In “A Mythic Novel of the Balkan Wars,” Schillinger weaves together a skillful essay using many rhetorical devices to analyze The Tiger's Wife by Téa Obreht.
Schillinger uses details to a great extent in her essay to give the readers an idea of the emotional impact The Tiger's Wife evokes. For example, she tells the tale of Luka, the butcher's son who goes to great lengths to learn the almost-forgotten traditional instrument of gusla. This helps the reader understand that much of the plot of the novel occurs at a time when modernization made traditions almost obsolete. Schillinger also retells us of the story of a band of diggers digging for a relative on someone else's private property because that relative had died without proper rites, giving us an idea of the personal impact of the Balkan Wars.
In addition, Schillinger uses language to better her essay. For example, she writes, "In 'The Tiger's Wife,' Obreht weaves the old man's richly colored reminiscences like silk ribbons through the spare frame of Natalia's modern coming-of-age," using simile to build up imagery, and giving us a feel of the foundation of the story, and what really makes the story go, all in poetic language that leaves the reader wanting more.
Furthermore, Schillinger uses great syntax in her essay, such as when she says, "too rational to be cowed by old-fashioned superstitions, too modern for corny old-fashioned folk music." Here, she uses asyndeton and anaphora, creating a poetic sound to facilitate the flow of the piece. She also uses passive voice, such as when she writes, "a curfew is imposed," to create an impersonal tone and to obscure responsibility. Overall, Schillinger's use of rhetorical devices in her essay makes it flow easily and helps her convey her point in an easy-to-understand manner.
"A Mythic Novel of the Balkan Wars" was a pretty flawless piece.
In analyzing The Tiger's Wife, Schillinger mostly uses New Historic and Formalist criticism. In her book review, Schillinger gave a pretty complete summary to the novel, thus making her book review partially Formalist. Yet Schillinger also talks about how Obreht wrote the novel without actually having been in the Balkans during the times of war, thus making her novel a novel of imagination rather than experience, which makes her book review partially New Historic.
Schillinger's description of The Tiger's Wife really reminds me of The Diary of A Young Girl. Both books are about dealing with reality during a surreal time of war and change.
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/13/books/review/book-review-the-tigers-wife-by-tea-obreht.html?_r=1&ref=review
Hi Wendy,
ReplyDeletePass! This is really well-written and you fulfilled all the requirements. You analyze everything that Schillinger does; you are very thorough.
Taylor Rawson
Pass.
ReplyDeleteI like your description of the different types of literary approaches that were used.