Imagery and Characterization in Redwall

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Brian Jacques was born on June 15, 1939, in Liverpool, England. As a child, he attended St. John's School in Liverpool. When he was 10 years old, he was given an assignment to write a story about animals. Jacques wrote about a bird that cleaned that cleaned a crocodile's teeth. His teacher could not believe that a ten year-old could write so well, and accused the young Jacques of copying the story. Jacques refused, and he was then called a liar. At fourteen, Jacques took up an interest in poetry and Homer's epics thanks to his English teacher. On the Redwall website, he mentions that he “saved up seven shillings and sixpence to buy The Iliad and The Odyssey at this dusty used book shop.” Jacques finished school at 15 and became a merchant seaman. He travelled to many places around the world, including the United States and Japan. He eventually returned to Liverpool, where he held many other jobs, including a truck driver, a bus driver, a boxer, and a stand-up comedian.

Redwall was written for the children at the Royal Wavertree School for the Blind, where Jacques delivered milk. He did not expect it to be published at all. Jacques' childhood English teacher, Alan Durband, read Redwall and showed it to a publisher without first informing Jacques. Because of Durband, Jacques got a contract for the first five Redwall books. Due to the fact that the children for whom the story was originally written were blind, Jacques wrote Redwall as descriptively as possible, and used real-world accents for his characters. He continued in that style in all other Redwall books, which he wrote until he died on February 5, 2011. Jacques' diction in Redwall creates vivid imagery and believable dialogue in his characters.

Jacques often uses the sound...

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...acters. The style he used in the original Redwall novel was kept and used in every subsequent book.

Works Cited

“About Brian Jacques.” Redwall.org. Redwall Abbey Co. Ltd. 11 Apr. 2011. Web. 14 Apr. 2011

“Q&A with Brian Jacques.” Redwall.org. Redwall Abbey Co. Ltd. 11 Apr. 2011. Web. 14 Apr. 2011

“Where do Brian Jacques' ideas come from?” Redwall.org. Redwall Abbey Co. Ltd. 11 Apr. 2011. Web.

14 Apr. 2011

Jacques, Brian. Redwall. New York: Penguin Putnam, Inc., 2002. Print.

---. The Redwall Cookbook. New York: Penguin Putnam, Inc., 2005. Print.

---. A Classroom Guide to the Redwall Series. New York: Penguin Putnam, Inc., 2009.

Smith, Daniel. “Review Analysis of Redwall - Redwall 1.” Allreaders.com. n.p. n.d. Web. 24 Mar. 2011

Stuhlmiller, Matthew. “Tales of Redwall by Brian Jacques.” Suite101.com. n.p. 28 Jun. 2010. Web. 24

Mar. 2011

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