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What is the importance of character development in literature
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In the novel Oryx and Crake by the author Margaret Atwood, the author should have focused more on the two characters Oryx and Crake as the title depicts. Instead, the whole novel is centered on one character Jimmy or rather Snowman. The story is seen as being told through the vantage point of one character as memories of events that happened in his life, this story is centered on human nature in the phase of scientific developments (Tolan 294). The story should have been written in a first-hand experience of events as they happen. The characters Oryx and Crake have not been focused upon compared to Crake and Jimmy (Atwood 22). These are sought out first as close childhood friends that grew up together then got separated later in life when …show more content…
Jimmy is the main character, and this is evident at the end of the novel where Oryx and Crake die; Crake slits Oryx’s throat which consequentially lead to Jimmy shooting Crake. This leaves Jimmy as the only and main character apart from the Crakers and from then on the story focuses on him in what would be his life after the world was wiped out by the pandemic. The thesis of this story is a focus on how the themes of romance, heroism, societal struggles and social disparity are exhibited in the story Oryx and …show more content…
Jimmy, the hero, is built and strengthened when he lives through the traumatizing and constant torture of questions from the government’s security and investigative agency called the CorpSeCorps. Jimmy also survives his high school and even though he failed in comparison to his friend Crake, he does not go back home; he manages to secure a place at the Martha Graham Academy; a school that specialized in undervalued arts. Later on, he secures a job at AnooYoo, a company that creates and markets beauty and age-defying products. Jimmy still survives after he falls into a profound emotional depression when the CorpSeCorps show him a video of her mother being executed.
Moreover, Crake helps him through his depression and offers him a job at his company. His ultimate heroism is seen when he shoots Crake after he had killed Oryx and so survives the catastrophic pandemic that had swept the whole world. He is left with the Crakers at a beach where he had relocated and even though he does not have enough food or join his fellow human survivors he still survives through the
* Duncan, Vinny, and Wayne are all friends working - or wasting time - the summer before senior year in high school. Duncan is the soul, Vinny the brains, and Wayne the muscle. At the end of the previous summer, Duncan tried to save a drowning girl and failed. Not being a hero has really affected his life, particularly his relationship with his girlfriend Kim. Also, he is now terrified of swimming, especially when the nightmares come back. Duncan's summer job is with the public transit lost and found. While trying to make the hours go faster, Duncan looks through the items, especially the books and golf clubs. One day he discovers an unmarked journal with no name, which depicts sadistic animal torture experiments, boasts of arson fires, and the planning for the serial killings of three women. Duncan decides to make amends for his failure last summer by tracking down the owner of the journal by using clues left hidden in the diary. After talking with his friend Vinny, Duncan decides to turn the journal over to the police, but they do not take him seriously, so he decides to get help from Vinny, do some research at the local library, and find out where the killer works and lives so they can prove to the police the diary is for real. But in the process when Duncan finds the house of the serial killer, he decides to take a look in it but unfortunately at that very time the serial killer appears and chases Duncan to the subway station. They get into fight there and they both fell on the subway tracks in the station where they get hit by the train. Duncan luckily survives but the serial killer dies.
A hero, is someone who rises out of the ordinary, and enters the extraordinary, whether on purpose or by mistake, heroes are people who can be related and looked up to. Heroes can come in many different shapes and sizes one of which is Scott Hudson, from Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie, written and published in 2005 by David Lubar. Scott is a boy about to enter high school. On the night before his first day of ninth grade, Scott finds out his mother is having another baby. With his life about to change in every way, Scott must to rise up to the challenges presented to him and face them head on. Another hero who overcame the ordinary is Max from Sharkboy and lavagirl, released in 2005 and directed by Robert Rodriguez. Max is a lonely boy whose world is collapsing around him. To cope with his crumbling world he turns to his dream planet of Planet Drool. But when his dreams come to life he must rise up and save his dream world. The outline these heroes follow in
Heroes do not always look the same, or even appear as a Hero, “Heroes wear many faces because of their responses to the numerous needs of individuals” (Brown). Young Michael Oher is trying to find a place where he fits in and is accepted, when the Touhy family welcomes him with open arms. She soon realizes that Michael in is need of help and she says herself, “I just think Michael needed somebody, and it was so evident that there was nobody in his life. And it just broke my heart” (Touhy).
