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Extract from An Age of License by Lucy Knisley

1. Provide a summary of the text The extract is from a graphic novel called ‘An Age of License’ by Lucy Knisley. The graphic

novel’s purpose is to inform and entertain the audience about her trip to Europe. In order to

entertain personi!cation is used on the cat "hen ‘he’ tells the author ‘Time to stop

obsessing and feed me##’. The uses of personi!cation here ma$ing the story more

entertaining and humorous. %efore going on the trips Knisley "as heartbro$en. &o"ever

through coincidence "or$ and luc$ she "as o'ered opportunities to ta$e trips. (he says ‘I"as determined to spend my travels having adventures and being a free agent.’ The

metaphor ‘being a free agent’ indicates that she is no" free and she is able to ta$e as many

trips as she "ants. &yperbole used in ‘%eing unlettered I could )ood a"ay lifted to a great

height.’ also helped to emphasised the point. This ma$es up the context of the story. The

audience of the graphic novel "ould be people "ho are interested in her discoveries and

"ant to have a laugh "hile reading the stories. The reason for it is the graphic novel is

"ritten in collo*uial language and the author uses a lot of slangs li$e ‘unhome’. As a

graphic novel it also visualises the ideas into images "hich ma$es them easier to

understand for the audience. Lastly the tone of the story is *uite relaxing and humorous so

the audience "ill not feel boring "hen reading through it. The extract describe the feeling

Knisley had one "ee$ before the Europe trip. +n one hand she "as excited. This is

revealed through her inner monologue ‘It’s ,+I-, T+ %E AA/I-,’. %ut on the other hand

Knisley "as "orried about leaving home. (he "as nervous and 0ittery.2. What is the discovery? Who is maing the discovery?

 The discovery is about Knisley exploring di'erent places cultures and values in Europe. The

author of the boo$ Lucy Knisley is ma$ing the discovery.!. What is the nature of the discovery?

 The nature of the discovery is discovering something for the !rst time.". What did the #rocess of discovery involve? What motivated the discovery?

 The process of Knisley’s discovery around Europe involved deliberate and careful planning.

In the extract her preparation for the trip is sho"n in the sentence ‘I thought I’d chec$ my

itinerary *uic$ly before bed12 &+34( and a lot of nervousness later...’. The preparation isalso revealed in the image "here she sits in front of a computer loo$ing at the maps and

there is a noteboo$ beside her. %oth necessity and curiosity evo$ed the discovery. It "as

necessary because the author says she "as ‘recovering from heartbrea$’. %ut overall

curiosity "as the more important factor that motivated the discovery as she "as loo$ing

for"ard to explore ne" places and generate ne" ideas.$. What %as the reaction or res#onse to the discovery?

5or Knisley the discovery "as fresh and intensely meaningful in emotional creative

intellectual physical and spiritual "ays. (he thin$s the discovery enriched herself. The

description from her is ‘6hat I really have about travel is that it ta$es us outside ourselves.’

&o"ever the discovery may also be provocative and confronting for Knisley as she is

leaving home and going to places "ith di'erent cultures and values place that she is not

familiar "ith. (ince it "as a personal discovery it did not have any reaction or response

from the society.&. What %ere the e'ects of the discovery?

 The discovery "ould o'er Knisley ne" understandings and rene"ed perceptions of herself

"hich is sho"n through her inner monologue ‘I could loo$ bac$ on my life "ith ne"

perspective and go +h#’. 6hile traveling the discovery she made may also help her

stimulate ne" ideas and lead her to ne" "orlds and values. This is revealed through her

visualisation of the ‘53--EL of -E6 E78E4IE-9E’. 6hen reassessed over time because of

the rene"ed perceptions of herself and the ne" ideas that had been generated during the

trip the discovery could be far:reaching and transformative for Knisley. The discovery made

by Knisley "as mainly a personal discovery so it had limited impact on the society.(. )o %hat extent %as the ex#erience of discovery sha#ed by context and values?

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 The experience of discovery "as shaped by context and values to a limited extent. (ince

the discovery "as a personal discovery it "as only experienced by the discoverer herself

and there "ere no other vie"s on it "hich made it hard to be shaped by context and values.