When Stephen King wrote On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft he had one goal in mind. King’s objective was to teach others how he came to master the art of writing, but more importantly, to show aspiring writers how they can hone their own skills. Unlike many other books on writing, King discusses in length the language one uses to tell a story instead of how to form the actual content itself. As a fiction writer, King knows that stories can come from anywhere, so he makes a point to give his readers the necessary tools to put those ideas on paper in a way that will be appealing. Because what you write is not nearly as important as how you write it. Although there are clearly defined sections of the memoir, there are three overarching parts that …show more content…
This is where King first looks to establish an emotional connection with his audience, drawing on that initial trust established by the book’s cover. King begins by discussing many of his earliest memories. This is a compelling form of emotional connection because almost anyone can happily reminisce in the days of their early childhood where hardships were far and few between, and responsibilities were near-nonexistent. Though, King’s description of his childhood isn’t necessarily entirely joyful. At one point, King talks about his experience with an ear infection. He says of the puncturing of his eardrum, “The pain was beyond anything I have ever felt… I screamed… hot fluid ran out of my ear… God knows I was crying” (24). Not exactly a cheerful description of his childhood, but effective none the less. Had King only pointed out the happy moments in his childhood he wouldn’t be able to connect with as wide a range of audience members. No one’s life is perfect, and so King points out the pain and suffering just as much as the happiness. This serves two purposes. First to bring King, a bestselling author, closer to the level of those who may read his memoir. Secondly, it makes sure that King does not come off as fake or dishonest, which would damage his credibility. This kind of pattern of pain and happiness continues throughout the entire …show more content…
In his second foreword King says, “This is a short book because most books about writing are filled with bullshit” (11). King states, in a very plain manner (again building common ground with those who will read his memoir), that most books of the same type that he is writing are not filled with great content. It is for this reason that King created a memoir, instead of a simple book on writing. King saw what most others failed to do in their teaching, and that was to establish trust and interest before giving out what will most likely be an overload of information. It is impossible to take in every tip, trick, or skill of writing in one’s first go when reading such a book. Though, King knew that if he drew his readers in deep enough with plain language, points of trust, and emotional connections, that he could get his audience to take in much more of the information that he was presenting. This point becomes even clearer when King wraps up his memoir with a section on his near-death
Boston King had the privilege to be able to read and write at an early age and even helped others learn to do the same later on in his life. In fact, King’s literacy is what sets the tone and diction for his memoir. At the beginning of Memoirs of the Life of Boston King, a Black Preacher, Written by Himself, King does not immediately recount his family background like David George does. Instead, he begins by thanking God for bringing him out of his suffering and by stating that he believes his education is inadequate for writing his own memoir, yet he writes it anyway in hopes that it will “be of some use to mankind.” King also incorporates more than just the details of his life, he elaborates by stating profound and intelligent ideas that differ from those objective observations that George makes. King’s comprehension of the English language is evident in the flow throughout the document. This is opposed to An Account of the Life of Mr. David George from Sierra Leone, Africa, Given by Himself, where George lacks the privilege of being literate. In fact, George had to learn how to read and write by having literate children help him. You can see the lack of a literacy background by how George’s account was executed; much less advanced than that of King’s and lacking a profound introduction. George also recounts the moments in his life factually, lacking in rhetoric flow such as King’s memoir. In An Account of the Life of Mr. David George from Sierra Leone, Africa, Given by Himself, George uses a great deal of numbers, “17 or 18 miles into the woods” and “over five or six weeks”, in the report of his journey and never fails to disclose the race of whomever he is discussing, such as “The White people”, “The Black People” or “The Indians”. George seems to only describe observable traits while King sees in more of an intelligent manner. Though the lack, or sufficiency of education did not make a
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
...ry language and logical statement, King can gain a lot emotion respond from the audiences. Moreover, by creating a lot of imagery from his evident, he can make the audiences to feel his pain, his lost: “But when you have seen vicious mobs lynch your mothers and fathers at will and drown your sisters and brothers at whim…”. He shows a lot undeniable crimes that white people have made black citizens suffer; he makes the audiences to understand his feeling, to see what he had seen. He arouse the raged and hatred inside everyone. Then he conclude that “you will understand why we find it difficult to wait”, King established an emotion by repeating the word “wait” to show his impatient and the serious of this situation. Ultimately, he want to use the emotion to convince black people to take action against the oppressive of racism, to fight along with him for the justice.
To Kill a Mockingbird is a classic novel written by Harper Lee. The novel is set in the depths of the Great Depression. A lawyer named Atticus Finch is called to defend a black man named Tom Robinson. The story is told from one of Atticus’s children, the mature Scout’s point of view. Throughout To Kill a Mockingbird, the Finch Family faces many struggles and difficulties. In To Kill a Mockingbird, theme plays an important role during the course of the novel. Theme is a central idea in a work of literature that contains more than one word. It is usually based off an author’s opinion about a subject. The theme innocence should be protected is found in conflicts, characters, and symbols.
At some point in our life we all hear about MLK and the amazing things he accomplished. But that’s the thing we only hear about the “amazing” things, never the actual truth of how he was as a person. We have been implanted with this image that MLK was “perfect” and had no flaws. Many of the things that Frady wrote in this book were new information to me. Like I’ve said, I have always heard about the most important and positive things about King. I could go on a talk about everything that happened in this book, but I won’t. Most of this stuff we...
