Cold Sassy Tree, a novel by Olive Ann Burns, is an incredible story about the southern town of Cold Sassy, and a young man named Will Tweedy. In 1906, fourteen year old Will Tweedy is just starting to realize what it means to be a man, and all the responsibility that comes along with growing up.
In Cold Sassy GA, the town is filled with gossip surrounding the town’s newest newlyweds. Will Tweedy finds himself eyewitness to it all. Grandpa E Rucker Blakeslee has ‘tied the knot’ with the young milliner, Miss Love Simpson. With it being only three weeks after the death of his last wife, the family and town alike are shocked. Confused but curious about it all, Will observes what it means to be husband and wife and what it really means to love. Puzzled by the secrets shared between the two, he tries to figure out just why Grandpa Blakeslee asked Miss Love for her hand in marriage and why she even agreed. While Grandpa Blakeslee is experiencing his second adolescence, Will is trying to make it through his first. When Will gets hit by a train and is still alive to tell about it, Grandpa Blakeslee gives him a lesson on God’s Will. And Will starts to realize not everyone interprets things the same way. When the mill child, Lightfoot crosses Will’s path his
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That, like Cold Sassy Tree was written on her deathbed soon before she died of cancer in 1994. She never finished Leaving Cold Sassy. Burns was born in 1924 on a farm in Banks County GA. Her childhood school was what modeled in her novel Cold Sassy Tree. She received a degree in journalism from the University of North Carolina, and later went on to join the Sunday magazine staff of Atlanta Journal and Constitution, were she stayed for ten years. Her marriage of the magazine’s editor, Andy, soon produced two children, Becky and John. The novel Cold Sassy Tree was based on the stories her father told her as a young
Will Tweedy- He is the narrator of the novel, Cold Sassy Tree. He is a fourteen year old boy that lives in the town of Cold Sassy, in Georgia. Will comes from a well established family, but he has a free spirit, and feels he is obliged to disobey the rules that help direct his life. After his grandmother’s death and his grandfather’s second marriage, Will starts to struggle with the topics of love and death. His perspective on life changed.
Cold Sassy Tree In life, people look for direction. Everyone in the world needs a helping hand. Some people turn to one another while others turn to forces, which are of great power. People turn to great forces such as God. There are many people who live according to the rules of God, out of the bible or whatever book they consider holy. So therefore, these people are directed in leading a better life. In the brilliant novel Cold Sassy Tree, by Olive Ann Burns, Grandpa is such a person. Whenever Grandpa faces an obstacle, he turns to God.
"Ask and you will receive; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you (Matthew 7:7). Grandpa Blakeslee formulates his interpretation of the bible, not specifically, but generally his outlook or overview of the philosophical tenets of the bible. Grandpa Blakeslee's interpretation promotes the idea that pleading God for relief or otherwise rather than for perseverance to overcome the circumstances one undergoes is not only a misunderstanding (of the purpose of prayer and how a christian lifestyle should be) but additionally an error in the usage (of prayer).
I found the book to be easy, exciting reading because the story line was very realistic and easily relatable. This book flowed for me to a point when, at times, it was difficult to put down. Several scenes pleasantly caught me off guard and some were extremely hilarious, namely, the visit to Martha Oldcrow. I found myself really fond of the char...
...ism and segregation, it is what will keep any society form reaching is maximum potential. But fear was not evident in those who challenged the issue, Betty Jo, Street, Jerry, and Miss Carrie. They challenged the issue in different ways, whether it was by just simply living or it was a calculated attempt to change the perspective of a individual. McLurin illustrated the views of the reality that was segregation in the South, in the town of Wade, and how it was a sort of status quo for the town. The memories of his childhood and young adulthood, the people he encountered, those individuals each held a key in how they impacted the thoughts that the young McLurin had about this issue, and maybe helping unlock a way to challenge the issue and make the future generation aware of the dark stain on society, allowing for more growth and maximum potential in the coming years.
In “Barn Burning,” Abner is described as stiff, wolf-like, and without heat because of his coldness and bitterness toward society in which he was part of during the time of the War Between the States. The main character is Abner Snopes who sharecrops to make a living for his family; in his story, Faulkner describes a typical relationship between wealthy people and poor people during that particular time.
The beginning of Janie’s marriage to Joe shows promise and adventure, something that young Janie is quickly attracted to. She longs to get out of her loveless marriage to Logan Killicks and Joe’s big dreams captivate Janie. Once again she hopes to find the true love she’s always dreamed of. Joe and Janie’s life is first blissful. He gives her whatever she wants and after he becomes the mayor of a small African American town called Eatonville, they are the most respected couple in town. Joe uses his newfound power to control Janie. When she is asked to make a speech at a town event, she can’t even get out a word before Joe denies her the privilege. He starts making her work in the store he opens and punishes her for any mistakes she makes. He enjoys the power and respect her gets when o...
