Use Of Juxtaposition In The Threshold

Meloy’s juxtaposition is one way she communicates her story. She uses juxtaposition to compare two different perspectives of her parents when she notes, “It was only from a distance that their progress looked effortless and unimpeded. Up close, the gliding through fresh snow made them sweat, and my father’s glasses steamed up. Their noses and cheeks were red, and they were laughing at a joke he’d made.” (2). This is an example of juxtaposition because the author places two opposing ideas—their apparent ease and their actual struggle—next to each other. They seemed to be enjoying themselves, laughing and easily moving. However, upon closer inspection, this appearance contrasted with the reality. Their noses were affected by the cold and their breathing is labored. They did not seem carefree. The writer uses this strategy to explain an aspect of her parents’ relationship—that they pretended like their relationship was fine when it was not. They would not admit it was falling apart, but their daughter could tell something is wrong. The author additionally juxtaposes hot and cold. She compares her dad’s version of the story to hers when she states, “Summer and a moose—all I’d been sure was snow and bear” (4).

The night is crisp and black as the moon lets off an eerie glow, leaves rustle and fall somewhere in the distance. A silhouette dwarfs the blackberry bush in the corner as one’s footsteps refrain, they move closer; you run. Suspense is a state of tension and anxiety which was used in the sentence above and is common in books and short stories. In the short story “The Monkey’s Paw” by W.W Jacobs suspense is created in a variety of ways. Jacobs demonstrates this by using foreshadowing, conflict and surprise endings.

Eugenia Collier, the author of the short story Marigolds makes great use of literary devices such as imagery, diction, flashback, and juxtaposition in a way that creates a voice for the narrator that conveys both the regret over, and possibly the longing for her childhood. The diction, that is, the vocabulary choice is expertly combined with imagery, or the unique descriptions and sensory details, in order to allow the reader to formulate the experiences and the surroundings of the narrator's childhood in their imaginations. Flashback is used to allow the narrator to not only explain how she viewed the events of her past as a child, but to compare these views with her adult feelings of the same events. Juxtaposition aids in further explaining the connection between the setting and emotions of the main character, creating a better picture of the narrator’s life. These elements all combine to construct a narrative that effectively conveys the coming of age theme.

This example also illustrates Moore’s use of bildungsroman. The book is built on the stories from each man’s formative years, so the choices they made were indicative of how they would mature. Since Moore, the author, decided to make the right decision in this situation, it shows that he would make more of the right choices where it would be easier for the other Wes Moore to make more of the wrong ones. Each choice that was made was reflective of how each man could go in life, if they kept making the type of choice that they did before. The stories Moore presents throughout his book helps him build his argument while his use of juxtaposition and bildungsroman provide readers with a clearer perspective of what he is trying to prove.

In order to help to get a point or idea across it is not uncommon to provide two stark contrasts to assist in conveying the point. Writers commonly use this technique in their writing especially when dealing with a story that concerns the evolution of a character. An example of such writing can be found in Kate Chopin's The Awakening. The novel deals with Edna Pontellier's "awakening" from the slumber of the stereotypical southern woman, as she discovers her own identity independent of her husband and children. In order to illustrate the woman that Edna can become in The Awakening, Chopin creates two opposing forces Adele Ratignolle and Mademoiselle Reisz for her best

Crossing the Threshold; the hero commits to leaving the Ordinary World and entering a new condition with unfamiliar rules. Hazel makes the decision to leave at moonrise to escape the possible danger of staying in the Sandleford Warren. He commits to the adventure and is confident in his decision.

This contrast portrays Jim’s disturbance. He is accustomed to his peaceful, quiet surroundings and his birds. The war though, is completely different. He is out of his comfort zone, and in something he has never experienced. As this disturbs Jim, it disturbs the reader, and foreshadows the horrors and troubles Jim faces.

