Have you ever had everything and then just lost it? My entire life I have gone through trials and tribulations. I have felt what it is like to have everything cleaved away from you. I had nobody left who, beyond doubt, cared for me, except my father. One day, my dad came home with a VCR tape; “Anastasia”. I was a little timorous of watching this movie that wasn’t the archetypal Disney movie. Sure, Anastasia gave the impression of being like one of the princesses I knew and loved such as Cinderella, Ariel, and even Jasmine, but for some reason, she wasn’t the same. I finally, after what seemed like hours of deliberation with myself, decided to watch the movie. “Anastasia” was an innovative sort of princess. She reminded me of myself and taught me that I would not die if I did not have what other children had; an affectionate family, a forthcoming past, and self-confidence.
Stimulated by Anastasia’s story, I learned that it was all right if my family wasn’t necessarily a family. My mother left me and my father when I was not even one-year-old. She left him an epistle explaining to him that she was leaving him and did not even come to the divorce to claim me. My aunt would bellow obscene profanities at me every day for doing something slightly off the beam and my grandfather told me I would by no means be his favorite or anything remotely close. Feeling superfluous, I knew I had to proceed with my own life. Anastasia was going to be the woman who taught me unerringly what I needed to know to make this more than just an aspiration. Anastasia had no family but she still seemed happy. What was the key to her happiness? She accepted that she and her past were not the same thing. She moved on with her life regardless of anything that co...
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...get and she would stop at nothing to get it. No matter how uncouth or incredulous people were, she was determined to reach her goal. Following Anastasia afresh, I carried myself in a new air. I worried little about the judgment of others, I refuse to let the minute things inconvenience me, and I loved myself. Anastasia, once more, took root in my heart as my solitary, proper role model.
Though little girls of my day were following such examples as Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, or even Lizzie McGuire, I chose a more dissimilar paradigm. Anastasia was more atypical for the emblematic young girl to follow, but seeing how our plights were akin, I knew she could instruct me better than anyone else. I spent two to three years learning from Anastasia. When the day arrived that I comprehended I did not have to follow her lead anymore, I became one with my true self.
Alexandra Bergson is a hard working women. She struggles at first but does not give up. Alexandra’s hard work finally pays off. She is really successful and really wealthy. She is a mentor to her under brother. She does not want him to be like her. She motivates and pushes him to become someone better than her. Alexandra was always kind and caring to all the people around her. She would try her best to be friendly and helpful with everyone. She was forgiving to people even if they did or said something to her. Alexandra was also a lonely single lady. She spent most of her time staying on top of her farm and younger brother. She was loving
Alexandra Bergman’s lack of self awareness allows others to forget that she is a woman and, at times, even human, which continuously builds the wall of isolation that surrounds her. As a result, when she reacts to situations as a woman would, rather than as “she” should, those around her don’t know what to make of it. Because she has been such a steady influence for so many years, those around her do not understand that perhaps she did have another dream besides working the land that she seems to care so deeply about. Her brothers in particular are unable to comprehend that Alexandra is a woman and was forced into the life she has lead by their father’s fantasy rather than by her own free will. Perhaps the only people who truly understand her dilemma are Ivar and Carl. Ivar is a “natural man” and a religious mystic and Carl a man who was unable to make a living from the land– neither is respected by their peers, and yet they have some sort of insight to Alexandra’s heart that even she has failed to acknowledge. Alexandra’s walls are brought down only by love: love of her youngest brother, love of the land, and the return of the childhood love she thought was lost to her– as these loves begin to change her, her outlook on her entire life begins to change and meld into something that only those who actually know who and what she is recognize: a woman.
In John Connolly’s novel, The Book of Lost Things, he writes, “for in every adult there dwells the child that was, and in every child there lies the adult that will be”. Does one’s childhood truly have an effect on the person one someday becomes? In Jeannette Walls’ memoir The Glass Castle and Khaled Hosseini’s novel The Kite Runner, this question is tackled through the recounting of Jeannette and Amir’s childhoods from the perspectives of their older, more developed selves. In the novels, an emphasis is placed on the dynamics of the relationships Jeannette and Amir have with their fathers while growing up, and the effects that these relations have on the people they each become. The environment to which they are both exposed as children is also described, and proves to have an influence on the characteristics of Jeannette and Amir’s adult personalities. Finally, through the journeys of other people in Jeannette and Amir’s lives, it is demonstrated that the sustainment of traumatic experiences as a child also has a large influence on the development of one’s character while become an adult. Therefore, through the analysis of the effects of these factors on various characters’ development, it is proven that the experiences and realities that one endures as a child ultimately shape one’s identity in the future.
"Her name was Connie. She was fifteen and she had a quick, nervous giggling habit of craning her neck to glance into mirrors or checking other people's faces to make sure her own was all right" (1). This quote shows the reader an astonishing truth about Connie. It shows her true insecurity that is rarely demonstrated to the outside world. Although she does not necessarily show this to the average bystander, by taking a closer look at her premature idea of acceptance, it also shows her constant yearn for approval from others to help boost her ego. At only the young age of fifteen, she is already attempting to prove her maturity and show that she can be independent. She does this by showing off her sexuality and strutting around. By showing off her
Since Connie is a teenager, she relies on her parents to take care of her and provide for her. Even though she fights against her family, they are still the foundation of the only life Connie knows. Her constant need of approval from men becomes a habit for Connie because she doesn’t get approval at home, instead she gets disapproval. “Why don’t you keep your room clean like your sister? How’ve you got your hair fixed-- what the hell stinks? Hair spray? You don’t see your sister using that junk.” Because of this criticism, she isolates herself from her parents. For her, her only way of getting approval is to be independent from her parents and those who are trying to protect her. Connie’s search for independence only comes to her but only in a harsh
Orenstein explores the rise of Girl Power in the 1990s and the differences that are in today’s society. The rise and fast spreading message that girls receive from the Disney Princesses is one of her biggest issues. Not only does she disagree, but other mothers from Daisy’s preschool do as well. In the second chapter Orenstein invites all the mothers with daughters that are obsessed with Princesses to discuss the subject, one mother states that she sees no problem with encouraging being feminine and then states, “On the other hand, I a...
