Most English speaking individuals learn quickly that the language is one that allows for different interpretations of words, different applications of words, and different definitions for the same word. If English isn’t one’s native language, some words can be quite confusing unless you’ve been immersed in the language for a while. In the novel, The Adoration of Jenna Fox, author Mary Pearson uses definitions of a few specific words to show the struggle the main character, Jenna Fox, has applying the true denotation of words to the connotations of the same words and provides the reader with an interesting insight as to how English words can be easily misunderstood.
Jenna Fox is a teenage girl struggling to remember her past and although she …show more content…
One of the first word that Jenna encounters that creates confusion is the word “curious.”
“Curious adj. 1. Eager to learn or know, inquisitive. 2. Prying of meddlesome. 3. Inexplicable, highly unusual, odd, strange” (Pg 9).
Jenna’s mother uses this word to describe her neighbor Mr. Bender. Jenna realizes that there are many curious things about where she is. “There is something curious about where we live. Something curious about Lily. Something curious about Father and his nightly phone calls with Mother. And certainly something curious about me” (Pg 12). When asked by her grandmother if she was curious about her past, Jenna attempted to determine if her grandmother was asking her if she was odd, meddlesome, or inquisitive (Pg. 20).
Jenna also needs to look up the definition for the word “hate” when she reflects upon her feelings for her mother. “I know the meaning, but I check again to be sure” (Pg 43). After reading the definition, Jenna determines that perhaps she doesn’t hate her mother; her mother is just “aggravating” (pg. 43).
“Hate. n. 1. Intense dislike, extreme aversion or hostility. 2. To dislike passionately. 3. To detest” (pg.
Jenna Fox is a teenage girl struggling to remember her past and although she …show more content…
One of the first word that Jenna encounters that creates confusion is the word “curious.”
“Curious adj. 1. Eager to learn or know, inquisitive. 2. Prying of meddlesome. 3. Inexplicable, highly unusual, odd, strange” (Pg 9).
Jenna’s mother uses this word to describe her neighbor Mr. Bender. Jenna realizes that there are many curious things about where she is. “There is something curious about where we live. Something curious about Lily. Something curious about Father and his nightly phone calls with Mother. And certainly something curious about me” (Pg 12). When asked by her grandmother if she was curious about her past, Jenna attempted to determine if her grandmother was asking her if she was odd, meddlesome, or inquisitive (Pg. 20).
Jenna also needs to look up the definition for the word “hate” when she reflects upon her feelings for her mother. “I know the meaning, but I check again to be sure” (Pg 43). After reading the definition, Jenna determines that perhaps she doesn’t hate her mother; her mother is just “aggravating” (pg. 43).
“Hate. n. 1. Intense dislike, extreme aversion or hostility. 2. To dislike passionately. 3. To detest” (pg.