“When you’re twenty-one, life is a roadmap.” Stephen King’s coming of age novel, Joyland, keeps the reader engaged throughout the ‘roadmap’ of the protagonist’s life by utilizing good characterization, symbolism, and descriptive language. Starting off the summer with heartbreak and college debt, Devin Jones begins working at the Joyland amusement park. Joyland is known for selling fun, but also hides the mysterious murder that occurred there. Devin becomes obsessed with solving the murder himself, and encounters many people along the way, one of which he gets attached to. Finding a new potential lover, and getting close to solving the murder, Devin’s life finally seems to be going in a positive direction. Devin’s smooth sailing life is put …show more content…
King uses descriptive language which helps the reader stay engaged by creating imagery. The whole novel mainly has the setting in Joyland, and the reader gets to know the carny life through King’s descriptive language. He uses the carny language when talking about the “conies” and the “shy’s.” Understanding the carny language allows the reader to place themselves in the shoes of a carny. Throughout the language used throughout the novel, I got more intrigued in the carefree carny life, and I wouldn’t have been able to do that without King’s use of descriptive …show more content…
The timeline of the plot can be very hard to follow at times throughout the book. It is very sporadic in when events occur. King incorporates both flashbacks and flash-forwards in the novel. At some points, it is hard to follow the flashbacks, because they are very contradicting to what is currently happening in the novel. For example, when the character of Tom is involved in the plot, King randomly flashes forward to how he was going to die, but would come back to when he was alive. I did not like the confusion of knowing Tom was technically already dead, but still played a role in the novel. Also, when King would talk about events in the future that were going to happen, but did not yet, it spoiled the rest of the novel. Flashing forward to some of the events throughout the novel took away any surprises that could have happened. Although the plot was confusing at some points, the novel had an overall clear ending to the story. Joyland is a great read for coming of age individuals that it is filled with mystery and strong literature components. The whole novel provides several examples of strong characters and descriptive language, along with a unique use of symbolism. The many applauding qualities of this novel makes it worth reading, and a novel you will not want to put
We all experience a rite of passage in our lives, whether it be the time we learned to swim or perhaps the day we received our driver’s license. A rite of passage marks an important stage in someone’s life, and one often times comes with a lesson learned. Three selections that provide fine examples of rites of passage that individuals confront include “The Bass, The River, and Sheila Mant” by W.D. Wetherell, “On Turning Ten” by Billy Collins” and “First Lesson” by Philip Booth.
The author uses short, simple sentences that manage to say a lot in a few words. The author also uses imagery. He also puts in his book references to historical events. These references increase the understanding and appreciation of Billy's story by suggesting historical and literary parallels to the personal events in his life. The novel does not have smooth transitions from one event to the next.
Coming-of-age stories commonly record the transitions—sometimes abrupt, or even violent—from youth to maturity, from innocence to experience of its protagonist, whether male or female. Greasy Lake by T.Coraghessan Boyle and Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? by Joyce Carol Oates are great examples of traditional coming-of-age stories. The roots of the coming-of-age narrative theme are tracked in the male protagonist’s perspective for Boyle’s short story, while the Oates’ story captures the coming-of-age theme from Connie; a female protagonist’s perspective. In both short stories, the authors fulfill the expectations of a coming-of-age genre when they take us through the journey of rebellion and self realization, as the
...to enjoy in this comic style book. The passage of time is not necessarily well defined in this book, it seems to go really fast and then really slow. For me that aspect is somewhat annoying. The less traditional reader will enjoy the comic book style used here where the pictures are in many instances more important than the actual words which appear in thought bubbles on the page. The plot is not necessarily extremely obvious, but I find that, at least in my opinion, most comic books don’t really have much of a plot. I think the authors did a good job of staying true to the style of writing intended for this publication and the dialogue seemed completely in line with the cartoon characters. I am not a fan of comics, this book didn’t really change that for me, but I think that it is an overall good piece of literature for those who enjoy this style of writing.
The production focuses on a set of teenagers who are friends with Allison, who surreptitiously convinces her friends to share their secrets, thus developing her loyalty to them. Once Allison disappeared, she left a mystery of who was responsible for her disappearance, dragging her friends into her dark secrets. Her body is later found, and the girls, who drifted apart after Allison went missing, start to reconnect, but their troubles are only beginning. After the funeral, all four of the girls receive messages from a stoker who calls himself or herself 'A'. ‘A' exposes many of the girl's dark secrets that only Allison knew of, leading the girls to wonder if Allison might be alive after all. ‘A' causes trouble for the girls and intervenes in their life, threatening not only their lives, but also the lives of those around them. On the road to discovering who ‘A' is, the girls come across numerous clues that incriminate people that they trust and love. Many citizens of the town seem involved in the mystery of their friend's death, making the entire town seem like a place of danger and discomfort.
No matter race, background or time period, every child goes through the drastic change from childhood to adulthood that we know of as “coming of age.” Since the topic of coming of age is so widespread and relatable, it is a very common theme in novels. In fact, many American classics follow the archetype known as loss of innocence, which displays the change in views and values of a child during this time period. Childhood is hard enough how it is, but during certain time periods and in certain locations, it can be exceptionally difficult; an example of this stressed hardship is the Deep South during the times of segregation and The Great Depression. One American classic that follows this archetype is To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee; in this narrative, she shows a dramatic change in Scout and Jem’s understanding of courage and empathy with the help of their father, Atticus, as they mature in the Deep South.
