As the narrator, Melinda Sordino, awaits her first day as a freshman at Merryweather High she describes, “the school bus wheezes to my corner” (pg 3). The authors’ use of personification describes the heaviness and panic that is set into the setting. When Melinda arrives at school, she describes, as others’ talk behind her back, the feeling that “words climb up my throat” (pg 5). This personification describes the want to speak up but is silenced by her feelings of anger and disparity. Melinda’s experience so far at high school hasn’t been perfect, but has rather worn her out “my bed is sending out serious nap rays… The fluffy pillows and warm comforter are more powerful than I am” (pg 16). This passage shows that she would…
In Marele Day’s novel The Life and Crimes of Harry Lavender, Distinctive Voice is used to create character. Claudia Valentine is an example. Claudia Valentine’s Distinctive Voice is authoritative at times when she needs to be, defining herself by providing a clear sense of security and trust in herself and characters around her.…
A distinctive voice is one in which challenges society’s values and or beliefs within a given context. In the text the life and crimes of harry lavender; Marele day has formed an incredibly distinctive voice in crime fiction. By subverting the elements of the hardboiled detective genre. Day has startled her audience with the distinctive voice of Claudia valentine, a 1980’s female private investigator in Sydney. The composer has used a range of techniques including first person narration and idioms to successfully make this text distinctive, and by doing this she has subverted the chauvinistic male, and changed the way people perceive women, hence changing the way the men, women and general Australians perceive this particular genre. Marele day has also created not one but two…
In the novel “The Life and Crimes of Harry Lavender” the composer Marele Day’s persona Claudia Valentine uses distinct elements and characteristics of language to create subversion of conventional American crime fiction. Claudia’s voice creates a more feminized contemporary genre style, which alters the audience’s interpretation of the novel. Claudia is presented as a hard drinking loner replicating the classic 1940’s private investigator lifestyle. However, there is a subversion of the genre stereotype portrayed through Claudia’s gender and her romance with Steve Angell, who she is “drawn magnetically towards” which foreshadows a possible romantic relationship. This subversion is also evident in the maternal tones of Claudia’s voice when she is fearful for her children’s safety, begging her ex-husband to “Keep them safe Gary.” The expression of Claudia’s femininity through elements and characteristics of her language enable the audience to perceive this character as not being a stereotypical, marginalized, impecunious and emotionless conventional American crime fiction detective. However, Claudia’s personal life is juxtaposed by her tough career as a detective; who must expose the social, judicial and political injustices of the crime boss Harry Lavender and in a tone of revenge states “I would get Lavender... for what he’d done to my father… what he was doing to my city.” As Claudia’s career as a detective she must also solve crimes including the Mark Bannister murder. To do this she uses possible connections to Mark Bannister such as his…
In the story Speak Melinda is being seen by other students on the bus is very different from how the readers are viewing Melinda. At the beginning of the story Melinda gets on the bus at the first stop and she decides that she will sit in the front in hopes that one of her friends would sit with her. In the story Melinda says, “If I sit in the front, it will make me look like a little kid, but I figured it is my best chance I have making eye contacts with one of my friends, if any of them decided to talk to me yet” (Anderson pg. 3). Along with that, on the inside she really wants to sit with a friend and avoiding sitting next to a stranger, also Melinda wants her friends to talk to her. Following, from the perspective of the other students they just see another student just sitting in the front row and not really thinking why she is doing that.…
Every word in literature is chosen with a specific intent in the author’s mind. In Francine Prose’s “What Words Can Tell”, she explains how, Every page was once a blank page, just as every word that appears on it now was not always there, but instead reflects the final result of countless large and small deliberations. (Prose 355-356) Within Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible, the power of words becomes evident during the time leading up to the witch trials.…
Silent people appear to be hiding characteristics about themselves through their quietness. When a person, specifically a woman, is silent, it is perplexing. Her silence is strange and worrisome to the people who care for her. To a reader, one may compare a female character’s silence to a loud noise. It calls for questions to be raised. No one questions why someone is loud; it is only when one becomes silent that people are concerned. In the translated Romance “Silence” by Sarah Roche-Mahdi and the novel “Their Eyes were watching God” by Zora Neale Hurston, the struggle that the main characters deal with is shown throughout their silence. It distances the characters, Silentius and Janie, from the real world by having to hide who they are as…
King, Jeannette, and Pam Morris. "On Not Reading Between The Lines: Models Of Reading In The Yellow Wallpaper." Studies In Short Fiction 26. (1989): 23-32. Humanities Full Text (H.W. Wilson). Web. 15 Mar. 2013.…
It is very plain, brown, with three shelves facing [her], for books. One of the shelves is full of textbooks; another one has some writing paper and pens; the third one, the bottom one is empty.” “[Marina] uses grey school blankets.”… “The other desks are full of decorations and other colourful things.” “Other beds are covered by doonas that girls have bought from home.” The protagonist’s lifelessness is represented in how she is barren of all personality, when she was first given the journal the narrator wanted it to be “A cold and empty book, with no secrets,” To reflect how she felt…
a. Katharine’s ideal self is a woman who is self-sufficient, an entrepreneur, and a mother as well as wife. Prior to attending her support group, Katharine’s life lacked any positive self-regard. She had been living as a ‘kept’ woman at her husband’s insistence for many years and no longer felt she was capable of reanimating her independence. The seriousness of her neurosis is displayed clearly when she skips her 10th reunion due to fear of judgment of and pity for her lack of accomplishments. There is much incongruity weighing Katharine down.…
Houghton, Donald E. "Attitude and Illness in James' 'Daisy Miller'." Literature and Psychology19.1 (1969): 51-60. Rpt. in Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism. Ed. Nancy G. Dziedzic. Vol. 64. Detroit: Gale Research, 1996. Literature Resource Center. Web. 5 Apr. 2013.…
Author and former attorney, Susan Cain speaks on behalf of introverts, for the empowerment of introverts, as an introvert herself. Cain 's speech given on the TED2012 stage, titled, An introverted call to action, addresses concerns and offers solutions to what she considers problems faced by introverts in western society. Cain’s main argument states that introverts are frequently deemed less valuable in workplace and classroom settings, in part, due to their inherent aversion to increased social stimulation; whereas, extroverts, who crave this stimulation are considered ideal employees. Cain asserts that society’s idea of extroverts being absolute because of their naturally outgoing nature and their predilection toward group-work, unfairly gives them the advantage over introverts in settings such as the workplace. Cain insists introverts ultimately have the same, if not more potential to achieve success, they just possess an affinity towards independent studies and are noticeably more shy by nature, which should not discredit their value to society or leadership capabilities. Cain recognizes the need for a balance of people from both ends of the spectrum to cultivate a creative and successful society, and is not campaigning against extroverts. She is simply imploring Americans to stop adhering to the habits primarily displayed by extroverts in today 's workplaces. Stating that, by allowing introverts to comfortably work within their zone of stimulation without judgment, and likewise allowing extroverts to do the same, we create an environment where every individual can maximize their creative talents. (Cain,2012) Cain uses a multitude of rhetorical devices to effectively persuade her audience that introverts are an integral asset to society and they should be empowered not repressed.…
She stood with her back on the door, closing her eyes tightly as she tried to steady her breath and shook away her colleagues' haunting stares. But they continued to stare in the darkness. The senior writer, the assistant editor, the desktop publisher. They were still staring at her through the washroom door. The waitress at the diner; the young women at the other table; the taxi driver staring at her from the rear mirror; the woman on the platform; the college girl on the subway. They continued to stare at her from where she couldn't see.…
In order to comprehend the progression and development of Elaine’s Risley character and personality, it is very important to consider the influence of cultural factors, discourse and power structures on Elaine’s character.…
All thoughts of burglars and stalkers fled from my mind as I slipped back the last latch and flung open the door. There she stood, a lone and forlorn figure on the doorstep. The torrential rain had drenched her from head to toe, the rivulets of rainwater gleaming in the dim light of the hallway down her back and formed a puddle at her feet. She had changed much, yet I could still recognize her as the dear friend from my school years. Her business suit was wet and hung limply from her tall frame, but it was obviously of an expensive cut. She held a small briefcase tightly in one hand. Even in my state of semi-shock, I could see that she was unusually nervous, for she gripped the handle so tightly I could see her knuckles shining white in the dim light. Her eyes, those fiery, piercing eyes which always seemed to dance with laughter during our school days were not dancing now…