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  • Essay / The use of ambiguity to heighten suspense in Robert Cormier's novel

    In some novels, the author uses ambiguity to heighten suspense. Robert Cormier's I Am the Cheese contains many examples of ambiguity. Adam Farmer is a teenager whose parents are under government protection. He and his family live a fake life after his father testifies against a criminal. There are many times in the novel where ambiguity is used. The novel is open to interpretation in some parts since Cormier is not directly clear on what he intends to convey to the reader. Cormier's use of ambiguity helped build suspense by allowing the reader to interpret parts of the novel in their own way.Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Throughout I Am the Cheese, Robert Cormier uses ambiguity when Brint tries to get information from Adam during their sessions. In the book there are many scenarios in which certain sentences or actions could be perceived differently depending on the reader. Cormier uses ambiguity in times where suspense is heavy. When Adam talks to Brint, you never know what Brint is trying to get out of Adam, which is an example of ambiguity. In the novel, the author states: “Because you always direct me on certain paths” (page 187, paragraph 9). Adam tells Brint that he thinks Brint is asking him to say certain information. The reader does not know what information Brint is trying to reveal. This moment could be interpreted in several ways, which adds to the suspense. National Public Radio's Ben Marcus says, "The interrogations are relentless, administered by a creepy government organization that seems to think Adam has a secret, if his name is even Adam" (page 1, paragraph 5). During the novel, Adam is interrogated and we don't know what the investigators are trying to get from him. Cormier uses this tactic of ambiguity to create the feeling that the reader does not know what Adam might say next, nor what Brint is trying to extract from him. Ambiguity is used throughout Cormier's novel, Je suis le fromage, which heightens the suspense. When Cormier talks about Adam's bike rides, he uses ambiguity to build suspense since the reader does not know if his bike rides are real. Throughout the book, Adam takes a bike ride to Rutterburg, Vermont to visit his father. Depending on the person, you may consider this bike ride real or fake. This interpretation is left to the reader, which is an example of ambiguity. In the novel, Cormier states: "I reach out my hand, I touch my father's package in the basket and I continue pedaling" (page 105, paragraph 3). Adam rides his bike and clings to his father's package, but later in the novel you find out that Adam would never see his father. During this part of the novel, the suspense is heavy because we don't know if Adam is really riding a bike or if he is imagining all of this. YALSA's Melissa Rabey says, "Yet I knew the bike ride was a construct of Adam's mind" (page 1, paragraph 3). The author of this novel knew right away that Adam's bike ride was on his mind, but other readers may have perceived this differently, which adds to the suspense. Cormier's use of ambiguity in the literary device helped heighten the level of suspense in Adam's bike rides. In Robert Cormier's I Am the Cheese, he uses ambiguity to build suspense when Adam's father speaks to Mr. Grey. At first, Adam didn't know why his father was talking to Mr. Grey. Ambiguity is used in this/