Tuesday 3 April 2012

A to Z Challenge - ORWELL'S THIRD LAW - C is for Curiosity

CURIOSITY KILLED THE CAT
Predictable responses, should
always be avoided.

I'm Blogging from A to Z .


I am posting idioms, proverbs and examples of figurative language in accordance with Orwell's Third Law of sentence construction. ;) 


George Orwell says: 

WHEN WRITING A SENTENCE YOU SHOULD ALWAYS ASK YOURSELF:

1. What am I trying to say?
2. What words will express it?
3. What image or idiom will make it clearer?


Last night, A Game of Thrones season 2 aired in the UK. While I was counting down, I re-read books one and two of the epic saga A Song of Ice and Fire.


From George RR Martin's A GAME OF THRONES


The Red Keep was full of cats: lazy cats dozing in the sun, cold-eyed mousers twitching their tails, quick little kittens with claws like needles, ladies' cats all combed and trusting , ragged shadows prowling the midden heaps. One by one, Arya had chased them down and snatched them up and brought them proudly to Syrio Forel... all but this one, this one-eared black devil of a tomcat. "That's the real king of this castle right there," one of the gold cloaks had told her. "Older than sin and twice as mean."


I loved running through the castle with Arya as she tried to develop the skills that would allow her to sneak up on and to catch that cat.


IMAGERY HAS BEEN DONE MANY TIMES BEFORE SO IT NEEDS TO BE FACTUAL, FRESH OR FUNNY:


The grey cat was gone before the rub of sleeve against coat sparked, static was not his style.


Intent on stealing home, the stray cat slid in and raked Fancy's underbelly with its powerful back legs.


They say that everyone can identify with at least one of the characters in The Song of Ice and Fire. This is one reason why the books are so successful. I identify with Arya, younger daughter of Eddard Stark, the Lord of Winterfell.


WHICH CHARACTER, IN THIS BOOK, OR ANY OTHER, DO YOU IDENTIFY WITH?

16 comments:

  1. Today I feel like a lazy cat in the sun. I need a nap. Yawn.

    Stephen Tremp
    Co-host A to Z Challenge

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    1. Hi Stephen
      Lucky you. :) We've got sleet serving slices of misery to the cats around here.

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  2. There are a lot of "cat" themes today and this is another good one! I agree with Stephen... I would like a nap too!

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    Replies
    1. Hi Danielle
      I went with curiosity and the perils of predictable reactions, the cats just snuck in by the back door ;)

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  3. And yet another Game of Thrones post. I need to read those books, I suppose, post-haste. Patience, as I am currently finishing another book that was long overdue for reading.

    As for imagery, please excuse the shameless plug, but that is precisely what I posted today, regarding a woman and her ending career.

    C is for Claire

    Imagery is the reason I so love Bradbury and Gaiman and all the other imagers out there!


    - Eric

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    Replies
    1. I recommend The Song of Ice and Fire Saga. For a while there, I found it hard to work out which book to read, in what order. They are more clearly labelled now.
      I love a well crafted piece of imagery ;)

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  4. I haven't read the book yet but I always identify pretty well with cats :)

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    Replies
    1. I'm glad you enjoyed the way cats crept in all over the place in this post. George RR Martin's books are a challenge because there are soooo many of them and none of them are short ;)

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  5. There definitely are a lot of characters in A Song of Ice and Fire!

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    Replies
    1. Arya and Jon Snow light up the pages in very different ways, I love them.

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  6. I loved these scenes But I most readily identified with Daenerys. I loved reading how she transformed from controlled and down-trodden girl to full on Dragon Queen! (I've not read the latest...so SHHHHH!)

    Saffron Wine

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    Replies
    1. That is a good shout, Daenerys has transformed... hugely.

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  7. I'm a bit like Arya, defiant and lacking the desire to follow some proposed expectation of what, who and how I am to be.

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    Replies
    1. *snap! That is exactly why I love Arya too.

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  8. I don't identify with any of the characters, but Arya is my favourite. Maybe she'll get her own spin off book?

    new follower,
    mood
    Moody Writing

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    Replies
    1. George RR Martin threw Bran from a tower and lightened Eddard by a head in Book 1, I worry that none of them will survive to the end. ;)

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