Swallowing Stones Essay In the novel “Swallowing Stones” bly Joyce McDonald, Jenna, Michael and Joe have done some deeds that affect them throughout the entire story. Jenna is constantly fighting with her Mother, and Michael has shot off a gun, and Joe has lied to the police. The character’s decisions impact the entire story. Jenna Ward is affected by her father’s death the most because she blames herself for his demise. When Jenna’s father died she remembered her mother telling her to get off the phone with her friend to call her Dad in for lunch. Then when she did not call her father in she blamed herself for why he died. She told her mother, “It’s all my fault” (McDonald page 10). Jenna thought she could have saved her father from dying. Jenna also fights with her mother constantly throughout the entire book and when they try talking they blame themselves for her father’s death which does not help either of them. In conclusion Jenna Ward …show more content…
Michael had shot off the rifle that killed Jenna’s father. Michael had accidentally shot it into the sky to show his best friend, Joe, how it works. Michael then heard about Jenna’s father’s death and knew instantly that it was his fault. He “remembered the story about the girl who choked on a stone” (page 32) and knew that he was also choking on his guilt. Michael keeps denying that he killed Mr. Ward but he knows in the end that it was him. Michael has also lied to the police about where the gun is and how his best friend Joe borrowed it. Michael should be honest and tell the police what has actually happened and maybe he will not get into so much trouble. Michael has also cheated on his girlfriend with Amy Ruggerio. That has affected him throughout the story because his ex girlfriend was spreading rumors about him. In conclusion, Michael has done deeds that affect him in the whole
Michael was loyal and dedicated when he shocked Clyde, the guy that was trying to rob his mother. in that scene he was showing loyalty to his mother by Shocking Clyde, his mom became safe from hid gun.
Michael Patrick MacDonald lived a frightening life. To turn the book over and read the back cover, one might picture a decidedly idyllic existence. At times frightening, at times splendid, but always full of love. But to open this book is to open the door to Southie's ugly truth, to MacDonald's ugly truth, to take it in for all it's worth, to draw our own conclusions. One boy's hell is another boy's playground. Ma MacDonald is a palm tree in a hurricane, bending and swaying in the violent winds of Southie's interior, even as things are flying at her head, she crouches down to protect her children, to keep them out of harms way. We grew up watching Sesame Street, Reading Rainbow and Peanuts. Michael Patrick MacDonald grew up watching violence, sadness and death.
...d few such as Anna, Stella, and Alice who broke free of the poison, lived their lives as Sam Toms’ did who rooted the family. They as he did lied, cheated, manipuled, and kept secrets to try to live a happy life which in actuality their lives were anything but.
...re the reader is not able to make any solid connection with any of these characters. It is arguably only through the stories foreshadowing where both authors prepare us with little details like the mileage of the car written down by the grandmother in O’Connor’s story likewise the boys preparation of the stones in Jackson’s Lottery that would inevitably help the reader to comprehend how both these author’s reached the horrifically shocking climatic endings in both short stories. I believe the authors similar use of these three variables help the reader to understand the message being delivered through these stories of the human condition and its effects on a society that only embraces its traditional moral beliefs and values.
The Stone children find out that their mom is dying in the movie, which is a family crisis. The book states that the death of a parent is second on the severity of life stressor with only the death of a child above it. (Lauer, 2012, pg 290) The Stone family shows they are a resilient family and have developed this label from communicating well and have worked together to develop strengths that help them deal with stressors. (Lauer, 2012, pg 302) None of the family members avoid the problem or try to find blame in something or someone for their mom dying. Avoiding the problem and finding blame in others are two ineffective coping strategies that some individuals use. Avoidance can make individuals ignore the problem and turn to excessive drinking to help keep the problem off their mind. Scapegoating is when the individual acknowledges that there is a problem, but they turn on someone else and put the blame on him or her. The Stone family learns to cope with the crisis of their mom being sick in a way that brings them closer. They balance their concern with the concern of their mother and they work together to make a happy Christmas for her. They all realize it is hard to deal with there mom being sick, but they know that together they can handle it and they know their own worth and the worth of their family. In conclusion, the family realized the problem and worked
These characters, however different they lie on the morality scale, all share the sinful trait of greed. They all ask, and take too much, ruining what the good that they had in their lives. Understanding their mistakes offers its useful readers a lesson, not to demand too much of the things we are offered. The characters struggle with their desires, each of them succombing to their passions.
Joe and Bazil 's status as the immediate family members to a sexual assault survivor allows readers to see how sexual assault can impact an entire family unit; a frequent situation that many people find themselves in, but don 't know how to sensibly handle emotionally. Through Joe 's perspective as a child in this novel, Erdrich guides her audience into understanding how complex of a societal issue sexual assault is by displaying how far reaching its effects are on the victim, family, and community of a
"Some of us think holding on makes us strong; but sometimes it is letting go,"-Hermann Hesse. Regrettably, in this point of view, Jenna Fox's father, Matthew Fox, was incapable of staying strong. In the novel, The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson, seventeen-year-old Jenna Fox has woken up from a coma caused by a gruesome car accident, an accident in which she was told to have caused. Later, Jenna begins to pick up and put together the puzzle pieces of her own life, including how the way she is being kept alive is illegal. Putting these puzzle pieces together allowed her to realize why she was different and the truth about the accident. Jenna's parents, Matthew and Claire Fox decided to take advantage of Matthew's expertise and replace
Another link between these three characters is their family ties. They highly regard their elders, and consider the effects of the decisions they make on t...
