Debut novel by Benjamin Franklin Essay

Hawk, a debut novel by William Wallis (a poet) was published by `The Publisher` last 2006 with a 158 pages. Its genre is Fiction or Autobiographical. Hawk is the first novel written by the author that has won the 2006 Benjamin Franklin Award in Fiction that is given annually by Publisher’s Marketing Association (an organization composed of around 4,000 independent publishers. It appeared last August 14, 2006 issue of â€Å"Publishers Weekly†, in the Benjamin Franklin Award segment of PMA`s advertisement. He has a plan to publish three more stories that has a relation with his first novel. BODY The novel narrates about a story of family and survival while combining Southern traditional literary and contemporary expression. Maintaining the image of a poet and at the same time as a novelist, Wallis was able to recount a perception of life on earth by a seven-year-olds’ eye–Will Falke, the leading character of his novel. Perplexing introductory events made the story more appealing to the readers. Chronicles of conventional childhood experiences of Will Falke is one of the focuses of the novel. His pains and disappointments on the stage of his growth through which is spent mostly in Monticello, Arkansas, during the early 1950`s molded him to become a Adika, pg 2 tough person. Having suffered and survived tough problems has not necessarily pushed Will to prefer to be in a place other than his hometown. The state where the central character lives is enclosed by a half-dozen other neighboring southern states, in which we can relate on how the characters in this story are interlinked. William Wallis, as a Southern writer keenly described one of the major preoccupancy of Southern America which is survival, both enduring and prevailing. Will Falke, born in the year of the fifties have experienced the both negative and positive side of his existence in this world. He lost his eye; he has endured the vicious pain of punishments from his cruel and brutal father; he has to stay sturdy in spite of the mocking and humiliations of his schoolmates, and a mother who is so weak to continuously strive to live in order to protect him and his family. These are the examples of him being cursed. On the contrary, there are also things aside from troubles that can still be a reason for Will to hold on and can be considered as a blessing. Significant characters like Alma, a nurse with a good heart that taught him to read; Ruth, Will’s frail mother where he got his passion for classical music and singing and he also learned the lyrics of classical music from a Jew pal; Tyree, his gentle neighbor that skilled him to play chess and gave him the gift of friendship; and even simple things like a family farm that taught him to learn the ways of nature just like how his indignant father trained him to be resilient; he is cared and very much loved by women, and lastly, he has eventually learned liberty and freedom like a â€Å"Hawk. † Adika, pg 3 On my point of view, this novel is so heartily written by the author that has the capacity to move the hearts of the reader through the varying well-hanging events and experiences as well as emotions that we could easily relate with. Every experience of Will, every struggle regarding his parents, sisters, and the other people that were dear to him has rendered complex scenario of bravery and the true value of a family. He has not only portrayed the classic or typical outlook of love of a family member but exhibited with honesty and mixture of artistry the true meaning of selfless and ‘Christ-like’ love—full of bravery and hope.