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Interpretation
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I absolutely love Jennifer Egan’s A Visit from the Goon Squad. Each short story is packed with emotion and follows the same underlying theme: the consequence of time. Egan’s stories shift back and forth through time and show the connection between each of the characters. There is never a dull or boring moment because the reader is constantly trying to figure out where exactly he or she is: in time, in place, and in what character’s perspective. The way in which she writes her collection seems to mimic real life. People enter into each other’s lives with no prior knowledge as to what has happened in the past, and people leave each other’s lives with no knowledge as to what will happen in the future. This collection has given me new writing …show more content…
Rather than having to create completely new characters from scratch for every short story, I think that it would be beneficial to come up with a few, fully fleshed out characters and put them in various different circumstances. Even if this doesn’t end up giving me a novel of connected short stories, this strategy will easily provide me with at least one solid short story. Working with the same characters and writing them into new circumstances will eventually land me on a story that feels right. I will already have the foundation for the story before I even begin, then it’s just a matter of trying out different …show more content…
By the end of the collection, I was pretty devastated. The young, beautiful, exuberant characters that I began reading about had grown up before my eyes. Some of them were dead, some of them were married with children, almost none of their lives turned out the way they had hoped or planned. The transitions felt real and believable; I almost didn’t want to continue reading at certain points because I knew things could never stay as perfect as they felt in those fleeting moments of bliss. One example of this is when Rolph and Charlie dance together at the end of “Safari”. For a moment, the reader is there with them, dancing, knowing and not knowing that this is the best life will get. The reader is allowed a brief glimpse of the future and in that moment we find out that Rolph goes on to commit suicide seventeen years later. This moment of bliss with the underlying tension of the passage of time encapsulates the theme of the
I always looked at death as such a sad thing that is eventually going to occur to everyone. However, after reading this book, it made me realize death can actually be a beautiful thing. Death allows a person to go to a next life, one where they will be loved and others will be there for them. It was interesting to be able to read about stories that these hospice care workers witnessed themselves. I have experienced a few deaths within my life and I never coped with them very well. After reading this book, I honestly believe I will be able to look at the positive side of death and be able to deal with my emotions better. I can also help others surrounding me deal with a death that they are experiencing. This book was filled with information that I loved learning. For example, I never knew that a dying person can choose a time to die. The thought of this never occurred to me before. I always thought that when it was someone’s time to go, they had no choice. But, a dying person can “put off” passing on until they see a certain person or event that has great significance in their life. Nevertheless, there are still people who will wait to die until they’re all alone in the room. This book makes you think of real life situations and think what you would do in them. Taken as a whole, it was a very in depth book that changes the way you would naturally perceive
I found the book to be easy, exciting reading because the story line was very realistic and easily relatable. This book flowed for me to a point when, at times, it was difficult to put down. Several scenes pleasantly caught me off guard and some were extremely hilarious, namely, the visit to Martha Oldcrow. I found myself really fond of the char...
Pleasure, sorrow, and Curiosity are what these characters made you feel at the end. Each character had their own taste and style, it was like I was at a restaurant and each character was a choice on the menu, topped off with their own unique way. All these characters added their own twists and turn onto the ride and at the end Jane, John, Mustapha, and Edgar left me wanting more.
It is important to create complex, progressive characters. Characters should speak with intent and purpose. You can establish who a character is through tone and what they say. You can also reveal character through thoughts and background information. Not all characters have to have an origin; they can just be there. You should have conflicting traits between the characters. Challenging your characters adds
The influence family members can have on the development of a child is enormous; they can either mold a healthy mind or drive a child toward darkness. Jennifer Egan’s Safari is a short story that highlights the different relationships in a family with a complicated background. Rolph and Charlie come from a divorced household and join their father, Lou, and his new girlfriend, Mindy, on an African safari. As the events of the trip unfold, Lou’s children experience a coming of age in which they lose the innocence they once possessed. The significant impact of family dynamic on children’s transition into adulthood is presented in Safari. Jennifer Egan uses Mindy’s structural classifications of Charlie and Rolph to demonstrate how Lou and Mindy’s relationship hinders the maturation of the two kids.
