Back in 1990, a man named Gary Soto decided to write an autobiography about himself, titled A Summer Life. One of the more interesting portions of the book was when Mr. Soto described a summer day back when he was six years old. On that day, young Gary found out what it felt like to be a true sinner, as he stole an apple pie from the local bakery. Some readers found this as one of the more interesting parts, not because of the plot, but because of the literary devices used, such as detail, imagery, and pacing. The three aforementioned literary devices are almost a backbone to the story, because without those three, the story would be shortened and fairly bland. The following three paragraphs will each describe a literary devices used by Mr. Soto to enhance the quality of his story.
During this portion of his autobiography, Mr. Soto wanted to carry the feelings and events of an important day in his life across to the reader. One of the ways that Mr. Soto accomplished that feat is through his usage of extremely vivid detail. One of the more vivid sentences in this story was “I laid more pieces on my tongue, wet finger-dripping pieces, until I was finished and felt like crying because it was about the best thing I had ever tasted.” That string of thirty words carries over a great load of detail to the reader. Phrases like “finger-dripping” and “felt like crying” gives the reader an idea of just how good the pie tasted. It lets the reader know that it must have been sweet and moist, rich and golden. One could also argue that the sentence used as an example or detail is also a prime example of imagery.
The next literary device to be discussed is imagery. As previously stated, many sentences could serve as excellent example of imagery, however the sentence that most portrays an idea is on line 40; “The slop was sweet and gold-colored in the afternoon sun.” The line tells you how messy the pie was (slop), and then to tell you exactly what the pie mess looked like, it tells what color it was, and if the environment affected its color (gold-colored…afternoon sun). The idea behind Mr. Soto’s usage of imagery may seem simple, but it makes sure that the point is carried across to the reader.
In the book “The Boys of Winter” by Wayne Coffey, shows the struggle of picking the twenty men to go to Lake Placid to play in the 1980 Olympics and compete for the gold medal. Throughout this book Wayne Coffey talks about three many points. The draft and training, the importance of the semi-final game, and the celebration of the gold medal by the support the team got when they got home.
Gary Soto wrote a memoir called, “A Summer Life.” In a memoir, being yourself, and telling your own story are all important. They are important because you don’t want to lie and say you like something if you don’t. Speaking freely is telling how you really feel and not caring what other people think about it. And telling your own story is very important because the story is suppose to be about you not anyone else.
Soto feels terribly guilty about stealing the pie from the store. He shows this in many different ways. There are many rhetorical devices in the passage, and they are used to show the guilt he had when he stole that pie. Imagery, contrasts, and repetition were some of the biggest topic in which he used to express his guilt and sin.
With every different scene, Soto makes it flow very well by introducing each place with detail and what is surrounding the characters at that moment. I think it was thought out well and every “W” question can be answered easily. The poetic devices that I found were simile, metaphor, and personification. The similes within the poem were “tiered like bleachers,” and “fog hanging like old coats.” The metaphors that I found were “That was so bright against / The gray of December / That, from some distance, / Someone might have thought / I was making a fire in my hands.” and “Light in her eyes, a smile...” The personification I found was “a few cars hissing past,” and “the lady’s eyes met mine.” His tone in this poem was nonchalant but at the same time passionate. I used two opposite words to describe his tone because he is nonchalant in telling it; it is about something that was so simple. Though the tone is also passionate because it’s a bigger memory that someone could have and cherish. Soto’s attitude was more of carefree and nostalgic. This poem shows Gary Soto’s different colors and that is represented from when he was acknowledged for his first collection of poems in 1976 for the United States Award of the International Poetry Forum. I think that is a great accomplishment considering his family and education situation. Him and his family were struggling to find work as he was growing up, so instead of focusing on his
Over the course of this summer I read four books. The books I read were Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J K Rowling, The Giver by Lois Lowry, Among the Hidden by Margaret Peterson Haddix, and Number the Stars by Lois Lowry again. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J K Rowling was the first book I read this summer and I really liked it. I decided to read the 5th Harry Potter book because I had it and I never really got a chance to read it. The book begins were it had left you of in the 4th book when Harry is just about to enter his 5th year at Hogwarts. He still lives with his aunt and uncle whom he hates because they are mean and evil to him. The letters from his friends are very dull and they have nothing to say, which confuses him and makes him furious. He is also mad because he’s still stuck with the Dursleys all summer long. The story goes with his adventures and challenges throughout his 5th year. The genre is fantasy complete with magic. I would recommend this book to anybody who likes the Harry Potter books. I would also recommend that if you have never read any of the previous books you start from the beginning. I can’t wait ‘till the next book comes out!
