Essays

Students received their passage analysis essays today. We then looked at samples of their writing and discussed how to improve them.

Here is the handout of samples:

In the passage, uses literary devices such as diction, imagery, and figurative language to generate a clear image of the character Quoyle.


The author spends a great deal of time referring back to Quoyle’s past to help explain why Quoyle is so dreary as an adult.


Certain diction such as “Eyes the color of plastic” and “brimming with grief and thwarted love” give examples of the sadness Quoyle faces day after day.

Yet a lack of an appealing outward shell is not Quoyle’s only fault. The author describes the man as having a montage of failures that had been shown to “multiply like an explosion of virulent cells.” These included the inability to swim, speak clearly, sit up straight, get up in the morning, have a good attitude, or have ambition or ability.

The diction makes the passage dreary and pitiful.

Referring back to the industrial revolution of the 1800s, cities were slums of poverty, disease, and death. “Hoovervilles” of the 30s during the “Great Depression” were representations of city-life, being that of sadness and helplessness.

Finally, the exaggeration of loneliness adds suspense-where is this passage leading to?

The author of this passage uses very descriptive words to express the torment that is Quoyle’s life.

The use of figurative language in “the father saw other failures multiply like an explosion of virulent cells,” demonstrates the extreme feelings of Quoyle’s father towards him, while also using imagery to reinforce that point.

This passage contains many examples of excellent diction, and imagery that provide a clear and concise picture of the character, Quoyle.

This sentence forms the image of a teenager in college….

Had the author chosen any other word than “stumbled” the image depicted of Quoyle would have changed drastically.

I can only assume that his grotesque appearance and deformities made other students mock him, and all he did was ignore it.