Christopher Paolini has the world record for youngest author to ever publish a best-selling book series, becoming famous for what is known as the “Inheritance Cycle.” It consists of Eragon, Eldest, Brisingr, and Inheritance. Paolini is an avid fantasy reader, and at the young age of fourteen, he decided to start writing a four part series. At first, he couldn’t come up with any ideas, but after taking some classes, he plotted the series in a month, and took a year to write out Eragon. Another year of editing and the book was published with art that Paolini made himself. The series itself follows the adventures of a young man named Eragon, who quickly comes upon the egg of a dragon, and soon after has to run from the King’s forces as they attempt …show more content…
He explains magic through Brom, Eragon’s teacher. He says, “This magic - for it is magic - has rules like the rest of the world. If you break the rules, the penalty is death, without exception. Your deeds are limited by your strength, the words you know, and your imagination.” (139) This statement is then followed up by “magic takes just as much energy as if you used your arms and back.” (141) Together, these two statements explain magic in a logical way, giving it rules, limitations, and even dangers. If you can’t physically do it, one will only kill themselves in the attempt of casting magic to do so, however it can be shaped in ways only limited by one’s imagination. More logos is demonstrated through the use of need for water. Murtaugh frets when they have to cross a desert, but the inability to carry enough water for two humans, two horses, and a dragon. “But how can we get enough water? The roving tribes who live in the Hadarac usually disguise their wells and oases so no one can steal their water. And carrying enough for more than a day is impractical. Just think about how much Saphira drinks! She and the horses consume more water at one time than we do in a week.”(320) With this statement, he expresses concern for a lack of water, and then uses the dragon and horses to help the reader realize how much water they actually have to consume. Despite it being a …show more content…
Eragon goes to him to try and get food in exchange for the strange egg-shaped object he just found. “Sloan’s mouth twisted as Eragon entered.”(11) Right off the bat, he comes off as a jerk, and this is before Sloan even says a word. Already he is trying to forge a character that the reader will dislike. Once he pulls the stone out, Sloan says, “Stole it is more likely,” (12) making him feel like this distrustful person, on top of being all around rude. He later offers Eragon very little money for it, despite it looking like something worth a lot, to the dismay of Eragon. Luckily Horst comes by. Horst is the town’s smith, and comes across as a generous person. After asking Sloan what he has done, Sloan goes on to accuse Eragon, “ “Nothing.” He gave Eragon a murderous gaze, then spat, “This . . . boy came in here and started badgering me,”(13) giving Sloan an even worse reputation with the reader, as it is clear that he is lying to Horst. The blacksmith is shown to be well respected as “Sloan seemed to shrink as he looked at Horst.” (13) After Eragon tells his side of the story, Horst tries to convince Sloan to sell to Eragon, and even though Sloan refuses, Horst then says he will buy all the best meat that will fill up Eragon’s pack. Horst is shown as a proud man, and well respected, while Sloan is shown to be a terrible person, and not well liked. These two characters
As a child, Ray Bradbury loved to read fantasy novels. Inspired by his favorite writers, he longed to become a fantasy writer himself. Bradbury lived during the Great Depression with very little money, therefore he could not put himself through school. Instead, Bradbury went to the library every other day for ten years. During this time, he realized that he wanted to pursue his dream of becoming a writer. To get money, Bradbury started publishing his works in a newspaper. Because he wanted practice, he used several pseudonyms to make it look like he had several authors publishing their stories in his newspaper, but in fact, it was written entirely by Bradbury himself. “Bradbury uses [his] stories not only to entertain, but to cause readers to think about their own lives” (Clark, Tracy). He focused more on the message of his story than the popularity of it. “When ask...
What makes a book successful? Perhaps it is the characters and their varying personalities that make them memorable and realistic, or maybe it’s the thought-provoking plotline with its many twists and turns. One of the elements to a good book is most definitely the characters, and a good number of main characters gain their characteristics when the author encounters someone similar in their life. This encounter makes the character seem real, someone the reader can relate to. The same inspiration can be said happened for Flowers for Algernon. Specific events in Daniel Keyes’s life led to the formation of many main characters.
... Paula, Gerald Campano, and Ted Hall. "Braided Histories and Experiences in Literature for Children and Adolescents." Journal of Children's Literature. 38.2 (2012): 14-22. Web. 24 Nov. 2013. (Ghiso, Campano, and Hall 14-22)
Joanne Rowling, better known as JK Rowling to her millions of fans worldwide, became famous off of her Harry Potter books. Many authors have tried to achieve the success she has, but none have come close. “When Rowling brought Harry Potter and his friends to life, she created a world in which children of all ages found themselves immersed…”(Andrews). By creating new words and including intriguing creatures in Harry Potter JK Rowling establishes an exciting world that helps engage her readers. It is truly these things that have set her work to a new level.
Literature has been a unifying, essential, and magical force since the beginning of time. Great books are a fundamental part of human life and culture, but it is often hard to distinguish a good book from any other. This Boy’s Life, by Tobias Wolff is an excellent book; its relatable characters make it personal, its themes and stories challenge perspectives, and it leaves readers hoping for a sequel to continue the novel. There are no set rules for a good book, and there will most likely never be, but a book that captures emotions and captivates audiences must be doing something right. Tobias Wolff has the ability to leave his readers with something special when they are finished. He has the ability to write a good book.
In the “age of electronic entertainment”, Harry Potter novels sharply contrast by luring children away from the internet, and away from video games and the television. Children across the globe are rapidly becoming interested in reading the novels. Katherine Thompson, owner of Frugal Frigate Bookstore, declared the series a “literary phenomena.” She noted that children as young as eight-years-old will devour...
