Susies Afterlife Essay Example

Susies Afterlife Essay Example Susies Afterlife Essay Susies Afterlife Essay How does Sebold use representations of speech and other literary techniques to portray Susies feelings about her afterlife in the following extract (Chapter 2, Pages 19-20) and in one other extract in the novel? For most of the novel, Susies heaven is, for her, simply a place from which she can observe her family on Earth. The casual tone Sebold uses as Susie describes the contents of her heaven and the simple dreams she has (an ice cream shopa newspaper where our pictures appeared a lot) show the reader that however miraculous this image of heaven is, Susie still has a strong link binding her to her split-level on Earth an echo of sameness riding up over the hill. Her strongest desire is one of the only things her heaven cannot provide, as shown by the simple declarative I wanted to be allowed to grow up, although the use of the past tense foreshadows a change in Susies attitude towards her afterlife later in the novel. While in the first extract Susies heaven appears mundane, even boring, in my chosen extract (Susies meeting with her grandfather) Sebold shows a more spiritual, paranormal element of heaven the typical idea of heaven that most readers imagine. In Chapter 2 there is a clear sense of Susies immaturity and innocence, highlighting the tragedy of her death and suggesting that Susie does not belong in heaven and should be on Earth with her family this reflects Susies desire to cling onto her life on Earth. The verb pretend in the simple declarative Then we can pretend better is associated with childhood games and imaginary worlds, showing us that Susie is still a child and the idea of heaven is a game to her. This is also reflected in the abstract noun secrets in the simple declarative To know the secrets this lexical choice suggests that, for Susie, the idea of adulthood is as much an extraordinary other world as heaven is, but one she can never experience. The irony here is that for many people on Earth who have reached adulthood, the idea of heaven or an afterlife is ridiculous, whereas for Susie the opposite is true. Sebold widens the gap between Susie and the people on Earth and thereby encourages the reader to open their minds to other possibilities. The use of the verb allowed in the simple declarative I wanted to be allowed to grow up also highlights Susies innocence as it encourages the reader to think that she needs permission, a childlike idea. That someone could give their permission to allow such a simple desire is a childish idea, and therefore also highlights the tragedy of the circumstances. Sebold capitalises the concrete noun Earth while heaven is always in lowercase; this indicates where Susies heart lies and how she sees the Earth almost as a living being, like her family. The pairing of the simple interrogatives Was it my father? Was it what I had wanted all this time so desperately? reflects the fast pace of Susies thoughts and her desperation to be with her family. This is highlighted strongly by the adverb desperately. Susies use of the proper noun Grandaddy in Chapter 18 again represents her innocence and youth, despite being in heaven, but the simplicity of this single unit of speech also reflects the simplicity of this episode and Susies simple desire to be with her family again. The simple lexical choices and sentence structure in this episode, such as in the simple declarative Youre so close and interrogative Do you remember? reflect the familiarity and ease between Susie and her grandfather; there is no need for complex language to show off or pretend to be someone theyre not. This also reflects the simplicity of Sebolds image of heaven; characters such as Holly and Franny usually use simple lexical choices and sentence structures, as in the dialogue between Holly and Susie Do you like it here?, No., Me either. This is in contrast with the way in which characters are portrayed on Earth, where emotions are hidden behind masks and answers are never straightforward, as in the case of Abigail. Susies heaven is a way for her to experience the dreams she had on Earth it had a newspaper where our pictures appeared a lot and made us look important This complex declarative encapsulates the common dreams of most young people; Sebold portrays Susie as a generic 14 year old girl in order for the reader to connect with her character emotionally. The simple declaratives Thats how Holly and I got our duplex and I hated our split-level on Earth could suggest that Susie wants to distance herself from anything to do with Mr. Harvey, and the echo of sameness riding up over the hill reminds her too much of him. The reader associates the abstract noun echo with memories and loss, suggesting that this particular memory offers no comfort to Susie. This lexical choice is almost ethereal; Susie is haunted by the thoughts of her old neighbourhood and Mr. Harvey. Mr. Harvey dead and me living is separated from the rest of the complex declarative by a colon, which sets this idea apart and shows the significance it holds for Susie. It is clear from Chapter 18 that a change has come over Susies feelings towards her heaven. There are fewer interrogatives in this episode than there are in Chapter 2 Susie has come to terms with what has happened and understands the concept of heaven now. The interrogative that she does ask, the adverb Where? is clearly not reflecting any desperation of Susies for answers; she is content to be in the moment. The reader is alerted to a shifting a change happening on Earth and in heaven. The use of asyndetic listing (Seismic, impossible, a rending and tearing of time and space) shows that Susie does not understand what is happening, but the adjectives seismic and impossible again sound other-worldly, and the reader is reminded of the strangeness of this episode, as well as being examples of Sebolds use of magical realism. Both Chapter 2 and Chapter 18 show that Susie shows no fear of death or the afterlife, which is again simple and childlike. She accepts the situation easily, her connection to Earth and her family being too strong. The main feelings which Sebold makes the reader aware of are Susies desperation to be with her family and regret at Mr. Harveys continued existence on Earth, which dont allow her to fully realise the depth and mysticism of her heaven until later in the novel.