Jennifer Egan's The Black Box, reads like a manual or a guide for civilian women that voluntarily choose to go undercover to obtain intelligence on terrorists. Egan's work shows women as being sexually objectified. In this work, women are told that "The goal is to be lovely, innocuous, and evolving surprise" and to "Mirror your Designated Mate's attitudes, interests, desires and tastes" (Egan 16,9). Similarly, in the 18th and 19 century women were expected to complement their men and were seen as property and sexual objects. While this is not a new idea, it resonates in the 21st century still and Egan uses her writing to delve into these subjects. By demonstrating the critiques of women's beauty she takes this sexual objectification further
Change can be seen as something as simple as switching a favorite color over time, or growing out of a shirt that once fit perfectly. On the other hand, it can also be seen as something incredibly substantial, such as moving to a new country or even expecting a baby. Either way, somehow difference is present in whatever it is that is changing. Personality and habit changes occur during every person’s lifetime; some are much more notable than others. In Jennifer Egan’s novel A Visit from the Good Squad, she begins and ends the story with the character of Sasha. Further, over due time Sasha gains much needed redemption from a long-lasting stealing problem. Sasha is the character that changes the most throughout the novel as shown by the end to
People often use the expressions “a New York minute”, “time flies” and “wasting time” to describe the passage of time; however, these idioms indicate time is something that can be controlled, altered, or differentiated. Jennifer Egan’s A Visit From the Goon Squad presents time exactly how it is: relative. Egan breaks away from the structurally conventional form of traditional novels and presents time as a “goon”, a foolish entity that controls every character in this story and hinders them from becoming successful individuals. This “goon” leaves no one unscathed; everyone faces the wrath of time and all that comes with it. Egan uses music, as well as the non-linear structure of the book,
...to enjoy in this comic style book. The passage of time is not necessarily well defined in this book, it seems to go really fast and then really slow. For me that aspect is somewhat annoying. The less traditional reader will enjoy the comic book style used here where the pictures are in many instances more important than the actual words which appear in thought bubbles on the page. The plot is not necessarily extremely obvious, but I find that, at least in my opinion, most comic books don’t really have much of a plot. I think the authors did a good job of staying true to the style of writing intended for this publication and the dialogue seemed completely in line with the cartoon characters. I am not a fan of comics, this book didn’t really change that for me, but I think that it is an overall good piece of literature for those who enjoy this style of writing.
The characters in both books do this by learning to love, sticking together as a family, and being courageous. I think this theme can stick with anyone, because everyone at one point has felt as if they’ve lost hope, or they can’t be strong, but they just have to persevere with love, courage, and family. The theme affected me by making me feel like even when I’m in a rough patch, I know that things will get better. I hope these two books will stick with me through my life, and help me remember
Jennifer Egan’s novel A Visit from the Goon Squad is a series of many short stories revolving around several different characters who all interconnect in one way or another. One of Egan’s main themes seems to revolve around the concept of time, and how short life really is. A most pivotal passage from the novel on pages 123 through 132 surrounds around the character Stephanie, and her interactions with her brother Jules and a once renowned rock star trying to make his comeback named Bosco. Egan’s view on time and its relation to the human lifespan in this passage is dependent upon her use of the following literary tools: tone, figurative and symbolic language, and syntax.
Each was unique and studied thoroughly by Alice over the few years they were all together. The book ends rather depressingly. During the last portion of the book almost the entire family is killed by hunters or other afflictions after the author does her best to make the reader care for each animal. The worst part is that the book concludes with Peter’s death. The deer who we’ve seen grow up and cared for is deemed to have been killed by a wolf while trying to save one of his grandchildren. The book as a whole was beautifully written and extremely descriptive, but some scenes were dragged on much longer than they needed to be. The author achieved her purpose by describing in great detail the events of the forest through the four years. The author is qualified to inform the reader of these events because of her firsthand experience living in the forest for many years. Although I wish the conclusion of the story was different, I agree with her ending because this was a true
2. The way that I feel about the characters is most of them are brave and strong. The way that they could just look at shawn and not see him as someone that is dead inside but a human being. The characters that I liked in the story were the mother, Paul the brother, and Cindy the sister because they They really understood who and what shan is like on page 17 when Cindy watch the dog die she became more aware of her brother Shawns condision and realized death for the first trime getting scared that was going to be her brother. The one character that I didn't like was Shawns Father because he just walked away. He walked away from his proplems and that to me is week I do know that it must of been hard looking at Shawn like that but nobody else walked away.
This book may not be for the faint of heart who enjoys novels where everyone lives happily ever after. At times, it felt like 90% of the things that happened centered around tragedies. The moment when things started to brighten up for the heroine, Rachel, something came up to make her situation 100 times worse. For example, after losing her family, she finds loves and acceptance by her aunt and starts to become a bit happy, but then the aunt dies. Besides Rachel’s story, Nella’s story illustrated the ways in which a character can completely destroy an innocent person. Personally, Nella’s story was the most touching of them all and at the same time the most painful. The author does wonder with creating the character, but the consistency of multiple tragedies may be too much for some readers. Another negativity towards this novel may be towards that ending that comes out a bit flat and rushed. The end can cause the reader to ponder upon what happens next, as it leaves off the stage where Rachel who had such a sad life had finally found herself, and what she want to do. It’s only natural to want hint reading what will happen next when the reader becomes deeply connected with the
This is my reflection over the book. I will be talking about what characteristics I liked and disliked the the best and the least, which one can I most relate to with my personality, hopes, and dreams, and what would characters be doing today if they were still alive.