Annie Proulx and The Shipping News PDF

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essay van 'The shipping news' door Annie Proulx...

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M 21 PUT ELINE

Annie Proulx and The Shipping News: A Pearl Under The Sea Even though Proulx may not always seem delighted when receiving an award, she thinks of herself as a craftswoman who is committed to her craft and proud of her products. And rightfully so. Her novel 'The Shipping News' is like a pearl under the sea, a rare piece of writing which is carefully constructed and coated with a silver lining. Proulx seems to fancy pushing her protagonist Quoyle, past his breaking point. His parents committed joint suicide, his unfaithful wife ‘Petal Bear’ died in a car accident, and there is no stable job in sight. So, Quoyle has nothing left to lose and decides to move back to his birthplace in Newfoundland. The storyline may seem a little farfetched and dramatic, but there is more that Proulx has in mind for her protagonist. Once arrived in Newfoundland, Quoyle makes new acquaintances, becomes a reporter for a local newspaper, and meets a woman with whom he falls in love, giving him the salvation which he is desperately seeking. While reading this novel, one must be perseverant and dive deep to adapt to Proulx’s writing style. Due to her prose, it is sometimes difficult to keep up with the story she wants to tell. It seems as if Proulx has an aversion to relative pronouns, continuous tenses, and conjunctions. Sentences like, “And Quoyle feared water, could not swim” or “It's outsiders will get the gold” are just two of numerous examples. When looking past that, one will find that Proulx really brings the story to life with her descriptions of the scenery, and the use of slang and lore that is typical of Newfoundland. She also has a habit of writing in comparison, which gives the descriptions even more of a poetic touch. “His thoughts churned like the amorphous thing that ancient sailors, drifting into arctic half-light, called the Sea Lung;”. Where most writers do not succeed in portraying a true, believable happy ending, Proulx emerges as a master of assembling stories. Even though she has ripped the ground from underneath Quoyle’s feet, he is still a relatable character with whom the reader can sympathise. Quoyle evolves from a hunchback lookalike with a torn-up life and fragmented heart to someone who is at peace with himself. The novel conveys a message of hope and recovery for those who think they are nowhere to be found. That said, ‘The Shipping News’ is both a literary challenge, and a painstakingly good novel that is undoubtedly worth one’s time.

M 21 PUT ELINE

Bibliography Crosstha.(14.2.2018). ‘Book Review – The Shipping News’. [Cross that Bridge: http://crossthatbridge.co.uk/2018/12/14/book-review-the-shipping-news/] Jordison, S.(08.11.2011). ‘The Shipping News: moderate or good?’. [The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2011/dec/08/shipping-news-annie-proulxreading-group] Norman, H.(04.04.1993). ‘In Killick-Claw, everbody reads the Gammy Bird’. [The New York Times: https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/99/05/23/specials/ proulx-shipping.html] Rock, L.(05.06.2016). Annie Proulx: ‘I’ve had a life. I see how slippery things can be’. [The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/jun/05/annie-proulx-ivehad-a-life-i-see-how-slippery-things-can-be]...