Synthesis Prompt
The author Alexander Gordon Smith is best known for his thrilling science fiction novels that keep the reader on the edge of their seat. Smith has found great success writing gripping horror stories. The dystopian societies and horrible creatures in many of his novels attract young adult readers. Many of his novels share literary devices, exhibiting his unique writing style.
Carefully read the following three novels. Then synthesize information from all three of the sources and incorporate it into coherent, well-developed analysis identifying and explaining the connection between the novels through the common themes that conveys a set of values to the reader.
Your analysis should be the focus of your essay. Use the sources
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Alexander Gordon Smith is a novelist with an inclination to write about darkness and terror. He has authored several novels, such as Lockdown: Escape from Furnace, The Fury and The Devil’s Engine. He is known as the Stephen King of young adult horror. Like most authors, Smith uses a unique writing style to enthrall his audience. Smith knows how to entertain young adults and keep his readers on the edge of their seats. Since Smith’s first series, Escape from Furnace, was successful in captivating his audience, he continued a trend of similar literary devices to ensure his popularity with his …show more content…
The novel Lockdown: Escape from Furnace follows a teenage boy who is framed for killing his best friend and is sent to Furnace Penitentiary to serve his life sentence. Alex, along with other teenage boys, must fight to survive the horrid conditions of the Furnace. When it comes to fear, Smith does not discuss common phobias; instead, he prefers to dig deeper into the fears that truly haunt the human psyche--loss of freedom, identity, and all things that make the characters human. When identifying the dread that comes with the loss of freedom Alex experienced when sentenced , his cellmate describes true fear: “When you're scared - and I mean really scared… It's like black water as cold as ice settling in your body where your blood and marrow used to be, pushing every other feeling out as it fills you from your feet to your scalp” (Source A 122). Smith’s diction formulates a chilling atmosphere that encompasses the audience. Through the use of perceptible words, Smith enables the reader to clearly visualize his ideas Phrases such as ‘black water’ or ‘cold as ice’ have dark, cold hearted connotations that corroborate the true terror outside of the novel. In another one of Smith’s novels, The Fury, the author constructs his story around a common fear that haunts nearly everyone:the fear of friends and family turning on them. With this fear
Johnson is using a very logical and rational approach towards the woman's request throughout the entire letter. He warns the woman that hope immoderately enjoyed will be expiated by pain. Johnson is being somewhat critical of the woman's request by grounding her in reality. He is explaining that her hope and request is not a valid reason for admitting her son. His tone is used with a direct and objective reasoning to the negative consequences of excessive hope and expectation which she indulges in.
Ender is first shown as intelligent and skillful, and Peter shows the same attributes throughout the story. Ender uses his intellect to triumph over his bullies, and this translates to his experience in the Battle Room. He has to outsmart the enemy, rather than beat them physically, and it worked in his favor the majority of the time. Ender understands when he has to use his physicality to beat a bully, but also knows when he has to strategize to avoid a certain situation. When Ender is encountered by Bonzo after he won the battle by disobeying Bonzo’s orders, he has to use his judgement rather than his fists to get what he wants. Ender argued with Bonzo, “‘... I’ll pretend that you won this argument. Then tomorrow you can tell me you changed your mind.’ ‘I don’t need you to tell me what to do.’ ‘I don’t want the other guys to think you backed down. You wouldn’t be able to command as well’” (Card 87). Ender understands what his enemy, in this case Bonzo, wants, and knows how he can make both of them get what they want. He doesn’t resolve to violence when he knows that he can use a different method that benefits him. Ender’s intelligence and strategizing helps him overcome the difficulty he approaches throughout his life. Peter also uses his intellect to benefit himself throughout the events that happen.
Director Steven Spielberg and auther Markus Zusak, in their intriguing production, movie Saving Private Ryan and book The Book Thief, both taking place during World War II. However , in Saving Private Ryan Spielberg focus on a lot of complications that occur during war , but guilt was one difficulty that stood out to me. Zusak, on the other hand , showas that having courage during war can be a advantage and also an disadvantage depending on the situation. Both director and author grabed the audience attention with emotional and logical appeal.
