In the story Lusus Naturae, it is believed that the most effective style elements utilized by the author are the story’s linear timeline, its somber tone/ mood, and its descriptive imagery in the form of literal/ figurative descriptions. These three style elements used by the author allow the reader to stay invested in the story, leaving them constantly The first effective style element used is the linear timeline in Lusus Naturae. This style element allows the reader to comprehend the changes that are occuring to the protagonists as the story progresses. This linear timeline shows the gradual progression through the life of the protagonist as she ages. It begins with the diagnosis of her disease, with her father stating “‘She was [healthy]
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The very first paragraph sets the story up perfectly opening with the rhetorical question “What could be done with me, what should be done with me? These were the same question” (Atwood, 3).This lets the reader know that the options for the narrator (the protagonist) are very bleak. Further explanation later in the paragraph shows that the narrator is not in good health, as it says “The possibilities were limited...If I was in one of my lucid phases I would sit with [my family] ...If not, I’d be off in the darkest corner, mewing to myself and listening to the twittering voices nobody else could hear” (Atwood, 3). These quotes from the first paragraph of the story set the tone for the rest of the story, informing the reader that the rest of the story will not be a heartwarmer. The author continues on from this rough beginning, progressing the story a tough decision that the family makes. After the family deciding it was too much of a hassle to keep the protagonist around, “It was decided that [she] should die” (Atwood, 5).This gloomy statement continues to use somber tone that the author opened the story with, making the reader sympathize with the protagonist as she continues through her struggles. The story closes with on an interesting line from the protagonist; “Perhaps in Heaven I’ll look like an angel. Or perhaps the angels will look like me. What a surprise that will be, for everyone …show more content…
These literary devices allows the reader to create a better mental image of the things that they are reading about, in order to create a better overall connection to the story. The first effective use of literary devices occurs when the protagonist is describing her grandmother. She claims that “she was as dry and whiskery as the sausages, but in her it was natural because of her age” (Atwood, 3). This use of simile and hyperbole here allows the reader to create a good mental image of what the grandmother looks like, filling in the blanks with details they create themselves based on the over exaggerated description of the grandmothers age. Another clever literary device is used afterwards by the author when referring to what ailment the protagonist has. An allusion to the disease porphyria is used to describe the disease the protagonist has when the protagonist recalls that the doctor says “the name of the disease, which had some Ps and Rs ... He’d only seen a case like me once before … looking at my yellow eyes, my pink teeth, my red fingernails, the long, dark hair that was sprouting on my chest and arms” (Atwood, 4). This subtle allusion uses both the common symptoms of porphyria, as well as some of the common letters in the word, leaving it up to the reader to figure out exactly what is wrong with the girl. The final effective descriptive
The very first paragraph sets the story up perfectly opening with the rhetorical question “What could be done with me, what should be done with me? These were the same question” (Atwood, 3).This lets the reader know that the options for the narrator (the protagonist) are very bleak. Further explanation later in the paragraph shows that the narrator is not in good health, as it says “The possibilities were limited...If I was in one of my lucid phases I would sit with [my family] ...If not, I’d be off in the darkest corner, mewing to myself and listening to the twittering voices nobody else could hear” (Atwood, 3). These quotes from the first paragraph of the story set the tone for the rest of the story, informing the reader that the rest of the story will not be a heartwarmer. The author continues on from this rough beginning, progressing the story a tough decision that the family makes. After the family deciding it was too much of a hassle to keep the protagonist around, “It was decided that [she] should die” (Atwood, 5).This gloomy statement continues to use somber tone that the author opened the story with, making the reader sympathize with the protagonist as she continues through her struggles. The story closes with on an interesting line from the protagonist; “Perhaps in Heaven I’ll look like an angel. Or perhaps the angels will look like me. What a surprise that will be, for everyone …show more content…
These literary devices allows the reader to create a better mental image of the things that they are reading about, in order to create a better overall connection to the story. The first effective use of literary devices occurs when the protagonist is describing her grandmother. She claims that “she was as dry and whiskery as the sausages, but in her it was natural because of her age” (Atwood, 3). This use of simile and hyperbole here allows the reader to create a good mental image of what the grandmother looks like, filling in the blanks with details they create themselves based on the over exaggerated description of the grandmothers age. Another clever literary device is used afterwards by the author when referring to what ailment the protagonist has. An allusion to the disease porphyria is used to describe the disease the protagonist has when the protagonist recalls that the doctor says “the name of the disease, which had some Ps and Rs ... He’d only seen a case like me once before … looking at my yellow eyes, my pink teeth, my red fingernails, the long, dark hair that was sprouting on my chest and arms” (Atwood, 4). This subtle allusion uses both the common symptoms of porphyria, as well as some of the common letters in the word, leaving it up to the reader to figure out exactly what is wrong with the girl. The final effective descriptive