The year 1924 marks the beginning of the surrealist movement. Meant to tap into the subconscious, surrealism became a growing art form that still influences artists and writers today. According to André Breton, author of the Surrealist Manifesto, surrealism is “psychic automatism in its pure state, by which we propose to express verbally, in writing, or in any other way, the effective functioning of thought. ". It is from this idea that the concept of automatic writing was born, a tool that the surrealists were very fond of using to tap into this “real functioning of thought” that Breton describes. Automatic writing is a method of writing without thinking. Surrealists use this method because they see it as a way to break down the mental barrier between the conscious and subconscious, thus providing a clearer view of the thought process. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned"?Get the original essay Many aspects of Jonathan Safran Foer's "Everything Is Illuminated" are undeniably surreal, suggesting that Foer used automatic writing in the work. He seems obsessed with not only constantly keeping his readers aware that "Everything Is Illuminated" is a written piece, but also making them feel like it's still a work in progress. His book has a feeling of truth, as if it hasn't been fully edited, allowing readers to feel like they're viewing a first draft. This is reminiscent of the surrealist idea of ​​automatic writing; it's as if Foer simply wrote the entire book as an automatic writing exercise, and didn't take the time to go back and edit it. How and why does Foer use automatic writing to convey different tones, moods, and themes in his novel? Through several writing methods, including dialogue, printed characters in the book itself, and italicized letters from Alex to Jonathan, Foer uses the process of automatic writing. He does this for two reasons: to illustrate the concept of surrealism and to reinforce the many different tones and moods found in “Everything is Illuminated”. In turn, using these methods to convey tone and mood reinforces the overall themes of journey and self-discovery. The first way in which Foer's work uses the concept of automatic writing is through dialogue, particularly those parts of the story that are written from Alex's point of view. Much of Alex's dialogue is written without line breaks: "They burned the synagogue." » “They burned the synagogue.” “That’s the first thing they did.” “It was the first. » “Then they put all the men in a row” (185). In this passage, where Alex translates what the old woman says to Jonathan, the exclusion of line breaks makes the reader feel like the book is a constant stream of thoughts, as if the author doesn't even bother to raise the pen. the paper. Additionally, it helps convey the mood of the passage. By not only writing what the old woman says, but also repeating it and excluding line breaks, Foer emphasizes the importance of this part of the story and creates a dark tone. The mood expressed here by Foer reinforces the theme of travel because it is so different from Alex's tone earlier in the book, where the mood is more light and humorous. Towards the end of the novel, when Alex's grandfather recounts the events of the Nazis. Walking through Kolki, this writing technique becomes even more pronounced: It wasn't forever before he was the only Jew left outsidethe synagogue. The general was now in the second row and said to a man because he was only asking men, I don't know why who is Jewish and the man said they were all in the synagogue because he didn't did not know Herschel or did not know that Herschel was Jewish... (250) Foer does not bother to put quotation marks or periods between his sentences, thus turning section of his work into a stream of thought, evocative of the process of automatic writing. This forces the reader to focus on the text, because it is more difficult to distinguish sentences from one another without the usual punctuation. It also conveys a rushed, anxious tone, as if the grandfather can barely get the words out of his mouth before moving on to his next thought. This can be interpreted as Foer's attempt to emphasize how tragic and important this section of the book is. However, Foer does not stop at simply excluding line breaks, quotes, and periods from his text. He keeps omitting even the spaces between words: I looked at grandmother and she kissed me on the forehead and I kissed her on the mouth and our tears mixed on our lips and then I kissed your father several times I took him out of grandma's arms and held him so hard that he started crying I said I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you..." (251) This gives a feeling of constant flux, as if Foer was simply writing continuously, without ever s 'stop to think about what he's writing. But it also reminds the reader of how quickly these events are happening. Perhaps more important are the places where Foer chooses to exclude spaces between words. technique near the end of the book, when Alex's grandfather recalls his experience of the Nazis crossing Kolki. By omitting the spaces between words in this section, Foer expresses an even more rushed tone than when he simply omitted. the periods between his sentences. To the reader, it seems that the grandfather is tripping over his