Introduction:The road to maturity and adulthood can be a long and difficult road for teens, especially when it comes to decision making and changing your view on the world. The popular short story, “On the Sidewalk Bleeding”, written by world-renowned author, Evan Hunter in 1957, displays this perfectly. Hunter uses the protagonist, Andy, to illustrate his development from adolescence into adulthood as he shifts from a state of ignorance to a state of knowledge, from a mindset of idealism to realism and from a selfish personality to a selflessness personality. Hunter expresses the major theme of coming of age through this protagonist character who is seen shifting from a state of adolescence to a more matured state of adulthood throughout the story.
Caden Cotard is a theater director who is fresh off his last successful production of Death of a Salesman. He was presented a grant and was determined to create a brutally honest play. He gathers together a cast into a warehouse in Manhattan’s theater. He leads them into a celebration of the ordinary, telling them to live out their lives in a small replica of the city outside. As this city inside the warehouse begins to grow, Caden’s life begins to swerve off the tracks. His wife, Adele, who is a famous painter and the mother of his child Olive, left him years ago and traveled to Germany’s art scene. Caden is driving his current marriage to an actress named Claire directly into the ground. The actor Caden has hired to play himself within the play is a little too perfect for the part is making it harder for Caden to revitalize his relationship with Hazel. Caden’s condition is one by one shutting down all of his autonomic functions. Years go by and Caden is concealing himself deeper into this magnum opus. The line between the world of his play and what is reality soon becomes a little blurry. The rehearsal for the play will go on for decades making it unclear if the production will ever launch.
The beginning of Janie’s marriage to Joe shows promise and adventure, something that young Janie is quickly attracted to. She longs to get out of her loveless marriage to Logan Killicks and Joe’s big dreams captivate Janie. Once again she hopes to find the true love she’s always dreamed of. Joe and Janie’s life is first blissful. He gives her whatever she wants and after he becomes the mayor of a small African American town called Eatonville, they are the most respected couple in town. Joe uses his newfound power to control Janie. When she is asked to make a speech at a town event, she can’t even get out a word before Joe denies her the privilege. He starts making her work in the store he opens and punishes her for any mistakes she makes. He enjoys the power and respect her gets when o...
The character this film is primarily centered around is Will Hunting. Will lives in a tattered house in a bad neighborhood in the city of Boston. He grew up in foster care where he sustained continual physical abuse as a child. Will has a few close friends he is always with but never opens up about anything below surface level. Will is incredibly gifted with intelligence however he works as a custodian at the highly prestigious school, MIT. Professor Lambeau teaches advanced mathematics at MIT and is the one who discovers Will’s incredible talent for solving advanced mathematical theory. Professor Lambeau has high hopes for Will and pushes him into getting jobs with prestigious employers so that his gift is not wasted working as a custodian. Chuckie Sullivan is one of the closest of Will’s friends. They’ve known each other for years and Chuckie drives Will to work every day. Chuckie cares for Will and realizes the gift that he has and tries to convince Will he should be doing something of greater importance with his life. Skylar is a college stu...
Andy goes back to school and talks to his basketball coach about how he feels about Rob's death and how his fiends and family feel about the accident. In addition, they discuss Andy's sentence because Andy keeps punishing himself for Rob's death. Everybody at school was crying during Rob's memorial service. Grief Counselors from downtown come to the school to try to get the kids to share their feelings.
If my life had no purpose, no individuality, and no happiness, I would not want to live. This book teaches the importance of self expression and independence. If we did not have these necessities, then life would be like those in this novel. Empty, redundant, and fearful. The quotes above show how different life can be without our basic freedoms. This novel was very interesting and it shows, no matter how dismal a situation is, there is always a way out if you never give up, even if you have to do it alone.
Using the murder of Dee Ann’s mother as a means to intertwine the lives of the characters together, Steve Yarbrough examines the nature of relationships in “The Rest of Her Life.” The relationships in the story take a turn after Dee Ann’s mother is killed, with characters seeking to act more on their own, creating distance between many relationships throughout the story. Independent lifestyles prevent emotional bonds that hold relationships together from forming, thus preventing the characters from maintaining healthy relationships. The dysfunctional relationship present between Dee Ann and Chuckie in “The Rest of Her Life” is the result of the characters ' desire for self-gratification.
In her famous short story, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been,” Joyce Carol Oates shows the transition from childhood to adulthood through her character Connie. Each person experiences this transition in their own way and time. For some it is leaving home for the first time to go to college, for others it might be having to step up to a leadership position. No matter what, this transition affects everyone; it just happens to everyone differently. Oates describes Connie's unfortunate coming of age in a much more violent and unexpected way than the typical coming of age story for a fifteen year old girl.
It is the day Cali will remember for the rest of her life, for it is the day Cali Millhouse discovers her uncle was murdered by a family member. It is Two o'clock and half of the town of Rosewood is piling inside the local funeral home. Mrs. Dunham pays her respects to everyone except Cali’s father, Steve, for Mrs. Dunham finds him to be evil. Maybe she is right, and he killed Cali’s uncle? Whether he was or not, it is still a sad day and she needed the comfort of her father. That morning the sheriff came by and informed Cali and her family that someone related to Keith killed him. Surprisingly, her father made a comment that he believed it was her Aunt Audrey. Audrey was a money hungry, mean, gold-digger who dated men for their money, and she knew Keith had a two billion dollar company that would be left to someone if he passed.Steve felt much animosity towards his older sister, and would vituperate her name any chance he got. Audrey blamed Steve as much as her blamed her, nevertheless you could feel their acrimony towards each