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We Were the Mulvaneys Literary Analysis
3 pages We Were the Mulvaneys Literary Analysis
In the passage given from “We Were the Mulvaneys
,
” the author
Joyce Carol Oats uses a combination or literary techniques includingimagery, symbolism, and syntax to characterize the speaker of the novel,Judd Mulvaney, as a clever and insightful young man. One of the waysthat Oats is able to portray Judd as such a conscious person is by clearly illustrating the events occurring in Judd’s world and entirely disclos inghis thoughts. Another way that Judd is characterized is by the usesyntax, most notably when he is thinking to himself and beingenlightened by his own nature.Immediately in the first lines of the excerpt given it is apparent thatOats uses imagery to convey the purpose of his writing. She begins byportraying by describing Judd as straddling his bike staring down intothe water, not riding his bike and …show more content…
At this point it becomes clear that water is being used to represent life as a whole, thus implying that as Judd is “staring down into thewater” he is taking a profound look into life.
It is not just water he is staring into, but “fast
-flowing clear water, shallow, shale beneath, and lots of leaves”, and in a sense, looking into the fast
-paced, empty,superficial life that he finds himself in with little more than a few otherperishable skimming over his surface. Returning to imagery, it is t hen stated that the sky is “the color of lead”
; a grayish, looming, and often depressing color; as he tries to seehis reflection upon the water. Instead, he states, he was able to see but
“only the dark shape of a head that could be anybody’s head”. If wa ter isagain referenced to life it can be said that Judd realizes that as far as Lifeis concerned, he is but another undistinguished common folk. This ideais supported by what immediately follows which states that he washypnotizing
himself
We Were the Mulvaneys Literary Analysis
3 pages We Were the Mulvaneys Literary Analysis
In the passage given from “We Were the Mulvaneys
,
” the author
Joyce Carol Oats uses a combination or literary techniques includingimagery, symbolism, and syntax to characterize the speaker of the novel,Judd Mulvaney, as a clever and insightful young man. One of the waysthat Oats is able to portray Judd as such a conscious person is by clearly illustrating the events occurring in Judd’s world and entirely disclos inghis thoughts. Another way that Judd is characterized is by the usesyntax, most notably when he is thinking to himself and beingenlightened by his own nature.Immediately in the first lines of the excerpt given it is apparent thatOats uses imagery to convey the purpose of his writing. She begins byportraying by describing Judd as straddling his bike staring down intothe water, not riding his bike and …show more content…
At this point it becomes clear that water is being used to represent life as a whole, thus implying that as Judd is “staring down into thewater” he is taking a profound look into life.
It is not just water he is staring into, but “fast
-flowing clear water, shallow, shale beneath, and lots of leaves”, and in a sense, looking into the fast
-paced, empty,superficial life that he finds himself in with little more than a few otherperishable skimming over his surface. Returning to imagery, it is t hen stated that the sky is “the color of lead”
; a grayish, looming, and often depressing color; as he tries to seehis reflection upon the water. Instead, he states, he was able to see but
“only the dark shape of a head that could be anybody’s head”. If wa ter isagain referenced to life it can be said that Judd realizes that as far as Lifeis concerned, he is but another undistinguished common folk. This ideais supported by what immediately follows which states that he washypnotizing
himself