You can have incredible characters, a wonderful plot, and an exciting climax. But without flair, your intense scenes can fall short. So how do you add exciting language to your story? One way is to use literary devices and figurative language. In Desert Exile: The Uprooting of a Japanese-American Family by Yoshiko Uchida, many emotional and exciting events take place, and with the use of literary devices and figurative language, these scenes could have been more interesting and intense. I don’t believe this author has properly utilized these tools to enhance her writing, and in this essay, I will explain why.
This autobiography recounts the life of Yoshiko Uchida, a Japanese-American with first-generation Japanese immigrant parents. Following …show more content…
The kind of figurative language used most were similes. When these were used, they were done very well, adding meaning and tone to the story. One example of similes being used describes a church that Yoshiko attended as a young girl. She says, “…what clings to my memory like frost on my bones is how cold I was in church during winter.” This adds to the serious and nostalgic tone with word choice (using words like “chilly” would have made the tone more lighthearted). The context in which this is said also adds meaning to the story. A cold church was once one of the biggest problems in her life, and now she is forced to live in an internment …show more content…
She could have used these tools more during more emotional scenes, for example, when her family was reunited with her father, when they left the internment camps for the first time in years, or when their family dog had to be left behind. She had plenty of opportunities to use metaphors, allusions, paradoxes, or oxymorons, but they were not used at all. Using certain literary devices and figurative language better could have turned a great book into an amazing book.
In Desert Exile: The Uprooting of a Japanese-American Family by Yoshiko Uchida, many emotional and exciting events take place, and they were often so heart-wrenching on their own that literary devices or figurative language were not necessary. But just because something is not necessary doesn’t mean it wouldn’t have improved the story. With just a bit more “flair” in her writing, Uchida could have had me crying more than once while reading. I think this book is a good lesson for me on how even if certain elements in writing are not necessary, they can take a book from good to
This autobiography recounts the life of Yoshiko Uchida, a Japanese-American with first-generation Japanese immigrant parents. Following …show more content…
The kind of figurative language used most were similes. When these were used, they were done very well, adding meaning and tone to the story. One example of similes being used describes a church that Yoshiko attended as a young girl. She says, “…what clings to my memory like frost on my bones is how cold I was in church during winter.” This adds to the serious and nostalgic tone with word choice (using words like “chilly” would have made the tone more lighthearted). The context in which this is said also adds meaning to the story. A cold church was once one of the biggest problems in her life, and now she is forced to live in an internment …show more content…
She could have used these tools more during more emotional scenes, for example, when her family was reunited with her father, when they left the internment camps for the first time in years, or when their family dog had to be left behind. She had plenty of opportunities to use metaphors, allusions, paradoxes, or oxymorons, but they were not used at all. Using certain literary devices and figurative language better could have turned a great book into an amazing book.
In Desert Exile: The Uprooting of a Japanese-American Family by Yoshiko Uchida, many emotional and exciting events take place, and they were often so heart-wrenching on their own that literary devices or figurative language were not necessary. But just because something is not necessary doesn’t mean it wouldn’t have improved the story. With just a bit more “flair” in her writing, Uchida could have had me crying more than once while reading. I think this book is a good lesson for me on how even if certain elements in writing are not necessary, they can take a book from good to