Enduring Understandings

COMING SOON

Enduring understandings is how literary elements and devices are used in order to express the meaning of the work as a whole. 4 of them are analyzed in some of Shusterman’s works.

Character

Shusterman has a very distinct way of writing his characters, as he has a degree in psychology. The way he writes his characters and why can be analyzed in so many ways, but this essay focuses on two specific qualities– How his characters are driven and motivated by their morals, and how their personalities influence how they interact with and react to other characters.

Two Sides of the Same Coin

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Family Interactions

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Setting

A common setting across almost all of Shusterman’s works is that there is a dystopian setting of some variation. Two of his most notable series have a dystopian setting with modifications of humans in some way, and he also incorporates dystopian elements with a realistic setting.

Modifying Humans

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Fantasy Realism

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Plot/Structure

Since most of Shusterman’s novels are in a dystopian setting, it makes sense that the plot and structure of his books are driven by dystopian/fantasy/sci-fi elements. But to get more specific, some of his books have fear as the main driving force for the plot. His books are often divided into sections along with chapters. He has also written anthologies, so he can tell multiple stories in one book.

Fear as a Catalyst

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Split Sections

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Speaker

Something that makes Shusterman’s novels distinct is that they’re often written in an alternating point of view. He uses third person omniscient most often, with switching focus on different characters. But he also writes in first person in order to emphasize what the speaker is thinking and feeling.