Literature Analysis

Blink Once By Cylin Busby

1. Exposition: West Spencer is a young boy about seventeen years old and a junior in high school. His girlfriend is Allie and his best friend is Mike. West loves to bike competitively and one day gets in a really bad biking accident that leaves him paralyzed. The book begins with West waking up in the hospital and not realizing what happened to him and no one to ask, until the girl next door comes to talk to him. Olivia, the same age and injury as West, comes to help West through all of his difficulties and helps him to understand why he is in the hospital. Olivia becomes West's spy, helper, supporter and so much more.
Rising Action: At first West did not want to associate with Olivia because he felt that he needed to be out of the hospital and with his normal friends. As time went on and Olivia and West became closer friends, West realized that Olivia was the only person who would truly understand what he was going through and be his on true friend. Allie broke up with West while he was in the hospital and Mike felt very awkward being around West when he was in the hospital. Olivia and West fell in love and would support each other through the journey of their injuries, yet Olivia had been in the hospital for two years and never had visitors, where West had only been there for about three months and had visitors very often. West had nightmares about this girl being brutally beaten and could not figure out what they were and why he was having them, but, of course, Olivia was there to help him through it.
Conflict: West met with a doctor that would be able to perform a surgery on him that could possibly fix him so that he wouldn't be paralyzed anymore. The surgery was very risky, but many of the medical officials said that he would get through it because of his youth and health. Olivia did not want West to do the surgery because she did not want to lose him and knew that he could heal on his own, as he was already showing natural signs of getting better. West had to make this decision whether to get the surgery and go against Olivia, to get back to his normal life, or to stay and heal naturally and spend more time with Olivia. West knew that Olivia was his only true friend and wanted to do the surgery so that he could come back and help Olivia through her injury. West felt the pressure from his parents and old friends to get the surgery done and the pressure from Olivia to not get the surgery done.
Climax: West decided to get the surgery, but would not forget about Olivia. The surgery went well and West was no longer paralyzed, but rather on the road to recovery. His respirator was removed and he only had a week left in the hospital and then would be transferred to rehabilitation. The first thing that West had said when he was out of surgery was to have Mike tell Olivia that he was okay. Mike was very confused and did not understand. When Mike came to visit, West was able to talk and started asking about Olivia, but Mike did not know who he was talking about and neither did anyone else. Everyone kept telling West that there was no way he could have met anyone at the hospital because he was in a Coma and so was everyone else on that floor, but West remembered a lot of things and did not believe that he was in a coma.
Falling Action: West is in rehabilitation, but is able to leave for the first time ever with his mom. They go to lunch and then visit the previous hospital he had been at. West is trying to find Olivia, but when he looks in her room he realizes that she is connected to multiple machines and looks different then the Olivia that he had known. As West is getting ready to leave, he comes across Olivia's mom and talks with her for a little. He asks what happened to Olivia and her mom tells West that she was assaulted, which brings back the nightmares that West was having. It was Olivia that was in the nightmare and it was her that was being beaten by this man.
Resolution: West is finally home and looks up the case of Olivia. He searches for hours before finally finding out who the man was that had beaten Olivia. West asks Mike to take him to the prison where the man is on one of his days off of rehab. West wants to see the man to see if he looks like the man in his dreams and if it is him then West knows that Olivia was real and not fake like everyone had been telling him. He sees the man and realizes that it was the man from his dreams. They don't talk much because West just needed confirmation and he got it. The next day off he goes to visit Olivia and accidentally runs into his favorite nurse. He tells her everything and she is the first person to actually believe him. He visits Olivia, knowing that it will never be the same, but that he kept his promise and came back to her. The nurse calls three days later and tells West that Olivia passed away due to heart failure, but West is at peace because he knew he kept his promise.
The author is able to fulfill his purpose because he shows that true friends will always stick together no matter what the circumstances are, just like West went back for Olivia when everyone told him that she was fake and even when she was a vegetable. The author is also able to show that everyone needs a friend to help them get through difficult times and for both Olivia and West, they were able to help each other through the most life changing things they would experience.
