Neil Gaiman grabs the reader’s attention with the first line of the book:
There was a hand in the darkness, and it held a knife. The knife had a handle of polished black bone, and a blade finer and sharper than any razor. If it sliced you, you might not even know you had been cut, not immediately. The knife had done almost everything it was brought to that house to do, and both the blade and the handle were wet.
The descriptive words that are used regarding the knife prompt the reader into visualizing what is occurring at the very beginning of the story. Throughout the entire book Gaiman uses vivid imagery when explaining the different places that the character’s encounter; as well as the many characters throughout the book.
One night, a boy wandered
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He was taken in by a couple who had been at the graveyard for years, Mr. and Mrs. Owens. They then named the boy Nobody Owens (Bod for short). “It is going to take more than just a couple of good-hearted souls to raise this child. It will,” said Silas, “take a graveyard” (Gaiman). With saying that Silas promised to be Nobody Owens guardian until he reached adulthood. Throughout the entire story Bod had many mentors watching over him. His adopted mother, Mrs. Owens, who took him in at the very beginning was just like any mother you would expect. She was caring to Bod and only wanted what was best for him. Then, there is Silas. Silas is Bods guardian and also a mysterious character. Throughout the entire book Bod will ask Silas questions and he will never give Bod a straight answer. He is neither dead or living, but he watches out for Bod. Silas is also one of Bods
The use of imagery allows the reader to picture the long-lasting emotions gripping the narrator. Being a concrete representation of an object or sensory experience (myLearning), imagery permits the reader to visualize what the narrator is experiencing. One example of imagery is used in line 5 “I'm stone. I'm flesh.” The narrator is using metaphoric and literal imagery describing his body. The reader can visualize the attempt to harden the body against the onslaught of emotion, and the reflection of the vulnerable flesh body in the granite wall. Another example of imagery can be found in lines 22 through 24 “Brushstrokes flash, a red bird's / wings cutting across my stare. / The sky. A plane in the sky." Here the realistic memories of war involuntarily flash through the narrator’s mind.
Tobias Wolff uses imagery in his short story “Bullet in the Brain” provides a visual portrait that captures attention. He clarifies in an interview with Sanford University what short stories require, “You want large results from it, and you 're compelled by its very shortness to using all your resources of language, form and understanding” (Schrieberg 1998). He uses language in the story offering instances of imagery to describe the media critic. Anders is portrayed as weary, and elegantly savage in his reviews. In each scene of the story Anders observes and uses biting words to offer his approval or distaste. He uses words to critique events while waiting with the customers at the bank, with the thieves and with the shot starting his recollections. There is a deeper vision into his brain not only with the speeding bullet but incite to words. The use of imagery in the short story provides a distorted image of the character Anders, not the real image of a man with the passion for words and the happiness they create.
feelings of the story. He uses it especially to express the sadness and depression. For instance, he says, “I had no longer felt anything except the lashes of the whip”(pg.58). This brings the feelings of pain and loss of passion. This brings out the tone of the book itself. Another example is when he says, “I was a body. Perhaps even less than that even; a starved stomach. The stomach alone was aware of the passage of time”(pg.50). These words bring upon the pity of this inhumanity. The malnourishing of the people that were shown throughout this book. This tone brings sadness to its readers.
