Illumination Night Essay

A detailed Summary of Illumination Night Essay

In the book titled Illumination Night, Alice Hoffman has clearly defined each character, attributing to them the most unique and distinctive traits, but giving enough 'elbow room' for parallelism between them. As the characters struggle with family relationships, social acceptance, restriction and betrayal, they are forced to cooperate with one another; they "can't afford to be nasty to each other when the live on an island. No matter where they go, they're bound to run into each other" (Illumination 35). The novel goes on to detail six, interlocking and often colliding lives, some of which include: Vonny, an agoraphobic mother who "didn't [use to] think twice about mixing Valium and gin"(I.14); Simon, Vonny's four year-old boy who has never heard the word "death" and "refuses to be any older until he is taller"(I.36); Jody, a teenage girl who has always been "well practiced at manipulation"(I.31); and The Giant, a "beautiful" freak, who's height "put an end to [his parents'] marriage"(I.117). Even though the characters seldom speak to one another about what matters the most to them, they echo one another in their thoughts and actions. Between the Giant and Simon, there is a wordless empathy that is shared, one that is able t

The relationship between Vonny and Jody is one that has nothing to do with trust, Jody "feels closer to Vonny than anyone else and yet she would betray her in a minute", but the feeling appears to be mutual. When Vonny is with Jody, it is as though Vonny is "reaching back for the sixteen year old girl she once was" (I.62), almost using Jody as the source of her redemptive power. When Jody is around Vonny becomes assertive and intimidating, she marks her territory, unnecessarily defensive when it comes to her husband (I.51-53). On the other hand, Jody had "always been well practiced at manipulation" as well (I.31), and this shows later in the novel whenever she attempts to get her way seducing Vonny's husband, Andre. Jody and Vonny share common grounds when it comes to dealing with their present situations; Vonny identifies with Jody and understands why Jody acts the way she does. "Vonny remembers that when she was sixteen and seemed that cool, she was burning up inside" (I.17). Other than the obvious similarities, that they are both in love with the same man, and that both of their parents are divorced, Jody and Vonny also share common incidents' throughout the novel. For example, both give way to impulse to leap into a car and speed down the road without thought of destination. Jody is the only character that thinks in depth about Vonny, she also "wonders sometimes if Vonny is the only person who understands her", and this is how Vonny feels in return. Vonny "imagines that she does not exist without another person there to perceive her", and when Jody is not around, Vonny has panic attacks and becomes insecure. Both Jody and Vonny rely on the empathetic relationship between them, without it, they become a part of the background, no longer unique or with an identity.

Simon and The Giant share an identity problem, although they are willing to accept who they are and their physical appearance, the people that they are surrounded by do not make it easy for them. "People often judge Simon to be younger than he is [because of his height]; they're surprised when he talks in full sentences, when he fearlessly jumps into the surf" (I.14). It even evolved to the point where the mother o

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Approximate Word count = 1487
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English