2. The theme of this story is that everyone needs friends to help them get through difficult times. No matter who the friend is or how long you have known each other a true friend will always be there to help you get through your most difficult times. In this story, West thought that his friends were Mike and Allie, but when he was in the hospital Allie just broke up with him and Mike couldn't even bare to look at him. At that point he realized that those were not his true friends. He remained friends with them and did not make a big deal about it, but he confided in Olivia much more than he did in Mike and Allie. Olivia became the friend that West looked to for everything: support, comfort, love, ect. The entire story was West becoming friends with this girl and realizing he wanted to be her best friend as well even though she would never leave the hospital.
3. One tone of this story is matter-of-fact, which is seen through Olivia's character. An example of this tone is seen on pg 84, "' That's the past; it's over.' Her voice had no emotion. She turned her chair to face me. 'This is now; this is where we're at...'"
Another tone in this story is gloomy because of all the injuries and even those that do not make it. This is seen on page 266, "She took a deep breath. 'I learned a hard lesson when I came to work here. When I first started out, I thought I could save everybody. I thought with enough kindness, with enough attention, maybe...' She shook her head. 'But most of these patients, they won't get better. That's hard. It's hard to come to work every day and to know that, to keep going, keep caring, when you know how it will end, every time, that the patients you take care of for years will never get better.'"
Another tone that is seen throughout this book is confusion because the narrator, West, has no idea what is going on. This is seen on page 2 "But my hand couldn't move; there was something across my wrist, holding it down. I couldn't see it by looking down. My other wrist too. What was going on? Who did this to me? Why?"
4. a) "Where is she, the crying girl? I have to find her. Something is wrong, really wrong. I try to sit up, get out of bed, but I can't. My arms are strapped down. My legs are trapped somehow; I'm flat on a bed and I can't move. I can't speak. I can't move my head, can't move my mouth. My heart is racing. I'm falling, I'm falling." Page 1
This is an example of anaphora and repetition, which is used to emphasize that the boy cannot move at all. He is stuck and is very confused why; this literary technique helps to express that in a panicked way.
b) "I could hear some kind of machine running- pumping, swooshing air right next to my head. There was a beeping sound on the other side, very steady. Beep. Pause. Beep. Pause. Beep." Page 2
This is an example of onomatopoeia, which is used to express the depressing sounds of a hospital. It is also used to help West realize where he is even though he can't move or speak.
c) "'Just blink once for yes and twice for no.' she sighed, exasperated. I blinked once, then blinked twice fast." Page 7
This is an example of symbolism in which the blinks symbolize communication. The only way Olivia and West can communicate is through the blinks. The blinks are like the connection to their relationship. This is also the title.
d) "The winter sun is setting and the glare keeps getting in my eyes. I pull down the visor on my helmet and wipe my gloves on my jeans. 'Let's do this!' I hear Mike yell as he zooms by me, his legs pumping the pedals. He's standing up on his bike and hits the wooden ramp going fast, almost too fast." Page 13
This is an example of a flashback. West is having flashbacks to the moment right before and during his accident, which is very scary for him because he is barely realizing where he is.
e) "I look up at the windows, all lit up, a wooden bar running along one wall and mirrors everywhere. Girls doing ballet moves are lined up along one wall. Long bare legs, pink leotards. I watch them for a second, then I look away embarrassed, like I've been caught doing something dirty, and stare down at my boots as I walk. When I look up again, I don't know where I am; I'm lost. the street is no longer the same..." Page 24
This is an example of imagery and juxtaposition. West is describing the area in great detail making the reader feel like they are in the scene. The author uses ballerinas and their innocence and contrasts it with this feeling of being lost and scared to show the turn of the dream.
f) "There was one dream like that, I think, but mostly they were about the street, the guy with the bloody knuckles, the girl he was hurting. I could remember having it at least twice, but it seemed so familiar to me, I think I had it a few more times than that." Page 53
This is an example of foreshadowing. The author is telling the reader that the dream is very important and that is obviously connects with Olivia because she wants to know so much about it and helps him so much with it. The reader later finds out that it was Olivia in his dream being hurt.
