Craft Essay Sample - Another Bullshit Night in Suck City by Nick Flynn

This essay is basically about a young man who had to be raised by a single mum simply because his father was a notorious alcoholic. The story is spun through subtitles as Flynn has chosen a rather haphazard and unsystematic manner to relay the narrative. These subchapters are relevant to Flynn's strong message as the essay will highlight. They also serve to enhance a reader's curiosity as the non-chronological manner with which the story has been relayed leaves one a little bit confused.

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In this essay, therefore, the author's craft will form the basic component of the analysis. The author's craft which entails a set of techniques and skills which an author employs in order to develop a creative piece of writing or tell a story will be used. In simpler terms, this essay will focus on narrative elements which are inclusive of sequencing, use of theme, the author's point of view and flashback.The essay will also take precedence in analyzing of five out of a possible seventeen sub-chapters in part one. These subchapters will be "the inventor of the life raft", "apologist", "barracuda", "beacon hill" and "trader jon" (Chapter 1).

Sequencing is an element of writing which employs a unique style whereby events within the story are told following a pattern which may be confusing for the reader. In other words, the author may choose to jump timelines when telling the story and in so doing end up creating lapses. In the end, however, the story in itself becomes comprehensible. Flynn has relied on and used heavily this element throughout the book.

As mentioned above, in chapter one, Flynn has divided the story into numerous subchapters. "The inventor of the life raft" briefly speaks on the author's father's braggartism yet the old man has nothing to show for it. The tone created here is sardonic and ironic as the author writes that his father purports his own father's name which was Thaddeus was believed to be scribbled inside a grasshopper's weathervane. The irony comes in when the author states that while the father is boasting of Thaddeus, he didn't actually have any idea on how the grasshopper in itself could be accessed.

The next chapter which is "the apologist" is equally sequentially placed in the book. This chapter unfolds and provides intimate details on how the author's father became homeless, sleeping in the streets with no one to help him (pg.2). The "barracuda" subchapter immediately follows the apologist and in this case, it provides the reader with valuable information as pertains the life of Jonathan who is the author's father (pg.5). The above stated confirms sequencing as Flynn's style of choice with his narrative Another Bullshit Night in Suck City as he does this throughout the entire book.

A theme which is an author's message is quite clear and concise as the author is speaking of an alcoholic father who ruined his life both as a toddler and as an adult. The author is in the strongest terms possible heard through the tone of his voice to be condemning alcoholism. It is evident that the author suffered as his father could not hold down employment yet alone provide for his two families (Chapter 1). Jonathan had done poorly in Renault's car selling business venture which belonged to the author's grandfather. The author's mother who got fed up with the lousy lifestyle, at just twenty years of age packs up her belongings together with her children and leaves Jonathan to brew in his broth. The author, however, speaks of a poverty-stricken lifestyle coupled with drug and alcohol use from his mother's numerous boyfriends (Chapter 1).

The author has also relied upon and generously used flashback in retelling the story. In "beacon hill" and "barracuda" sub-chapters there is the use of flashback as the reader is taken aback to understand Jonathan's history, hometown and what led him to alcoholism and poor business ventures. Hereby the reader is immersed in the chaotic lifestyle of Jonathan, who after dropping out of college, went ahead to join fishing as a business venture. Jonathan who had the dream and the potential of becoming the next great poet had taken a totally different line in life altogether. This is found in the barracuda chapter.

The use of craft in this essay will not be complete without taking a critical look at the point of view in which this novel is written. For the majority of the subchapters, Flynn has integrated the third person point of view. This means that the narrator is following one character and hence the story is told through the character's eyes. The point view can also be viewed as a person's opinion in either fiction or real life. It is through the narrator that we get to understand just how damaging and devastating alcoholism can be. Even though we are not part and parcel of the narrative, the author's POV is clearly painted out as the narrator clearly is against drinking fathers and their irresponsible mannerisms and behaviors.

In conclusion, therefore, Flynn has engaged in yet again a craft that only he knew how to maneuver.Judging from the very beginning, one gets a feeling of what a brilliant and a thrilling work of art this novel would be. While craft simply connotes a writer's ideologies, it is the ability of reader in being able to see a story through the writer's craft. Language and its aesthetic values are greatly enhanced every time an author uses appropriate craft.

Works Cited

Flynn, Nick. Another bullshit night in suck city: A memoir. WW Norton & Company, 2005.