The novel, “Bridge to Wiseman’s Cove” written by James Maloney, follows the journey of two young boys who are struggling with the abandonment of their mother and sister. During their mother’s frequent absences, 15-year-old Carl Matt has to look after his brother Harley and himself when others choose not to. Throughout the narrative, Carl overcomes low self-esteem and gains confidence due to his work on the barge with Skip and his relationship with friends. As the narrative unfolds, Carl emerges as a strong and independent young man, who no longer allows his past to define him. The symbolic bridge serves as a powerful metaphor for the protagonist’s journey towards self-acceptance and belonging. During the early stages of the narrative, Carl …show more content…
Readers are told Carl cursed the “great lump of his body”, which shows the reader how Carl is insecure about his body image and the way others think of him. Whilst Carl might lack confidence, he has a mature sense of responsibility, especially concerning his younger brother, Harley. Readers start to see Carl sticking up for others when Carl’s aunt ties his little brother up for his actions. Carl then goes to the local surf club to confront his aunt in front of everyone in Wattle Beach. Confronting Aunt Beryl at the club, Carl allegedly yelled at her by saying, “You shouldn’t have chained him up like that”. Carl’s actions show how brave he is to stand up to his aunt in front of everyone when she did something harmful to his brother. Readers are informed how Carl is changing when he thinks to himself, ‘Just get home and hope that he and Harley won’t have to pay for his outburst’. Carl begins to change when he stands up for his brother, knowing he may get into trouble when Beryl gets home. As the narrative continues, Carl continues his transformation into a confident, independent young man. Carl’s plan to increase the business on the barge boosts his confidence. “I don’t mind if I
Kevlar (10) - synthetic fiber that is often used as a reinforcing agent in tire and other rubber products. I is made up of high tensile strength.
The Other Side of the Bridge by Mary Lawson is a book that depicts two different people, that mainly focuses on jealousy, rivalry and the power of obsession over half a century. There are many characters in the novel and they build relationships with one another that eventually become intertwined. The relationships that are built end up having an effect on the character, and contributes something different to his understanding of himself and the decisions he makes. Ian in the novel is an example of that, where the relationships he builds with the others, helps him find who he is as a person and affects the decisions he makes. Specifically through the relationships with Pete, his father, and Jake, he gains something different from each character which proves to be vital to who he is. Without these characters, Ian would be very different, as each character contributed something to Ian’s ultimate understanding of himself.
James Moloney's coming-of-age novel, A Bridge to Wiseman's Cove, illustrates the life of an adolescent boy called Carl Matt. Through the characters of Carl, Harley and Maddy, Moloney demonstrates how every human being needs love and acceptance. Carl and Harley experience similar things because they are brothers and have both received very little or no love, whereas Maddy gained love from her family though she didn’t realise, and so went elsewhere to find love.
The story describes the protagonist who is coming of age as torn between the two worlds which he loves equally, represented by his mother and his father. He is now mature and is reflecting on his life and the difficulty of his childhood as a fisherman. Despite becoming a university professor and achieving his father’s dream, he feels lonely and regretful since, “No one waits at the base of the stairs and no boat rides restlessly in the waters of the pier” (MacLeod 261). Like his father, the narrator thinks about what his life could have been like if he had chosen another path. Now, with the wisdom and experience that comes from aging and the passing of time, he is trying to make sense of his own life and accept that he could not please everyone. The turmoil in his mind makes the narrator say, “I wished that the two things I loved so dearly did not exclude each other in a manner that was so blunt and too clear” (MacLeod 273). Once a decision is made, it is sometimes better to leave the past and focus on the present and future. The memories of the narrator’s family, the boat and the rural community in which he spent the beginning of his life made the narrator the person who he is today, but it is just a part of him, and should not consume his present.
Home of the Brave by Katherine Applegate is the story of an African boy, Kek, who loses his father and a brother and flees, leaving his mother to secure his safety. Kek, now in Minnesota, is faced with difficulties of adapting to a new life and of finding his lost mother. He believes that his mother still lives and would soon join him in the new found family. Kek is taken from the airport by a caregiver who takes him to live with his aunt. It is here that Kek meets all that amazed him compared to his home in Sudan, Africa. Home of the brave shows conflicts that Kek faces. He is caught between two worlds, Africa and America. He feels guilty leaving behind his people to live in a distant land especially his mother, who he left in the midst of an attack.
