The first narrative I’ve chosen Is “The Look” by Larry Lehna. One part in the book where the author uses descriptive language (From “The Look”) “The burning pain of bullet wounds (they really do burn). The agony of stitches going into a fresh knife wound. The nearly immobilizing ache of broken ribs.” (196) The image of the “the burning pain of a bullet wound” and “the agony of stitches going into a fresh knife wound.” appeals to the sense of touch and feeling. I selected this particular passage because the author was able to describe the physical pain of a bullet wound and also the pain of the healing process. This passage gives me the reader a more personal experience to the story and connects you to the character, I had a feeling of empathy for the character and the experiences he had in prison. …show more content…
“ The look says, “I’m tough, I like to fight, and I would just love to hurt you. So mess with me if you dare.” I think the author decided to use this particular dialogue for the story because it’s easier to get a sense of how tough and hardened the character is by just those few words. This passage helps with the plot development because it reverts back to “the look” which is stoic in nature that someone has while in prison. The purpose for the whole narrative is expressed in the following passage. “When I was sentenced to ten to thirty years in prison. I was stunned. I wanted to cry. I wanted to be hugged. I wanted my mommy. I wanted to hurt someone, but I knew I should not show any emotion
Slave narratives were autobiographies detailing the lives of slaves that became some of the most popular and controversial pieces of African American literature. Also, most slave narratives often dealt with themes such as the quest for freedom, religion, and a deliverance from the evils of slavery. Two of the most famous types of slave narratives were Olaudah Equiano’s The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano and Fredrick Douglass’ Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave. Equiano’s and Douglass’ narratives can be considered the epitomes of slave narratives because they try to have the audience sympathize with them, give descriptions of the brutal things slaves had to go through , and detail the harsh things specific slaveholders did to them; attributes present in most slave narratives. However, they differ because Equiano romanticizes slavery, and Douglass tends to be more realistic in his
In "The Ugly Truth about Beauty" (1998), Dave Barry argues that ". . . women generally do not
A successful descriptive narrative gives the necessary information for a reader to know the material of a text. For instance, narrating the text of a story allows the audience to connect with the feelings of the narrator. A description incorporates visuals so that the audience can recognize the image being portrayed. “Shooting an Elephant” and “The Lottery” are both descriptive narratives. Descriptive narratives give the reader a clearer understanding of the passage. “Shooting an Elephant” is the stronger descriptive narrative because of vivid sensory detail, manipulating the perception of the reader, and Orwell’s use of conflict.
The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy describes Levinasian philosophy as the concept of the “ethics of ethics” and explains Emmanuel Levinas’ philosophical concept of the face as a “call and command to ethical action.” These ethical tenets explore the notion of the face in its nudity and defenselessness signifies: “Do not kill me”; furthermore any exemplification of the face's expression carries with it this combination of resistance and defenselessness (Levinias). Although Lévinas' theory of the face bears resemblance to Martin Buber's "I and Thou" relation, Levinias’ focus of the “other” as an asymmetrical relationship that leads us to either “love it or kill it (Levinias 23).” According to Emmanuel Levinias “The face brings a notion of
The use of figurative language is what made the novel most effective in persuading the reader because in Douglass’s anecdotes the use of parallelism, repetition, and metaphors is what made the reader imagine the cruelty of slavery and live his feelings through words. Douglass discusses the effect of going to Baltimore by saying if he would have not been removed from the plantation. He uses the metaphor “Been confined in the galling chains of slavery” (15) and “The white men were on horseback, and the colored ones were walking behind, as if tied.” (37) to make the reader picture, think, and analyse what he went through. He uses this to specifically make the reader obligate himself to view many perspectives of his situation and its horrors.
In today's world of literature, every author is different. They write about different topics in different ways. Each author has a specific writing voice that is a reflection of who they are. This is a prime reason we become attracted to books. Another reason has to do with the structure of the said story. Many authors use different structures: poems, short stories, letters, essays, lyrical ballads, etc. It can be easily stated that one of the most interesting forms is indeed, letters. Letters are generally from a single person to another person but, when compiled together can make a compelling story. Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is a prime example of how cool writing in the form of letters is.