His observations of surrounding nature changes after a few ironic incidents occur. The role he plays reverses itself and he finds that he is merely a scared child who is lost and alone in a big scary world. While at Greasy Lake, he is involved in a terrible fight where he almost kills another person, and attempts the heinous crime of rape onto an innocent girl. As he begins to gang rape an innocent victim he is forced to run for his own safety when more people show up at the scene. Ironically, within minutes he converts from being the bad guy, forcing himself on an unwilling victim, to becoming a scared kid hiding in the woods from attackers. While...
In Margaret Atwood’s Oryx and Crake, Atwood seems to be offering a forewarning of the troubles that are to arise if our rapacious, self-obsessed society continues at the current rate. Current rate refers to the lack of regard for nature and animal preservation, the increasing intrusiveness of the NSA, the absolute power that large corporations are accumulating, and the severe income disparity. All of which threatens to bring an end to our society. The social issues listed above are a result of a single entity having absolute control over the people; in this case it is the corrupt biotech companies. Corruption is the driving force behind the evils that arise in Oryx and Crake. Mechanisms of control used in Oryx and Crake are similar to those described in Michel Foucault’s “Panopticism”. Panopticism describes that control is effective when enforced through the principles of surveillance, ability to recognize the presence of authority, and isolation. Pharmaceutical companies utilize technology
Heroes are sometimes the most ordinary of people. They are often shown as mighty leaders saving the world, yet sometimes, they come from the most unexpected people in the most unexpected places. In Linda Holeman’s novel Search for the Moon King’s Daughter, the protagonist comes in the form of a responsible fifteen year old Victorian girl, Emmaline. Emmaline lives with her mother and brother Tommy in a poor section of Tibbing where she works as a seamstress for her aunt to in order to provide for her family. When her mother sells Tommy to the sweeps in London, Emmaline embarks on a daring journey for her brother and against all odds, manages to save him from his new reality. Emmaline is not one of the typical cliche heroes but it is in
Real-life heroes these days are firemen, police officers, emergency room medics. However, there are many stories of everyday people who end up hailed as heroes. In the novel A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines, the main characters do not follow any of the typical ‘hero’ professions. In a small American community, Jefferson, a young black man, has just been sentenced to death for a crime he never committed by an all-white jury. His former schoolteacher Grant Wiggins is forced to visit him by his aunt Tante Lou, who hopes that Grant can teach Jefferson some dignity before he faces the electric chair. Through the actions of Jefferson and Grant we can determine whether or not they are heroes to the African-American community which, after years of suppression and apartheid, is so in need of strong idols to look up to.
