Analyse how Marshall creates contrast

In Paper Parcel by Owen Marshall; the main idea is the difference in understanding between parents and their children and teenagers. Marshall creates contrast to show this when he compares his teenage view of the Paper Parcel costume with his mother.

The narrator’s view of the paper parcel costume is from an adult perspective. She thinks it’s a wonderful idea for multiple reasons. For instance, the mother believes the costume is cheap to make, original and that it would be a hit as it was at a New Year’s party.  The narrator’s view of the paper parcel costume is from a teenage perspective. He thinks it is a horrible idea and he can foresee that it is going to be a disaster. The narrator believes his mother doesn’t understand the importance of the dance and she thinks it’s some sort of kid’s party. Marshall contrasts the children’s view of the world with their parents. The adult view is that “little adult convention applies to the young.” In contrast to this, teenagers see things completely differently. Events such as dances are actually important to them and adults fail to realize this. Marshall also creates contrast between the narrator’s paper parcel costume and the other costumes at the dance. For example, he compared the paper parcel with a “fire chief” and a “Captain Marvel” costume which were present at the dance. This use of contrast shows us how disgusted the narrator is with the paper parcel costume.

In The Ace of Diamonds Gang, the main idea is about the free imagination of boyhood and how it ends.  Marshall uses contrast to show this when he compares the two symbols, the Ace of Diamonds and the library card.

The Ace of Diamonds represents fantasy, freedom, confederacy and anonymity. For example, the gang refer to themselves as “wraiths,” “avengers,” “raiders” and “sentinels.” This is all a part of the fantasy world that their minds live in. Marshall uses military imagery to describe a junkyard so it sounds like a military assault. For example, “it resembled a field hospital in a desperate war of machine.”  The military imagery and the description of themselves improve their world of fantasy. Marshall also uses military wording such as “reconnoitre,” “assault,” “rendezvous” and “scouts.” These words further strengthen this fantasy world in which they live in. In contrast with the Ace of Diamonds, the library card signifies reality, identity, conformity and nerds. The reality of the gang is they are a bunch of nerds and geeks. “Ashley’s wind,” “Bernie’s glasses” and Hec having to be home by nine is clear evidence of this. Marshall contrasts the two stages of life. Boyhood is represented as fantasy whilst adulthood is the next stage stepping into reality.

Marshall also contrasts the gang’s anonymity with the identity when they are exposed. This helps us understand what the gang are trying to be and what they really are. Contrast is further created when Marshall compares the gang with the heroes of history such as the “Black Hand,” “Jacobites” and the “Boxers.” In reality, they are nerds, geeks card carrying conformists and not any different from other thirteen year old teenagers.

In conclusion, Marshall creates contrast throughout the two texts to develop two main ideas. He compares the narrator’s mother’s adult view of the paper parcel and the narrator’s teenage view. This comparison shows us the difference in understanding between parents and teenagers. He also compares the two symbols, the library card and the Ace of Diamonds to show the free imagination of boyhood and how it ends.

Ace of Diamonds Gang--Upgraded from borderline achieved

“The Ace of Diamonds Gang” is a short text by Owen Marshall. He uses two symbols to represent the complex and significant ideas in the “Ace of Diamonds Gang.” The two symbols are the narrator’s library card and the Ace of Diamonds. The library card represents reality overtaking fantasy, normality and the truth while the Ace of Diamonds represents fantasy and how the gang wants to be seen by others.

The Ace of Diamonds is a gang that is made up of adolescents. At the scenes of their crimes, the Ace of Diamonds appears on their gang card which they leave behind to let the victim know they were behind it. The Ace of Diamonds clearly represents fantasy and how the narrator wants others to see the gang. This affects the boys and the narrator as it gives them a sense of anonymity and freedom like the Ace of Diamonds mask that they wear. The boys of the gang live in their own fantasy world. Bernie, a member of the gang said “Like wraiths, the Ace of Diamonds Gang.” In this quote Bernie is talking about how the gang is a ghostlike confederacy. The narrator uses military imagery to describe a junkyard so it sounds like a military assault. For example “It resembled a field hospital in a desperate war of machines.” The military imagery and the description of themselves improve their world of fantasy. The Ace of Diamonds helped me understand how the gang wants to be seen which are powerful, superior and fearless and how the gang is a “life warp to escape from being 13 years old in a provincial town,” for the narrator.

The library card appears in the story when the narrator accidently leaves his library card instead of the gang card at the scene of the crime. The library card represents reality taking over fantasy and what the gang is actually made up of which is a bunch of nerds and geeks. The card also represents the truth because it helped identify who was behind the crimes. An example of reality taking over fantasy is the deficiencies the gang consists of which are “Ashley’s wind, Bernie’s’ glasses and Hec Green having to be home by nine o’clock.” In this quote the narrator is talking about the reality of the gang and how they are not any different from other thirteen year old teenagers. Another example is when the narrator says “the end of free imagination.” This quote is a prime example of reality overtaking fantasy as he is heading back into reality after the end of his boyhood. The gangs’ deficiencies and their end of boyhood show us the truth about them and how reality is overtaking fantasy.

In conclusion, there are two symbols used by Owen Marshall to represent the complex and significant ideas in the “Ace of Diamonds Gang.” The symbols were the library card and the Ace of Diamonds. The library card represents reality overtaking fantasy, identity and society while the Ace of Diamonds represents how the gang wants to be seen, independence and confederacy. These two symbols helped me understand how the gang wants to be seen and what they actually are. They also helped me understand how reality and fantasy differ from each other.

The Paper Parcel

In the short story “Paper Parcel,” by Owen Marshall, the author has used a symbol to help me develop my understanding of the ideas in the short story. The paper parcel symbolizes two major ideas in the story which are the transience of sexual preferment and the different views of both adults and teenagers.

One of the main ideas in the story is the passing of sexual preferment. The narrator contrasts his paper parcel costume to costumes worn by others when he arrived at the dance such as the Captain Marvel costume and the Bo peep. The narrator uses the technique repetition to show the reader how disgusted he is with the paper parcel costume his mother made for him. He repeats “A brown paper parcel,” and further describes it negatively. Kelly, the narrator’s dance clearly disliked dancing with him. She had a dull expression and she continued to make excuses to not dance with him. After this experience, the narrator found out that sexual preferment does not last and he shows this in the quote “It was a lesson for me in the transience of sexual preferment.” The paper parcel helped me understand the narrator’s discoveries and that he lost his sexual status.

The second idea in the story is the different views of both adults and teenagers. The narrator’s mother does not understand the importance of the dance as she thinks it is “a costume party” for children. His mother decided to make his costume after dinner and make him late confirming that she doesn’t understand how important it is to the narrator. The mother thinks the parcel is such a good idea because she saw “someone at the New Year’s party as a parcel,” it’s cheap and to her it was a great hit. The narrator reacts to this by saying “A parcel: Jesus.” The writer used the technique profanity in this quote and the effect of it is it shows us how the narrator feels about the parcel. The paper parcel symbolizes how children and adults differ in viewports.

In conclusion, the paper parcel symbolizes how sexual status is short lived and the different understanding between adults and teenagers. Both of these ideas are mentioned in this quote which defines what the paper parcel symbolizes which is “I consoled myself for this bland incomprehension of adults and the loss of sexual status.”