In the book rage by Stephen King, King uses characterization, setting, and theme statement to further the development of the story. The next 3 paragraphs will give the reader an idea of how he accomplished these feats. I. Characterization In the book rage by Stephen King, King uses the power of characterization through the eyes of protagonist Charlie Decker, Charlie's best friend Joe Mckennedy, and the antagonist Ted Jones. Charlie has had an extremely rough life. He has had only 1 true friend. His dad beats him and drinks way more than the average person should. At one point during the book, Charlie is out camping with his dad and his dad's friends. His dad and his dad’s friends are all drunk and the start to talk about how if …show more content…
a woman gets caught cheating by her husband then the woman should get her nose split down the middle. The trauma that Charlie went through in his life is nearly unbearable. It almost makes it make sense that he would turn out the way that he did. Joe Mckennedy is Charlie's best friend. He is also Charlies only friend. There is not very much background information on Joe, however; the idea that Joe only wants what is best for charlie is shown to be truthful through the fact that Joe takes Charlie to a party with on Charlie's best intentions in mind. Joe only wants Charlie to enjoy him, even though Charlie has a horrible time. The fact that Charlie loves Joe is shown through Charlie making sure that the class that he took hostage did not have Joe in it. Charlie made sure Joe was not in that class before he took it over. Ted jones is the average high school jerk. He is the guy that everyone loves to hate. Ted is Charlie's sworn enemy. That is more than likely why Charlie decided to almost kill him at the end of the story. Ted is the only student throughout the entire novel not to switch over to Charlie's side. That shows that Ted is not weak willed. He will pick what he wants to stand up for and then stand up for it with all of his power. II. Setting and Atmosphere The setting of this book is placed in a small town called Placerville. Placerville is in the state of Maine. Nearly every single book that has been written by Stephen King has been set in Maine. This town is very small, which is almost fitting because of the atrocities that await it. This book is set in the 1960’s. Gun restrictions were not very thorough back then. Any single person could get a gun if they wanted it. The atmosphere is extremely suspenseful throughout the entire book. It starts off immediately with Charlie Decker saying “The morning I got it on was nice; a nice May morning”. The way that King starts off the book with that line sets the atmosphere of the novel very early. Throughout the entirety of the book, Charlie has flashbacks of when he was younger. These flashbacks include him having sexual intercourse with a woman at a party and certain things happening during the intercourse that would help the atmosphere and show that Charlie has truthfully had a horrible life. III.
Literary Devices The way that Stephen King uses literary devices in rage are astounding. King uses tragedy through the killing of the teacher in front of the entire classroom. That would be extremely traumatic for a normal person to go through. Tragedy is defined as a branch of drama that treats in a serious and dignified style the sorrowful or terrible events encountered or caused by a heroic individual. Stephen King is a master of using literary devices in his literature. In this book one book, he uses at least 10 to 15 different literary devices. That is remarkable. The next literary device that King used heavily in this book is foreshadowing. Foreshadowing is defined as to show, indicate, or suggest in advance that something is going to happen. The use of foreshadowing in this book is quite astonishing. Stephen King uses foreshadowing in the very first chapter to show how Charlie is losing his mind and is capable of doing anything at any moment. “To the best of my recollection, that was about the time i started to lose my mind”. This was written in the first chapter. King sets this book up so beautifully so it will flow with Charlie’s flashbacks and stories of when he was younger. There is no better writer than Stephen
King. Conclusion. The book rage by Stephen King is a beautiful work of art that none other than Stephen King can produce. King used literary devices, characterization, and the setting and atmosphere to create this masterpiece.
Charlie’s character transition is an evidence of the saying, “Walk a mile in my shoes. See what I see, hear what I hear, feel what I feel, then maybe you’ll understand why I do what I do. Until then don’t judge me.” His journey with Kanalaaq showed him how important it is for people not to judge other for superficial
He doesn’t lack of encourage anymore, he has overcome his fear and despair. “I have to go. I have to disobey every impulse and leave her for Jasper Jones, for Jack Lionel, for this horrible mess.” We see a different Charlie from his determination. From escape to face up, he shows us more responsible. From helpless to assertive, he comes to realize what he really wants. He knows the dark side of human nature and this unfair and cold world. His innocent, his perfect world has been destroyed by those horrible things; because of these, he knows the part of real world, he knows how the ‘dark’ actually changes this world, his friends, his family, included
... reader. Throughout the book, Charlie unfolds secrets and truths about the world and the society that he lives in; secrets and truths that cause him to grow up and transition into adulthood. He also makes a life changing decision and rebelled against was he thought was the right thing. This reflects his maturity and bravery throughout the journey he travels that summer. Charlie eyes suddenly become open to the injustice that the town of Corrigan demonstrates. He also comes to face the issue of racism; not only shown towards his best friend Jeffrey and the Lu family but to Jasper Jones as well. He realises the town of Corrigan is unwilling to accept outsiders. Charlie not only finds out things that summer about the people that surround him, but he also finds out who he is personally.
In the novel “Black Boy” by Richard Wright, Richard’s different character traits are revealed through multiple different instances of indirect characterization. Indirect characterization is a literary element commonly used in the novel. It is when the author reveals information about a character through that character's thoughts, words, actions, and how other characters respond to that character; such as what they think and say about him. Richard is put into many circumstances where the way he acts, the things he says and thinks, and the way others respond to him clearly show his character. Richard shows his pride when he refuses to fight Harrison for white men’s entertainment, principles when he doesn’t take advantage of Bess even though he has the opportunity, and ignorance when he sells KKK papers.
