This Boy's Life practise sac prep

[MrsStark]

Hey!

I'm writing an essay on this topic atm " How does Wolff employ the technique of hindsight to create sympathy for Toby in This Boy's Life?"

when it says sympathy for Toby that would mean the younger Toby right? and not the elder Toby as is why he is referred to as "Wolff'....?

Because I came up with 3 points of which 2 I'm not sure about because they imply that the audience feels sympathy for the older Tobias. They are;
- The fact that he has these memories way into adulthood and how it affects his life (eg. insert retrospective quote here)
-For the actions of a misjudged boy who has a tendency to wreak havoc, the elder Wolff must confront/face  them. Endure the past.

and my first point was - We are able to understand any guilt Toby must have felt ( referring to younger Toby-Jack)

so yeah if I could here other people's opinions on this and if those points are valid or not ?..

[literally lauren]

Firstly, yes, the distinction drawn here is between Wolff: the author and Toby: the character.

With regards to your three points:
1. 'We are able to understand any guilt Toby must have felt'
    - why does hindsight help to accomplish this?
    - why have you centred on guilt in particular? what other emotions might be central to this discussion?
    - when you say the audience understands Toby's guilt, do we judge/sympathise with him at all?

2. 'The fact that he has these memories way into adulthood and how it affects his life'
    - don't stray too far from the topic; here it seems like you're just dealing with the idea of memory rather than the implication of the prompt
    - you'll need to mention the audience as well - this prompt requires you to discuss interpretations of the text, not just what happens in the text
   - remember: everything in the book is a construction of the author. It can help to think of Wolff's decisions as being very purposeful (eg. Jack says "___" --> therefore, how does Wolff want us to view him as a result?)

3. 'For the actions of a misjudged boy who has a tendency to wreak havoc, the elder Wolff must confront/face them.'
    - good, just don't neglect the role of the audience and where their sympathies lie.

These points all seem valid, but perhaps not as relevant or impactful as they could be. Considering the text is a memoir, and therefore precipitates hindsight on the part of the author, discussing the form and narrative voice would be helpful evidence to draw upon. Also, you can't take anything in the prompt for granted; it says Wolff uses the technique of hindsight, and although you can't refute that and say 'he doesn't, lol' you are expected to explore his usage. Structural devices aren't black-and-white concepts, ie. sometimes Wolff uses hindsight in order to cast judgement on his past decisions, and other times he uses it to justify Toby's actions.

^This is why most students despise these 'How does the author...'-style questions, since they require you to examine the text from the close/ structural level all the way out to the overall interpretation level. It seems like you're on the right track though; let me know if you need any clarification with this