“Often fear of one evil leads us into a worse”(Despreaux). Nicolas Boileau-Despreaux is saying that fear consumes oneself and often times results in a worse fate. William Golding shares a similar viewpoint in his novel Lord of the Flies. A group of boys devastatingly land on a deserted island. Ralph and his friend Piggy form a group. Slowly, they become increasingly fearful. Then a boy named Jack rebels and forms his own tribe with a few boys such as Roger and Bill. Many things such as their environment, personalities and their own minds contribute to their change. Eventually, many of the boys revert to their inherently evil nature and become savage and only two boys remain civilized. The boys deal with many trials, including each other, and true colors show. In the end they are being rescued, but too much is lost. Their innocence is forever lost along with the lives Simon, a peaceful boy, and an intelligent boy, Piggy. Throughout the novel, Golding uses symbolism and characterization to show that savagery and evil are a direct effect of fear.
Although the greater picture is that reading is fundamental, the two authors have a few different messages that they seek to communicate to their audiences. “The Joy of Reading and Writing” depicts how reading serves as a mechanism to escape the preconceived notions that constrain several groups of people from establishing themselves and achieving success in their lifetimes. “Reading to Write,” on the other hand, offers a valuable advice to aspiring writers. The author suggests that one has to read, read, and read before he or she can become a writer. Moreover, he holds an interesting opinion concerning mediocre writing. He says, “Every book you pick has its own lesson or lessons, and quite often the bad books have more to teach than the good ones” (p.221). Although these two essays differ in their contents and messages, the authors use the same rhetorical mode to write their essays. Both are process analyses, meaning that they develop their main argument and provide justification for it step by step. By employing this technique, the two authors create essays that are thoughtful, well supported, and easy to understand. In addition, Alexie and King both add a little personal touch to their writings as they include personal anecdotes. This has the effect of providing support for their arguments. Although the two essays have fairly different messages, the authors make use of anecdotes and structure their writing in a somewhat similar
King utilises Aristotle’s Art of Rhetoric, a persuasion technique, one of which is pathos. It refers to the mode of utilizing human emotions. King portrays the hardship that Negroes undergo due to racism by using strong adjectives and metaphors that indeed create emotions. For example, King elaborates the state of the African Americans as being “crippled” by the “manacles of segregation” and “chains of discrimination.” Through this, King depicts that fact that the Negroes are undergoing unbearable sufferance; as if the Negroes had committed a crime and have to be restrained in cells with no freedom like caged animals ...
"It is one of the blessings of this world that few people see visions and dream dreams" (Hurston). An author, especially during the Harlem Renaissance which immediately followed World War One, is someone who took their dream, acted upon it, and made it into something tangible on paper. An author takes their thoughts and creates something beautifully unique each and every time. Being an author takes a lot of strength in order to find your place in the overpopulated industry of up and coming authors-to-be. In any industry, not just writing, it takes a while to find one's special voice and style. A well respected author of the Harlem Renaissance, Zora Neale Hurston wrote
Poverty and homelessness are often, intertwined with the idea of gross mentality. illness and innate evil. In urban areas all across the United States, just like that of Seattle. in Sherman Alexie’s New Yorker piece, What You Pawn I Will Redeem, the downtrodden. are stereotyped as vicious addicts who would rob a child of its last penny if it meant a bottle of whiskey.
Many people think that reading more can help them to think and develop before writing something. Others might think that they don’t need to read and or write that it can really help them to brainstorm things a lot quicker and to develop their own ideas immediately (right away). The author’s purpose of Stephen King’s essay, Reading to Write, is to understand the concepts, strategies and understandings of how to always read first and then start something. The importance of this essay is to understand and comprehend our reading and writing skills by brainstorming our ideas and thoughts a lot quicker. In other words, we must always try to read first before we can brainstorm some ideas and to think before we write something. There are many reasons why I chose Stephen King’s essay, Reading to Write, by many ways that reading can help you to comprehend, writing, can help you to evaluate and summarize things after reading a passage, if you read, it can help you to write things better and as you read, it can help you to think and evaluate of what to write about.
Some people write for entertainment and some people write for fortune, but other people write to tell the world their story and enlighten us to life’s lessons. Literary fiction is created to do more than just merely entertain. It is created to tell a story, to take the reader from one mindset to another and bring about the reader’s understanding of the purpose. Literary fiction explores innate conflicts of the human condition through cosmic writing. Richard Wright chooses to use this kind of writing to reach the world. Wright grew up in a time where he was denied many privileges because of his color and he really made a point to express his feelings to us through his writing. His life, works and short story “A Man Who Was Almost a Man contribute directly to his literary style.
Writing is a type of art because it requires you to think and be creative in the way you want it to be. I have a diary that I wrote almost everyday. They help me think about my day and sometimes turn my bad day into a good day. I write whatever comes into my head at that moment, and reflect on my day. Writing make me think deeper to what happen and help me turn my negative thought to positive. Writing is a very powerful tool. When I write, I have the power to change the story. I am the author of my own story so I can be as creative as I want.
Is it not on the normal we hear about PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) from former veterans go through. They struggle to keep calm and collected visiting through flashbacks from war and maybe other memories that may not be true. Facing trying to have a normal life after being a prisoner of war (POW). Kurt Vonnegut writes using the setting he seen in his life, making a war drama from a first person experience making it fictional at the same time an autobiography. Being free from war is just illusive according to Kurt Vonnegut. Even though I never been to war I see him trying to show that war hinders us mentally through encounters in war.
Suds in the Bucket by Sara Evans illustrates a teenage girl who causes a major conflict in her town when she suddenly elopes with her boyfriend. Similarly, In Pride and Prejudice, Chapter 45, when Lydia ran off to marry without permission puts Lydia 's reputation and her family 's reputation at risk. Wickham 's marriage to the wealthy Miss King failed and the whole town of Meryton was after Wickham on account of the huge debts that he had. Lydia was charmed by him that she attached herself to him without being asked or invited. Lydia’s impulsive actions are the opposite of her sister’s actions which resulted in good marriages. However, because Wickham that he could take advantage of Lydia quickly because of her personality, he did not want