For a moment be any black person, anywhere, and you will feel waves of hopelessness” is a profound notion that highlights William Grier and Price Cobbs’ work in Black Rage. With astonishing information backed with real case studies, from previous black patients, they explore the terrain of the black experience in America. The unearthing critique of America they developed in the late sixties remains relevant in today’s turbulent times. Grier and Cobbs (GC) paint a very valid picture of black rage from its inception to its impact in the lives of black people.
O'Brien's writing style is so vivid, the reader frequently finds himself accepting the events and details of this novel as absolute fact. To contrast truth and fiction, the author inserts reminders that the stories are not fact, but are mere representations of human emotion incommunicable as fact.
This literary device is when you give an inanimate object a quality of a person. This device is used when Cia is leaving her magistrate’s house after being told she has been invited to attend the testing. “Bright sunshine greets us as the door swings open”(Charbonneau 24). The second literary device is the use of foreshadowing. This is when the something is said or happens to foretell what will happen later on in the book. This takes place when Cia’s dad is giving a speech about a new hybrid of potato Cia’s brother Zeen made, but does not give him any credit for making the new kind of potato. “No it is not the potatoes that caught me off-guard, but the words dad uses to announce them. Last week he told us Zeen would get full credit for the project”(13). This shows foreshadowing because it shows you that there is a reason that dad does not want people to think his children are as smart as they actually are, and does not want them to be chosen for the testing. The third literary device is also foreshadowing. This example is about when another testing candidate wants to go first during a group exercise when someone else should actually go
Fitzgerald never relates the history of Charlie's circumstances out right. It is inferred through his present situation and through his interaction with those around him. The reader enters the story seemingly in the middle of a conversation between Charlie and a Parisian bartender. From his thoughts and conversation one is able to infer that he is returning to Paris after a long period of absence. He states, "He was not really disappointed to find Paris was so empty. But the stillness in the Ritz bar was strange and portentous. It was not an American bar anymore he felt polite in it, and not as if he owned it." We then see that he is returning to a Paris very different from the one he had known. We also see that he himself has changed. He is no longer the same hedonistic individual that he apparently once was even refusing a second drink when it was offered.
This I was sincerely excited for, because I was given an opportunity to relate and or disagree with a character as a whole. This allowed for so many connections to be made from my own life to Rodger, the character I was assigned. In this paper I wrote 4 years ago, I made connections to Rodger through reading the novel Lord of the Flies. At the time I did not understand the literary limitations holding me to writing the way I was for example, rhetors, audience, exigence, kiros, and constraints.
b. Thesis Statement: Stephen King uses many different elements in order to scare his readers. The elements include supernatural elements, real life scenarios, and fear of the unknown.
Charlie knew Claude from his rambunctious days during the bull market, but now he’s “all bloated up” (BABYLON), bereft by the crash. The next day, during lunch with his daughter, Honoria, two more figures from Charlie’s past come into play - Lorraine and Duncan, who are old friends of “a crowd who had helped them make months into days in the lavish times of three years ago” (BABYLON). They are instantly drawn to Charlie, and force him to remember the years he so vehemently tries to forget; questioning in amazement the sober man standing before them. Charlie shoos the two along as best as he can without insult, as he knows these people are not good for him or his daughter to be around. They are the living embodiment of the events of his past, and in order to be a new person, his old friends cannot be a part of his life.
Charlie struggles with apparent mental illness throughout his letters, but he never explicitly addresses this problem. His friends make him realize that he is different and it is okay to be different from everyone else. This change in perspective gives Charlie new opportunities to experience life from a side he was unfamiliar with. Without these new friends, Charlie would have never dared to try on the things he has. His friends have helped him develop from an antisocial wallflower to an adventurous young man who is both brave and loyal. Transitioning shapes how the individual enters into the workforce, live independently and gain some control over their future
King owes his success to his ability to take what he says are “real fears” (The Stephen King Story, 47) and turn them into a horror story. When he says “real fears” they are things we have all thought of such as a monster under the bed or even a child kidnapping and he is making them a reality in his story. King looks at “horror fiction...as a metaphor” (46) for everything that goes wrong in our lives. His mind and writing seems to dwell in the depths of the American people’s fears and nightmares and this is what causes his writing to reach so many people and cause the terror he writes about to be instilled in his reader.
One of these are allusions such as The Book of Enoch. Benton Sage was once told, “But it is said, if you read The Book of Enoch, that he did this because the Grigori were teaching the humans too many things like astrology and the arts.” (Waley page 42) The Book of Enoch is a book used by the Ethiopian Orthodox church which states that because humans know too much, more problems can be made. Another way literary devices are used is through the author’s cynical tone. “I lay there silent beside my brother, my best friend and his girlfriend wading in the water before me, and I knew we were all just in the prelude to disappointment after disappointment.” (Waley page 35) The author’s cynical tone is shown through Cullen’s way of thinking as he is a pessimist and has this same output on life throughout the book. Another such literary device is the point of view. The story begins with, “I was seventeen years old when I saw my first dead body.” (Waley page 1) Therefore, we know that the story is told from Cullen’s viewpoint. Throughout the story, the author also uses imagery. One example of this is when Cullen says, “Humans are obliged to kill zombies, just as zombies have the obligation to seek out humans and feast on their flesh.” (Waley page 14) These zombies represent the difference between good and evil for Cullen. Finally, the Lazarus Woodpecker is an example of symbolism. The author states through the thoughts of Cullen,
Because of the parties he attends with his new friends he has tried using some drugs. These new friends help Charlie see things with a positive perspective, and to be confident in himself. When his friends move away, Charlie experience isolation and has a mental crisis that leads him to be internalized in a clinic.