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Essay / Bel Canto by Anne Patchett - 864
In this novel, Roxanne is a famous soprano opera singer from Chicago. Bel Canto, one of the main characters I chose to study was Roxane Coss. Roxanne is a famous soprano opera singer from Chicago. I chose her because I believe she is one of the few main characters who made the biggest change in values throughout the novel. The tenor/vehicle I used for Roxane is “A diva is a jeweled scarf, rich but soft and flowing”. I chose a diva for my tenor because it sums up Roxane's personality well as a character throughout the novel. I chose the bejeweled scarf with birds because it gives readers a physical object that is used as insight into her character. Roxane has experienced many changes in her values. She transmitted her three values of image, peace and love throughout the novel. She started out as a self-centered diva, before facing a big reality check. Roxane conveyed the value of her image in the opening scene of the novel. At first, this shows how Roxane was very self-centered and only cared about the feelings of others but herself. When the hostages thought they were going to be killed, Roxane had the audacity to say that she didn't believe it could happen to her. “Some people thought they were going to be killed, but Roxane Coss didn't think that. Maybe the outcome would be bad for some others, but no one was going to shoot a soprano. (Page 33) Later in the scene, Roxane's companion became very ill. Roxane said he bored her and she never wanted to bother with him. “The truth is that she hated the chaperone a little.” (Page 79) I believe that Roxane's value of only caring about her image is very accurate. She only cared about herself and she tried very hard to protect her middle of paper the whole novel, but she really showed it in the epilogue. This final scene was a shock to all readers. The reason is that an epilogue is usually inserted into a novel to conclude. In this specific case, many questions remain unanswered. Although the epilogue was a shock to most readers, it nevertheless shows that Roxanne has made a radical change in herself by the end of the book. At the beginning of the book, it only showed that Roxanne valued her own image. Now that the book is finished, it shows that she values peace and love. This ending scene compares to the symbol of Soap Opera. Serials symbolize the unifying power of art. Art connects people by expressing shared feelings of love and loss. Gen and Roxane are joined in marriage to express their shared feelings of love for each other and the loss of their deceased lovers..