Brian Doyle’s, “The Meteorites” was a short essay about a camp counselor and his unforgettable summer. Doyle uses very poignant arguments to explain his love for his campers. Each camper is introduced with a short synopsis, allowing the reader to get a feeling for what the children are like. The counselor was in charge of a flock of 5-6 year olds. The second paragraph introduces the main argument: how this summer camp made him love the boys as if they were his own. The paragraph goes continues the counselor is pulled aside by one of the shyest and quietest that was speaking up for the most outspoken of the group. He was asking for help because one David (outspoken on) had an accident in his pants and needed to be clean. This puzzled the
counselor, but the counselor did his job and cleaned the child. This simple yet daunting task showed the David that he was not alone in the struggles of life. This showed the other boys the selflessness of the counselor. The essay goes on to say, “…Daniel learning that you must confess to be cleansed, me understanding dimly that my silence with this weeping child was the first wise word I had ever spoken.” This can be viewed from many aspects, comparing it to the baptizing or the confection of sins. Another view could be that the counselor had taught the boy that telling truth will “cleanse” them of guilt. Whatever way you look at it each of these boys were taught valuable lessons. As the essay comes to a close we come back to Davis accident. This time the counselor is reflecting on his life and what an impact that summer camp had on him. He states, “Counselor, Danny needs you, spoken by a small boy high on the hill, and the four words fell from his mouth and were scattered by the four winds, years ago: but they have been a storm in me.” This closing nostalgic statement, explains how these boys taught him more the he could every teach them. That summer the counselor had fallen in love with his job and his meteorites.
Children have a way with words as writers have a way with ink. Maxine Clair’s “Cherry Bomb” uses literary devices to characterize memories from the narrator’s lively fifth grade summer. Clair uses figurative language like imagery, childlike diction, and hyperboles to captivate her memories from an enchanting summer.
The book that I have read chose to review is Banner in the Sky by James Ramsey Ullman. James ramsey Ullman was born in New York City in 1907. His highest-honored book was Banner in the Sky, but four of his books, including this one, were made into major motion pictures.
As the despondent adolescent slipped into a state of agony, a sense of worthlessness crept in to meet his already grueling state. The mindset of the child quickly degraded, as he ponders his inability to compare to his accomplished colleagues. Despite the terrible situation portrayed by the young student, children in today’s generation often experienced such a scenario. As a result, author Shirley Climo wrote “Little Red Ant and the Great Big Crumb” as a means of inspiring young learners by presenting them with an entertaining story with a universal moral (40).
Wilson, M. & Clark, R. (n.d.). Analyzing the Short Story. [online] Retrieved from: https://www.limcollege.edu/Analyzing_the_Short_Story.pdf [Accessed: 12 Apr 2014].
Marita Bonner starts her short essay by describing the joys and innocence of youth. She depicts the carefree fancies of a cheerful and intelligent child. She compares the feelings of such abandonment and gaiety to that of a kitten in a field of catnip. Where the future is opened to endless opportunities and filled with all the dream and promises that only a youth can know. There are so many things in the world to see, learn, and experience that your mind in split into many directions of interest. This is a memorable time in life filled with bliss and lack of hardships.
Linda Hogan’s Solar Storms and Cheryll Glotfelty’s criticism come together to depicts two very different cultural views through an unavoidable clash that occurs when their lives literally depend on it. There is the western culture that sees the earth as nothing more than a never ending resource without realizing that by their activities, they are at risk of creating their own demise. Then there is the indigenous culture that personifies the land. They see the earth as an entity that they have made a bond with; a bond that now lay broken. The book also utilizes silence not only as a symbol for something much bigger but also as a way to craft identity through the views of culture on a forged path of oppression, pain, and inner strength.
This short story written by Richard Wright is a very well written, and has a very good plot and keeps the reader entertained throughout. From the dialogue to the characters, who inhabit the world crafted by Wright its very intriguing. On the surface it appears to be just a story about childhood disobedience in general, but the overall theme is much deeper than that.
This essay will examine both "The Speckled Band" by Conan Doyle and "Visitors" by Brian Moon and will look at how each one conforms to or diverges from the conventions of the detective story and also how each story is representative of the century it was written in by how it presents the woman, the hero and the villain.
...bout or having heard of the Gold Rush (Hall). The sentimental tone of this story is very important as the feeling of excessive emotion is tempered by humor (Morrow). This story was so vivid, though only ten pages, that it made readers feel the presence of the mining camp without being there (Morrow). How a writer could do that in only ten pages was beyond the reach of any critic who analyzed the text. After reading this story, you also knew how a forty-niner thought and felt (Schraufnagel). If written at a later time, at worst this story was easily a Pulitzer Prize winner (Morrow).
John Markoff's "The Doomsday Machine" is an intriguing view on how our technology may exponentially improve into the future, but the essay fails to support the thesis statement that our technology will eventually destroy the human race. His dire predictions for our future are based on theories as well as conclusions that are themselves based on theories. These predictions do not account for how other simultaneous technological advancements and the desire for profit will affect our world. It ignores the power of human imagination, ingenuity, feelings, and personal motivation. There is also a complete disregard for God's plan.
Perkins, Wendy. “Criticism.” Short Stories for Students. Ed. Carol Ullmann. Vol. 15. Detroit: Gale, 2002. N. pag. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 23 Mar. 2011.
In Walt Whitman’s 1865 poem “When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer,” the writer calls for a revival of romanticism midst an increasingly rationalistic environment. His strategy emphasizes rationalism's popularity and downplays the underrated beauty of romanticism.
Crane, Stephen. "Bride Comes to Yellow Sky." Literature: The Human Experience. 8th ed. Ed. Richard Abcarian and Marvin Klotz. Boston: Bedford, 2002. 91-99.
Bill Henske, my middle school science teacher, has left one of the most profound and lasting impacts on my life, and for that I will forever be indebted to him. The day I discovered that my father signed me up for Field Study—what I referred to as “science camp”—I was furious. It was the summer before I entered the seventh grade, and I would much rather have spent my time lounging by the Maplewood Pool. Looking back on how naive and close minded to this experience at the beginning makes me cringe.
Pramoedya Ananta Toer’s This Earth of Mankind is an allegorical novel describing the growth of protagonist Minke during the pre-awakening of colonized Java. Set in 1898 during the period of imperial Dutch domination over all aspects of Javan life, the novel provides a clear image of the political and social struggles of a subjugated people through the point of view of a maturing youth. Using several of his novel’s major characters as allegorical symbols for the various stages of awareness the citizens of Java have of Indonesia’s awakening as a modern nation, Toer weaves together an image of the rise of an idyllic post-colonial Indonesia with modern views of Enlightenment ideals.