Destroying Avalon
In the novel Destroying Avalon by Kate McCaffrey I was able to interpret the text easily in various ways due to my personal experiences and context.
When the theme of bullying – more specifically cyber bullying – was introduced through the characters, my immediate response was feelings of sympathy towards the victims, Avalon and Marshall. This is because, in the way that McCaffrey has formed realism in the character’s development, I can relate to the situation as I know real who represent Avalon and Marshall through my view.
Throughout the text Avalon feels exposed and isolated “alone in my bedroom, the one place I had felt safe until it was invaded through my fifteen inch, flat screen monitor” page …show more content…
This is since the majority of the language used is similar to what teenagers use online today, through text, and also verbally including such words resembling “bf” – meaning boyfriend, and “LOL” –translating to laugh out loud. Since the novel is aimed at teenagers, they will be able to interpret the text …show more content…
The narrative convention of language communicates the issue of upholding a person’s reputation and is something I can easily relate to. This is because by being a teenage girl in a relatively similar private school as the one Avalon attends, I’ve also had to observe the tortured world of different relationships, along with the competitive and sometimes destructive culture of the school yard. With Avalon’s sexual reputation being attacked and untrue rumours spread by the use of defamatory emails from various unknowns, such as by “DragonGirl” who types “Avalon is a dirty slut ... I hear she rooted the whole hockey team” page 71, which provokes me to also respond by recognising and valuing how important a teenage girl’s sexual reputation is. This also includes me noticing how easily a good reputation is lost and just how difficult to restore one can be, along with it determining the way in which people treat you and how much you’re respected. I responded to this by feeling sorry for Avalon because she is going to have to rebuild her good reputation.
The language in the novel is also used in a style that enables me as a reader to feel the alienation and anxiety of the victimised characters “my stomach was painfully tight” page 68. The narrative convention