The Lovely Bones
What literary techniques has Alice Sebold used to lead readers to sympathise with the characters In The Lovely Bones?
‘The Lovely Bones’ was written by renowned author Alice Sebold, who utilized various literary techniques to enhance our understanding and enjoyment of the novel. Rather than just writing about the rape and murder of fourteen year-old Susie Salmon, Sebold instead focused the narrative on Susie rising to Heaven where she watched over her killer Mr. Harvey, her love Ray Singh and her grieving family. Sebold cleverly developed the characters of the narrative by using literary devices such as first person narration, flashbacks, imagery and tone in order to connect her audience with the characters and therefore sympathize with them.
Sebold uses first person narration, with the narrative being told from the perspective of Susie Salmon. This is a technique used by Sebold, as she has created Susie’s voice to be conversational rather than formal to create sympathy with her. Susie retells the events that took place before and after her death, sharing with us her thoughts opinions and feelings to allow the reader to identify with her and sympathise with her as the poor innocent victim whose only wish is to grow up. For example, when Susie tells the reader about each person having different versions of Heaven which give them their desires, she says “I could not have what I wanted most: Mr. Harvey dead and me living.” Susie is able to see everything by looking down from Heaven, therefore she has the knowledge of all that has taken place and in addition the ability to read into the minds of other characters. For example, when Susie watches Ray Singh looking at her photo, she says “What did dead mean, Ray wondered. It meant lost, it meant frozen, it meant gone.” This provides a greater perspective for the reader, and therefore an opportunity to identify the situation and sympathise with other characters also.
Another literary technique Sebold uses is
‘The Lovely Bones’ was written by renowned author Alice Sebold, who utilized various literary techniques to enhance our understanding and enjoyment of the novel. Rather than just writing about the rape and murder of fourteen year-old Susie Salmon, Sebold instead focused the narrative on Susie rising to Heaven where she watched over her killer Mr. Harvey, her love Ray Singh and her grieving family. Sebold cleverly developed the characters of the narrative by using literary devices such as first person narration, flashbacks, imagery and tone in order to connect her audience with the characters and therefore sympathize with them.
Sebold uses first person narration, with the narrative being told from the perspective of Susie Salmon. This is a technique used by Sebold, as she has created Susie’s voice to be conversational rather than formal to create sympathy with her. Susie retells the events that took place before and after her death, sharing with us her thoughts opinions and feelings to allow the reader to identify with her and sympathise with her as the poor innocent victim whose only wish is to grow up. For example, when Susie tells the reader about each person having different versions of Heaven which give them their desires, she says “I could not have what I wanted most: Mr. Harvey dead and me living.” Susie is able to see everything by looking down from Heaven, therefore she has the knowledge of all that has taken place and in addition the ability to read into the minds of other characters. For example, when Susie watches Ray Singh looking at her photo, she says “What did dead mean, Ray wondered. It meant lost, it meant frozen, it meant gone.” This provides a greater perspective for the reader, and therefore an opportunity to identify the situation and sympathise with other characters also.
Another literary technique Sebold uses is