Gayle Forman Style Essay
Numerous authors use distinctive components of style to separate their work from different writers and create what people refer to as author's style. Best selling author, Gayle Forman, has her very own style in which she uses to connect the audience with her stories, I Was Here and I Have Lost My Way. After reading both stories and analyzing the techniques in which she uses, it is clear to see her style includes the use of motifs and the distinct way she creates her characters. These elements of style help her to capture readers and keep them coming back for more excitement and entertainment.
Both stories contain the same motifs. The motifs present in her writing are friendship and loss. In the novel, I Have Lost My …show more content…
Throughout the story, like in I Have Lost My Way, a friendship that is very unlikely comes about. This friendship is between the main characters, Cody and Ben. In the beginning, Cody’s initial reaction is very negative towards Ben. Forman describes what Cody feels for him by writing, “[...] I make the mistake of turning around to throw one last death-ray at the cocksure, shallow, pretty-boy poser, Ben McCallister” (I Was Here 35). As the story goes on, Cody has a bad encounter with her father and Ben’s reaction proves that the two have a friendship brewing. Forman writes, “‘Oh, fuck, Cody,’ he says. And he opens his arms automatically, like hugging me is something he normally does” (I Was Here 242).
When Forman was asked why she chose to focus on friendship, for this book in an interview with famous British online book critic, Zoella, she responded, “My friendships are deep and intense […] Over the years, I’ve had friendships fall apart, spectacularly, bloodily, painfully...they can be just as important, (as romantic relations) just as deep, and just as damaging when they fall apart” (“Review: Some Truths Discovered in the End Derived Headline”). With this statement, it can be inferred that to Forman, friends are always on her mind, therefore the idea of friendship is always in her …show more content…
In her writing, whenever she introduces a new character, the narrator (whoever it may be), gives the reader background of the character in a description. In I Have Lost My Way, on page 7, Forman writes, “...Freya took after her father–reddish skin, the high forehead, the telltale Ethiopian eyes[…]” Forman’s choice of descriptions are all chosen for a specific reason. In an interview with Publishers Weekly, Forman explains that Freya’s character is inspired by her own family. Like Freya, one of Forman’s daughters is of Ethiopian descent. So it is intentional that she writes each detail and when introducing Nathaniel she does the