English Benchmark About Ja Rule's Book ¨Unruly¨

   This book is called Unruly, and it’s written by Ja Rule. This story also uses uses an incredibly unique structure in this book. Ja Rule does not use the regular order of things. He sometimes places later events before earlier events. Even though he does this, he keeps the story interesting and readable. He doesn’t feel the need to follow the rules. He feels that he should do what he thinks makes his life sound good and honest. Because of his originality, his book became an original masterpiece in literature in my opinion. He is not afraid to put certain events before other events. He is also not afraid to have prison letters in between his chapters. This style seems to be unnoticed by a lot of people, which also lets me know that he did a good job. It shows that the style has not interfered with the main story for the worse.

    This technique makes it so that the reader feels how he supposed to feel. He/she feels excited about what will happen next, so they are sucked in. The prison letters in between also gives the reader a really good time to reflect on Ja Rule’s views, as well as to feel sympathy for him. This style helps prove that he is a human, and that success is not everything. He is not afraid to admit that at all. So because of this, the use of prison letters is very unique and interesting. There is so much to this man, and this style presents that. That is the cool thing about this style. Most people would never use this style in their autobiographies or their TV shows. So he took a dare when he wrote his book like that, and it paid off.

    This style is not used often. People usually keep the entire story in order without making such changes. So, this is not really a normal technique at all. This is what makes him so original. You usually don’t see tv shows styling their episodes this way. They usually keep things in the order of 1rst to last events. Family Guy sort of uses this style. Similar to how Ja Rule has prison letters in between his chapters, Family Guy has cutaway gags. Prodigy, a rapper who also wrote a book, had prison letters in between his chaptes, and he also kept the letters in order. So, he has also sort have incorperated this style into his book. He just uses this style in a way that makes the story cool and interesting. The style is really contributing because it puts the events in a good place. That, and the unorderly style in general, do this because as you read it, you feel like it’s the right time to learn about this. Especially since Ja Rule also talks about so many different themes and situations that have appeared in his life.

   There are no quotes in the book about Ja Rule’s style. Ja Rule does not reference it, but there were a lot of qotes I can use to present the order that he used in the book. One quote is,¨The beef between me and 50 was all over the news.¨ This quote talks about a rap rivalry that was very damaging, but it also shows the type of order he uses at times. This quote was about 2003, but the next quote is about events that took place in 1999, and in 2000. ¨I was in Los Angeles recording my second album, Rule 3:36¨, was that quote. And these two quotes are in the exact order. They are because those chapters were right next to each other. The one about beef was before the one about Los Angeles. ¨Ḧis body moved slowly, and he was no longer in good shape¨, is the final quote I will use. That took place in 2002, and that is in the very next chapter after the previous one. This proves that Ja Rule does not use chronological order when writing. The effect it has is making you fell excited to hear more about the past. More things that have not been discussed earlier. This style does contribute to the story this man has to tell in such a great way. That might be one of the reasons I love this book

  On Goodreads.com, there was a good quote about Ja Rule’s writing style, which was written by Andrew Hicks. ¨The book moves chronologically, but between each chapter is an italicized “present-tense” interlude written from prison, as Ja serves 26 months for a weapons charge and tax evasion¨ He is right about the prison letters. They are in between each chapter. That makes the story different from other biographies. This is an original form of writing which I like about it. That is why it is so good. But he also places some later events before earlier events. That is also what Andrew Hicks should touched on as well. But he was correct about the prison letters. Those letters are in order, but the storyline is not. And that is one of the interesting things about this book. Also, there is a beginning, middle, and end to this book. Although structured differently, you clearly know where the end and beginning is. When CG Blake said ¨The non-linear narrative is a challenge.¨, he was right. But, that was clearly a challenge that Ja Rule could handle. He used it properly, and that’s what makes the book so good.

 The prison letters carry on for 2 years, which is how long Ja Rule was in jail. These letters really show who he is as a person. You get to see his intellect, and you get to know how he is thinking after knowing he won’t be in the same house as his family for 2 years. He talks about how terribly he misses his son and daughter, and how his wife and mother were emotionally destroyed by this. Ja Rule lets you see the pain in his heart, and you can see how much regret he has for a lot of the decisions he made. Because of this, it was important he included them in this autobiography. But, it might be better that he kept those in order. Things could get confusing if he just placing them in random places because they are supposed to show his journey in prison. So, things would not quite be right if they were placed in random order. There is something about them each being in order that I really like. I think it helps see how he has matured throughout these two years. I would not see that if these letters were out of order, and put in random order.

       This book contains a very rare style of writing. My conclusion is that it can really make a book that much more interesting if done properly. The prison letters can help you think about Ja Rule’s life and choices, and the order of the events can make them seem as if they were in order. I know because Ja Rule did that, and now his book is a classic piece of American literature in my opinion.

Sources In MLA Format

Rule, Ja. Unruly: The Highs and Lows of Becoming a Man. Hardcover ed. New York: HarperCollins, 2014. 1 to 242. Print.

Hicks, Andrew. "A Review of Unruly: The Highs and Lows of Becoming a Man." Goodreads.com. Goodreads Inc, 6 Nov. 2014. Web. 14 Jan. 2015. <http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1058310816?book_show_action=true&page=1>.

Blake, CG. "Linear vs. Non-linear Narrative." A New Fiction Writers Forum. A New Fiction Writers Forum, 5 Dec. 2011. Web. 21 Jan. 2015. <https://cgblake.wordpress.com/2011/12/06/linear-vs-non-linear-narrative/>.