Granny Weatherall has weathered all with more than her fair share of life’s adversities. The oldest adversity Granny recalls is George’s jilting. Joseph Wiesenfarth declares the jilting is the “central fact of her life,” (“Internal Opposition” 107). Anyone is hurt by being left at the altar and would have thought about it over the years. Granny wishes to forget the jilting because she is self-disciplined with no desire for self-pity. The internal quality of self-discipline is a means of standing firm through adversity. Granny states she is on intimate terms with “a few favorite saints” and mentions St. Michael (81). St Michael is a warrior. Granny views herself as a warrior and has fought and conquered her adversities. A fighting spirit is a means of persevering through suffering. Joseph Wiesenfarth insists that after George’s jilting Granny never risked loving again (“Internal Opposition” 108). This fallacy implies Granny felt no real love for John. Granny wishes to show off the children to John, not George. Granny remembers her appearance and youthful looks when remembering John, not George. Granny has not forgotten the pain of the jilting and that painful memory serves to contrast and enhances her love for John. Granny knows true love because she has known true sorrow. Granny’s true love for John is what carried her through the hardships of life, and John is the bridegroom she looks for at death. Love is a powerful means of dedication through
The eldest brother who is also the narrator of the story gives the reader a glimpse into their lives and the struggles that he and his younger brother Sonny go through. Through the narrators eyes Baldwin does a wonderful job showing how the brothers grew up to lead different lives but are both still struggling from the hold that poverty in Harlem has on them. Baldwin shows how both “the narrator and Sonny are both imprisoned and also free in exactly opposites ways” (spark note). For example, Sonny has physically been imprisoned due to his addiction to drugs but was able to escape from Harlem and create his own life through music. Whereas the narrator is physically free but trapped in the housing projects of Harlem which he clearly hates. It is Baldwin’s unique style of writing that has the characters asking themselves the question, “Does one embrace the hand that they are dealt in order to live or does one bow down and allow it to consume them?” Baldwin shows how each brother at different times in their life allowed for it to do both. For instance, in the beginning Sonny seemed to be consumed by his suffering which led him down the path of drugs but by the end he had embraced it and let his suffering playout through music. The narrator on the other hand seemed to embrace everything that he was dealt and did the best he could to better his life.
... story as it shows the grandmother and her family’s lives have no importance until their encounter with the Misfit. Furthermore, O’Connor develops both her main characters, the grandmother and the Misfit, primarily through the structure of her disarrayed and segmented storyline with the intention of exposing her theme to her audience.
In conclusion, the tenuous relationship Sethe shared with her mother led to Sethe’s inability to provide for her children. Consequentially, the murder of Beloved built an emotional barrier that added to the preexisting issue of concerning her stolen milk left Denver with too little milk and the primitive drive to live that at first seemed foiled by her mother’s overbearing past. Yet, against all odds Denver was able to break her family’s legacy of being engulfed in the past and began taking steps for a better future.
Furthermore, Mary’s father was abusive in the family home to both Mary and her mother. A lifelong criminal, who was known to commit violent armed robberies, was not a good influence for Mary. Billy was often out of work, depending on earnings form Betty to sustain the house. It must be noted that there is some question if Billy is actually Mary’s father, given Betty’s profession; chances are great that Billy was just another victimizer in Mary’s lif...
At the beginning of The Godfather, he is not involved in the Mafia and seems to be moving towards a successful career. Through the film, he leaves these plans. He ended up joining the family business and becomes head of the Corleone family. A cruel, heartless man with no acceptance or patience for conflict or disloyalty, Michael is braver, more vicious, and more determined than Vito was, and he becomes very powerful. He demonstrates to be greatly less successful in his personal life it seems. Michael appears unable to rest and relax for just a few moments, and his stressed relationship with his wife, Kay, which he later divorces, is a continual cause of pain and distress. Michael is heartless, intelligent, and very strong-minded. His ability to think unmistakably under pressure, to make quick decisions, and to receive respect makes him a great Godfather. Of Don’s children, he is probably the best person to take over the family. The thing is, Michael was never supposed to get involved in the Mafia though. He was supposed to head towards great things in life. Even when he does begin working for his father, he does not appear to be completely sure with his decision. He told Kay before they got married that the family would become “legitimate.” Michael is troubled with all the responsibility. In many ways, Michael can be seen as a tragic figure. He is very powerful; his greedy desire for revenge creates violence all around him that he cannot get away from; he cannot see the fact that achieving legitimacy is unmanageable, and he is always busy in a war, and this never allows him to