean Louise especially had been missing her night readings with Atticus. The girl waited for him each night, only to be left