On this page Zusak uses personifications, similes and metaphors galore. I was surprised that when I read over these paragraphs I instantly understood the meaning, but had to read it again to understand the execution. Here is an example:
"Her nerves licked her palms.
Small streams of sweat rippled under her arms"(367 In the middle).
Reading this, you can easily relate to the feeling of being nervous and anxious waiting for something to happen. Logically thinking your nerves cannot lick your palms, but I can still imagine what it would feel like. I admire Zusak's ability to easily convey powerful emotions without resorting to clichéd descriptions and explanations. Zusak puts lots of effort into his writing and it pays off. For example, Zusak could have simply said,
"she was sweating with anxiety."
but decided to add the imagery of streams rippling (which in context is gross). Zusak's extreme attention to language makes his writing more powerful. Everywhere on this page are examples of language that has been built up, but not excessively so. Please consider the following excerpt:
"Her imagination sent her sliding down one of those holes into the evil clutches of the Mayor himself"(367 Slightly above the middle).
Obviously, her imagination did not physically push her down a hole into the mayors clutches, but it nicely conveys the message that she imagined herself falling down one of the holes and being caught. This is important since she is stealing a book right now and all thieves have a conscience that causes them to imagine being caught. Again, Zusak went above and beyond the call of duty to further emphasize his meaning.
I think this page has some of the best examples of Zusakian language and is a good place to analyse his distinct writing style.
If you comment on this please tell me if you think this is an accurate analysis, or if I am completely false.
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