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Post by ashen99 on Oct 30, 2015 6:38:55 GMT
When Gene goes to Leper's house to talk with him, the readers immediately know that he has gone completely insane. Knowles helps us realize this situation by using imagery. During the times when Lepers recounts his horrifying experiences, he uses vivid imagery of shapes morphing into each other with limbs and heads all merged into each other. The image becomes very disturbing for everyone, not just the characters. In this respect, Knowles effectively portrays how Leper is now a "psycho". He does this in order to convey the horrors of war for those who are not ready for it. From Leper's interactions with nature and the reason why he enlisted (because he thought that the skiing was cool), he is clearly rather child-like, innocent, and in his own world. So, by using all of these disturbing images of really terrifying experiences in the military, the readers can get a clear understanding that his innocence made him ill-prepared for the harsh realities of war and by extension, adulthood. The importance of the liminal state is emphasized, therefore, because that is where someone learns and gets prepared for adulthood. One makes mistakes, learns from them, and gains new experiences that would not occur if that stage was completely skipped. Without that liminal state, adulthood can lead to psychosis. John Knowles accomplishes this kind of message by using the imagery that Leper has to go through when he is a part of the military. By doing so, he effectively presents one of his messages and meanings.
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Post by anewman98 on Oct 31, 2015 19:06:29 GMT
Alan, I liked your ideas about how imagery influenced Leper's character change. The disturbing images really do add to the transformation of him during war from an innocent skier to going insane. I hadn't thought about that point!
In a similar way, imagery is used to show Gene's depression. Knowles doesn't come right out and say that Gene is depressed, but we can infer it from images. In Chapter 1, Gene is reflecting on his life at Devon. He describes the day as a ‘wet, self-pitying November day’ (10). The imagery of rain in the transition from fall to winter shows Gene’s sadness (the words “self-pitying” are a dead giveaway). After looking around, he says “I headed back through the mud. I was drenched; anyone could see it was time to come out of the rain” (14). Gene trudging through mud, making his way out of the rain, shows he is determined to leave behind his years of depression.
We see Gene’s depression start to develop after Finny falls from the tree. Imagery is used as the seasons change to show this: “In the air there was an edge of coolness to imply the coming winter” (72). This shows that just as the warm, fun summer eventually changes to a cold, lifeless winter, Gene changes from happy to depressed. By picking up subtle hints of imagery, we can see this sadness take its toll on Gene.
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Post by ryanwalchonski on Oct 31, 2015 19:08:16 GMT
Another important use of Imagery is when Gene is describing Phineas on the canoe on page 75. He is describing him as a "water god" and "his skin glowing". All the imagery in this paragraph is used to portray Phineas as a biblical figure, specifically Jesus. This gives us the idea, especially when Gene talked about him falling, that Phineas would be a sacrifice of some sort. The sacrifice that Finny went through happened so Gene could let go of his childhood, similarly to how Jesus died so his people could escape sin.
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