For my verbal visual essay on Phyllis Gotlieb’s A Grain of Manhood I used prezi to make a sort of interactive poster board. For my background I used the black with white spots to represent space and the universe. The title was a shade of yellow so it could symbolize the sun at the center of the solar system and my quotes and statements were in spheres surrounding it like planets. The front three spheres represent the three planets from the story. The one to the right with green writing represents Earth since when I think of Earth I think of vegetation. The one to the left would be Axtu because when James looked out of the window in the hospital he saw mountains and mountains at a distance have a bluish tinge to them. Finally the sphere at the front is Nev. It is multi-coloured to symbolize Kolanddro and the Nevids with their many colours and shapes. The title also has a slight brown tinge to it so it could also be coloured to correspond to the specific word Grain within the title. Looking at the first literary device we have conflict which I made red to show the heat of the strife. I also included two pictures. The first is of a broken heart for Lela thinking James did not care about her and the second is full hearts surrounding the word love for Kolanddro’s obvious love for Lela and James’ love for her found later in the story. The next bubble is for foreshadowing which I made yellow because what is being foreshadowed is the birth of Lela’s child and the shape it will take and I associate the colour yellow with new life. Also when you foreshadow something it will be illuminated or shown in the future and I would also so yellow as light. I again have a picture to go with it and this time it is a magnifying glass. Foreshadowing is giving a hint of what is to come in the future and when I think hint I then go to Sherlock Holmes and yes, I think deer-stalker hat, but also I think of a magnifying glass. After foreshadowing I have point of view in blue because I think blue corresponds with intellect and thought, such as how with third person limited omniscient we are shown the thoughts of one character. Obviously the designer of the image I have below it thought along the same lines showing the connections between the synapses with hues of blue. I used the picture to represent Lela’s thoughts we are shown in the story. Following that I have imagery written in the colours of the rainbow representing the “broken” light from the prism and the statement and quote are white like the light shone into it. Similarly there is a picture of a prism and the colours the light makes which were compared to Kolanddro’s skin or scales. Next there is symbolism which I made green to represent the calming effect of when she left the empty landscape of Nev and discovered the settlement or even to just represent the grass. I chose four pictures for this device the first being in the top left a jagged, rocky landscape for Nev while Lela was on her own and paired with that underneath is a single chair in an empty gray room to represent the emptiness and despair in her life at the time. The third and fourth pictures on the right hand side were of a lush green grassy landscape for Nev once Kolanddro brought her into their town and below it hands holding each other to exemplify the love and caring she received once in the settlement. Last of the devices is theme. I chose pink to symbolize this because though the theme is about love, it is not the fiery passionate side of love but the softer caring side which I associate with pink. The picture I chose to use in the background was a heart shaded pink surrounded by three strips of colour representing the three degrees of affection. The first colour, a bluish purple, represents indifference or knowing but not feeling any special feelings for someone. The next band of colour holds the heart and is where the theme is located. It is pink for the softer side of love and caring. The last colour is for the third degree and is red to show the heat and drive of passion bordering on obsession. The heart is slightly bordering on the bluish purple indifference for Lela’s conflict with James when she thought he did not have any affection towards her and the heart being mostly in the pink shows James’ discovered love for she later in the story and also the love Kolanddro had for her throughout the story.

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