The complexities of human emotions and connections have been questioned throughout time. These intricacies are especially central to Frederick Backman's novel, Anxious People, where readers are introduced to a unique situation: a bank robbery has gone wrong and turned into a hostage situation. Within a small town, a failed bank robber decided to take a group of people hostage during an apartment viewing. Police eventually become involved with the situation, and it is through their interrogations with the hostages and negotiations with the robber that the real focus of the story is revealed: the people inside the apartment and their shared experiences, fears, and anxieties, highlighting the universal struggles people face in their daily lives. …show more content…
He accomplishes this by writing in the third person, omniscient, and using variations of everyday language and complex vocabulary. For example, the author uses phrases such as "Don't make a scene now" to carry relatable sentiments with a conversational tone. The author also states, "Once the frog said she'd heard an adult on the bus say "love hurts," and the monkey replied that maybe that's why hearts end up jagged when you try to draw them." Here, his use of the statement "love hurts" captures the narrator's vulnerability and self-awareness while incorporating a sense of humor through the character names of "Frog" and "Monkey." This blend reflects the reality of life and allows the reader to connect to the story more easily. Backman's irony is also a prominent feature in his writing style, effectively adding complexity and depth to the story. For example, the story's premise is a woman robbing a cashless bank and then taking an apartment viewing hostage. This situation is ironic because it contrasts the reader's expectations of a typical bank robbery scenario and sets the stage for the ironic twists and turns that are to
Diane Urban, for instance, was one of the many people who were trapped inside this horror. She “was comforting a woman propped against a wall, her legs virtually amputated” (96). Flynn and Dwyer appeal to the reader’s ethical conscience and emotions by providing a story of a victim who went through many tragedies. Causing readers to feel empathy for the victims. In addition, you began to put yourself in their shoes and wonder what you would do.
2. The author creates tone, which changes from peaceful and calm to horror. Words in the story like humorlessly and awkwardly help the reader feel the tension in the town. In the story, “She held her breath while her husband went forward” proved that the characters was dealing with ...
One example of the emotions shared with the reader was Corrie’s internal conflict of hating the Nazis and later trying to forgive them. After the war had ended, Corrie gave a sermon in Munich, speaking about how God asks people to forgive one another. When she was done speaking, a previous SS Guard in Ravensbruck, whom she did in fact recognize, came up to shake her hand. The book states, “The man thrust out his hand to shake Corrie’s, and as he did so, hatred filled her heart. She would not and could not lift her hand to shake his…Her arm stretched out as though she had no control over it , and she shook the man’s hand. As she did so, all the hatred she felt melted away, and she knew she had forgiven him (Benge & Benge, 1998, p. 192).” This depicts the emotional conflict that Corrie was undergoing to the reader, showing a powerful story of strength and forgiveness. Another way the story’s vitality was shown was by the authors’ portrayals of the characters in such a way that the reader gets to discover many aspects of them. Descriptions of the characters appearances and actions showed many facets of their personalities. One example of a character’s personality being shown was when the text states, “These desperate Jewish people had come to them for refuge, and they would not
In John Irving's novel titled, A Prayer for Owen Meany, suspenseful events are of abundance, and there are multiple ways the author creates this suspense. Among these methods of creating suspense, four that stand out are the use of setting, the pace of the story, the involvement of mysteries to be solved, and the ability of the reader to easily identify and sympathize with the protagonist. By placing a character in a gloomy or solitary place, uncomfortable feelings are created, which append to the suspense. Pace and structure of the story also play into the foundation of suspense, as shorter sentences and stronger, more cutting verbs and adjectives are often used to keep the reader highly interested and reading at a rapid speed. Of course, suspense could not be considered what it is if there were no mystery involved. The element of not knowing what is in store for the future and having the urge to find out is the essence of suspense. Also, if the reader cannot easily relate to and sympathize with the character in the suspenseful situation, a loss of interest can arise, and therefore spoil the spirit of the tension. Uncomfortable settings, pace and structure, use of mysteries, and capability to relate to the main character are four techniques that John Irving uses to create suspense.
Consequently, Andy’s soul withered further into hopelessness as each and every person who came to his rescue, turned their backs on him. Through a final desperate ambition, Andy broke free of the bonds that were pinning him down: “If it had not been for the jacket, he wouldn’t have been stabbed. The knife had not been plunged in hatred of Andy. The knife only hated the purple jacket. The jacket was a stupid, meaningless thing that was robbing him of his life. He lay struggling with the shiny wet jacket. Pain ripped fire across his body whenever he moved. But he squirmed and fought and twisted until one arm was free and the other. He rolled away from the jacket and layed quite still, breathing heavily, listening to the sound of his breathing and the sounds of rain and thinking: Rain is sweet, I’m Andy”. In these moments, Andy finally overcame his situation, only in a way not expected by most. Such depicted scenes are prime examples of human nature at it’s worst, as well as the horrors that lay within us. However, these events, although previously incomprehensible by his limited subconscious, led to a gradual enlightenment of the mind and heart. Furthermore, the experiences taught him
This alarming tone is further supported when Dillard narrates, “Wordless, we split up… He chased [us] around a yellow house and up a backyard path… under a low tree, up a bank, through a hedge, down some snowy steps… We smashed through a gap… we ran across Edgerton… He chased us silently… [We] had nowhere to go… we were losing speed… He caught us…” This final use of tone reveals her intention of creating an unnerving atmosphere. She outlines the situation in a manner that will make the readers feel worried and scared for her and her friend’s life. This supports her purpose by describing what “excitement” feels like. The use of tone allows the reader to feel her anxiety and her terror. The audience feels as if her life is in danger, and the use this nerve-racking tone is how we know when we are feeling what she intends for us to feel. It shows us what excitement is
In the novel, a father had thoughtfully kept himself and his son some bread, but after his son saw he was hiding the bread, even though his father had him some too, the son attacked his father. The son didn’t care that his father had him bread aswell, he wanted it all to himself, so he could have more. In order to do so, the boy killed his father and took the bread for himself. Next, in New York City, an earthquake occurred and everyone inside of the buildings that were being demolished, falling in, etc all reacted differently to the situation. Some froze, others just screamed, and several other things.
