Showing posts with label Lit. Analysis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lit. Analysis. Show all posts

Thursday, December 11, 2014

Lit. Analysis #2

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury


      Fahrenheit was a class assignment. Before I read the story many people told me that they did not like this story, so I didn't expect much. After I read it I was most definitely surprised to find that I enjoyed this story very much. When I first started reading I was a little confused about what was happening. Even though the author made it very clear, I wasn't sure why everything was happening. This made me think about it, then i just realized that, that is what every book is like. I enjoyed that the inciting incident happened towards the beginning of the story, which meant that I knew it would get interesting right away. My reading habits for this story were different than usual for me. When I started reading I didn't get lost in the book, but yet I still enjoyed every word. I read this story piece by piece; this kept the story interesting with a lot of cliff-hangers for me to go back to.

      The plot of this story was a bit all over the place. It starts with the main character, Guy Montag, just living his life as normal, and a young girl changes everything for him. He goes on an adventurous journey to seek what the meaning of books are. There are many obstacles for him, but in the end he comes out on top. The theme of this novel was hope and self determination. The authors tone in my opinion would be slightly poetic and dramatic with a hint of bitterness. "There must have been a billion leaves on the land; he waded in them, a dry river smelling of hot cloves and warm dust. And other smells! There was a smell like a cut potato from all the land, raw and cold and white from having the moon on it most of the night. There was a smell like pickles from a bottle and a smell like parsley on the table at home. There was a faint yellow odor like mustard from a jar. There was a smell like carnations from the yard next door. he put down his hand and felt a weed rise up like a child brushing him. His fingers smelled of licorice.", Bradbury writes. He uses great diction to not only make you feel as if you are there but to make you relate. In the excerpt I used you can see similes, imagery, synesthesia, diction, tone, and syntax.

       An example of indirect characterization is when Ray Bradbury uses the characters actions, "Montag grinned the fierce grin of all men singed and driven back by flame." to show what the character is like. By Montags action you can see that he is enjoying what he is doing. The author's syntax and diction changes when he focuses on a character. Such as, if a character was getting overwhelmed, the author made the sentences shorter. Montag is a dynamic character because he makes a dramatic change to his character throughout the story. After reading this story I don't think that I felt like I met Montag in person, in my opinion he was just another heroic character in a story.

Favorite quote from book:
http://www.lrsimas24.blogspot.com/2014/12/book-quote-2.html

Lit. Analysis #1

 Life of Pi by Yann Martel

1. What drew you to this book?  What did you expect and/or hope to experience through reading it?
-I saw the movie and found out it was based on a story.
2. What kept you reading past the first ten pages?
-It was strange and I thought wouldn't like it, but i continued.
3. Describe your reading habits.
-Once I picked up this book it was hard for me to put it down.

1. Briefly summarize the plot of the novel you read, and explain how the narrative fulfills the author's purpose (based on your well-informed interpretation of same).
-A boy named Pi gets in a shipwreck. He is the only survivor, along with a few zoo animals that were on the ship with him. This author shows how much one thinks while they are stranded. It shows how much hope can save your life.
2. Succinctly describe the theme of the novel. Avoid cliches.
-The theme of this story is that imagination can make a horrible and tragic story into a masterpiece.
3. Describe the author's tone. Include a minimum of three excerpts that illustrate your point(s).
-The authors diction makes you feel so many different emotions in this story. Such as the part of the story when there is a storm. The author uses various types of description words to make it feel as if you're almost in the story. Or another time when Pi is trapped on the boat with the tiger and you can hear all of his thoughts showing how scared he is. Lastly, the author when into great detail describing how Pi felt on his long journey.
4. Describe a minimum of ten literary elements/techniques you observed that strengthened your understanding of the author's purpose, the text's theme and/or your sense of the tone. For each, please include textual support to help illustrate the point for your readers. (Please include edition and page numbers for easy reference.)
-Symbolism: the tiger represented Pi
Imagery: the author uses imagery when Pi arrives to the island
Setting: took place at sea
Conflict: being lost at sea with a tiger
Inciting incident: when the storm came and the ship sank
Flashback: Pi had many flashbacks while he was at sea
Mood: the mood stayed the same throughout the story and only changed once or twice

1. Describe two examples of direct characterization and two examples of indirect characterization. Why does the author use both approaches, and to what end (i.e., what is your lasting impression of the character as a result)?

-Pi is identified as small and skinny (direct), others talk about Pi's intelligence (indirect), Pi shows his integrity through his actions(indirect), and the author tells us that he is very religious(direct). The author does this to show off all of Pi's different traits but shows us in different ways to keep us interested. My impression of the character is that he is brave and courageous.
2. Does the author's syntax and/or diction change when s/he focuses on character? How? Example(s)?
-I didn't notice if it did or not.
3. Is the protagonist static or dynamic? Flat or round? Explain.
In the beginning of the story I believe that Pi is dynamic and slowly becomes static. He is a round character.
4. After reading the book did you come away feeling like you'd met a person or read a character? Analyze one textual example that illustrates your reaction. 
-I guess I could say that I feel like I met a person.

Favorite quote from the book:
http://lrsimas24.blogspot.com/2014/12/book-quote.html