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... to study it in college. But I am not studying it because I am good at it. I am studying it because I love it. Throughout all of the short stories that I read, I noticed a very consistent style in John Updike's writing. He uses many common methods in all or most of his stories.
One of those methods that Updike used very frequently, but also very effectively, was imagery. This is when an author writes something and you can actually see, feel or taste it. In the short story Gesturing the phrase With this ring, I thee wed was used many times. This was done to help you, the reader, picture the love that he has for his wife. Only he doesnt actually realize it until he has lost her in the end of the story. He also uses imagery by describing and comparing the two lovers in his life.
You can actually visualize the two individuals. Imagery can be used in many ways. It can be used to describe a person, or it can be used to describe the way a person does something. In Ex-Basketball Player, the narrator of the story describes vividly how good Flick Webb actually was... I was there one time when he bucketed just over 40 points... the gym was going crazy...
He also described Flick. You could almost get a mental picture of him in your head while you were reading the story. It was very descriptive. The imagery used in The Slump was in many ways similar to that used in Ex-Basketball Player. The way the man played was described as... full of homerun's...
never a dull moment. This players career came to an end, however, due to his physical condition. The sun seems a high fly I am going to lose This, to me, is the players image not only on baseball, but also on his own life. I believe that he feels that his life is going to be over now that he can no longer play the game he loves. Personification is defined as a non-living object being given living qualities. In many of his stories, Updike uses this method.
By using this method, the reader can get a better perspective of what the author is trying to describe. In Ex-Basketball Player the gas pumps at the gas station that Flick works at are personified. The top of the pump was the head, the handles on each side were the arms, and the numbers where the price was are the eyes. The pumps were even referred to as... little people. In the short story Learn a Trade the narrator often personified the junk sculptures that he made...
some had blonde hair, some red Some were taller than others... At first it was hard to realize that the things being described were the junk sculptures, but it was later made obvious when he went into greater detail in the descriptions of the people. In the story Deaths of Distant Friends the things being personified are the caskets at the first funeral that the narrator attends. The caskets had arms, legs, and even eyes. They could hear and see everything. In the context of the story, this was actually a little creepy.
Updike uses personification in so many different ways, it is uncanny. Comparing two objects without using the words like or as. This is the definition of a metaphor. Metaphors pop up all over the short stories by Updike. This is mainly due to his way of describing everything to its fullest extent. One example of a metaphor can be found in Deaths of Distant Friends.
That old lady is ancient. she is death This helps the reader get a view of how old the lady actually is, or in her case, was. The Slump also uses the metaphor on a few occasions. but he is a brick wall behind the plate. Nothing can get by him This is used to describe the catchers ability.
If you can imagine trying to throw a baseball through a brick wall, then you can imagine how good this catcher must be. The loss of the players skills can also be used as a metaphor for his life. Updike likes to dig deep into the heart of his characters. He brings out their emotions, and shows us their view of their own life. In Gesturing the main metaphor is a large skyscraper in the middle of Boston. The skyscraper was a beautiful disaster...
The skyscraper is, as in many of Updike's other short stories, a metaphor for the characters life. The final, and most evident method that is used in his short stories is the simile. This is a comparison using like or as. This method is used so much because Updike loves to give detailed descriptions of everything. In Ex-Basketball Player, Updike uses the simile numerous times to portray the way that Flick Webb plays the game of Basketball...
his hands were like wild birds. Old Flick could run like the wind. These comparisons help you get a feel for the way that Flick plays. Have you ever been skiing? Was it cold? How cold was it?
The cold shone through his clothes like furious light. Was it that cold? To me when Updike describes something, he does it with emotion. I have never been skiing before in my life, and now I dont want to. And it is all because of the fact that now I know how cold it would be, and I hate the cold! Throughout his many stories that I have read, my most favorite simile that he used came from the story The Slump The grass (of the field) seemed too precious to walk on, like emeralds.
I think that this quote is my favorite because I can relate to it. It made me feel the intensity and the nervousness right before the big game. I felt like I was getting ready to play when I read it. He uses so many different ways of describing things that it makes you a part of the story. Although most of his writings came from the late 70 s and 80 s, there was some influence on Updike that came from the 60 s. He was just beginning to reach his middle age in the 60 s.
A time hen most people have a steady job and a family at home. I think that he wrote so much about sports because sports were just getting big in the mid 60 s. At this time, his kids were also becoming old enough to partake in some sports. Perhaps they inspired him. But whatever it is that has inspired John Updike has been passed on to all of his readers. He has a way of sucking you in, so to speak.
And once he has reached you once, youll keep on coming back for more. Bibliography:
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