The year 1924 marked the beginning of the surrealist movement. Aimed at tapping into the subconscious, surrealism became a growing art form that still influences artists and writers today. According to André Breton, author of "The Manifesto of Surrealism", surrealism is "psychic automatism in its pure state, through which one aims to express verbally, through the written word, or in any other way the actual functioning of thought ". The concept of automatic writing is based on this idea, a tool that the surrealists loved to use to tap into this "effective functioning of thought" described by Breton. Automatic writing is a method of writing without thinking. Surrealists use this method because they see it as a way to break down the mental barrier between the conscious and subconscious, thus providing clearer insight into the thought process. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Many aspects of Jonathan Safran Foer's "Everything Is Illuminated" are undeniably surrealist, suggesting that Foer used automatic writing in the piece. He seems obsessed with not only keeping his readers constantly aware that "Everything Is Illuminated" is a written piece, but making them feel as if it is still a work in progress. His book conveys a sense of truth, as if it has not been completely edited, allowing readers to feel as if they are viewing a first draft. This is reminiscent of the surrealist idea of ​​automatic writing; it's as if Foer simply wrote the entire book as an exercise in automatic writing, without taking the time to go back and edit it. How and why does Foer use automatic writing to convey different tones, moods, and themes in his novel? Through different writing methods, including dialogue, printing in the book itself, and Alex's cursive letters to Jonathan, Foer uses the process of automatic writing. He does this for two reasons: to exemplify the concept of surrealism and to reinforce the many different tones and moods found in "Everything is Illuminated." In turn, using these methods to convey tone and mood reinforces the overall themes of travel and self-discovery. The first way Foer's work uses the concept of automatic writing is through dialogue, specifically the parts of the story written from Alex's point of view. Much of Alex's dialogue is written without line breaks: "'They burned the synagogue.' “They burned the synagogue.” “That was the first thing they did.” “Then they lined up all the men” (185). In this passage, where Alex translates what the old woman says to Jonathan, the exclusion of line breaks gives the reader the impression that the book is a constant stream of thoughts, as if the author couldn't even be bothered to lift the pen from the pen. the paper. Additionally, this helps convey the mood of the song. By not only writing what the old woman says, but repeating it, as well as excluding line breaks, Foer emphasizes the importance of this part of the story and creates a dark tone. The mood that Foer expresses here reinforces the theme of travel because it is very different from Alex's tone at the beginning of the book, where the mood is more lighthearted and fun. Towards the end of the novel, when Alex's grandfather tells the story of the Nazis marching through Kolki, this writing technique becomes even more pronounced:It wasn't forever before he was the only Jew left outside the synagogue the General was now in second row and told a man why he only asked men I don't know why that he's Jewish and the man said that's everyonein the synagogue because he didn't know Herschel or didn't know that Herschel was Jewish... (250) Foer doesn't bother to put quotation marks or periods between his sentences, turning this section of his work into a stream of thought, suggestive of the process of automatic writing . This forces the reader to focus on the text, because it is more difficult to distinguish sentences from each other without the usual punctuation. This also conveys a rushed, anxious tone, as if Grandpa can barely get the words out of his mouth before moving on to the next thought. This can be interpreted as Foer's attempt to highlight how tragic yet important this section of the book is. However, Foer doesn't stop at simply excluding line breaks, quotations, and periods from his text. He also keeps omitting the spaces between the words: I looked at grandma and she kissed me on the forehead and I kissed her on the mouth and our tears mixed on our lips and then I kissed your father many times I have torn from his grandmother's arms and I held him with so much strength that he started crying I said I love you I love you I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you..." ( 251) This conveys a feeling of constant flow, as if Foer is simply writing continuously, never stopping to think about what he is writing also serves to remind the reader how quickly these events are happening places where Foer chooses to exclude spaces between words. He uses this technique towards the end of the book, when Alex's grandfather recalls his experience of the Nazis moving through Kolki. By omitting the spaces between words in this section, Foer conveys an even more rushed tone than when he simply omitted the periods between his sentences. To the reader, it seems that the grandfather stumbles over his words because they are so difficult to pronounce that it is easier for him to confuse them all together. In addition to forcing the reader to think about who the author is by writing and