Analysis of How the character Daniel Weir has Changed Throughout his Journey in Espedair Street by Iain Banks
Espedair Street by Iain Banks is a novel which is pretending to be a
rock star autobiography; the story of a fictional seventies band
Frozen Gold as told by bass player and song writer Danny Weir. It is
told using a series of flashbacks which converge to explain the
present, Danny living as a recluse, pretending to be his own caretaker
in a bizarre Victorian folly in Glasgow. Espedair Street is about the
emptiness that can come to fill the life of someone who has realised
all his dreams on a massive scale and still not be where they want to
be. It's also about other things like the hedonistic life of the
seventies rock star, the things that we do that we regret and feel
guilty about later, and the effects that these have on us. The hook
for the story is its dramatic opening lines "two days ago I decided to
kill my self" from this I gathered the book was set to be bleak
although interesting, the reader would immediately be drawn in and
want to read on.
What I found most effective was the way the character of Daniel Weir
was developed constantly during the book. Daniel, also known as
'Weird', is a thirty-one year old reclusive rock star who has a
pessimistic attitude towards life and is intensely introspective.
Throughout his childhood he struggled to fit in with his peers and had
a troubled relationship with his parents. This has led him to feel
constantly self-conscious and he often talks about how ugly he is,
"I'm a monster, a mutant, a gangling ape", "I've been a funny looking
kid and I've blossomed into an ugly young man." This attitude gains
Daniel a certain amount of sympathy from the reader because instead of
feeling jealous of his famous lifestyle, I actually end up feeling
sorry for him. As this young 16 year old boy Daniel found comfort in
song writing, it is evident this is something he has confidence in
People have goals everyday, believe it or not some people think that dreams aren't worth it. I believe that it is worth it to dream because it gives a person a goal, it makes them feel good, and it makes them stronger. I know this from The Pearl, A Cubs video, the Susan Boyle video, and We Beat the streets.
the dream, in the end, he is left dead and without the hope of winning
Holden Caulfield a timeless figure configured by Salinger is put on a journey were he is trying to transition into the world by unlocking the door to adulthood .He is not yet ready to open that door because he still having trouble finding his identity and is filled with self doubt such as believing he is disappearing from the world , and deeming himself incapable of accepting change" He views himself as a liar, but he refuses to acknowledge that this means that he is phony, too"(CLC). But like many other adolescences he is native and faces the challenging road of finding himself and overcoming the trials and tribulations that life throws at him. Unlike most adolescences though Holden purposely puts himself in situations where he cannot connect with others in his everyday life and in turn becomes hopelessly lonely and alienated in society. This causes him to struggles in him communication with others in a mature and sophisticated manor.
In The Things They Carried, by Tim O’Brien, moral ambiguity is often present in order to distort the reader’s judgement on whether the characters are purely good or purely evil. The contrast between the two characteristics depend on the situation the narrator is in. At a time of war, morality is not questioned or thought of because of the surroundings and nature of war. Tim O’Brien uses his experience in which his moral ambiguity is present and shares his story with readers of this book. The moral ambiguity relates to the plot by revealing the effects of war and the experiences soldiers endured during their combat.
Holden Caulfield is a very interesting character that I have learned to love through the book. In the Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger Holden is a teenage boy that is very confused about what to do, and how to do it. He struggles with his relationships with his family, and pushes some away while staying close to others.
Unpopular opinion time. In my review policy, I specifically state that I am going to be honest with my reviewing – and this is going to be one of those times when it hurts. You know the pain when you’re excited for something and then it lets you down faster than you partners in a group project ever could? Yea, well, this was one of those times. I had such high hopes for Tonight the Streets Are Ours, the cover is gorgeous, the synopsis was intriguing, and there was some serious marketing going on before this book was released – but the book itself failed on epic proportions. I hate giving bad reviews, I have this inadvertent need to love every single book, so when I can’t make myself like it – tolerate it even – no matter how hard I try, it
It seems worse than it was before-he no longer has a roof over his head! But his fate changes-or he grabs the chance to change it. The day James is wandering on the beach he watches the billionaire Dan Cody take his boat out to sea. James notices that a storm is coming, and seizes the opportunity immediately. He borrows a boat and sails towards Cody to warn him. This signifies the process of liminality. Now, James is neither on land or in the middle of the sea-he is basically just in between, or just nowhere in comparison to his life. He has left his home behind, but he is not on the ‘other side’ either. He is essentially on the interface of the past and the future-there is no present at the moment. As he reaches towards Dan Cody, he is slowly trying to forget all that he was, and is aiming to become someone else instead. He is reaching towards his destiny, but is not quite there
... his aspirations. His dream symbolizes the larger American Dream in which all have the equal opportunity to get what they want. Nonetheless, the failure of his personal dream also typifies the collapse of the American Dream as a whole.
