But now I had become as the burning ember floating in darkness that descends on a dry leaf and sets flame to forests. The word was the ember and the forest was my life…
This is where the author uses great description to show how he has transitioned and changed through this story.
From the time I was seven, teachers had been punishing me for not knowing my lessons by making me stick my nose in a circle chalked on the blackboard. Ashamed of not understanding and fearful of asking questions, I dropped out of school in the ninth grade.
Using a flash back to give the reader a sense of the negative literacy sponsor of this writing. Great way to also make the reader feel what the author was feeling.
On weekend graveyard shifts at St. Joseph’s Hospital I worked the emergency room, mopping up pools of blood and carting plastic bags stuffed with arms, legs and hands to the outdoor incinerator. I enjoyed the quiet, away from the screams of shotgunned, knifed, and mangled kids writhing on gurneys outside the operating rooms
Very strong and descriptive opening giving the reader something to grasp, and imagine it in their head right off the bat.