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Character development introduction
Character development introduction
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Before they even pick up a pen, novelists are given a task of giving their book a point. Their audience are often searching for something specific when they pick up a novel: supernatural elements, a romance, or other elements. Having something “different” in a world of the same story being told over and over helps, but what makes a novel successful is how relatable a novel is to the masses. A theme is unable to be expressed unless the audience is able to associate themselves with the characters and situations that the author sets the story up with. One such author is Stephen King, whose real experiences and overwhelming amount of brand-tagging gives him credibility in his writing, making him one of the most popular modern writers of the past few decades. The novelist Stephen King demonstrates the theme of intolerance as seen in his book Carrie through the use of elements such as characters, setting, and diction.
The diction King's novels took on were not intentional in the beginning. King began writing novels with horror elements or completely based on the attention other horror novels such as Ira Levin's Rosemary's Baby and William P. Blatty's The Exorcist had received after many of his naturalistic novels had been rejected (Keyishian 30). With this, King's novels change from a romantic prose to direct rhythms and characterizations. King begins instruction in his book On Writing by instructing not to constrict to a manual of writing a certain way, but by simply writing and seeing what comes structure is able to out of it (McCrillis). The shift in his writing comes from many factors, but most are from letting the structure take on its own course; to not write as his vision sees it beforehand, but to let the writing do itself, as...
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...sm Select. Detroit: Gale, 2008. Literature Resource Center. Web. 16 Jan. 2014.
King, Stephen. Carrie. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1974.
McCrillis, M. P. "'Lynching Stephen King.'." World & I 18.7 (July 2003): 268-283. in Contemporary Literary Criticism Select. Detroit: Gale, 2008. Literature Resource Center. Web. 16 Jan. 2014.
Parini, Jay. American Writers: A Collection of Literary Biographies. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2000.
Reino, Joseph. Stephen King: The First Decade, Carrie to Pet Sematary. Boston: Twayne, 1988.
Stephen King, Christopher Lehmann-Haupt,, and Nathaniel Rich. "Stephen King, The Art of Fiction No. 189." Contemporary Literary Criticism. Ed. Jeffrey W. Hunter. Vol. 328. Detroit: Gale, 2012. Literature Resource Center. Web. 16 Jan. 2014.
Winter, Douglas E. Stephen King, the Art of Darkness. New York: New American Library, 1984.
In On Writing’s section titled “On Writing,” Stephen King iterates multiple times, his true feelings for writing by telling his story. The central point that he uses to say that writing is his passion and what he truly feels joy in is how he writes. King at one point says, “When I am writing, it is all the playground…”(King 149), this is the best example of how he translates his feelings. He uses the playground as a metaphor to intensify the joy he gets from writing, as a playground or park is something we can all relate to. It is not just that one quote, but it is also his tone as a whole, rather than being some distanced writer not showing emotion, he creates a tone of a proud father, pushing a child to love what he does, and not to take it for granted. King accomplishes this tone by giving small tips and tricks that he has used over the years, almost as a mentor to give the sense as it is not just a book, but a guide to becoming a better
There are many writers that convey their purposes using different methods. Many writers use different techniques to persuade their audience towards a specific idea in their writing. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain tells the story about a boy named Huck, who takes on many adventures along with Jim, a runaway slave. Throughout their journey, Huck starts to realize that African Americans are much the same as white Americans. He sees that the treatments of African Americans is wrong and cruel. Huck’s view on African Americans changes through the course of the novel because Twain introduces his idea of racism being immoral through the different uses of techniques. Writers like Walt Whitman, Brent Staples, Langston
Literary works are always affected by the times and places in which they are written. Those crafted in Western America often reflect conflicts that occurred between advancing civilization and the free spirited individual. The 1970’s was a particularly popular time for authors to introduce new ideas for living in the modern world. There are few authors who captured the essence and feeling of culture quite like Tom Robbins. Robbins comments on the differences and similarities between Western civilization and Eastern philosophies. His text offers philosophical and cultural meaning that is completely original. Certain beliefs are threaded through out the content of the story. He includes significant content reflecting the laws of physics; how motion and force affect the life process. Through the dialogue and action of his characters, Robbins illustrates how two very different ideals can coexist. Robbins intentions are to expand cultural perspectives and awareness through his novels. His use of metaphors and stylistic diction emphasizes further how thoughtful and awesome his work is. Tom Robbins writing offers an insightful perspective into cultural themes of our modern world.
bell hooks gains the trust and credibility of readers through knowledge of the topic at hand, establishing common ground with the audience, and demonstrating fairness. Ethos is the distinguishing moral character of a writer that instills faith in the audience. bell hooks is a well respected writer and teacher known for her strong opinion and academic background. She establishes her credentials through her personal struggles with the university system and her efforts to maintain her own individuality and background. The reader gains respect for hooks as she courageously resists the pressure to adapt to her new academic life. For` example she says, "It [is] my responsibility to formulate a way of being that [will] allow me to participate fully in my new environment while integrating and maintaining aspects of the old" (hooks 92). bell hooks writes not only to help others find strength to hold on to their pasts, but for her own resistance as well. Her audience is assured by her motives to educate and inform.
