Reading Response #4: “Twilight” by Stephanie Meyers

Caricature

Caricatures can help to foreshadow characters through carefully selected descriptive words. In Meyers chooses to use this device when Bella sees the Cullens. She describes the Cullens as “all devastatingly, inhumanly beautiful” and “noticeably graceful” in a manner that “was unsettling to watch” (19, 23). They are literal descriptions of the characters, however; readers of the novel will soon realize that these words show they are actually vampires.

Dilemma

Stephanie Meyers chooses to start the novel by introducing an ending to a dilemma. It becomes apparent that Bella “detested Forks” yet she has “now exiled [her]self” to Forks for her mom (3-4). This choice in her dilemma will plays out in the next few chapters of how she will adapt to life at Forks. It helps to create suspense and tension within the novel from the very first page.

Hyperbole

It becomes obvious that Bella absolutely hates the rain and cold from the first few chapters. One of the ways Stephanie Meyers depicts this is through the use of a hyperbole: “I donned my jacket which had the feel of a biohazard suit” (12). A biohazard suit is known to be heavy and used in the case of a disastrous event. However, here it is compared to a simple jacket and in case of some drizzling rain.

Idiom

Idioms have a way of expressing ideas in comical or uncharacteristic words. In Twilight, Bella expresses that her car engine “roars to life” (12). Her car is not a lion roaring. Instead, this phrase means that her car runs, and the roar is the noise the engine makes when it starts. Phrases like these should not be taken as a literal but taken into context of the situation and the culture.

Symbolism

Symbolism can help increase the severity and contrast of a situation. For example, in Twilight, when Bella’s mom is taking her to airport, she expresses her home and soon-to-be new home in through her clothes: “I was wearing my favorite shirt — sleeveless, white eyelet lace; I was wearing it as a farewell gesture. My carry-on item was a parka” (3). It becomes obvious she loves Phoenix’s warm weather, depicted by the words “favorite” and “sleeveless”. The mention of the parka, tucked away in her carry-on, shows that she will be going somewhere cold.  

Flashback

In real life, people have flashbacks about their life when looking at old pictures or even coming back to a certain location. The same things happen to Bella when she comes to Charlie’s house. She has flashbacks of her mother’s painted cabinets, her room, and the pictures around the house (11).

Pathetic Fallacy

Although similar to personification, pathetic fallacy actually gives “human emotions to inanimate objects” (literarydevice.net). Stephanie Meyers uses this to further her efforts of depicting Bella’s detest for Forks: “Thick fog was all I could see out my window in the morning, and I could feel the claustrophobia creeping up on me” (11). Due to the weather of Forks, she feels claustrophobia, a human feeling.

Cliffhanger

if I had never heard of the book or the movie, this would have been a cliffhanger. After the dramatic car scene incident, Bella presses for the truth form Edward; however, he refuses to tell and “walked away” (68-69). Both Bella and the audience are left without the truth and at this point, we all want to know. Another cliffhanger is developed when Bella admits of the “first night [she] dreamed of Edward Cullen” (70). By this point, the audience is invested in their budding relationship and wants to know of her dream as well. Much is left unknown for audience and the suspense causes them to want to read the next chapter.