Shadow of the minotaur essay

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                                             Shadow of the Minotaur

                                                   Critical Essay

‘Shadow of the Minotaur’ is an adventure novel written by the author Alan Gibbons. In this essay, I will be writing a descriptive analysis about two of the books characters, writing a short summary of the book, a plot analysis and a writers craft.

Summary: ‘Shadow of the Minotaur’ is about a schoolboy named Phoenix who loves Greek legends. He finds himself experimenting with his dads new work project, ‘The Legendeer’ and Phoenix and his dad soon find themselves literarily sucked into the game along with his best friend, Laura and his school bully, Steve Adams. There is no way out and they find themselves in ancient Greece slaying both the minotaur and Medusa and  after being trapped in ‘the game’ for days, they find their way home after facing death many times and leave Steve Adams behind.

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The main character in the book is a boy named Phoenix. At the start of the novel, he is not a very strong character; he gets bullied at school, he doesn’t have many friends and the only thing that cheers him up is when he is playing guinea pig of ‘the game’:

          “Nobody would believe me when I told them what a freak of nature you are. Now they’ve found out for themselves… Go on free knickers, give us all a laugh. ‘The name,’ Phoenix growled, ‘is Phoenix.”

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There are strengths to this essay. The student has effectively made a range of points, selected appropriate references from the text and explored the effect of the writer's craft. As a rule of thumb it is useful to ensure that you use the writer's name as you describe the writer's technique or craft. It serves to remind you that you are talking about choices that the writer has made and ensures that you are writing critically and analytically rather than just describing what you read.