When reflecting and writing on Eiseley’s essay and the “magical element”, I balk. I think to myself, “What magic?”, and then put pen to page. I dubiously choose a kiddie pool to draw inspiration from, and unexpectedly, inspiration flows into me. As I sit here in this little 10x30 foot backyard, the sky is filled with the flowing gaseous form of water, dark patches of moist earth speckle the yard, the plants soak up their scattered watering, and the leaves of bushes and trees imbue the space with a sense of dampness from their foliage. As my senses tune into the moisture that surrounds me, I fill Braedon’s artificial pond with water. I stare at the shimmering surface, contemplating Eiseley’s narrative, and the little bit of life’s wellspring caught in Brae’s pool. I see why Eiseley thought the most abundant compound on the earth’s surface is mystical.
Ken Kesey’s, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is based largely through the conflict between Nurse Ratched and Randle Patrick McMurphy. Kesey explores the themes of individuality and rebellion against conformity, ideas that were widely discussed at the time about psychiatric hospitals. The book is narrated by “Chief” Bromden, a gigantic and half- Native American patient who is thought to be deaf and mute. Bromden focuses on the antics of the rebellious Randle McMurphy, who is out to manipulate the system to his advantages. The head nurse, Mildred Ratched who is known as “Big Nurse” or “Nurse Ratched” by her patients; rules the ward with an iron fist and with little medical oversight. From the beginning McMurphy constantly antagonizes Nurse Ratched and upsets the routines, leading to constant power struggle between the patient and the nurse. Through out the book Ken Kesey uses Randle McMurphy to represent the hero in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.
Some people say that history finds a way of repeating itself. The same thing happened to poetry in the Twentieth Century era. Poetry returned to a metaphysical style, which concentrates on nature and the belief in the supernatural power of different things. You ask how is history repeating itself this way? It is like this because this is the style that Romantic Poets wrote. The main difference between the two completely separate eras is the poets in the Twentieth Century use more common events and common relationships. This made poetry even easier to understand because more people could relate to it. To me, their poetry is often easier to understand because it addresses everyday life. I also think that much of this is due to the fact that more people were reading then there ever was before. Now the poets were writing so that everyone could read and understand what they were trying to express and have them relate it to everyday life. This can be easily seen through different works by different authors of that period. Poems such as "Under the Waterfall" By Thomas Hardy and "Sweeney Among the Nightingales" by T. S. Eliot. Both works express their feelings about an ordinary event, adult relationships.
The play "A view from the Bridge" by Arthur Miller is based on a real
Balance is a condition in which different elements are equal or in the correct proportions. Without balance, there would be an overload of one element and a lack of another. There would be no sense of harmony or feelings of wholenesses. In his novel The Road, author Cormac McCarthy displays a great deal of balance. His oeuvre involves both a positive and uplifting view of humanity, and one of darkness and pessimism. Sometimes McCarthy writes about one of the main characters in the novel, a young boy, and how much tenderness and compassion he posses inside him. Other times McCarthy mentions the people that have turned to cannibalism in order to survive and the horrendous acts of cruelty that they have performed to other human beings. In addition,
had to deal with the fact that the girl who "belonged" to him for such
John Steinbeck's The Pearl tells the story of a pearl diver named Kino. Kino lives a simple life, and adores his family. At the beginning of the story Steinbeck shows how content Kino’s family is. Everything seems to be going perfect for Kino and his family that is until the discovery of the most wonderful pearl in the world changes his life forever. As the story advances Kino’s newborn, Coyotito gets bitten by a scorpion. Kino’s wife, Juana insists that they take Coyotito to the town’s doctor. Inevitably the doctor refuses to help Coyotito because Kino is unable to make a payment.
Nineteenth century British literature cannot be properly understood, as Spivak points out “without remembering that imperialism, understood as England’s social mission, was a crucial part of the cultural representation of England to the English”.(Ashcroft et al, 269) The British imagination, however, responded to the Empire in different ways. Even during the heyday of the Empire, there had been conflicting attitudes towards the Empire. In 1883, Sir John Seeley wrote in The Expansion of England:
Traveling Through the Dark by William Stafford In his poem, "Traveling Through the Dark," William Stafford presents the reader with the difficulty of one man's choice. Immediately, the scene is set, with the driver, who is "traveling though the dark" (line 1) coming upon a recently killed deer. At first, his decision on what to do with the deer is easy; he knows he must push it off the edge for the safety of other motorists, but then, a closer examination of the deer reveals to the man new circumstances. His decision is now perplexing, and his course of action is unclear.
The Pearl by John Steinbeck The Pearl by John Steinbeck. This book takes place in Mexico during the nineteen hundred years in the city of La Paz. The main characters are Kino, an Indian pearl diver who finds the magnificent pearl and whose life is partially destroyed by this pearl. Juana is Kino's wife and faithful partner, and she is obedient and devoted to her family.