One most know of J.K Rowling’s famous series Harry Potter. But what was her inspiration to come up with such a fantasy that every kid loves to read? The “Harry Potter” series is a coming of age novel that every child wishes to grow up that way. J.K Rowling first got her inspiration from a couple reasons that all connect in a certain way. J.K Rowling had a tough childhood, lost her mother and had severe depression. The idea for Harry Potter came while she was waiting for a delayed train. She had the idea before her mother’s death but the loss of her mother just made the book darker. The purpose of this paper to find out J.K Rowling’s inspirations for her wildly famous Harry Potter series. A series that changed that world and many people’s lives.
In order to explain the book, I must first explain the story of King Arthur. I'll take you to the beginning of the tale with Arthur's father Uther Pendragon. The story in itself actually begins with Merlin, whi...
Joanne Kathleen Rowling has captured the minds and hearts of millions of readers across the globe with her magical ways behind the pen and with her acts in life. Through her childhood of child’s tales and fantasy, to her middle years where hardship held her back from reaching her goal, to the time of her fame and fortune; Rowling has shown a love and passion for writing. With the birth of her wizardly series, Harry Potter, Rowling’s created a way to escape into the magical world for readers everywhere. Rowling’s showed she her sensibility by creating, Lumos, giving back to those and guiding them when they need it most. Like the stories of C.S. Lewis’ The Chronicles of Narnia, All it took for Rowling was stepping through a magical door to experience something beyond her wildest dreams.
One of the most read series in all literature is Harry Potter. The seven-book succession has sold over 400 million copies and has been translated into over sixty languages. What is it that makes this series so wildly famous? What is it about the boy who lived that makes frenzied readers flock to their local bookstore at midnight on the day of the release to buy the latest installment? How is a story set in a world that doesn’t exist about wizards, witches, magic, and mystical creatures so popular? The series has been able to earn its spot on the New York Times Bestseller list and has granted author J.K. Rowling multiple awards because it is relatable. It is not the setting or the events in the plot of the story that we relate to. We relate to what Harry, his friends, mentors, teachers, caretakers, and even enemies feel. Harry is in a lot of ways exactly like us. He represents some of the good characteristics that all of us have as well as the bad. The series as a whole, is about one thing that is stressed over and over again in the novels, love. The Harry Potter series is one of the most read sequences of novels because the central theme is love and self-sacrifice, and readers are looking for a novel that shows them just that.
The Narnia Chronicles have already established themselves as timeless works of literature. They appeal to both the atheists and the God-fearing, to both the uneducated and to scholars; to children and adults. An understanding of the Biblical allegory in these books is not essential to their appreciation. A critical analysis of these works, however, does allow the reader to more fully appreciate Lewis' unique gift to simplify complex narratives and craft beautiful children's fantasies. This, in turn, allows the reader to gain both a deeper understanding of Lewis as a skilled creative writer, and a deeper satisfaction of his art. To be able to appreciate C.S. Lewis as such an artisan can only add to one's enjoyment of his works.
A children book is an extremely substantial and significant form of literature. It educates, affects and amuses at the same time. Although its main audience are the small children, the majority of adults in fact enjoy this type of literature as much as children do. This can be explained by the capacity of children literature to deal with great themes and topics that are too large for adult fiction. (Philip Pullman) For its great importance, the style and technique by which it is produced, is a major concern for both of the authors and critics. One technique has a particular impact in the children book, that is to say, illustration. Bearing the visual nature of children in mind, we understand that their books should be delivered with
Imagine a magnificent sunset in the gorgeous scenery of Scotland. The trees are a luscious green, the sky morphing from a soft pink-orange to a deep blue-purple. Suddenly, and without warning, a dragon appears, opens its large mouth with piercingly sharp teeth, and…it is time to turn the page. Reading is considered a learning necessity and it is right that people are concerned about the rapidly decreasing child reading habits. As children grow older, their imaginations grow weaker, as does their love of reading. Young minds become preoccupied with other hobbies, interests, or responsibilities. As a result, concern from parents and teachers increase. However, nineteen years ago, a story was born that might have held the key to getting children
Elwyn Brooks White, or E.B White is best known for his children’s books The Trumpet of the Swan, Stuart Little, and one of his best known books; Charlotte’s Web. E.B was not a children’s writer from the beginning, he wrote pieces such as poems and short stories for Harper’s Magazine. For that magazine, E.B “wrote three children’s books- Stuart Little, Charlotte’s Web, and The Trumpet of the Swan- which became classics” (The New Yorker 375). White has a very different style that he writes with, “White developed his books for children in the manner of Kafka, The books are Kafka with an American twist, they are Kafka with happy endings” (Epstein 380). William Dean Howells had once said, “What American public wanted ‘was a tragedy with a happy ending’” (Epstein 380). “The combination of seriousness and whimsy, or of the minute and the momentuous, is effective, and at times profoundly true. Because human experience is a curious mixture of shifting tones and moods there is a basic honesty in White’s writing: he reveals himself as a man unafraid of surface contradictions or of simple and natural responses” (Sampson 530). White used experiences he had throughout his life and incorporated them into his children’s books. He also uses animals in his books, because “children love living things and have their own fascination with the animal world. Children, they are permitted to love things they do not understand” (Epstein 380).
C.S. Lewis, author and creator of The Chronicles of Narnia did a phenomenal job with the majestically theme of the book and moral of the movie, although he didn’t produce it. “No book is really worth reading at the age of ten ...