1984. Select a line or so of poetry, or a moment or scene in a novel, epic poem, or play that you find especially memorable. Write an essay in which you identify the line or the passage, explain its relationship to the work in which it is found, and analyze the reasons for its effectiveness.
In this day and age, there are many novels that reflect the ideas and such of pop culture. One of these novels is simply, "Twilight" by Stephanie Meyer. The novel is a classic love story between and guy and a girl in high school; however, Edward is a vampire, but Bella falls in love anyway. The idea of unexpected romance is prominent within the text, and one particular scene proves this the best. During the scene where Bella and Edward are in the meadow there is not much dialogue, but there is plenty of imagery that describes the scene and makes it so memorable.
During the couple's time spent in the meadow, Bella discovers what Edward's skin looks like in the sun. She describes it as "white despite the faint flush from yesterday's hunting trip, literally sparkled, like thousands of tiny diamonds were embedded in the surface" (260). This was a climactic moment for there relationship because it shows how they are growing closer and are becoming more deeply involved. The novel as a whole is based around the development of their relationship, and this scene is the perfect example of this development. Bella seems to study edward and even compares him to a statue by saying, "A perfect statue, carved in some unknown stone, smooth like marble, glittering like crystal (260)." The way in which Edward is described in this scene brings forth vivid images and ideas that are important to the story.
Stephanie Meyer must have had a good reason to place this scene where it is and the way that it is. For instance, it seems as though she was making the connection between the two characters more prominent, but it, also, seems to make a direct connection with the audience. Personally, the passage made me more engaged in the novel and made me think about the ideas and controversies that could be thought of while reading. For example, Bella's descriptions are almost fantasy-like, and the fact that Edward is a vampire makes that a reasonable point. It is almost a scene in which the love is too good to be true, but because of this controversy, it makes the story more engaging because readers, like myself, put themselves into the scene and fantasize about the situation as if it were them.
The ideas in this one scene are effective in making the audience think about and fantasize about this even after they put the book down. I find that "Twilight" creates a new romance and a new idea for readers to enjoy, and the meadow scene brings this to life.
Morgan,
ReplyDeleteyou did a good job explaining the scene's relationship to the novel, but I'm not quite clear on the reasons why it is effective; it shows Bella and Edward's relationship, but how does it show this? What makes us feel that this is an important scene? Also, isn't this the scene where Edward goes a little bit crazy and starts breaking trees? Because if so, I feel that it's pretty important to the scene. If your point is about Edward and Bella's relationship, you could say that this imagery is effective because it shows a. Edward's internal battle and b. how he cannot stay away from her and, of course, c. how despite Edward's extravagant display of his monstrous qualities, Bella still can look past that and see the beauty in the beast.
Your quotes are good, but you might want to explore them more. For example, "A perfect statue, carved in some unknown stone, smooth like..." Why would Meyer relate Edward to a statue, to stone? Just to emphasize how hard and smooth his skin is? Or does she mean to illustrate the contrast between the hard shell and what lies inside? Also, "smooth" can have negative connotations, like a smooth liar. So what does that do for the scene as a whole?
To me, it seems to say that his hard exterior is a lie, just like his tree-breaking, sprinting around the clearing is a bluff--he doesn't really want to scare Bella off.
Morgan!
ReplyDeleteYour essay clearly explains the scene which is good. I wish that you would expand a little more on this topic: "The ideas in this one scene are effective in making the audience think about and fantasize about this even after they put the book down". First of all maybe be a but more specific and instead of "this" state what you meant.
With the conclusion it is good to bring it full circle and relate it back to the thesis. So maybe state something like "The ideas in this on scene are effective in making the audience fantasize about having a relationship like Edward and Bella in the meadow and therefore make the scene more memorable and effective."
To me this statement almost only relates to the third paragraph and doesn't really tie in the second. How do the images of Edward make the scene more memorable for the audience? Once you get that piece of information, tie it into the conclusion and the sentence mentioned above. Then the conclusion will bring the whole essay together and connect it back to the thesis.
Hey Morgan! I realize this is like a super rough draft of an essay, but I have a couple ideas of how to improve it.
ReplyDeleteFirst, I think you could probably merge your first and second paragraphs. They both kind of talk about the same thing, and I think it would give you a stronger introduction.
Also, in the second paragraph, you talk about "vivid images and ideas that are important to the story". You should elaborate on this more, because it's a really good point. You could definitely go on for a couple of paragraphs about the meaning of the images, and their exact contributions to the plot. It'd really flesh out your essay, and make it a lot stronger.