“I emerged into the sticky-hot evening to find Ricky smoking on the hood of his battered car. Something about his mud-encrusted boots and the way he let smoke curl from his lips and how the sinking sun lit his green hair reminded me of a punk, redneck James Dean. He was all of those things, a bizarre cross-pollination of subcultures possible only in South Florida.”
I chose this excerpt because of the rich detail and the subtle tone that is created through the structure of the sentences as well as the imagery. This passage describe's the protagonist's seemingly only friend, Ricky. These two are the poster children for the concept of the dramatic foil because they are polar opposites. Each character highlights the strengths and weaknesses of the other one. The juxtaposition throughout the passage- punk, redneck- epitomizes the classic pairing of kids from opposite sides of the tracks. In an odd way, Jacob envies Ricky's nonchalance and rebellious nature because Jacob wants to be more like Ricky. Instead of fulfilling the family tradition and assuming his role as the next drug store czar, Jacob longs to be more of an explorer and investigate all the mysteries of the world. He likes the aspect of danger and the unknown much like his grandfather's stories.
This quote captures Jacob's admiration for Ricky in the second sentence when he describes how the "sinking sun" lights Ricky's hair in a silhouette of the archetypal bad boy, James Dean. The last sentence captures the personality of Jacob and echoes his snide attitude especially toward the culture of Florida.
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