A book titled Taken, by Edward Bloor is a fascinating story of adventure and kidnapping that is set in the year 2035. In this futuristic book, kidnapping is a rather common practice. Children that are raised by very rich families were often the ones that are kidnapped, or "taken" because the parents could provide more ransom money. For this reason, all rich children would move in highly secured neighborhoods, and hire butlers that doubled as security guards. The children were then required to take classes on what to do if they are taken. In the story the protagonist, Charity Meyers wakes up in an ambulance and discovers that she has been taken. She follows all of her training and does exactly what she is told to do by her kidnappers. There are several kidnappers who are named Dr. Reyes, Dr. Lanyon, and another person who does not reveal himself until later in the book. Naturally, the reader is very angry at the kidnappers for doing such a horrible thing to a child. The author then takes the story to a place in which no one ever expected him to. Edward Bloor attempts to make the reader empathize with the antagonists. The ways in which he does this are very interesting. He uses three particular methods to achieve the goal of causing the reader to empathize with the "bad guys". These methods include having the antagonists reveal themselves as someone else, having the antagonists tell about all of the hardships that they have endured, and having the antagonists explain why they did something evil (such as kidnapping).
In the commencement of the story, the narrator is shocked and in disbelief about the news of his brother’s incarceration, “It was not to be believed” (83). It had been over a year since he had seen his brother, but all he had was memories of him, “This would always be at a moment when I was remembering some specific thing Sonny had once said or done” (83). The narrator’s thoughts about Sonny triggered his anxiety that very day. It was difficult to bear the news of what his brother had become, yet at some point he could relate to Sonny on a personal level, “I hear my brother. And myself” (84). After the news had spurred, the narrator experienced extreme anxiety to the point of sweating. Jus...
...was a desperate act of a lonely, insane woman who could not bear to loose him. The structure of this story, however, is such that the important details are delivered in almost random order, without a clear road map that connects events. The ending comes as a morbid shock, until a second reading of the story reveals the carefully hidden details that foreshadow the logical conclusion.
Christopher Boone, the protagonist of this novel, has encountered a lot of hardships dealing with people because of his mental disability. One of his biggest problems he faces is his incompetence to decipher between emotions. In order to make out the more complicated emotions, Christopher “...got Siobhan to draw lots of these faces and then write down next to them exactly what they meant.” He keeps this piece of paper in his pocket and uses it as reference when he has difficulty understanding other people’s emotions. “I like dogs” says Christopher, you always know what a dog is thinking. It has four moods. Happy, sad, cross and concentrating.” (5.2) He also finds it difficult to follow instructions. Since he is a very logical person he needs the directions to be precise and specific. “And this is because when people tell you what to do it is usually confusing and does not make sense.For example, people often say ‘B...
Emotional discomfort can sometimes be perceived as mental instability. A person may look, act, or feel insane, when in truth they are just very uncomfortable in their own skin. The narrator has a genuinely difficult decision to make which far outside his comfort zone. He is choosing between a woman who has been like a mother to him and much needed job that he feels he may enjoy. This choice is tearing him apart from the inside out. From the ringing noises that interrupt his every thought to the skin he is scraping off. The author uses diction, syntax, and extended metaphors to express the complete and utter discomfort of the narrator, both physically and emotionally.
Tom Stoppard parallels the Second Law of Thermodynamics with the human experience in his play Arcadia. The parallelism suggests truths about the evolution of science and human society, love and sexual relationships, and the physical world. The Second Law drives the formation of more complex molecular structures in our universe, the diffusion of energy, such as heat, and is inhibited by the initial energy required to unlock potential energies of compounds. Stoppard takes these concepts and explores human genius and the sexual interactions of people, with an eye towards universal human truth.
In this story, fear played a very important part. It provided a way for the author to make suspense. For instance when the drugstore’s owner called the police, it made the reader wonder if the police would arrive first or if Alfred’s mother would arrive first. Also, in the beginning when the owner caught Alfred shoplifting and we find out that Alfred is scared, it makes the reader wonder why he is scared. So as you can see, fear does play an important part in this story’s suspense category.
reader to feel many emotions and forces the reader to question his or her own