Syntax was presented as the last part of the story that gave this selection its final touches to change the story. This can be proven because in paragraph 7, he says, “I got to my feet, stomach taut, mouth tired of chewing, and flung my Frisbee across the street, its shadow like the shadow of an angel fleeing bad deeds. I retrieved it, jogging slowly. I flung it again until I was bored and thirsty.” The way that the sentences are structured makes you think about how he felt after eating the pie that he stole. It also gives the story a sense of emphasis on what Soto did as a 6-year-old boy. He also states in the last paragraph, “I lay until I was cold and then crawled back to the light, rising from one knee, then another, to dust off my pants
Imagery is when the author presents a mental image through descriptive words. One prime example of imagery that the author uses is in paragraph 3; where she tells of a moment between a man and a woman. In this narration she states the time, year, outfit of each character described, and what the female character was doing. These details might come across as irrelevant, or unnecessary, but this is Didions way of showing what the blueprint of notebook it. Using imagery reinforces the foundation of the essay, and what the essay’s mission was.
American essayist Agnes Repplier once said, “Humor brings insight and tolerance. Irony brings a deeper and less friendly understanding.” This is evident in Gary Soto’s young adult novel, A Summer Life. The book takes Gary Soto back to his childhood life in Fresno during the 1950s through a collection of his most memorable tales, pranks, and assorted adventures with his own special twist. As Gary Soto talks about the events in his childhood, he uses a variety of literary tools including irony and sensory details. In “A Summer Life,” Gary Soto uses many literary devices, including irony and sensory details to recall his childhood growing up in Fresno.
The book “This Boy’s Life” by Tobias Wolff is a memoir written about the author’s childhood memories and experiences. The author shows many different characters within the book. Many of them are just minor character that does not affect the author much in his life choices and thoughts throughout his growth. But there are some that acts as the protagonist and some the antagonist. One of them is Dwight, the protagonist’s or Jack’s stepfather. This character seems to be one of the characters that inhibit Jack’s choices and decisions. This character plays a huge role in Jack’s life as it leaves a huge scar in his memory. The author here spends the majority of time in this character in the memoir to show the readers the relationship between Jack and Dwight.
One of the literary techniques most prominently featured throughout the passage would be that of imagery. The author takes great care to interweave sentences comparing the traits
Imagery of all kinds is abundant in this passage as Meursault, the main character, pays great attention to and describes in detail the beach environment that surrounds him. Visual imagery is present as he conveys the intense heat by telling how it seemed as though the sky had cracked open and was raining flame, and by personifying the ocean, recounting how it breathed blistering hot air onto the beach.
In the book by Carl Rogers, A Way of Being, Rogers describes his life in the way he sees it as an older gentleman in his seventies. In the book Rogers discusses the changes he sees that he has made throughout the duration of his life. The book written by Rogers, as he describes it is not a set down written book in the likes of an autobiography, but is rather a series of papers which he has written and has linked together. Rogers breaks his book into four parts.
A Cold Day in Paradise is a book that was written by Steve Hamilton and takes place in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The name of the book is very significant to the meaning of the book. The cold day represents the metal bullet that is in Alex McKnight’s chest and on cold nights, it is a reminder of a traumatic event that took place. While Paradise is the place that he lives and where the last death took place and it was also on a cold windy night.
The author, to entirely convey Jonas’s view of the world in his imagination and the origin of his strong desires, employs vivid, colorful, extensive descriptions of the beauty and horror instigated by nature and freedom. A few of the exemplary integrations of imagery, which paint lush mental images, as written by Lois Lowry, include, “Looking through the front window, he had seen no people: none of the busy afternoon crew of Street Cleaners, Landscape Workers, and Food Delivery people who usually populated the community at that time of day. He saw only the abandoned bikes here and there on their sides; an upturned wheel on one was still revolving slowly.” (p.15), “Soon there were many birds along the way, soaring overhead, calling. They saw deer; and once, beside the road, looking at them curious and unafraid, a small reddish brown creature with a thick tail, whose name Jonas did not know. He slowed the bike and they stared at one another until the creature turned away and disappeared into the woods.” (p.230), “…banquets with huge roasted meats; birthday parties with thick-frosted cakes; and lush fruits picked and eaten, sun-warmed and dripping, from trees.” (p.232). Through such instances of imagery, the author is able to convey and inspire the reader through vivid, emotion-evoking mental
Another rhetorical strategy incorporated in the poem is imagery. There are many types of images that are in this poem. For example, the story that the young girl shares with the boy about drowning the cat is full of images for the reader to see: