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The Life and Crimes of Harry Lavender Essay Example

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The Life and Crimes of Harry Lavender Essay Example
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.
This authoritative voice Claudia possesses is shown by being assertive, “I want to ask about the heroin” when with Robbie as she is desperate for information. “First tell me why you came”, Claudia asks in a polite assertive manner to work out Sally’s motives. Claudia uses her authoritative position to be assertive and secure information “I’m an insurance investigator, I’d like to ask a few routine questions” and for security, “I’m Working with detective Rawlins”.
Claudia uses manipulate language, “How can you be busy? You’re a public servant aren’t you” asked sarcastically to prompt Bernie. Claudia manipulates her words so that characters have no other option, “Don’t talk to me about ethics”, “The system I want you to break into has no ethics”.
Claudia interacts with characters in an authoritative voice to be heard and taken seriously as she is a female. This gender compromise of a detective puts Claudia in the position to take action and be authoritative because she is a female in a man’s world. Being disadvantaged as Claudia strives to be the best she can be, pushing on it times of stress and hardship to solve a case. Claudia’s Distinctive Voice gives the impression throughout The Life and Crimes of Harry Lavender that Claudia does not give up, which is ultimately her character.
Claudia Valentine is very analytical in any situation when meeting characters or being exposed to different environments, “The city looks like a huge building site”. Before Claudia even engages characters in The Live and Crimes of Harry Lavender or scenery the reader already has a clear mental image of what she is exposed to. Hyperboles are used to create

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