“The Moon and Stars Talks,” an essay by Tara Clancy, is a first-person account of the author’s recollections of growing up in an impoverished family in Queens, New York. Clancy crafts a vivid and captivating narrative using various literary devices that keep the reader’s interest from beginning to end. In this examination, we’ll examine Clancy’s strategies to make her article seem narrative-like.
Using vivid descriptions is one of Clancy’s most important literary devices. She uses sensory words to vividly describe her experiences throughout the essay, drawing the reader into the milieu in which she was raised (Himmelman & John, p. 1). As an illustration, Clancy writes about her grandmother’s apartment as “a sensory assault: the smell of frying oil and garlic, the sound of the TV screaming Spanish-language reality shows, the heat from the heaters pouring through the open windows.” In addition to painting a vivid picture of the home, this description also captures the mood and vibe of the place.
The use of dialogue is another strategy Clancy employs. Clancy shares her story with closeness and genuineness by adding family member dialogues. The speech gives the characters more nuance and lets the reader see how the family interacts. For instance, Clancy writes, “Ma and Gram stood in the kitchen arguing like a couple of birds” when her mother and grandmother fight over a Thanksgiving turkey (ESOn et al., pp. 119-148). The tension between the two ladies is depicted in this dialogue-driven description, which also sheds light on their relationship.
Clancy adds humor to her sensory descriptions and conversation to make her novel more fascinating. She injects humor and sarcasm into her writing and frequently criticizes her family and background. Clancy explains that her mother that she refused to use the baster because it was glass, and she claimed it would shatter and we’d all be sipping turkey juice when her mother insisted on using a plastic turkey baster (Allison et al., pp. 1-14). This humorous incident lightens the narrative’s mood and says anything about her mother’s character and eccentricities.
Also, Clancy uses images to create an impression of the place and to communicate the essay’s ideas. She adds, “The moon and stars were like our own personal marquee, a reminder that we were still living, still moving, still yearning for something better,” when describing the night sky over Queens. This picture of the starry night symbolizes a reoccurring topic in the essay, hope and aspiration.
Flashbacks are yet another literary device used by Clancy. She alternates between the past and the present throughout the piece, giving perspective to her experience and emphasizing the shifts that have occurred through time. Clancy, for instance, writes the following when noting the alterations in her community (Allison et al., pp. 1-14). I used to pass recognizable faces as I walked down my block. Now as I stroll down my block, I come across strangers. This reminiscence demonstrates how her neighborhood has changed and how her viewpoint has evolved.
To bring the essay to a close and demonstrate her personal development, Clancy ends it with a reflective tone. She considers her encounters and how they influenced her as a person in the last paragraphs (Himmelman & John, p. 1). She claims, “All the difficult things that got me here, I’m thankful for. These are what illuminate the lovely moments so brilliantly.” The essay’s themes of hope and appreciation are reinforced by this introspective tone, which also gives the piece a sense of closure.
In conclusion, the essay “The Moon and Stars Speaks” is a brilliant memoir that uses various literary devices to tell a gripping tale. Clancy vividly describes her experiences and grabs the reader’s attention with the help of dialogue, comedy, images, memories, and a thoughtful tone. The essay is a striking portrait of growing up in a working-class Queens family and demonstrates the storytelling’s transformational power.
Works Cited
Allison, F., Newn, J., Smith, W., Carter, M., & Gibbs, M. (2019, May). Frame analysis of voice interaction gameplay. In Proceedings of the 2019 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (pp. 1-14).
ESOn, Lawrence. “SUIBnE’S ‘LITTLE ORaTORy’: WORLD TREE, aVIan TRanSFORMaTIOn, anD POETIC InSPIRaTIOn In THE IRISH WILD Man LEGEnD.” Etudes celtiques 45 (2019): 119-148.
Himmelman, John. Discovering Moths: Nighttime Jewels in Your Own Backyard, Eastern North American Species. Rowman & Littlefield, 2023.
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