Eller, E. Edward. “Fahrenheit 451.” 1998. Exploring Novels. Ed. Ray Bradbury. Detroit: Gale, 2004. 3-4
...vely to lack attention given to them. King lures his readers in by using an
Besides memorials, haunting can also happen when people read fictional period novels or see historically set films, for example. These pop culture elements and icons become like ghosts; they expose people to themes and subject matter that may open their eyes on a difficult topic or conflict with what they believe to be true. This experience then forces a perspective on people who begin to question the events being told and the accuracy of what is portrayed. Gordon uses the novel Beloved, which deals with the effects of slavery, to illustrate how sparking the imagination on a topic and asking difficult questions of the audience can create a haunting effect that may lead to new reflections and further research and analysis. In this way pop culture elements and icons are important not only as tools for reflection and communication, but also as a lens for researchers and historians to understand why history has been shaped into its current
Scott. Dark Tower, The by Stephen King Book Reviews and Comments, SFFWorld. 2006. 4 April 2012. http://www.sffworld.com/brev/si184p0.html
Hunt, Jonathan. "In Darkness." The Horn Book Magazine Mar.-Apr. 2012: 111+. Academic OneFile. Web. 29 Apr. 2014
King owes his success to his ability to take what he says are “real fears” (The Stephen King Story, 47) and turn them into a horror story. When he says “real fears” they are things we have all thought of such as a monster under the bed or even a child kidnapping and he is making them a reality in his story. King looks at “horror fiction...as a metaphor” (46) for everything that goes wrong in our lives. His mind and writing seems to dwell in the depths of the American people’s fears and nightmares and this is what causes his writing to reach so many people and cause the terror he writes about to be instilled in his reader.
The only real way to truly understand a story is to understand all aspects of a story and their meanings. The same goes for movies, as they are all just stories being acted out. In Thomas Foster's book, “How to Read Literature Like a Professor”, Foster explains in detail the numerous ingredients of a story. He discusses almost everything that can be found in any given piece of literature. The devices discussed in Foster's book can be found in most movies as well, including in Quentin Tarantino’s cult classic, “Pulp Fiction”. This movie is a complicated tale that follows numerous characters involved in intertwining stories. Tarantino utilizes many devices to make “Pulp Fiction” into an excellent film. In this essay, I will demonstrate how several literary devices described in Foster's book are put to use in Tarantino’s film, “Pulp Fiction”, including quests, archetypes, food, and violence.
We all have cravings, be it for snacks or sweets, there is always something we desire. We crave horror in the same way. In Stephen King’s essay, “Why We Crave Horror Movies,” he argues that people need to watch horror films in order to release the negative emotions within us. King believes that people feel enjoyment while watching others be terrorized or killed in horror movies. King’s argument has elements that are both agreeable and disagreeable. On one hand he is acceptable when claiming we like the thrill and excitement that comes from watching horror movies; however, his views regarding that the fun comes from seeing others suffer cannot be agreed with because the human condition is not as immoral as he claims it to be.
A. Michael. Matin. Introduction to Heart of Darkness and Selected Short Fiction. New York: Barnes & Noble Classics, 2008. Print.
The book I'm a Stranger Here Myself, written by Bill Bryson, is based on a collection of written articles. Bryson writes about everyday events and shows their negative qualities through whining or creative criticism. He attracts the readers' attention by writing ideas that relate to a normal persons life. His methods are very powerful because it attracts his main audience of common people through his simple vocabulary use and everyday middleclass situations. Also between his "complaining" he throws in little jokes that make his stories entertaining. This makes the reader continue reading because it constantly grabs their attention. Another reason of why Bryson's style of writing is very effective is because all of his stories have a main theme that gives a strong and important message to the reader. Some of these messages may be a little controversial to some readers but are very thought out and well explained.
Conrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness 3rd ed. Ed. Robert Kimbrough. New York: Norton Critical, 1988.