words because they are so difficult to pronounce at first that it is easier for him to mix them all together. In addition to forcing the reader to think about what the author is writing about and reinforcing the anxious and heartbreaking atmosphere the story takes on at this point, Foer's omission of spaces is reminiscent of surrealist techniques, in to the extent that it leads the reader to think outside the box. When Foer puts together phrases like “Iloveyou” and “Tearsmixedonourlips,” readers should focus more on those phrases than on the rest of the text; it is as if Foer created these new words to reflect on the fact that there are no words in the English language capable of describing the tragedy that occurred during the Holocaust (251). A second way Foer uses the idea of ​​automatic writing to express the tone of his book is through the presentation of the text itself. There are several examples of this in “Everything is Illuminated”. One of the most notable instances in which Foer uses text to prompt his readers to recall the fact that the book is a written piece is the lengthy excerpt from "The Book of Background." After the last entry on Brod's 613 sadnesses, the book continues: "We write... We write... We write..." (212). This continues for the next page and a half. While the reader may view this as a humorous addition to the story, since Foer takes the time and space in his book to insert this section, it also forces the reader to examine Foer's reasoning. Readers acknowledge the fact that "Everything Is Illuminated" is a written work and that the author makes a conscious effort to ensure that his audience understands it.remember. Just as Foer uses dialogue to convey moods of anxiety and sadness, Foer presents this particular segment of the text in order to express a mood, this time monotonous. Another example of Foer's use of text occurs near the end of the book, between the description of Trachimday and the "dream of the end of the world" (272): It was a celebration, unmitigated by a death imminent. It was impending death, unmitigated by celebration. She threw them in the air......................................... ....... ........................................... ....................... ...................They stayed there..... ................................................. ...... .................................................. .......... ........................................ .......................... ..(270)These periods last a page and a half. They are interspersed with three other small extracts of words, the last of which says: “There is still time” (271). From the text before and after this section, it can be inferred that this part of the story takes place during the bombing of Trachimbrod. Foer uses these ellipses to indicate the passage of time. By placing so many dots in this part of the text, it is as if Foer is using this text to represent the time the citizens of Trachimbrod spent preparing for the bombing and fleeing the city. With this technique, it is not necessary for the author to recount the bombing itself; his method conveys just as much, if not more, the emptiness and loss of tragedy. In this way, Foer makes the bombardment appear to be happening in slow motion. This causes the reader a feeling of anticipation, which increases the suspense of the passage. Additionally, this vibe ties into Foer's theme of travel, as the book itself grew out of the story of a few characters embarking on a small quest toward something much bigger and more meaningful. In literature, the purpose of multiple ellipses is to leave something out. of a story. In this case, the ellipses create the illusion of an interruption in Foer's thoughts, further indicating that "Everything Is Illuminated" is a work in progress. It seems that during Foer's automatic writing exercise he could not find the words to describe the bombing and simply inserted these ellipses as a temporary measure. A third way in which Foer conveys tone in the automatic writing exercise is through Alex's letters to Jonathan. . All these letters are typed in italics: November 17, 1997 Dear Jonathan, Humph. I feel like I have so much to tell you. The beginning is very rigid, isn't it? I will start with the least rigid subject, that is to say writing. I couldn't perceive if you were appeased by the last section. I don't understand, where did this leave you? (142)Italics remind readers of handwritten letters. This is another clue that helps readers remember that “All Is Illuminated” is a written play. By typing Alex's letters in italics, Foer forces his readers to think about why he is doing this. Additionally, the fact that Alex's English is not very good reminds the reader that the book is a written piece. Alex notices that he has a thesaurus next to him while he writes his letters. This is evident throughout the book, as he systematically replaces his words with words of similar meaning, but which do not correspond exactly to his statements: I have enclosed in the envelope the elements that you requested, without retaining the postcards from Lutsk, census records. of the six villages before the war, and the photographs that you made me keep as a precaution. That was a very, very, very good thing, wasn't it? I have to eat a slice of pie for what happened to you on the train..