Heroes Wirt and Greg find a schoolhouse run by a harsh, oppressive, anti-creativity old man. While they first find him to be a mean old guy, their opinions change when they see the man’s reasons for acting the way he is. “Who would’ve thought making a primer school for animals was such a bad idea? My life savings, my home--Everything I had went into that dear, dear school. And now I’m forced to sell these instruments just to keep it open.” (McHale, 3) Originally, the old man was seen as evil, but a simple adjusting of viewpoints enabled Wirt and Greg to find a solution to the problem: having a school fundraising event while enabling the students to enable their creative side. They realized that a severe lack of money for the school made the old man abandon turn his back on play and creativity. By using this information, the 2 brothers found a way to use fun to raise money for the school. This made the old man more open to creative exploration as more funds were coming in. With more funds, the old man became more lenient in allowing creative explorations in the curriculum. By learning more information and considering the old man’s point of view, the heroes were able to figure out a solution to the problem that benefited everyone, overcoming
Presley is the most prominent character in the book: he is not really the protagonist because much of the action has nothing to do with him, but he is the novel's conscience, observing what happens and understanding the significance of it. Presley is the character at the beginning and at the end of the story, first travelling across the countryside to neighboring ranches in a sequence that introduces other main characters and finally leaving on a wheat-laden ship bound for India. Because he has connections in San Francisco high society, he is able to see characters on both sides of the central dispute. As a central character that gets caught in a situation, he represents the typical American in that he is forced to analyze the events, which
The main charter of the graphic novel, Jimmy Corrigan, an outcast; but he is not what people would normally define as an outcast. Jimmy Corrigan is an older gentleman who is often alone and he often “indulges in spiteful daydreams laced with absurd elements.” (From Erdrich to Ware N.P.) Jimmy does not live with any family. His mother lives in a condo and Jimmy’s father is estranged. It is because that Jimmy is alone he has the wild imagination. Jimmy is isolated from his community because he does day dream so much. Jimmy day dreams so much because he is isolated from his community. Jimmy’s life is a paradox. What makes Jimmy different is not his gender, race, or not his economic status. Jimmy is different because of his age, and his mental state. Jimmy’s age keeps him isolated from the community because he feels old. Jimmy knows that he is not as young as he once was. The charter of Jimmy has let his life slip by and he is not sure how he fits into society. Jimmy’s mental state is also a reason why he is isolated. Jimmy’s father reaches out to him and Jimmy becomes conflicted. He is worried that he could hurt his mother who raised him by herself, even though Jimmy wants to meet his father. If one to analyze the charter of Jimmy he has many signs of depression. Jimmy has a hard time making descions, he is alone, and the drawings of Jimmy make him
Hero is someone owns adore and admire from others. Everyone can be a hero, even if they are from the daily life. These people become exemplars who can encourage others to make progress and get success. In the story “The Hero”, Gary adores his friend Tony and praises him as a hero. At first, Gary describes Tony as a sports athlete. However, Tony is not only expert in sports, but also owns valuable personality. He dreams to be someone who is willing to sacrifice himself and benefit others. His advantages and qualities leave Gary very deep impression.
The Sci-Fi genre often centers on the theme of control. Oryx and Crake, by Margret Attwood, highlights Crake’s ability to manipulate his friend Jimmy to allow Crake to control the current and future generations of inhabitants on planet Earth, whereas Octavia Butler’s Kindred focuses on Dana’s inability to control when she pulled back in time by her ancestor Rufus set against her ability to scare herself back through time. Control can be seen as a manipulation of current destiny, or an adaptation to the current set of circumstances. The use of science can be extremely useful in these manipulations. Man’s degree of adaptability has been in direct correlation as his knowledge of the known elements, properties, and physical laws of nature increases.
Andy goes back to school and talks to his basketball coach about how he feels about Rob's death and how his fiends and family feel about the accident. In addition, they discuss Andy's sentence because Andy keeps punishing himself for Rob's death. Everybody at school was crying during Rob's memorial service. Grief Counselors from downtown come to the school to try to get the kids to share their feelings.
It is Joe Keller for whom the audience feels the greater sympathy and respect because he was a great man, who made a fatally flawed decision, which continued to haunt him through life. He finally understood the meaning of life within family and the society in which we all live in and that is that you cannot make flawed decisions which impact others and get away with it. When Joe realises this, he is brave enough to pay the price for his mistake, and that is what makes Joe a hero in the audience's eyes. As the US folklorist & expert on mythology, Joseph Campbell, said, "A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself ." There was nothing bigger for Joe than his family.
There is another type of hero that almost no one is aware of. In the poorest areas of the country, live mostly minorities and other ethic background. All their lives they’ve been expected to work harder and expected not succeed in life. Some individuals living in poverty with a determination to succeed work hard all of their lives to become what everybody doubted they could. Escaping the crime, drugs, and prostitution is enough to escape hell, even if they don’t go to college. Despite of their financial problems, drug and crime surroundings, or difficulties in the language skills, their desire to triumph fuels their persistence. Those who make it to success are the few living examples of the purest form of hero anyone can be. They are not only their own heroes but also the heroes of the poor children who dream of becoming like them someday.