Door in the Wall - Book Review

Discuss the ways in which the writer conveys the central message in one story you have studied

In the door in the wall, Wells uses various language techniques to highlight to us, the boundaries separating a world of desire and one of duty. He does this through first person narration of the story of a man tempted to escape from a world of conformity into one of indolence in various stages of his life.

Through the use of visual imagery Wells compares and contrasts the two worlds Wallace has experienced. This is clearly seen in the early descriptions of the main motif in this novel, the green door; which shone in "clear amber sunshine" and was decorated with, "crimson…creeper". The strong adjectives ‘clear', ‘amber' and ‘crimson' portrays the door as a brighter, happier and more desired option, immediately creating in the our mind, an image of a utopia that lies behind it. This is furthered by the strong description, "for all his brightness he found life grey and dull". The color ‘grey' used to illustrate the world outside of the door, contrasts with the brightness of the ‘enchanted garden' and connotes misery and emptiness. Thus making us prefer the land which lies behind the door. Moreover, the juxtaposition of the two worlds in, "very tame and friendly white doves" (for the garden) to the "mean and dirty shops" (outside) depicts the calmness of nature in the garden and the coldness of the materialistic world outside. This is notion is emphasized with the contrast in the adjectives, ‘tame, friendly' and ‘mean', and, ‘white' and ‘dirty'. Through these comparisons, Wells explicitly conveys the beautiful land of indolence, as a more desirable option to the cold world of conformity we live in.

Wells illustrates to Edenic garden through the use of positive adjectives, symbols and connotations. The warmth and love Wallace receives as a child is seen in, "welcome and love in their eyes". This is a very moving part for Wallace and thus for us, as we can sense the love Wallace didn't receive by his father and mother (as she died when he was young) in the hearts of the people. We understand that this utopia is paradise for the young Wallace as he is overwhelmed with the acceptance and love he gains in the garden, "playmates I found there. That was much to me because I was a lonely

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