The Arm of the Starfish, by Madeleine L’Engle, is a captivating mystery novel full of action. This story is set in numerous places including Lisbon, Madrid, and the O’Keefe family home on the island of Gaea. The novel features contemporary advancements, so it is seemingly set within a modern era. I did not gain any historical information through the fictitious events of the novel. The Arm of the Starfish has 243 pages. I chose to read The Arm of the Starfish because the mysterious title compelled me. The theme of The Arm of the Starfish is that it can be challenging to make decisions. In the novel, Adam Eddington finds himself caught in a power struggle between groups who both attempt to recruit him to their side. Eventually Adam must make an important decision and determine which side he supports. The Arm of the Starfish is a novel about Adam Eddington who travels to Lisbon for his marine biology internship with Dr. O’Keefe. On the way to Lisbon, he is alerted that Dr. O’Keefe is untrustworthy by Carolyn Cutter, but after meeting some of O’Keefe’s colleagues he determines that Carolyn may be dishonest. Adam works with O’Keefe on his top-secret experiment featuring limb regeneration, and learns that if the results of the experiment reach the wrong hands it could be catastrophic. Eventually Adam must secretly deliver the papers to the …show more content…
I would describe her as kind-hearted because she is able to see the good in others and trust them unconditionally. In the novel her father, Dr. O’Keefe, explains to Adam that, “Poly’s greatest talent is for loving.” and that “She loves in an extraordinary way for a twelve-year-old, a simple, pure outpouring, with no looking for anything in return.” This quote illustrates Poly’s loving nature. She can make friends with practically anyone, and it almost seems as if she is unable to dislike others. Poly O’Keefe even has a friend named Macrina who is a dolphin that she
In The Martian Chronicles, Ray Bradbury posits that becoming independent is shown as a brave, meaningful choice to take, whether it is for happiness, a worthy cause, or a peaceful life. It is shown that not following the norm and becoming an independent individual can lead to new, enthralling realizations, compelling philosophies, or true happiness. In this science-fiction novel, Bradbury explores this theme recurringly, more specifically in “Silent Towns”, “-And The Moon Be Still As Bright”, and “The Martian”. Written about the future, spanning the years from 1999 to 2026, The Martian Chronicles takes place on both Earth and Mars, telling the tale of the colonization of different planets and the annihilation of all humans on Earth through war. During the process of discovering these planets, human characteristics are prevalent, especially those concerning the great courage of independence and the bravery of individuality.
Bearskin: An unwanted ex-soldier desperately makes a grueling deal with the devil receiving all the money he desires, at the price of his human form.
Similar themes are present in “Daddy’s Weirdest” by Rebecca Barry and “Guillotine” by Jon Bellion, but the authors used different strategies to reveal those messages.
ultimate theme of 'The Fish" is that the carelessness of how we treat others and
“The Trusty” is a work of fiction, written by Ron Rash, that tells the story of a man and a woman who try to escape their lives. In this short story, Sinkler is depicted as a scandalous but also as a distressed character. Many painted events lead to the illustration of a peculiar setting in which Sinkler is experiencing some abnormal instances. Sinkler is not dead, and his characterization has lead the audience to believe his flawed mental state is the reason why.
The Illegal, and Some Great Thing by Lawrence Hill both contain several important themes. To explain, The Illegal features the main character’s loss of innocence, and the racism towards people because of their country of origin, and ethnic background. Next, Some Great Thing includes the themes of racism and prejudice towards not only the protagonist, but also to French Canadians because of the colour of their skin, or the language they speak, and the courage of characters to stand up for what they believe is right.
Throughout many student’s school career they will have read various books for several of their classes. Out of the Dust might have been one of those books, but for those who haven’t read it yet I recommend you make an effort to read it as soon as possible. This novel gives you great insight into what it was like to live during The Dust Bowl and all the hardships people went through in that time period. Furthermore, it displays the story in free-verse. Another thing that this novel shows is to persevere through hard times.
Throughout the book Watership Down there are many themes spanning the entire book, but three main themes stand out. These themes are home, leadership, and nature. The idea of home comes up again and again as the rabbits are trying to find a new home going place to place running from danger as well as finding what appeared to be a home only to find out its true horrors. Leadership is also another big theme as it shifts between the rabbits in the group as well as being stressed in the different warren they come across with varying levels of how it's enforced. Finally, there is a theme of nature. Throughout the book there is a constant battle of natural verses unnatural, the battle of prey and predator, and how rabbits should be in the
The story “The Veldt” by Ray Bradbury is a science fiction short story that has themes connecting to what is happening now, and what will happen in the future. “The Veldt” was written in 1950, where notable technological advances were made. Things such as the first TV remote control and credit cards (although, known as the “travel and entertainment” card at the time) were made. 8 million televisions were also being used in homes around the US (The People History. Retrieved from http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/1950.html). As technology is advancing, things are getting easier; people are starting and continuing to become more leisurely. The story “The Veldt” is showing how our future might end up as technology advances, and people themselves
In today’s society, there is nothing that is seen as a perfect marriage. Love and hate are both closely intertwined in our brain, making them the two most intense emotions. It is bazar to think that one can go from loving someone to hating (disliking) that certain individual, or from hating (disliking) that individual to falling mad in love with them. Society creates a barrier that makes one believe on what a loving relationship should be. In many occasions negativity and other factors come to play in a loving relationship. Even though love can over power hate, hate and other negatives can come out at the starting point of love because of infidelity, resentment, and other disappointments in a relationship.
In the short story “With All Flags Flying” an old man leaves his house and his family to live in an old folks home because that is what is best for him and what he thinks is best for his family.The old man seems to be leaving his family for the old folks home to benefit his family, but he also seems to be doing it for himself. Anne Tyler’s “With All Flags Flying” explores the theme that humans are innately selfish.
In one of the most famous sports movies of all time, Remember the Titans is not only a great football movie, it is also a movie that depicts what life was like back during the high racial tensions. The movie shows a group of black and white high school football players that have trouble getting along because of their skin color. They have to learn to cope with each other though summer camp that really tests the kids patentice and their willingness to respect one another.
The fish withholds a great part in this book. The Old Man and the Sea is a book that’s about a small town where the residents revolve their lives around fishing. The fish is a symbol of beauty and it is a greatly admired creature to these people. An example from the book is on page 49. Santiago has been fishing for 84 days and decides not to return home without a fish on the 85th day. On the 85th day, alone in the boat, he manages to hook an enormous marlin, the biggest fish he's ever seen in all his life. The fish is larger and stronger than Santiago. Santiago's experienced fishing skills and his will to catch and survive push him to pursue the fish for many days and many miles out to sea.
-Ellen G Friedman, Breaking the Master Narrative: Jean Rhys’ Wide Sargasso Sea, in Breaking the Sequence: Women’s Experimental Fiction. Princeton University Press, 1989,
One might say we are presented with two fish stories in looking at Ernest Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea and Herman Melville's Moby-Dick, a marlin in the former and a whale in the latter. However, both of these animals are symbolic of the struggle their hunters face to find dignity and meaning in the face of a nihilistic universe in Hemingway and a fatalistic one in Melville. While both men will be unable to conquer the forces of the universe against them, neither will either man be conquered by them because of their refusal to yield to these insurmountable forces. However, Santiago gains a measure of peace and understanding about existence from his struggles, while Ahab leaves the world as he found it without any greater insight.