St Lucy's Home For Girls Raised By Wolves Summary

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In the story “St. Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves” There are three different girls, Claudette, Jeanette, and Mirabella, who portray three different characteristics. The author, Karen Russell, uses a vast amount of literary devices throughout the story to help demonstrate a deeper meaning. A deeper meaning in the story is much like how the three girls have to adapt to human culture, humans everyday try to strive to be perfect and fit into society. A pack of girls raised by wolves have to learn to fit into a new environment. There were many conflicts amongst the pack, whether it was over food, miscellaneous things, or wanting to be the best. At St. Lucy’s Home the pack had to transform from wolves into everyday humans, “Nuns teach a …show more content…
She adapts to the human life quicker than any of the other members. Jeanette is the first one to say sorry, the first one to talk proper and walk upright, the first one to read and write. The pack does not like Jeanette because of how quickly she adapted to the human culture; they see her as a “goody two shoes”. Jeanette tries to be as good and clean as humanly possible “The pack hated Jeanette. She was the most successful of us, the one furthest removed from her origins [...] Jeanette spiffed her penny loafers until her very shoes seemed to gloat” (Russell 241) she was always dressed as if she was going to church; nice and elegant. As the story progress the reader sees less and less of Jeanette and more of Claudette and Mirabella. The end of the story leaves you wondering what ever happened to Jeanette, or what became of her. The ending more or less only focuses on Claudette. Russell tells the reader that she graduates from the home and visits her mother at the packs old home and then the story …show more content…
Characterization is a big device the author uses for Mirabella. Russell makes Mirabella serve as the moral heart of the story because she is the only one to stay in her true wolf identity even though she suffers for it. Humans struggle to be themselves; they try hard to be like everyone else, whereas Mirabella can be an inspiration to all when reading this story; she shows courage. The author uses imagery to give details as to what is going on and what everything looks like. This helps the reader get a vivid picture in their mind and to feel as if they are there seeing everything that is happening. Metaphor is shown “Her hearing is still twig-snap sharp” (Russell 241) this is relating to Jeanette and how she gave into the human culture and tries to keep up with what the nuns do; Laugh, drink, and apologize. Simile is used “I’d bristle and growl, the way that I’d begun to snarl at my own reflection as if it were a stranger” (Russell 241) this is a perfect representation of how we are as humans; we begin to not recognize ourselves because we try so hard to be something we are

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