Virtuosity
When friends join a competition, and are forced to compete against each other, there is always going to be conflict. But imagine having to compete against your boyfriend/girlfriend in an intense, world-wide prestigious violin competition, with the grand prize being fifty thousand dollars, a four – year loan of the 1742 Guarneri del Gesu violin, and performance opportunities with symphonies all over the world? This competition means everything to Carmen. It’s a “go hard, or go home” kind of competition, and at first, it seems like an easy win; no one is in her way. But when a certain Jeremy King joins the Guarneri, determined to win, that is when things get a little complicated.
Carmen Bianchi has a tough emotional journey, because she has to deal with her prescription drug abuse, the stress of the Guarneri, Jeremy, and her mother all at the same time. It was a lot for her to handle, and it really stressed her out at times. But the significance of the journey was it taught her to be her own person, and that she shouldn’t let violin define who she is.
Jeremy King has to take an emotional journey also, because he wants Carmen to win the Guarneri, but he desperately needs the money so that he can help his younger brother with his medical problem. He is literally torn between the both, and has to beg Carmen to let him win the Guarneri, which she, of course, declines.
The supporting characters help support Carmen in her fight to win the contest. Her mother Diana is constantly on Carmen about practicing, even though she may want to Carmen to win the contest more than she does. Her violin teacher Yuri forces her to do her best at all times, even when she feels like giving up. Her tutor Heidi tells her to follow her heart, wherever it may lead her, etc.
One image would be Carmen’s violin. The violin is Carmen’s way of expressing herself. When she is angry or upset, her fingers are flying at the speed of sound. If she is feeling light and confident, her music will sound much more pleasant and focused. Another image would be the Inderal. It is basically her mother, in the form of a pill. She takes it, and it calms her down. When she doesn’t, she feels frantic, and nervous, like she can’t live without it. But when she finally weans herself off of it, then she realizes that she doesn’t need it, just like she doesn’t need her mother to be deciding every step for her, either.
The text structure in this novel is probably a problem/solution type of structure. I say this because there is one main problem in this story: the Guarneri, and in the end, Carmen comes up with her solution. This helps communicate the theme and purpose of the novel by showing that there is usually more than one resolution to a problem, and that no matter how