It's not always easy being a teenager. For some, it can be a rather difficult time to connect to others and develop friendships. The awkwardness, insecurities and moodiness that the most of us have all faced contribute a substantial amount. Holden Caulfield is no exception, he too faces the problem of trying to fit in and make friends. The exception being that he has depression. The majority of the relationships Holden encounters in J.D Salinger's The Catcher In The Rye are ill-fated as a result of his lack of social skills, yet his depression also plays a pivotal role. This is demonstrated during his relationships with, Stradlater, Luce and Sally. In each of these relationships, Holden is partially responsible for their demise. However
holden Caulfield, the main protagonist in The Catcher In The Rye, is an unsympathetic character throughout the story. Holden being a young kid that was kicked out of his boarding school is trying to find his way back, but his life is complicated from traumatic events growing up like death and be shipped away to boarding schools. With the motifs reinforcing the the loss that affects Holden, and J. D. Salinger ideal of growing can be difficult. Holden is a unsympathetic chartier the novel The Catcher in the Rye.
...an up close and personal account of her life adventures and choices she made. When she lived, and what social class she was a part of all affect how she shapes her identity through the text. James Joyce’s autobiographical fiction is not quite as personal; however, he is able to convey some of his ideals and politics through the story of Gabriel Conroy’s self-realization and toils with social norms in Dublin, Ireland. Author Samuel Butler once said, “Every man’s work, whether it be literature, or music or pictures or architecture or anything else, is always a portrait of himself”. Throughout the course of a text, be it fiction or non-fiction, one is able to paint a mental portrait of who the author is, be it adventurous or timid, confident or doubtful, humble or arrogant. Their understandings of the world, and place in it, will fashion how they tell the story.
Summer reading should be required because it enables students to ready themselves for the upcoming school year, to analyze and view an author’s writing, and to read a book with literary excellence. A Hope in the Unseen by Rod Suskind and Closing the Gap between High School Writing Instructors and College Writing Expectations by Susan Fanetti, Kathy Bushrow, and David Deweese exemplify the various reasons why summer reading is a necessary requirement for high school students.
Through out his waiting and searching for Eddy he changes dramatically. He feels the need for his live to be fulfilled, and he strives for it by doing new things. He acquires a new load of friends and things from swapping, but he was sad for those who did not have what he could have and for other reasons.
Even though “The Catcher in the Rye” was written and set in the 1950s, Salinger's story about an observative, conscious teen who is struggling to find his own identity, maintains much interest and is suitable to readers today. Many teenagers can relate to Holden Caulfield's opinionated and sentimental personality, as well as the problems he faces. These problems include sexually related rendezvouses and eagerness for independence. Holden goes against the adult world around him, which to Holden is loaded with "phonies", searching for righteousness and truth, even though several of his actions would depict him as a "phony" himself. Towards the end of the book, Holden finds it harder to deal with living in the society he is in, while dealing with his worsening depression.
There is one event that unites all human beings. This event is the process of growing up and becoming an adult. The transition into adulthood from childhood can be very long and confusing. As a kid most of them can not wait to become an adult but once you experience adulthood you miss your childhood. The novel Catcher in the Rye shows how a teenager on the break of entering adulthood can get scared. Through the main protagonist Holden Caulfield, J.D. Salinger captures the confusion of a teenager when faced with the challenge of adapting to an adult society. Holden is faced with many problems as some teens