One With the Elements Authors of poems, novels, and plays use elements to make the audience feel a certain way. The author has to make choices on many things; how well they make those choices determines how successful the text is. They decide what characters to add, their personalities, and how to introduce them. Along with characters, they have to pick a setting and time period that are logical for the plot of the story. If something clashes, or is not done in a well thought out way, then the piece of literature is not at it’s best. Of the many element choices they make, how the text is presented is a major one. They have to decide whether flashbacks or chronological order fits their ideas best. One author that made many choices and had a
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Flashbacks are used frequently throughout this novel. It leaves us on edge for a couple chapters then goes back to the beginning and clears up any confusion. This is a good writing strategy because it keeps the interest of the reader during the whole novel. When Werner is trapped in the basement of that hotel with two other men, you constantly wonder why they are down there, how it happened, and what will happen to them next. “Bernd the engineer squirms in pain, grinding his face into the back of the golden armchair. Something wrong with his leg and something worse with his chest” (204). During this scene, you are left wondering what happened to Bernd and if he will be okay. In a later flashback, you discover that Bernd dies and that Werner is left down there with just Volkheimer. The way Doerr uses flashbacks is unique compared to many other authors. He has a chapter on the future that leaves the reader with a million questions about the characters and then he uses a flashback later on to patch up all of the missing information. This may be an element that is meant to keep the reader’s commitment to the novel. If you are constantly on edge in the novel, you have to finish it to be at peace with the plot. It is a somewhat unpredictable plot line because of the use of flashbacks, but the flashbacks are …show more content…
The development of the main characters in this novel is interesting because of how different it is from most novels. Every chapter switches between the two main characters so you learn little bits about them both at the same time. This allows you to learn how each character thinks, feels, and acts despite how they are only together for a short time in the novel. In addition to how he introduces the characters, Doerr makes it obvious how different the main characters are from the other characters. Marie is blind and has boys that point and laugh at her because of that. Her differences are crystal clear and with that she has an unusual point of view since she is blind. Werner is an orphan and very insightful for his background and slight education. He has very discrete differences and has no interest in the things they like. “While other children play hopscotch in the alley or swim in the canal, Werner sits alone in his upstairs dormer, experimenting with the radio receiver” (38). Doerr shows you that Werner is curious and wants to know everything there is to know about anything. He sets Werner apart from all the other kids, just like how Marie is so different from anyone else and this is why his decision in character development makes his novel more successful
Flashbacks are used frequently throughout this novel. It leaves us on edge for a couple chapters then goes back to the beginning and clears up any confusion. This is a good writing strategy because it keeps the interest of the reader during the whole novel. When Werner is trapped in the basement of that hotel with two other men, you constantly wonder why they are down there, how it happened, and what will happen to them next. “Bernd the engineer squirms in pain, grinding his face into the back of the golden armchair. Something wrong with his leg and something worse with his chest” (204). During this scene, you are left wondering what happened to Bernd and if he will be okay. In a later flashback, you discover that Bernd dies and that Werner is left down there with just Volkheimer. The way Doerr uses flashbacks is unique compared to many other authors. He has a chapter on the future that leaves the reader with a million questions about the characters and then he uses a flashback later on to patch up all of the missing information. This may be an element that is meant to keep the reader’s commitment to the novel. If you are constantly on edge in the novel, you have to finish it to be at peace with the plot. It is a somewhat unpredictable plot line because of the use of flashbacks, but the flashbacks are …show more content…
The development of the main characters in this novel is interesting because of how different it is from most novels. Every chapter switches between the two main characters so you learn little bits about them both at the same time. This allows you to learn how each character thinks, feels, and acts despite how they are only together for a short time in the novel. In addition to how he introduces the characters, Doerr makes it obvious how different the main characters are from the other characters. Marie is blind and has boys that point and laugh at her because of that. Her differences are crystal clear and with that she has an unusual point of view since she is blind. Werner is an orphan and very insightful for his background and slight education. He has very discrete differences and has no interest in the things they like. “While other children play hopscotch in the alley or swim in the canal, Werner sits alone in his upstairs dormer, experimenting with the radio receiver” (38). Doerr shows you that Werner is curious and wants to know everything there is to know about anything. He sets Werner apart from all the other kids, just like how Marie is so different from anyone else and this is why his decision in character development makes his novel more successful