According to the article by Dave Barry, "The Ugly Truth about Beauty", the article compares between men and women. Barry illustrate that men think of themselves as average looking unlike women they always think that they are not good enough. Barry think contributes to this difference is that women when they were young they used to play with a Barbie which make them feel that they have to be perfect just like here and that generate low self-self-esteem. On the other hand men used to play by their action figures. Which they are not a good looker. In this article Barry offer advice for both gender. That women must have self-confidence and men should care about their look just a little more. I am a women and I know that we are some times be obsessed
“The challenge is to make your story compelling and meaningful for readers, to make readers care about the storyteller, and curious to know what happened” (Author name, p.13). In order to overcome this challenge you should apply your narrative tool box, which should consist. of ways to add emotion, detail, suspense, structure, and more to your story. For example, some of the tools you may want to include would be dialogue, action verbs, vivid description, diction and syntax, and reflection. All of these tools have different roles though in a story and you can see how each are used to provide depth to a work in the essay by Jean Brandy titled Calling Home. Dialogue is used to provide insight into people and relationships in a work. Action verbs contribute to the drama and create a picture of what is being told. Vivid description captures where the scene is taking place. Diction and syntax provide structure to a work, with word choice and placement. Reflection provides an example, your thoughts, and feelings pertaining to your story.. Your narrative tool box helps you fully express feelings and context to the right extent, but it is not the only thing that goes into a
The book titled, “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl” has opened my eyes to the history of slavery and the conditions slaves had to endure during that time. Before reading this book, I learned about the encounters of slaves through few books or narratives written by people who had experienced slavery firsthand. One narrative I read was titled “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass”. The narrative accounts the life of Frederick Douglass and the hardships he had to face as a slave such as watching his own family member being flogged. This narrative portrayed the many aspects of his life working on the plantation and how he successfully escaped to freedom. This narrative and the other books commonly talked about the violence that slaves
A narrative essay is about storytelling for a narrative story to work it must capture and hold the audience attention you must give a clear understanding of your story. A descriptive essay lets you describe in detail what the essay is all about using words that appeal to your sense of smell, hearing, see, touch, and taste. A descriptive essay lets you use words that describe a person, place, or object. When I compare the author’s narrative essay “Are the Rich Happy?” by Steven Leacock and the author’s descriptive essay “Sister Flowers” by Maya Angelou it is clear that there are many similarities and differences between the two styles of writings. Descriptive essay is the most effective writing. It not only gives the reader a broader perception of the message but also, helps in broadening the mind of the reader. An effective writer does not allow the reader to make conclusive ideas about their work. Narrative essay is evidently, less effective than descriptive essay. It narrows down every item and makes conclusions for the reader.
These two types of writing do not just pertain to stories, they also pertain to actual events in the world. For example the news, when an anchor is telling a story they distant there self from the event and tell it in third person where as an eye witness or victim would tell it in first person. News anchors do this to make it unbiased and give people the facts not their opinions. When a witness or victim tell their story, they try to explain how they felt and try to make us understand their
Since the beginning of time people all over the world have been judged based on their appearance. Based solely on the color of their skin, quality of clothing, body weight, or even hair texture, people experienced different treatment by the same people experiencing different results. Society has created a standard for an individual’s appearance. This standard allows society to believe that the looks of a person should influence their treatment by others. This standard expectation ultimately corrupts individuals mentally, emotionally and physically.
Each compelling personal narrative should contain is a well-developed theme that makes the reader think. For example, in “My Fanged Tooth” by Jim Son a reader could tell that the theme of the story is that we live in a survival of the fittest world. Son goes on vacation for a few days with expectancy of coming home to his hamsters just like he left them. However, He comes home to the realization that one hamster had eaten the other hamster. Coming home to this he realizes that the hamsters are not as cute and fluffy on the inside as they are on the outside. Son realized that hamsters have an instinct to survive and can be ruthless (by using cannibalism in this instance) as one of their methods of surviving. His mother even told him “Every animal, including human beings, has an instinct that makes them want to survive, no matter what.” (14) As a young child Son is protected and sheltered and wouldn’t really expect to learn this lesson. What makes it even worse for young Son is that his hamsters had the be the way he learned this lesson. But when you see one hamster literally ripped into pieces, the mother could not have given a better explanation than what she gave. Additionally, Son then realizes he thinks, and makes us think that he sees a sharp tooth coming out of his mouth before he goes to sleep that night. “That night before going to bed, standing in
There are many parts to writing a narrative. The main idea, the setting, the background information, and more. The most important element of a narrative is the illustration. The details are what keep a
Poe, Edgar Allan. "The Tell-Tale Heart." Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Ed. X. J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. 7th ed. New York: Longman, 1999. 33-37.