My reaction to the noel Ashfall by Mike Mullin was filled with exhilaration because the book always left me hanging, and wanting more. This book always wanted me to keep reading because of all the cliff hangers.
The reason I chose this novel is because it caught my attention, and seemed interesting. Looking through the list of books this one caught my eye, and seemed the most interesting.
The organization of this novel is in chronological order because Alex tells about what he does, and when he does it on his journey to find his family.
One symbol that caught my eye in the book was ash because even after the eruption they kept using the word ash. Ash means sorrow of the world, which is how Alex describes his life after the eruption.
The importance of
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Vengeance- punishment inflicted or retribution exacted or an injury or wrong
Resin- a sticky flammable organic substance, insoluble in water, exuded by some trees and other plants
Sparser- thinly dispersed or scattered
Haunch- a buttock and thigh considered together, in a human or animal
Falsetto- a method of voice production used by make singers, especially tenors, to sing notes higher than their normal range
Palpitate- beat rapidly, strongly, or irregulary
One of the pivotal scenes in this novel was when the volcano hit, and the explosions were going off because Alex immediately thought about his family, and he knew he needed to find them.
There were many literary elements in the novel such as similes, hyperboles, and metaphors that were used in the novel to describe the action in the book.
A quote in the novel is “But unlike thunder, this didn’t stop. It went on, and on, machine gun style, as if Zeus had loaded his bolts into an M60 with an inexhaustible ammo crate.” This quote is a simile because it compares the explosions to a huge machine gun, and used as to compare it
enjoyed the plot of the book. I also chose the book because it was the only book that seemed most interesting.
I think a significant visual symbol is when Alex wants to shave his face. While he was out in the wild he let his hair grow out and his beard stretch long. While he was in civilization he maintained a clean shaven look, but while he was in the wild, it was like he was a different person. His family stated this when they were looking at a picture of him that he took of himself in the wild, it was unlike him to have a bunch of hair. On McCandless’ list for when he wanted to leave the woods, Shave was a priority. An old man saw him shaving in the bathroom, and asked if we was sleeping out. It like his beard was a different identity image for him.
A good example of these symbols is the titles of the three different parts of the book. These symbols relate directly to the book instead of real life. These three parts are The Hearth and the Salamander, The Sieve and the Sand, and Burning Bright. The Hearth and the Salamander, for example, deals with Montag's struggle at his home and with himself. The Hearth and the Salamander deals with this because the hearth is a symbol of the home and a salamander will get rid of its own tail and grow it back which is what Montag is doing with his life.The Sieve and the Sand deals with Montag struggling with remembering the knowledge he has been cramming into his head. He can't remember anything about what he has read, just like how a sieve can't hold any sand that is put in it. The Hearth and the Salamander deals with Montag's struggle at his home and with himself. Burning Bright deals with Montag destroying his old life and starting again. He does this by burning his old life
It is very shocking to read about the journeys he goes through, traveling all over New York, just to find his parents while taking care of his siblings. I really enjoy how the author puts tension into Alex's day-to-day struggles through chilling moral dilemmas, whether to rob the dead, who to save during a food riot and how long to preserve the hope that his parents might return. Throughout the book, it was amusing to read and notice how Alex matures as he goes through each obstacle, caring more and more for his sisters and wondering if they all will ever see their parents alive again. The journeys he goes on involve several natural disasters making the novel so astounding. Just imagine seeing volcanic eruptions and tsunamis flood all the way to New York City.
This story was my favorite because, it was a little scary at times and my favorite type of books to read are horror books. I also liked this book because it had a lot of those moments where you can’t put the book down, it is to good to not read.
The last symbol for this theme is the fire. The fires were a good and bad thing because at first, it was a rescue thing but then it turned into a huge forest fire and made a little go missing. It also turned into a weapon in the last chapter of the book. There were many quotes that could have been used, but I picked a point in time where it almost stayed good, and when it turned evil.
Towards the end of the book it is adoring how appreciative and emotionally mature he had become. Alex learns to depend on Beijing natives for the duration of his struggle to escape. The soldiers react violently
The main symbol of the book is the river it symbolizes hope and freedom, which reinforces Alex’s will to survive. The author also uses this symbol to create new personalities from characters that were not seen at all throughout the book. Also it gives Alex a reason to live along with other characters, to see their families, and have the freedoms they used to, this is why this symbol greatly supports the overall theme of survival for Alex. Throughout both of the books, “Stung” and “Lockdown”, Both author use flashbacks and symbols as their main techniques for hinting at and giving ideas for the overall theme of the book. Both Bethany Wiggins and Alexander Gordon Smith use the topic of survival as their main center point for developing a theme throughout the story.
In this section, identify at least two examples of literary elements (symbolism, irony, foreshadowing, motifs, allusion, etc.) that your author uses. The
The text that will be analyzed is a short story called The Secret Lion by Alberto Rios. This text is jam packed full of figurative language such as symbolism and personification. The story is a memory from the author himself about when he was growing up as a kid in the border town of Nogales, Arizona. He has just reached junior high and he is in the early stages of becoming an adult. He does not like the fact that he is growing up and he wants to stay as a kid.
There are more significant symbols in the novel such as The Boy. The Man and Boy fight to survive many hardships, but through the darkness there is light, The Boy. He is very mature and cares for every stray person they pass. One person he cares for is a man named Ely, an old man with nothing but the clothes on his back, until he meets The Boy and his father." 'You should thank him you know, I wouldn’t have given you anything' "(McCarthy 173). The Boy wants everyone to survive and is willing to share his supplies even if it means he won`t have all the things he needs to live.
I loved this book so much. There is so much action and is so much better and exciting with so much amazing detail and description. This is one of my favorite books ever. When you read it, you don’t want to put it down and it makes you feel like you are with the characters in the book and you know them so well. I recommend this book to anyone who can read at this level.
The author emphasizes the tone and the theme of the novel by using a variety of diction words that include repetition of words, archaic words, connotation, and abstract diction. Primarily, the usage of
The book I chose to do my summer reading assignment on, was Ashfall. Personally, I was very fascinated by this book, it truly was one of those novels that left you questioning, what would I do if I was in that situation?. Mike Mullin kept the storyline going with very imaginative descriptions and detailed scenes, that left me turning the pages, till I realized the book was almost done for. Nevertheless, I thought this book was a riveting tale of survival that demonstrated, how dark times can turn good people into creatures with no emotions. The protagonist, Alex, was extremely strong willed and his character was deeply authentic. Throughout the novel I could connect with Alex, to the point where I felt like I was in the book making the decisions
Overall the novel uses many stylistic features to humanise Hal, with the most commonly used features being point of view, analogy and repetition.