Looking back on the death of Larissa’s son, Zebedee Breeze, Lorraine examines Larissa’s response to the passing of her child. Lorraine says, “I never saw her cry that day or any other. She never mentioned her sons.” (Senior 311). This statement from Lorraine shows how even though Larissa was devastated by the news of her son’s passing, she had to keep going. Women in Larissa’s position did not have the luxury of stopping everything to grieve. While someone in Lorraine’s position could take time to grieve and recover from the loss of a loved one, Larissa was expected to keep working despite the grief she felt. One of the saddest things about Zebedee’s passing, was that Larissa had to leave him and was not able to stay with her family because she had to take care of other families. Not only did Larissa have the strength to move on and keep working after her son’s passing, Larissa and other women like her also had no choice but to leave their families in order to find a way to support them. As a child, Lorraine did not understand the strength Larissa must have had to leave her family to take care of someone else’s
The inspiring tale of The Little Mermaid conveys to readers that one does not need to change themselves to please another as well as do, by any means, follow your dreams; they will come true if you truly do believe in them. Sixteen year-old, Ariel, is an adventure-seeking mermaid that has been constraint and by her father to remain isolated under the sea and never look beyond into the outside world. She soon then rebels against her father’s demands when she falls deeply in love with Eric, a mortal man and pleads to the portentous witch Ursula, to transform her into a human. Agreeing to this, Ursula’s only charge in return was that Ariel gives Ursula her (Ariel’s) beautifully haunting voice. Voiceless, Ariel leaves everything she was acquainted with, her only motivation being her love, to a foreign land for a sole purpose; to gain the affection of her true love. Ariel’s sacrifices and tiring efforts are reciprocated when Eric returns the same affection towards her, both mute and ultimately, the mermaid....
Additionally, she stresses that the values of her childhood helped her to develop respect for different people. Her father influenced her a lot to feel comfortable just the way she is around her hometown; ...
In the story “Two Kinds”, the author, Amy Tan, intends to make reader think of the meaning behind the story. She doesn’t speak out as an analyzer to illustrate what is the real problem between her and her mother. Instead, she uses her own point of view as a narrator to state what she has experienced and what she feels in her mind all along the story. She has not judged what is right or wrong based on her opinion. Instead of giving instruction of how to solve a family issue, the author chooses to write a narrative diary containing her true feeling toward events during her childhood, which offers reader not only a clear account, but insight on how the narrator feels frustrated due to failing her mother’s expectations which leads to a large conflict between the narrator and her mother.
Fantasia is remarkably crafted masterpiece and is one of the most unique videos in Disney History. The intense music and intriguing animation makes this film extremely interesting. The movements of the characters are fascinatingly coordinated with the sounds of the music. As you watch the film, every act is put together to perfection. The imaginable variety of animation and mysterious music is boldly noticeable. The scenes in this film can be analyzed in many different ways according to your imagination. In my opinion, this is about good and evil or hell and heaven. The two scenes that relate to this motto are: "A Night on Bald Mountain," and "Ave Maria." As the animation evolves itself by good and evil, so does the music. These two scenes from Fantasia are prime examples of how you can create a story without using dialogue. This movie is one of a kind and set a great example for different things to happen in the future. The music and animation of "A Night on Bald Mountain" and "Ave Maria" are connected in a various amount of ways.
Thus, in a reversal of the male myth, her initiation does not result in integration into the community but isolation from it. She must reach an individual, though parallel, level of maturity: "When she realized what her situation in the world was and would probably always be she threw away every ass...
Millions have heard of Anastasia Romanov, the young Russian princess that has been the topic of arguments for years. The end of all the Romanovs is one of the most remembered historical events the happened in the 20th century. There are plenty of stories about assassination that are imaginary and completely untrue. But, there are tales surrounding every view of the Romanovs' assassination, Anastasia's story is the one that still brings up a fuss to this day. Much of this arguing comes from Anastasia’s death. When conversing of her story, everyone has his or her own beliefs. Some believe that she died with her family which is true, some think that she survived and eventually took the identity of Anna Anderson which is false, and others still think that it was not her at all, but instead her sister Marie that survived which is false.
As I reflect on this autobiography project, I feel that I found some reasons for my thoughts and behaviors. I do not follow many of the strict values like religion; I seem to follow the path of the males in the family. My adjustment to blindness was both helped and hindered from both my parents. My father encouraged me to explore and not to be discouraged by failure or defeat, while my mother kept strongly encouraging me to improve my life. As I eventually get married and start my own family, I will understand the importance of expressed emotions and how my upbringing influenced my roles in the present and future families.
As a conclusion, “the film [Anastasia] has close to no historical references – it is nothing more than a fairytale. Then again... is that such a bad thing? It has all the necessary elements of a fairytale…” (Guðmundsdóttir 37). Although, the 1997 Fox movie Anastasia is filled with historical inaccuracies, it fulfills the goal of a movie and fairytale- it delights children and entertains children and adults too. The movie may have been twisted to conclude with a happy ending, which is inconsistent with real history, but as stated above, “It serves its purpose well…” (Guðmundsdóttir 37), providing the audience with the happy ending that makes fairy tales what they are.