Between the three stories, “The Dogs Could Teach Me,” “The Flowers,” and “The Sniper.” “The Sniper” demonstrates the best suspenseful text between the three stories. To create a suspenseful story, “The Sniper” develops multiple moments of suspense. For instance one illustration of suspense in “The Sniper” is, “He paused for a moment, considering whether he should risk a smoke. It was dangerous. The flash might be seen in the darkness, and there were enemies watching. He decided to take the risk.” This is a suspenseful moment in “The Sniper” because if the sniper risks to smoke, he will be giving away his position and could be shot at by the enemy's. Another representation of suspense is, “Pressing his lips together, he took a deep breath

In “Lather and Nothing Else” a short story by Hernando Tellez, the author uses suspense to develop an elaborate story. In this story a barber, who remains unnamed, must decide whether or not to kill a man named Captain Torres. Tellez develops suspense throughout his story by using two elements paranoia and pace. The first technique Tellez uses to develop suspense in the story is by pacing, pacing of the story and in the barber’s internal dialogue.

In this excerpt from “The Lightning Thief” the author uses Percy’s point of view to achieve suspense his purpose of creating suspense.

The threshold is symbolic of the transition from worldly glory the athlete was experiencing, to the heavenly glory the athlete now realizes. The athlete has passes on and is now the townsman of a “town” much stiller than the one the athlete once knew suggesting that the athlete is now becoming acquainted with a new heavenly “town”. Line 8, while being the first indication that the athlete has died, also gives calming reassurance that the athlete is in a better, more tranquil place. A.E. Housman continues to use symbolism, when in lines 11-12 the narrator says that the athlete like “the laurel grows / [And] withers quicker than the rose”.

The ‘threshold’ for this narrative begins as the story opens, as there is evident tension between the husband and wife. The narrator (wife) has short, stilted dialogue whilst the husband is constantly defensive of his actions although still indifferent to the event. It is this opening tension, which engages the reader as they are drawn into wanting to know what the issue is and this sets up how the rest of the story continues. The narrator learns of a new side to her husband, which leaves her wondering if he has dark side. ‘…“She was dead,” he says, “And I’m as sorry as anyone…But she was dead.”…I rake my arm across the drain board and send the dishes to the floor. He doesn’t move’ (Carver, R. 1989 pg. 80). The reader can clearly see the narrative conflict as being the shocking revelation to the narrator of how detached her husband can

The first way the author creates suspense in the story is by foreshadowing. When Captain Torres walked into the barber’s shop, the barber, “Started to shake,” (Tellez 1) indicating that the barber felt instant fear, when his enemy approached. This foreshadows that the barber knows the man and that he will be deciding to kill him or not. Foreshadowing creates suspense because it is a clue given to the reader. It is the reader’s job to guess what is going to happen in the story and that is what makes it interesting. Without foreshadowing the reader won’t be able to prepare what is going to happen next. Another scene where the foreshadowing technique is used was when the barber came up with his reasons to not kill Captain Torres. The barber contemplated in his mind, “Don’t want to stain myself with blood. Just lather, and nothing else,” (Tellez 2) which foreshadows that the barber is not going to commit murder.

Dillard effectively uses concrete imagery as a way of conveying her inner struggle to the reader in a handful of ways. In the first paragraph, she paints a vivid picture in the reader’s mind by writing “while barred owls called in the forest and pale moths seeking mates

An example of this can be found in the short story, The Grave, written by Katherine Anne Porter. In this short story two young kids, a brother and sister, go out exploring in a graveyard. “...propped their twenty two Winchester rifles carefully against the rail fence, climbed over and explored among the graves.”(Porter 2) The symbolism is the two kids climbing over the fence. The fence acts as the barrier between the two worlds of childhood and adulthood. Them climbing over it represents the transition that young kids go through when becoming adults. Later in the story the brother kills a pregnant bunny. When they discover that the bunny was about to have babies the sister feels guilt. “She was quietly and terribly agitated, standing with her rifle under her arm, looking down at the bloody heap.” (Porter 11) The reader can see that there is symbolism with the young girl holding the gun under her arm and her looking down at the dead