Michael Ondaatje's Coming Through Slaughter deals with violence and destruction throughout the life of Buddy Bolden and the people surrounding him. Violence and destruction are prominent themes that seem to formulate the storyline of the narrative. The violence seems to act as a shield from the true interpersonal obstacles, which are indeed guided by the loneliness of the characters. Harm and demolition is shown throughout the novel, specifically when Buddy Bolden supposedly physically attacked Tom Pickett for sleeping with his wife Nora Bass (70), when E.J Bellocq slit the pictures he took of the prostitutes with his knife (51-52), through Bellocq's presumed suicide (80) and Mrs. Bass' murder (22) and lastly, through Bolden's insanity experience …show more content…
Bolden supposedly cut, "[f]ive or six scars...into [Pickett's] cheeks" (Ondaatje 68). Also, Bolden cut Pickett's nipple off, broke his left elbow and hurt his knee (Ondaatje 70-71). Bolden was enraged at the fact that Pickett was teasing Bolden about Nora and him having an affair (Ondaatje 70). However, both Nora and Bolden seem to be in an opened relationship since Bolden is sleeping with Robin who is Jaelin Brewitt's wife, all while Nora is sleeping with Pickett (Ondaatje 97). Nora was smitten by Pickett and "[t]here was nothing [Bolden] could do" about the situation (Ondaatje 97). Even though Bolden may be sleeping with Robin, he still feels "[t]he loneliness" (Ondaatje 97). Thus, there is no reason for Bolden to be upset with Pickett when in truth; he is performing the same affair with another woman (Ondaatje 97). As a result, Bolden uses violence as a way of charging a problem that he envisions, when in reality; it is the loneliness inside of him that seems to be consuming his anger. Even though he has affairs with Robin, the satisfaction from his wife is not being recognized and she does not vision him as qualified anymore compared to Pickett, who is seemingly "...one of the most beautiful men in the District", thus, leaving him feeling very alone and somewhat resentful of Pickett (Ondaatje 68). Bolden's self-destruction also began here because once everyone heard about Bolden's attack on Prewitt, it "...made [Bolden] unpopular" which caused Bolden to not "...leave at the peak of his glory..." which made him isolate from his supporters as well (Ondaatje 73). This caused Bolden's self-destruction because his loneliness from being enraged with his wife for not loving him the way she loves Pickett (97), led to him attacking Pickett at the barber shop (70) and nearly killing him, to
Eric Rauchway’s Murdering McKinley: The Making of Theodore Roosevelt’s America is an examination of the events, social conditions and dramatic political changes taking place in America immediately prior to and during the birth of the 20th century that led to the assassination of William McKinley and the rise of progressivism. It is furthermore an investigation of the motives behind the assassination, and an analysis of the events leading up to what made possible “Roosevelt’s America,” arguably the first recognizably modern period in American history from a 21st century perspective: the progressive era.
David W. Blight's book Beyond the Battlefield: Race, Memory and the American Civil War, is an intriguing look back into the Civil War era which is very heavily studied but misunderstood according to Blight. Blight focuses on how memory shapes history Blight feels, while the Civil War accomplished it goal of abolishing slavery, it fell short of its ultimate potential to pave the way for equality. Blight attempts to prove that the Civil War does little to bring equality to blacks. This book is a composite of twelve essays which are spilt into three parts. The Preludes describe blacks during the era before the Civil War and their struggle to over come slavery and describes the causes, course and consequences of the war. Problems in Civil War memory describes black history and deals with how during and after the war Americans seemed to forget the true meaning of the war which was race. And the postludes describes some for the leaders of black society and how they are attempting to keep the memory and the real meaning of the Civil War alive and explains the purpose of studying historical memory.
Slaughterhouse-Five: Why War Should Never Happen Kurt Vonnegut Jr., a World War II veteran and author of the literary masterpiece Slaughterhouse-Five, was one of the many there to witness the destruction of the city of Dresden in Germany, and one of the few to survive to tell the gruesome details. Most of his writing was used to encourage those with anti-war mindsets to take a stand, and to inform everyone else of the damage that is done when a nation goes to war. He uses his books to remind people that war is gruesome, gory, and violent, and the glamorous aspect of it is simply a disturbed part of one’s imagination that truly does not exist. He reminds people of the visceral hatred that comes with the package of war; of how Germans used the fat of dead Jews to make soap and candles and how there was a scarce food supply for prisoners during the Second World War, or possibly any war for that matter. The fire-bombing of Dresden led to the deaths of over 60,000 civilians and prisoners of war (POW’s).
In his book, titled Tribes, Joel Kotkin talks about the strong prevalence of tribalism on the 21st century. In the book the author starts with defining what he means by the word “tribalism”. The author then picks up 5 globally distributed ethnic tribal groups namely the Jews, British, Japanese, Chinese and the Indians and goes on to analyze each of these groups, in terms of evolution of the tribes, the prominent characteristics of each tribe, how they became more prominent in the modern world with the end of cold war and with the national boundaries getting more permeable. The author finally makes and attempt to predict how these ethnic groups will evolve and which of these groups will dominate the world going forward. The author believes that ethnicity will be the defining factor in evolution of global economy.
