Literary Analysis of My Story

Literary Analysis of My Story

When writing my own story opening, I tried to use techniques that

would make the reader want to read on.

For example, I described the main character's appearance in detail so

that the reader would be able to form a mental picture of her. Just

from the first few paragraphs, the reader knows that she is "a

beautiful girl" with "endless jet black locks" and "chocolate brown

eyes". The effect of this is to make the reader relate to her with

empathy rather than objectivity because they feel they know her.

I also tried to show her personality was sweet and kind. Her clothes

and shoes are "powder-pink" and "dainty". I also mentioned that she

"seemed like the happy-go-lucky type". I did this so the reader would

like her and be affected by anything that may happen to her.

I included her full name "Elizabeth Anne Johnson" so that the reader

would feel like they were getting a complete picture of her. However,

for the rest of the opening, I referred to her as Lizzie. This created

a bond between the reader and the character because she is "Lizzie to

her friends" so the reader feels like her friend.

It is written in the 3rd person narrative so the reader can get a full

overview of all the events in the story.

The narrative structure deviates. This creates suspense, as there is

no development of the action in the first paragraph in the rest of the

opening.

I purposely created a huge contrast between the eerie and spooky first

paragraph and the rest of the opening, which seems like an ordinary

night out, by using varying degrees of character and event

description. In the first paragraph I did not use...

... middle of paper ...

... the idea of a

person wielding power over someone else. The issue of power is

explored in many different parts of the story.

I also used repetition. The word seemed is used at the end the last

paragraph. "She may have seemed like the happy-go-lucky type but

appearances can be deceptive and she was quite the opposite" and " he

seemed harmless enough". This is to suggest that just because the

stranger seems harmless he "may be quite the opposite" and to

foreshadow him doing something harmful in the future. I put it in

italics both times to add emphasis and draw the reader's attention to

it.

In conclusion, I think the techniques I used were effective because

there are unanswered questions right at the beginning, which are never

answered and this appeals the curiosity of the reader, making them

want to read on.