Literary Analysis #2

Dark Angel by David Klass

1. Seventeen year old Jeff thought he would never have to deal with his past again, but when his parents notify him that him that his brother is coming home his reputation in this small town on the Jersey shore was ruined. Jeff’s girlfriend’s parents don’t want Jeff to have anything to do with their daughter and his life at school is harder, because he doesn’t want anyone to know about his brother. His brother, Troy, was supposed to spend the rest of his life for murdering a kid, but his life sentence was overturned. When his brother returns he notices that he is not he says he is. Jeff knows that the cordialness is just an act. But when his soccer rival, Fraser, goes missing, Jeff has a feeling that Troy has something to do with it. Jeff is convinced that Troy is guilty and hasn’t changed, so he investigates Troy, what he finds Jeff could not be prepared for.

2. No one changes- Troy doesn’t change throughout his life even though he was supposed to be a “model of rehabilitation”.

3. I chose this book, because this is a realistic story. This book appealed to me because it felt like Jeff was telling me a story from his past.

4. The book is realistic because it is like a case of a murderer that was never found. The book feels like if Jeff went back to his past to tell the story.

5. The author’s tone is irritated. Jeff repeatedly believes that Troy can’t change by saying and thinking, “ Leopards don’t change their spots. Crab apple trees don’t suddenly grow cherries” (Klass 39). He also says irritated, “As a matter of fact, it’s a boring place” (Klass 41). He also gets very annoyed by Troy for example when they are talking Jeff asks him, “I mean, what do you want in Pineville?” (Klass 69).

6. Personification- Jeff says that winter hit the town, “Winter hit suddenly, with a hard one- two punch” (Klass 231).

Situational Irony- Charley Hu attack someone, but he is the calmest person in school the class president, ”In a flash he knocked Junior down and was on top of him, punching and kicking him” (Klass 86).

Dramatic Irony- The reader knows why Charley Hu is pissing Blue, but Charley was a mess due to his problem, “… Charley was just a shadow of the aggressive and confident left winger we were used to seeing” (Klass 75).

Allusion- Troy mentions Sun Tzu and Machiavelli who made a stupid mistake, “… want to read Sun Tzu and Machiavelli and learn from them the stupidity and pointlessness of picking a fight with an enemy who’s stronger than you are” (Klass 70).

Imagery- Jeff describes Troy, “… Troy had my dad’s thin, serious face, the same cleft chin, the same small mouth, the same sharp, intelligent gray eyes” (Klass 40).

Onomatopoeia- The author uses onomatopoeia in the book, “KA-CLANG, KA-CLANG” (Klass 50).

Sensory Details- He uses sensory details to help you understand the creature, “The creature had a human face, the body of a dragon, the wings of a bat, the feet of a pig, and along forked tail” (Klass 186).

Symbolism- The tattoo Beth has represents that she can stand up to her father, “… it showed that she could stand up to her dad” (Klass193).

Diction- “… like Cain and Abel on a road trip” (Klass 200). The author could have put it in another way, but he chose these words, but Cain killed his brother Abel in the bible.

Simile- When Troy is talking to Jeff he uses a simile, “… bodies can float up through soil just as they float on water” (Klass 201).

Characterization

1.  A. An example of direct characterization is on page 3 when Jeff describes Beth, “The girl was tall and athletic, and she ran in smooth strides that ate up bites of toasty sand”.

B. Another example of direct characterization would be on page 26 and 27 when Mr. Doyle says that Jeff is a nice caring kid.

A. An example of indirect characterization would be on page 99 and 100 where Smitty is bothered by the fact that some swordfish and turtles are endangered, so we can easily depict that he is a nature lover.

B. Another example  of indirect characterization is on page 114 when Jeff was going to get beat up by Franchise Fraser, but Troy got into the action and beat up Fraser for punching Jeff. This shows that Troy love and cares for his brother. 

Over all I think that Jeff is a realistic character who faces his life problems.

2. When Troy is talking he sounds like he knows his stuff for example when they are in the car Troy says, “..we are together, like Cain and Abel” (Klass 200). Or when he mentions Sun Tzu, “… want to read Sun Tzu and Machiavelli and learn from them the stupidity and pointlessness of picking a fight with an enemy who’s stronger than you are” (Klass 70).

The author changes diction when Smitty is talking he is more concerning for example, “We used to hang out a lot right?” (Klass 101). Smitty wants to know what’s happening to Jeff and why he’s acting different.

3. Jeff is a round character, because in the beginning of the story Jeff is only worried about how his life is going to be affected by Troy, but as the story progresses he cares more about how people are affected by Troy. For example, he thinks about how to make his mom happier because she is paranoid about the fact that Troy could have killed another person.

4. I feel like I met a person, because it feels like he was going through problems. He changes from nice guy, “I wish I had shot you in the heart, for what you’ve done, you deserve it” (Klass 309)

Enduring Memory

One thing that I will always remember is what Jeff said about people, that they can’t change. This will always remember that I can’t always trust someone who supposedly changed just because everyone says they did. “Leopards don’t change their spots” (Klass 309).