Journal Entry 1
The author starts off very descriptive as he should, seeing as how this is a story. He uses a rather boring tone to start the novel. Ironic enough, even though his tone is boring, the events that he is describing are so unusual and intriguing you just can’t really stop reading. The author often reflects back on himself. He uses imagery to do so. Specifically, he uses a sloth, which is peaceful, vegetarian, calm, quiet, and introspective, much like how he wants to be. He is using the sloth as medicine to heal his suffering. The author doesn’t use fancy words in order to sound intriguing, rather he wants the reader to really understand his story. The fact that he is talking about sloths and every now and then comparing it to humans proves that he is using imagery. The use of this literal device helps the reader understand the author better. It’s almost like the author is setting up a conflict between his present self and his past self. He continuously brings up the fact that he has been hurt before, yet he is talking about peace and harmony. He is also in a conflict with Richard Parker. He is baffled at how Richard left, he still thinks about him, mostly in the form of nightmares tinged with love. The mood that the author is trying to establish is rather confusing if I must say so. He is constantly changing moods. He starts off sad, tries to fight off being sad by describing beautiful things, and finally he goes on to describe his wishes, this cycle repeats. He finally establishes a rather melancholy atmosphere towards the end by describing painful experiences. I think the author is choosing to be descriptive to set up a base for a story. He doesn’t want to expose anything crazy at the beginning as he wants to save that for later. The author constantly uses similes. “That pain is like an axe that chops at my heart”. Basically, the author is using literature devices to enhance the melancholy mood of the first chapter. He uses another simile...