A Home in Fiction - Gerlaldine Brooks

Monday, 3 April 2023

7:28 PM
Purpose: To inform the audience that using narratives to tell truths or stories,
is much more powerful than to inform them through facts or the reporters
perspective.

Technique Example Explain Effect

Contrast/ "A formal power series Uses complex career specific Humors/ confuses
irony through about the origin is an words, to subvert the readers the audience as
Jargon infinite sum" expectations of what the speaker to draw them into
will discuss. the speech.

Anecdote Brooks begins the speech Many people, especially of Draws the
talking about sitting brooks audience have had a audience into the
through a maths lecture, similar experience, which allows story, helps them
trying to go to sleep them to connect with brooks relate to the
speaker

Ethos Geraldine Brooks Brooks is an accomplished author Gives the

"I wrote a reporters book. who is well respected by the audience trust in
Nine Parts of Desire was a writing community. the narrator
journalists attempt to
stand back from what I References her own lived Shows the
had learned in six years experience audience she is
living among the women qualified to
of Islam" discuss the topic.

Strong title A home in fiction Uses limited words to effectively Helps the reader
describe what the speech would understand what
be about. the speech will be
about

Tonal/ Biased "I slumped into the room, Uses descriptive words that show Helps the reader
language? armed with a doodle pad" a clear bias on the topic affirm the
speakers position
on a topic

Comedy "If i positioned myself Kinda funny ig Helps the reader

wisely, a discreet little nap become at ease
might be possible" with the speaker,
give them more
trust

Examplar "Homomorphism is an A first hand account of something Helps the reader

isomorphism if and only if that was said. become
the matrix is inevitable" immersed in what
happened.

Simile "This is like poetry" Connects an idea to something it Helps responders

is not see brook's
 understanding of
the subject, using
her perspective.

Analogy "I had lived, until that Uses a metaphor or simile to Helps the reader
moment, in an airlock, explain something get an immersive
and that she was prising understanding of
open the heavy door, just brooks
a crack" perspective on
the events.

Juxtaposition "Delicate arpeggios and Places two contrasting ideas next Helps convey a
thundering chords" to each other range of emotions
to the audience,
rather than a
particular

Descriptive "She looked at the old Uses a combination of decriptive Helps immerse
imagery maple beyond the lecture language, metaphor and simile to the reader in the
room window, at the describe a scene scene
great swoop of bough
arcing out from the
massive trunk."

Extended "If she has lungs, I have Describes a scene through a Helps the reader
metaphor gills. I swim in a sea of singular metaphor over many better connect
words." lines. and relate to
brooks ideas, by
giving a relatable
setting for the
events.

Situational "The youth get together The quote itself juxtaposes to Helps the reader
Irony his materials to build a humorously contrasting ideas. garner interest
bridge to the moon, and Brooks then contrasts this by with the content,
at length the middle aged disagreeing with it. and allows brooks
man concludes to build a to enter her next
woodshed with them" It idea.
did not go that way for
me

Motif "Like the mathematician, I The mathematician is a repeated Unifies the piece,
am after nothing less than idea throughout the text that is giving readers re-
eternal truths" given more meaning as the text entry into ideas
progresses. they have already
seen
(comfortable), but
also allows them
to expand on this
or even change it,
creating a more
complex idea
Rhetorical "What is this world, how Asks a question that is not meant Informs the
question can we more perfectly to be answered. Despite this reader what
describe it?" these are powerful because she brooks will be
will answer them herself. talking about, but
also what her
intentions in her
discussion are.
Gives brooks a
segway into the
next idea

Hyperbole "Well informed about the This is an exaggeration of her Informs readers
merits of fresco over knowledge, using jargon to through humor
tempera in Quattrocento demonstrate that she is well and exaggeration,
painting" informed that brooks is
incredibly well
versed in english.

Intertextuality "Let us gather facts"- Makes a reference to another Expands the

Leclerc de Buffon text scope of the text,
and makes it
more familiar, by
aligning it with
pre established
ideas the reader
may already
understand. Also
appeals to Brook's
ethos.

2nd person "You come back the next Tells events from an account of Helps immerse
language day and you cannot bear someone else viewing the events. the reader in the
to look at it" (You) story, by placing
them in the
position of the
events.

Simple "You bring in the backhoe Explains an idea with one clause Helps to show the
sentences and knock it over" narrators, state of
mind: Simple,
does not require/
is not worth
explanation.
Through this
responders are
able to infer alot
about how the
narrator feels
about the event.

Tone "I can pinpoint the day I Uses form and word choice to Informs the
became a novelist; I can create a positive tone reader how they
 recall the moment with should perceive
perfect clarity." the content of the
text.

Allusion "You will find her there, in Makes reference to the Salem Helps ground the
every era. Accused of witch trials. text in reality/
being a witch" connect it to pre-
established
historical events
and the readers
own personal
understanding of
them.

Hypophora "What word would a mid- Asks a question then immediately Gives the reader
17th century midwife answers it. insight into the
have used for fetus?" "I thought process
consulted the Oxford of brooks,
Historical Thesaurus of showing how she
the English Language to the narrator
find that the word she solves problems.
would have used for fetus
was 'Shapling'."

Structural "And every one of them Uses once upon a time at the end Subverts readers
Irony probably telling stories of a text expectations/
that probably started with allows them to
Once Upon A Time" build on this pre-
established motif
to obtain a
deeper meaning

Anaphora What can I know, after all, Repeats a literary idea "With a Builds a literary
that is true about these consciousness" at the start of motif that is given
people who lived and died each sentence or idea. further meaning
so long ago, lived and with more
died, as Henry James connected ideas.
asserts, with a
consciousness different
from ours, a
consciousness formed
when more than half the
things that makes our
world did not yet exist for
them.

Resolution/ "And now as I make my
Logos home in literature, in a
particular genre of fiction
that explores the places in
the deep well that the
burning paper has left
Makes reference to and builds Gives the reader a
upon any significant motifs, conclusive
metaphors and extended understanding of
metaphors within the text. any standing
metaphors/
motifs within the
 unilluminated, I think of text, allowing for
that mathematician, and a satisfying end.
her search for more Concludes any
perfect descriptions of the withstanding
worlds swoops and arguments.
curves.

Key points
 Write to your strengths (eg.Brooks makes references to texts

she has studied throughout her texts)

 Base fiction off of historical fact to get a stronger story in your

readers mind.
 Use extended metaphors and motif, as if set up well, can lead

to satisfactory endings.
 Use metaphors and analogies to explain things so that a reader

can relate to them better

 Use comedy to relax the reader, gain they're trust
 Use irony and contrast to maintain interest throughout the text
 Use anecdotes to allow entry for the reader into your ideas
 Link each paragraph to the next to ensure a smooth flow
 Use intertextuality and allusion to build upon pre established

ideas, creating a stronger more grounded idea.

 Make use of sentence structure and form, to tell the reader

how the narrator feels about the idea or topic.

 Use tone and biased language to clearly inform the reader how

the narrator feels about a topic.

 Appeal to Pathos, Logos and Ethos to ensure a strong text.