reinforcing the anxious and harrowing atmosphere that the story takes on at this point, Foer's omission of spaces is reminiscent of Surrealist techniques, as it causes the reader to think outside the box. When Foer puts together phrases like “I love you” and “mixed tears on our lips,” readers must focus on these phrases more than the rest of the text; it is as if Foer created these new words to reflect that there are no words in the English language that can describe the tragedy that occurred during the Holocaust (251). A second way that Foer uses the idea of ​​automatic writing to express the tone of his book is through the presentation of the text itself. There are several examples of this in "Everything is Illuminated". One of the most obvious instances where Foer uses text to push his readers to remember the fact that the book is a written piece is during the long excerpt from "The Book of Antecedents." After the last entry on Brod's 613 Sadness, the book continues: "We are writing... We are writing... We are writing..." (212). This goes on for the next page and a half. While the reader may see this as a fun addition to the story, because Foer takes the time and space in his book to include this section, it also forces the reader to examine Foer's logic. Readers recognize the fact that “Everything Is Illuminated” is a written work and that the author is consciously making an effort to ensure that his audience remembers this. Just as Foer uses dialogue to convey moods of anxiety and sadness, Foer presents this particular segment of text to express a mood, this time monotonous. Another example of Foer's use of text occurs towards the end of the book, in the middle the description of Trachimday and "the dreamof the end of the world" (272): This was a celebration, unmitigated by impending death. This was an impending death, unmitigated by celebration. He threw them into the air............... ............................. ..................... .................................................. They remained there................................................ ................................................. ... ................................................ ..... ..(270)These sentences continue for a page and a half. They are interspersed with three more small fragments of words, the last of which reads: "There is still time" (271). before and after this section it can be inferred that this part of the story takes place during the bombing of Trachimbrod. Foer uses these ellipses to indicate the passage of time by placing so many points in this part of the text, it is as if Foer uses this text to representing the time spent by the citizens of Trachimbrod preparing for the bombing and fleeing the city. Thanks to this technique it is not necessary for the author to narrate the attack itself; his method conveys just as much, if not more, the emptiness and loss of tragedy. In this way Foer makes it seem as if the bombing is happening in slow motion. This causes the reader to feel a sense of anticipation, which adds to the suspense of the passage. Furthermore, this mood ties into the theme of Foer's journey, because the book itself matured from the story of some characters who embark on a small quest towards something much bigger and more significant. of a story. In this case, the ellipses create the illusion of a break in Foer's thoughts, further indicating that "Everything is Illuminated" is a work in progress. It seems that during Foer's automatic writing exercise, he could not find the words to describe the bombing and simply inserted these ellipses as a temporary measure. A third way Foer conveys tone in the automatic writing exercise is through Alex's letters to Jonathan. All of these letters are written in italics: November 17, 1997 Dear Jonathan, Humph. I feel like I have so much to inform you. The beginning is very rigid, right? I will start with the least rigid subject, namely writing. I couldn't sense whether I was soothed by the last section. I don't understand, where did it take you? (142)Italics remind readers of handwritten letters. This is another tip that helps readers remember that "Everything is Illuminated" is a written piece. By typing Alex's letters in italics, Foer forces his readers to think about why he is doing this. Also, the fact that Alex's English is not very good reminds the reader that the book is a written piece. Alex notes that he has a thesaurus next to him as he writes his letters. This is evident throughout the book, as he constantly replaces his words with words of similar meaning, but which do not exactly fit his statements: I wrapped in the envelope the articles you asked for, without holding back the postcards from Lutsk, the records of the census of the six villages from before the war, and the photographs that you made me keep for prudence. It was a very, very, very beautiful thing, wasn't it? I have to eat a piece of humble pie because of what happened to you on the train. I know how important the box was to you, to both of you, and how its ingredients were not interchangeable. (23)Phrases like “I have to eat a piece of humble pie” and words like “belt,” “important,” and “ingredients” are just a few examples of how Alex overuses words (23). Technically, these words essentially mean what Alex means, but he uses slightly inappropriate words in an attempt to sound more proficient in the English language. This serves to remind readers that the book is being written, because.