“Blood Brothers” by Willy Russell Blood Brothers seems to have been set in the 1970s/80s around Liverpool. There is a lot about striking and major redundancies in it. Also about people moving "out of Liverpool" into the "country" ( Skelmersdale ), in order to provide better housing and better prospects for everyone. The social climate of the working class appears to highlight the differences between working and middle classes.
Ryan Smithson didn't have any kind of plan. High school was almost over, and he longed for a purpose. After witnessing the 9/11 attack on television, Ryan couldn't help but think about the military. When he was seventeen, he talked to military recruiters instead of college recruiters. When he was nineteen, Ryan Smithson was deployed. His story represents others like him, and it isn't at all what you thought it’d be.
Throughout a lifetime, one can run through many different personalities that transform constantly due to experience and growing maturity, whether he or she becomes the quiet, brooding type, or tries out being the wild, party maniac. Richard Yates examines acting and role-playing—recurring themes throughout the ages—in his fictional novel Revolutionary Road. Frank and April Wheeler, a young couple living miserably in suburbia, experience relationship difficulties as their desire to escape grows. Despite their search for something different, the couple’s lack of communication causes their planned move to Europe to fall through. Frank and April Wheeler play roles not only in their individual searches for identity, but also in their search for a healthy couple identity; however, the more the Wheelers hide behind their desired roles, the more they lose sense of their true selves as individuals and as a pair.
Each person brings a special quality and gift to life that creates an individualistic style to the world that we live in. The poem Perfection Wasted was written by John Updike in the year 1990; this poem accentuates the flair that can never be replaced when a loved one dies. One way to better understand a poem is to paraphrase it into your own words. Paraphrase of Perfection Wasted:
Alex Kotlowitz’s gut-wrenching, non-fiction work entitled The Other Side of the River: A story of two towns, a death and America’s Dilemma focuses on the aftermath of one tragic circumstance: Eric McKinnis’ death. On May 22, 1991, the body of a battered teenage boy was found in the river that separates Benton Harbor and St. Joseph. It was no secret that these two towns previously had a wedge between them in regards to racial segregation; Benton Harbor was a poor city that consisted of 92% African-Americans, while St. Joseph’s make-up was 95% Caucasian -- predominately wealthy. St. Joseph was not a place known for murder, although what really shook these polar opposite communities was that Eric’s brutal death turned into a cold case --
In the short story “Being There”, by Jerzy Kosinski, there are multiple examples of satire that are displayed throughout both the book and the movie. A few of them are: media, death, politics, and racism. The satire of the media was very similar in the book and the movie. Media played a big role in society and still does to this day.
Lamb to the Slaughter, by Roald Dahl, instantly grabs a reader’s attention with its grotesque title, ensuing someone’s downfall or failure. The saying “lamb to the slaughter,” usually refers to an innocent person who is ignorantly led to his or her failure. This particular short story describes a betrayal in which how a woman brutally kills her husband after he tells her that he wants a divorce. She then persuades the policemen who rush to the scene to consume the evidence. This action and Patrick’s actions show the theme of betrayal throughout the story which Roald Dahl portrays through the use of point of view, symbolism and black humor.
I read the book Lonesome Howl, which is a drama book and a love story. The book was about two main character whose names are Jake and Lucy. They lived with their family in two different farms, but in the same community besides a mountain covered in a big wicked forest where many rumors took place. The farmers around the place lost many sheep’s since a feral beast. It was a quite small community and a lot of tales was told about it to make it even more interesting. Lucy was 16 years old and lived with her strict father and a coward of mom who didn’t dare to stand up for her daughter when she were being mistreated and slapped around by her father. Lucy was a retired and quite teenager because of that. She had a younger brother whose name was Peter. Peter was being bullied in school and couldn’t read since the education of Peter was different compare too Lucy’s. She helped him in school and stood up for the mean bullies, although all she got in return was him talking bullshit about her with their cruel dad which resulted with her getting thrash.
In the poem pride, Dahlia Ravikovitch uses many poetic devices. She uses an analogy for the poem as a whole, and a few metaphors inside it, such as, “the rock has an open wound.” Ravikovitch also uses personification multiple times, for example: “Years pass over them as they wait.” and, “the seaweed whips around, the sea bursts forth and rolls back--” Ravikovitch also uses inclusive language such as when she says: “I’m telling you,” and “I told you.” She uses these phrases to make the reader feel apart of the poem, and to draw the reader in. She also uses repetition, for example, repetition of the word years.
"Any critical reading of a text will be strengthened by a knowledge of how a text is valued by readers in differing contexts."
Animals can be a man's best friend; however, they can also be ones worst enemy after passing certain boundaries. Peter Singer who wrote Animal Liberation gave valid points in my opinion because animals do have a right to live and we should give them their space. Humans take everything for granted and never seem to learn until it too late. Today slaughterhouses are abusing animals in disturbing ways which has to change. I will agree with Singers concepts on animals because they have a right to live a peaceful life like humans; they have a life ahead of them once they are born. Singer argues that animals should have their interests considered throughout their lives. Singer wants to eliminate speciesism from our thoughts which is, a human discriminatory belief that all other animals are not as good as them therefore they do not have rights and we could do what we want to them. We should not be the only types of "animals" in this earth who has a set of rights we should abide.