There have been many historical events in history that have impacted America in many ways. For example, famous Speeches given by important people such as Franklin D. Roosevelt, the 32nd president of the united states which his main goal was to help America recover from the severe economic issues during the 1930’s. Roosevelt used rhetorical devices to persuade desperate Americans, wounded from the Great Depression, by introducing a plan which it will be the best way to recover from the severe crisis that affected Americans. In Franklin D. Roosevelt, First Inaugural Address, he used personification, diction, and antimetabole to convey his conflicting feelings about the New Deal, in order to face the economic issues
On January 12, 1780, Abigail Adams, former First Lady, wrote to her son, John Quincy Adams, while he was abroad with his father and brother. Adams addressed to her son and future President to maintain his spirit to learn and grow. She expressed his purpose through her motherly tone, various religious and historical allusions, use of logos, rhetorical question with simple syntax and use of metaphors.
John Adams being a foreign diplomat upheld the responsibility to travel throughout the world and discuss foreign relations relating to American sovereignty. When under the dominance of such a prestigious family, John Quincy Adams, through the impressment of his mother was sent upon a journey with his father to new lands. In her letter, second First Lady of the United States and wife of John Adams, Abigail Adams elicits that her son John Quincy Adam’s will elaborate upon the virtues he desires through human experience–despite his initial reluctance and imprudence towards it. Adams constructs this elicitation by applying emotional and invoking language with a nuturingly considerate tone, by using figurative language like metaphors to embellish
When writing a story that is meant to scare the reader, authors use a variety of different literary elements to intensify fear. This is apparent in the stories “The Fall of the House of Usher,” “beware: do not read this poem,” and “House Taken Over”. It is shown through transformation in the character, setting, and sometimes even the story or poem itself, adding to the scariness that the reader feels when reading it. While there are some examples of transformation not being scary or not playing a role in stories meant to scare us, transformation plays a crucial role in making the reader of these stories scared.
In the excerpt taken from Frederick Douglass’ Narrative on the Life of Frederick Douglass (University of Virginia Library. Web. 15 Dec. 2015) Douglass depicts his thoughts to the reader regarding his growing knowledge, a self-reflecting depiction full of emotion and negativity.
Carlsen, G. Robert. Insights Themes in Literature. New York: Webster Division, McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1967.
Edward O. Wilson, the writer of this satire, writes about the opinions of two disagreeing sides to demonstrate the unproductive nature of these litigations. To do this, the author writes in a horatian manner and uses instances of exaggeration, parody, incongruity, and irony to help him convey his message that these arguments are pointless. The well distributed use of these strategies allows the writer to efficiently illustrate and mock the unproductive disagreement of these two groups of people.
Scientists are constantly forced to test their work and beliefs. Thus they need the ability to embrace the uncertainty that science is based on. This is a point John M. Barry uses throughout the passage to characterize scientific research, and by using rhetorical devices such as, comparison, specific diction, and contrast he is able show the way he views and characterizes scientific research.
In 1729, Jonathan Swift published a pamphlet called “A Modest Proposal”. It is a satirical piece that described a radical and humorous proposal to a very serious problem. The problem Swift was attacking was the poverty and state of destitution that Ireland was in at the time. Swift wanted to bring attention to the seriousness of the problem and does so by satirically proposing to eat the babies of poor families in order to rid Ireland of poverty. Clearly, this proposal is not to be taken seriously, but merely to prompt others to work to better the state of the nation. Swift hoped to reach not only the people of Ireland who he was calling to action, but the British, who were oppressing the poor. He writes with contempt for those who are oppressing the Irish and also dissatisfaction with the people in Ireland themselves to be oppressed.
Through vivid yet subtle symbols, the author weaves a complex web with which to showcase the narrator's oppressive upbringing. Two literary
“You have seen how man was made a slave; you shall see how slave was made a man” (Douglass 64)
Sci-Fi novels have been around for almost a century. Sci-Fi has the most potential of any genre to capture and explore the imagination of the world we know , or don’t know. Like any other genre Sci-Fi has tried to teach us lessons , or warn us of our arrogant choices as a whole civilization. But like all things, it changes with time. Sci-Fi writers adjust their styles accordingly based on current economic, political, or environmental problems around the world. The language in the writings change as well in an ongoing effort to keep up with the trends of popular culture.