Zusak When Dogs Cry Analysis

Markus Zusaks young adult fiction novel “when dogs cry” is an excellent read for any wiling teenager. Zusak explores the challenges and struggles of growing up. He teaches about the importance of personal pride, having a place in the world and how self-exploration and self-expression can lead to self-discovery. Zusak hopes to achieve his goals of educating young adults about discovering how you approach conflict whether it be physically or emotionally and the importance of underdogs and what it means to be one in our society. These issues interest young adult readers who, like Cameron, are in that transition phase in their lives and are in a constant struggle with the loneliness and conflict surrounding them. Zusak’s range of narrative constructions …show more content…
Through the use of Cameron as a main character Zusak is able to show through the internal monologues in the form of poems how important it is to grow and prosper as a person in this world we live in. Zusak demonstrates this growth to positive self-expression through the use of internal monologues in the form of poems that Cameron writes. Cameron writes the poem “The tunnel” late in the novel witch demonstrates the growth of himself from a misunderstood young adult through to confident and respected young man and is an example of social awkwardness in Cameron. This poem demonstrates how important it is to find your form of release to aid in the growth and development of your personality and self-expression. Another technique that compliments self-expression well would be the contrasting characters in Cameron and his brothers, specifically Cameron and Ruben the physical fighter “words I’ll write for me, a story ill fight for”. This conveys to the reader about being true to who you are and not who people want you to be. Young adults relate to this issue because they themselves are at a pinnacle time in their social life were self-exploration and expression is