This book teaches the importance of self-expression and independence. If we did not have these necessities, then life would be like those in this novel. Empty, redundant, and fearful of what is going on. The quotes above show how different life can be without our basic freedoms. This novel was very interesting and it shows, no matter how dismal a situation is, there is always a way out if you never give up, even if you have to do it alone.
Janie’s first attempt at love does not turn out quite like she hopes. Her grandmother forces her into marrying Logan Killicks. As the year passes, Janie grows unhappy and miserable. By pure fate, Janie meets Joe Starks and immediately lusts after him. With the knowledge of being wrong and expecting to be ridiculed, she leaves Logan and runs off with Joe to start a new marriage. This is the first time that Janie does what she wants in her search of happiness: “Even if Joe was not waiting for her, the change was bound to do her good…From now on until death she was going to have flower dust and springtime sprinkled over everything” (32). Janie’s new outlook on life, although somewhat shadowed by blind love, will keep her satisfied momentarily, but soon she will return to the loneliness she is running from.
Overall, this book was silly, humorous, serious, tense, and funny in all the right ways. It accurately depicted American culture of the time, although sometimes it was a little over the top. This book was basically about a young teen named Huck, grown up in a very close-minded society, who learns and matures throughout a journey with a runaway slave with a big heart, and learns as a first hand experience (which is a better type of learning than teachers regurgitating biased information that may be inaccurate) of what he should truly feel and what his actual opinion of many things are. This book really helped me imagine what living in the late 1800s was like and how bad the issue of racism was, with a lot of comic relief and silly portrayal of white Americans at the time.
...y. He touched parts of the slaves' lives and what they really went through, but I don't think we even have a true idea of what it would have been in their shoes. The author presented the information in a very solid way and sectioned out very well. I understood what he was trying to explain easily. It was somewhat a long book but very much full of knowledge and history that in spirit is still alive today. We may not have slavery like it was then, but we still deal with racism and prejudices daily. The world changed because of slavery and is the way it is because of the history of America. We cannot change the past but we can change the future. Thank God the world is not the way it was. I cannot imagine what painful lives the slaves had to endure. But we can become knowledgeable about the history of slavery and America and learn from it in many different ways.
...acist attitudes prevalent in South at this time. For all those school administrators who say that the language and ideology of Twain’s writing is offensive, well, maybe Twain wanted to offend people with this novel. Maybe he wanted to offend them so much that they would come to the realization that individuals should not conform to society’s standards, one of these standards being slavery. Until someone is offended, status quo doesn’t change. Maybe it’s about time that we remove the blindfold from our nation’s youth and stop trying to be politically correct. Maybe it’s about time that kids are exposed to the true horror of racism and prejudice so to detour them from repeating fatal mistakes. High school students are neither naïve nor stupid; they can handle the contents of this novel, and hopefully, learn from Twain’s messages.
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is very important to the American culture. When Mark Twain was around, the use of the word “nigger” was quite common. That was how they referred to African Americans in that time. In the book, Twain makes Pap look like the worst possible white trash where as Huck and Jim, the slave, get closer throughout the book. The book shows how people felt towards African Americans back in the day and how it was wrong. They considered them as “inhuman.” In The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn, Aunt Sally seems to be a nice person, but when the little black boy was killed she does not care since “no human was hurt.” This shows how far along we have come since this time period. Huck plays three jokes on Jim, but in the end begs for his forgiveness because he felt he had done something indeed quite wrong. This shows that not all Southerners in the day were “racist.” Mark Twain makes fun of how many people in the South were wrong to think badly towards the African Americans. This book is a very good book to get an understanding of how things were wrong back then and how far we have come since then.
Personally, I think the book was an interesting read. It is crazy to even imagine a time when blacks and whites were segregated. Reading stories of how people viewed and acted about interracial couples is saddening because of the harsh punishment that they would endure, but also gives an explanation of why many southern white men, especially older ones, have such a strong opinion on interracial couples to this day.
...face. Because of this relatability, I believe black people would enjoy this more than any other race.The conundrums, twists, and turns are relatable to the African American community and keep a constant connection between the reader and the characters. This book is the perfect mix of the literary elements. This book has many conflicts and each one is a little more engaging than the last. It had me on the edge of my seat the entire time! Once I picked this book up I could not put it down. This is one of the most touching and moving pieces of literature I have ever read. It really opens ones eyes to the hardships we don’t have to go through on a day-to-day basis. When I was finished this book all i could say to myself was, “Wow, thank God I don’t have to go through that”. If I had to rate this book on a 5 star scale I would give it 5 out of 5 stars without a doubt.