g) "Red sky by morning, sailor take warning." Page 177
This is an example of allusion or idiom. This could be an allusion because there is something close to it in the Bible, but the saying may not be exact as it has been transformed over the years. If this is not close enough to what is said in the Bible, then it is an idiom because it is a well known phrase that people use.
h) "They looked terrible, dark brown scabs to the knee, like hamburger had been spread over my legs." Page 67
This is an example of a simile because the author compares the scabs on West's legs to a hamburger.
i) "The next two weeks were awful, maybe the worst of life...But now that I was here, all I wanted to do was go back. Back to a place where Olivia was my only friend, where seeing her face could make my day, where hearing her voice was the only thing keeping me sane." Page 207
This is an example of irony. West had finally gotten the surgery to take him out of a coma and gain all of his feeling back throughout his body and now he wished he was back in a coma and back in the horrible place, condition, he had been in.
j) "'Like, if you were a tree, how this year for you, this ring, would be light, almost invisible, a drought year. It's like a year where you almost weren't here.'" Page 283
This is an example of a metaphor. Allie uses the rings of a tree and how each ring defines the weather the tree experienced that year and compares it to West's life and the journey he experienced that year.

Characterization:
1. "' What? Who cares? It's not like any of them can HEAR ME!' He yelled out the last two words." Page 131
This is an example of indirect characterization because it shows that Mike cannot handle situations that are serious and make him feel very uncomfortable.
"'You know, I almost didn't tell you this, but...if the tables were turned, if you knew something like this about me, I would want to know.' She paused to meet my eyes. 'So I decided to tell you. You're the only person who really gets it in here, so we've got to look out for each other.'" Page 116
This is an example of indirect characterization because it shows how Olivia was lonely and desperately needed a friend. She was willing to be West's friend even though she had just met him.
"'That one's mother is a real piece of work,' she whispered, shaking her head. 'Nothing's ever good enough for her Olivia. Piece of work,' she said again, pulling up a clear plastic tube." Page 11
This is an example of direct characterization because the nurse explains Olivia's mother as someone who is very difficult to please and never seems to be happy with what the nurses are doing.
"Mike always told you exactly how he felt; sometimes that was great, sometimes it sucked." Page 102
This is an example of direct characterization because West explains how Mike is really down to earth and tells you how it is rather than beating around the bush.
The author uses both strategies in order to show the perceived characteristics of someone by others and compares them to what their actions say about their characteristics.
2. The author uses mostly the same diction and syntax throughout the story. But when the narrator is speaking, many more questions are asked due to his state of confusion that lasts through the entire story. An example of this is seen on page 115 "It was coming back, but how much would return, and how quickly? And what if it didn't?" All throughout the story the narrator, West, is asking questions because he cannot speak and find out for himself, which is why he is confused for most of the story.
3. The protagonist, which is West, is a dynamic character because he changes immensely throughout the story. When he first realizes that he is in the hospital all he can think about is getting out and returning to his normal life and normal friends. As he develops in the story, he realizes that maybe his friends are really true friends like the ones he has in the hospital. West's only wish was to be out of the hospital, but when he is finally out of the hospital all he wishes for is to be back in there and back with his real best friend, Olivia. West is a round character because he is very complicated and confused. He not only has to deal with the transition of being a teenager and going through high school, but he also has to go through this horrible accident and being in the hospital for three months. He is very turmoiled about wanting to leave and who is real friends are, which is why he is round because it takes a lot to explain the point he is in his life.
4. After reading this story, I feel as if I met Olivia and West and was there with them in the hospital going through the same experience. I felt as if it was a dream that we were all these patients and we were meeting together to be friends and be there for each other. We would help each other through this experience and make it out together. This quote felt like we were having another meeting to help us get through another rough patch in our experience, "'I'm having a shitty day,' Olivia explained. 'Alot of doubt, a lof of thinking.'" Page 144