The opening of Enduring Love is very effective for many reasons, such as use of words, the styles and techniques of writing, and themes that are introduced.
The opening of Enduring Love is very effective for many reasons, such as use of words, the styles and techniques of writing, and themes that are introduced.
McEwan intentionally places certain phrases throughout the opening that capture a reader and therefore provoking a sense of curiosity in the reader that makes them continue reading. The first example is, “The beginning is simple to mark,” which is short and basic, but this allows the reader to wonder what is about to happen. The ideas here are clear and the reader is immediately caught because they are curious to see how these ideas are going to develop. A second example is, “…we heard a man’s shout…and saw the danger. Next thing, I was running towards it,” and “…- the event I am about to describe, the fall-…” These segments of the opening leaves out who this man actually is, what the “danger” actually is and therefore, what he’s running to; readers keep on reading until they get to the point where they find out what the huge event is, which doesn’t come until the last few lines of his opening. Lastly, “…the last time I (Joe) understood anything clearly at all,” and “Knowing what I know now,” shows that the even that the narrator is about to share has to be quite large and by the way that he says these things, the reader can see that it has had a significant impact on Joe; suspense is also created here because we want to know why and how everything has changed since this “fall.”