By Elizabeth Cali Multiperspective novels are structured to represent the perspectives of various key characters in a novel. Often, chapters in multiperspective novels shift from one character perspective to another, allowing for the insight that third person narrative offers while providing various individual and occasionally even first person perspectives. While this structure is not distinct … Multiperspective Novels

By Elizabeth Cali Multigenerational novels foreground the storylines of multiple generations of family and/or community members as a primary narrative structure of the work. Margaret Walker’s neo-slave narrative Jubilee (1966) serves as a touchstone example of multigenerational novels in African American literature. This structure is especially crucial in African American literary studies as themes of … Multigenerational Novels

By Elizabeth Cali One of the signature characteristics of Alice Walker’s novel The Color Purple is that Walker writes it as an epistolary novel, or a novel structured as a series of letters. The main character Celie’s story, develops through a series of letters, opening with many letters from Celie to God, and later unfolding … The Epistolary Structure of <em>The Color Purple</em>

By Elizabeth Cali and Howard Rambsy II Vernacular, dialogue, diction, detail, syntax, rhythm, punctuation. Style has a direct impact on how it feels to read and hear the sentences on the page. From distinct and recurring expressive patterns to the formation of certain moods and tones such as humor, reflection, and mystery, writers’ stylistic choices … Style & structure