The Gargoyle

There exists no power as inexplicable as that of love. Love cannot be described in a traditional fashion; it is something that must be experienced in order for one to truly grasp its full enormity. It is the one emotion that can lead human beings to perform acts they are not usually capable of and to make sacrifices with no thought of the outcome or repercussions. Though love is full of unanswered questions and indescribable emotions, one of the most mystifying aspects of love is its timeless nature. Love is the one emotion, unlike superficial sentiments such as lust or jealousy, which can survive for years, or even generations. In the novel The Gargoyle, the author, Andrew Davidson, explores the idea of eternal love between two people, a union that spans over centuries spent both together and apart. Davidson, through the use of flashbacks, intricate plot development and foreshadowing, and dynamic characterization, creates a story that challenges the reader’s preconceived notions regarding whether eternal love can survive even when time’s inevitable grasp separates the individuals in question.

The story of The Gargoyle introduces the reader to a man whose life has spiralled completely out of control. Abandoned by his father before birth and orphaned when his mother died during delivery, the boy was sent to live with his drug dependent relatives who perished in an explosion when their homemade crystal meth operation combusted. With nowhere to go, the man, still a child at this time, gets put into a children’s home called “Second Chance House”, where he is raised. Upon entering adulthood, he begins his shameless career in the one area in which he excels- having sex. He begins starring in amateur porn movies, but his repu...

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...r that past, when my face was perfect, and when the wind would lift my hair so that it looked like the soft under-feathers of a bird’s wings. I remember when women turned on the streets to smile at me, wondering what it might be like to own my beauty for even one shining moment.” (Davidson, 17) A very detailed description is used simply to describe how the man’s face used to look; giving the reader a perfect opportunity to depict a mental image in their mind of what he may actually have looked like. Davidson never ceases to use fine attention to details throughout the entirety of the novel, and through doing this gives the reader a beautiful mental image of every character mentioned. Creating characters through detailed characteristics and lifelike personalities make relating to the characters more plausible and makes the reader want to learn of their fate.