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A Girl's Story By David Arnason Analysis

Decent Essays

Appearance versus reality in David Arnason’s “A Girl’s Story” Self reflexive writing is a method used by authors where they write about writing. It is often an abstract concept, and the way that David Arnason uses it in his narrative “A Girl’s Story” adds a unique perception to the story. Throughout the story it is made clear that, at times, things may be entirely different than they appear to be at first glance, and how, in general, meanings are not absolute. The piece of writing “A Girl’s Story” is a story about a writer, writing a story about a girl who is having problems with her fiancé as she feels unfulfilled. It is supposed to be a somewhat cliché short story, as the writer even acknowledges that himself. He does this by stating why he made various decisions when constructing the main character such …show more content…

This story is self reflexive, because the author writes about the process he used to write what eventually became “A Girl’s story.” He also includes the story he wrote in the story, as well as his own experiences while writing it, so as a result, two separate storylines are created. In the storyline of the girl, the author describes the scenery at the side of the river. He adds many details about the scenery such as “Under the innocent sheen of the mirroring surface, the current is treacherous.” and “The undergrowth too, is thick and green, hiding the poison ivy, the poison sumac and the thorns.” (A Girl’s Story) These details may suggest events to come in the future of the story. The author acknowledges the details he has written by saying “I slipped a lot of details in there and provided all those hints about strange and dangerous things under the surface. That’s called foreshadowing” (A Girl’s Story) In the literal sense this paragraph is an example of appearance versus reality, as stated by the author

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