Sweet Whispers, Brother Rush
Sweet Whispers, Brother Rush, by Virginia Hamilton, was first published in 1982. The estimated reading level for this book is twelve years old and up. Some of the issues examined in the book, such as child abuse, disease, and drug use, will be better understood by junior high age students. This novel would probably attract more female readers than male. The protagonist is a teenage girl named Tree who lives with her mentally challenged brother, Dab. She is responsible for taking care of herself and Dab. Tree begins to see a ghost who reveals her early childhood to her. Throughout the novel we see Tree’s struggle with what the revelations signify about her life as well as her daily struggle to keep her tiny family—namely herself and her brother—afloat.
SETTING: The story takes place in the late seventies. Tree and Dab live in Detroit. The story takes place mostly in the home, as well as in the places Tree is transported to by Brother Rush. Their home is not described in great detail, with the exception of the little room where Tree sits to draw and where Brother Rush appears. Tree loves the tiny room and while in it she draws pictures of families, of space. The fact that she so treasures this small place of her own is revealing of just how cramped the living space is.
CHARACTERIZATION: The characters are well developed and behave realistically. Rather than tell us what each character is like, Hamilton lets each character reveal itself through his or her actions. For instance, we learn that Tree is protective of her older brother by how carefully she takes care of him—as with helping him with his bath—as well as by the concern she has in cooking their meals. These descriptio...
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...rly revealing scene is when she hands Miss Pricherd the list of chores. We see Tree’s struggle to demonstrate her maturity and her power. It is thus fitting that we see her world through her eyes, as her emotional growth is the focus of this novel.
PERSONAL RESPONSE: Initially, this novel attracted me because of the presence of the ghost. However, what I ultimately found most intriguing was not Brother’s ghostly visits but rather Tree’s struggle to take care of herself and her brother, her feelings towards her mother, and her attempts to make sense of her life after Dab’s death. In fact, despite the effectiveness of the ghost in revealing Tree’s past to her, I do not like this tactic. The text is very realistic—harsh issues are dealt with honestly—and I found myself being pulled out of the narrative at the mention of the ghost. It simply did not seem to fit.
Has there ever been a time in your life where the challenges you were facing seemed too impossible to conquer? Many have felt that way, but have pushed through and overcame. In the book, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, a little girl named Francie grows up during a difficult time in New York. The young girl lives in a poor neighborhood with her family. She learns that anything can happen if you put your mind to it. The author, Betty Smith, taught her readers to push through any obstacle in life, through the books conflicts, setting and research.
This story, although somewhat unique in its exact plot, contains many elements that make it a typical and traditional ghost story. These elements suggest common fears in today’s society of people in general, and children specifically.
Additionally, she experiences her fall from innocence as she grows up and sees the ugly side of the world. Each year, each chapter, it is shown of how she learns more of the darkness in the world- more about her poverty, her father’s drunkenness, and her class status. Here Francie’s mother states, “Sometimes I think it's better to suffer bitter unhappiness and to fight and to scream out, and even to suffer that terrible pain, than to just be... safe. At least she knows she's living.” (Page) Certainly, these words speak to every human being who has to work painfully to live; that life itself is despondency. Additionally, the strength of Francie is compared to the symbolization of the tree in front of their tenement. The tree that grows in Brooklyn symbolizes the hardship and perseverance of life. The tree which struggles to live almost no soil, light, or water, but it strives to live. Just as how Francie will live no matter how sick and tired she is of this world. In conclusion, Francie Nolan speaks to the readers to stay strong through the harsh circumstances.
The young girl depicted in the red tree struggles to find her sense of belonging within her own world in her everyday life. Billy struggles to belong with his father and in his neighborhood
perceive the novel in the rational of an eleven-year-old girl. One short, simple sentence is followed by another , relating each in an easy flow of thoughts. Gibbons allows this stream of thoughts to again emphasize the childish perception of life’s greatest tragedies. For example, Gibbons uses the simple diction and stream of consciousness as Ellen searches herself for the true person she is. Gibbons uses this to show the reader how Ellen is an average girl who enjoys all of the things normal children relish and to contrast the naive lucidity of the sentences to the depth of the conceptions which Ellen has such a simplistic way of explaining.
Characterization: Most of the characterization is indirect. We learn about these characters mostly by their action and their dialogue. However, there is some direct characterization when the narrator tells us of what has shaped the mother into what she is today.
In some respects the žlm captures the ambiguity of the original text extremely well - the existence of the ghosts and supporting characters, the involvement of the children - but the more subtle ambiguous parts of the book are lost in the žlm, which is too specižc in places, particularly the ending.
Analysis: This setting shows in detail a location which is directly tied to the author. He remembers the tree in such detail because this was the place were the main conflict in his life took place.
After all, Melinda Sordino overcame her tramatic experience that led her to open up and release the painful silence she was carrying inside. The flashback that is shown of her traumatic makes up the symbolism of the tree and the closet that reflects on herself, and the conflict the character Melinda faces with her rapist, are the main literary devices that both the film and novel probes.
The Bean Trees is a novel which shows Taylor’s maturation; it is a bildungsroman story. Taylor is a developing or dynamic character. Her moral qualities and outlook undergo a permanent change. When the novel begins, Taylor is an independent-minded young woman embarking on an adventure to a new world. She has no cares or worries. She is confident in her abilities, and is determined to make it through life on her own. As she discovers new things and meets new people, Taylor is exposed to the realities of the world. She learns about the plight of abandoned children and of illegal immigrants. She learns how to give help and how to depend upon the help of others. As she interacts with others, those people are likewise affected by Taylor. The other developing characters are Lou Ann Ruiz, Turtle, and Esperanza. Together they learn the importance of interdependence and find their confidence.
The tree “swings through another year of sun and leaping winds, of leaves and bounding fruit.” This sentence evokes images of happiness and serenity; however, it is in stark contrast with “month after month, the whip-crack of the mortgage.” The tone of this phrase is harsh and the onomatopoeia of a “whip crack” stirs up images of oppression. The final lines of the poem show the consequences that the family accepts by preserving the tree—their family heritage. When the speaker judges the tree by its cover she sees monetary value, but when she looks at the content in the book she find that it represents family. Even though times may be tough for the family, they are united by memories of their ancestors.
... paints it so “ the tree [is] further in the middle;”. By placing the tree in her picture towards the middle she is able to take up the otherwise “awkward space”. The reader can interpret the tree and being Lily herself, and by moving the tree to the center of the painting, she is showing that she is committed to be liberated female standing. This continues to the last part of the book when Lily finally is able to establish herself as woman free of the social confines. Woolf writes “ With a sudden intensity, as if she saw it clear for a second, she drew a line there, in the center. It was done;” (154). This final line of the painting, represents a division between the old social system and the one that Lily stands for. Lily is finally comfortable with her choices.
The forest additionally symbolizes the relationship in which native serves as a place of empowerment for individuals. This also adds to those the themes. The forest is a symbol of Prynne and Dimmesdale’s empowerment in the truth, hope and love. Upon their meeting in the forest, both feel positively changed as qu...
... by how beautiful the trees were, and the terrible scar on her back is referred to as a cherry tree, full of life and beauty. It is images like these that characters memories draw for us, images that might not have been alluded to if their memories weren’t tapped.
To begin with, the tree is beautiful, but when the trimmings are removed it is left with little substance , in the same way that the Helmer’s marriage is left with little substance after Nora’s miracle fails to happen. This can be seen...