"Chickamauga" uses many symbols to display the innocence of a child. As the boy plays with a wooden sword, he does not realize how deadly the weapon he possesses is. " ...and the boy had understood enough to make himself a wooden sword, though even the eye of his father would hardly have known it for what it was"(Bierce). Death and taking one's life to many is a scary thought, however the
“His jaw was in his throat, his upper lip and teeth were gone, his one eye was shut, his other eye was a star-shaped hole...,” writes O’Brien as he studies the deceased enemy (118). Throughout the novel, the author shows consistency with repeating stories and lines in a way to present a greater image. He reminds the reader of details the elaborate his larger view. When he writes of the man he killed, he wants the reader to imagine themselves in his shoes, as he imagined himself in the enemies’. As he carefully studies the dead man, he imagines how the boy found himself in the war. By relating American society to the boy’s village of My Khe, he bridges similarities connecting the two by a culture that promotes defending one’s land and ways of life. By saying, “he would have been taught that to defend the land was a man’s highest duty and highest privilege,” he shows there is minimal difference between how most Americans view the military and the duty of the villagers in My Khe (119). Although he had not known the exact history of the boy, he attempted to illustrate in his own mind what his life may have been like prior to the invasion. The inability for O’Brien to walk away from the body as Kiowa continued to pry him away says he was troubled by the similarities. Despite Kiowa saying it could have been him lying lifeless on
It also creates a sort of wary, cautious feeling for the audience as Kino senses an underlying danger. This long description of Kino waiting is juxtaposed with a very short and quick scuffle. Kino is cut with a knife, described by lines such as "the little rush, the grunting struggle, the blow." and "but it was over by then. " This
In the book, Lord of the Flies, author William Golding uses the knife to symbolize military power and the savagery that comes with the need to kill. The main characters are boy from Britain, Ralph, who crashes onto an island. Being alone with his new friend Piggy, he has to decide different thing like how to form a government to how they are going to stay alive and well fed. The knife is a symbol for the boys' desire for power. The symbolism of the knife is displayed by the actions of Jack, who is the chief of the hunter pack.
From the colors of the tiger in Cinnamon and the garden in Instructions to the black door in Neverwhere, Neil Gaiman is able to create a story where every color, setting, and word can be used to describe a deeper meaning in the story. Symbols allow a reader to make connections between Gaiman’s writings to a more simple writing they have read in the past; these symbols allow the author to describe a character or setting indirectly. Archetypes allow the complexity of Gaiman’s writing to be understood by the average reader; Gaiman uses many symbols because many of his works have two meanings one in which is hidden the text. Neverwhere has many different archetypal characters which allows to find similarities between Gaiman’s characters and the
There are more significant symbols in the novel such as The Boy. The Man and Boy fight to survive many hardships, but through the darkness there is light, The Boy. He is very mature and cares for every stray person they pass. One person he cares for is a man named Ely, an old man with nothing but the clothes on his back, until he meets The Boy and his father." 'You should thank him you know, I wouldn’t have given you anything' "(McCarthy 173). The Boy wants everyone to survive and is willing to share his supplies even if it means he won`t have all the things he needs to live.
Gaiman words were comforting to read as his style seemed uncommonly laid back and easily sincere. He turns the most average moment into such an intriguing one, without overselling or making the sentences sound too poetic. Therefore the simplicity of his dynamic words changed the story into a capturing tale. However, the supernatural theme of the book was perplexing in the beginning,
Both these example link back to the theme as they both are showing people inner savagery and animalistic instincts taking over during a time where there are no rules. We can also see that in The Wasteland they use his stick as a metaphor for the savagery that lurks within him and is always with him but only when the bus which symbolising the rules leaves he starts to see it as a option. The quote “Something caught him by the leg, and he brought his stick crashing down on it” shows that he finally unleashes all his anger and heartless inhumanity. This is a lot like The Lord of the Flies in that Jack always has a knife with him and he becomes that
The Knife written by Judah Waten, is a short story about a young Italian- Plinio, who has immigrated to Australia from a poor village in Calabria, in a very desolate part of Southern Italy'.
To make a choice is easy, but to make the right one can sometimes be very difficult. To speak one’s mind and stand up to your opinion can also be tough, especially when in a large crowd, but sometimes this is the most important time for doing so. In Steven Millhauser’s short story, “The Knife Thrower”, the ambiguity of the narrator’s view on the knife thrower’s act is really drawn out and exposed in the spotlight, very unlike the knife thrower’s act itself which is very mystical and sort of hidden in the shadows.
"There were lashings of blood," said Jack, laughing and shuddering, "you should have seen it!" (Golding 69). In the story Lord of the flies by author William Golding uses a knife to symbolize savagery and the growing enmity and aggression; the knife is a symbol of power and violence. It is associated with Jack, but throughout the book the knife starts spreading into the other kids. Loss of Innocence connects with this symbol because throughout the story the kids mindset changes from a young mindset to a savagery mindset.
I stood between the two bodies, looking into their lifeless, glassy eyes. Crimson blood pooled around their stiff bodies. More blood ran down the blade of the knife I clutched in my hand, gathering at the point and slowly dripping on my leg. What had he done?