The Burning Bridges of Betrayal: An Analysis of ‘Firekeeper’s Daughter’ “Every betrayal contains a perfect moment, a coin stamped heads or tails with salvation on the other side” (Brinson). Understanding this quotation is to grasp the profound impacts and consequences of betrayal and the slim chance of rectifying the issues it causes. The most difficult betrayals to overcome often stem from trusting relationships. Betrayal signifies an act of substantial disloyalty that induces psychological conflict, which few relationships can withstand. Throughout Angeline Boulley’s novel, Firekeeper’s Daughter, Daunis Fontaine experiences two major betrayals by those she holds dearest, while her mother reconciles with the duplicity she faces from her brother. …show more content…
When trust is placed in another, it creates an opportunity for profound emotional damage, capable of shattering one’s sense of security. Levi’s betrayal demonstrates that even blood relationships are not immune to such devastation, and resolution is not always possible when faced with significant treachery. The novel illustrates that romantic relationships suffer acutely during betrayal, as evidenced by Jamie Johnson’s lies, deceit, and disloyalty. Yet, Daunis’ mother, Grace Fontaine, overcomes the betrayal from her brother because her love for David surpasses any act of treachery he could commit. Thus, Angeline Boulley’s Firekeeper’s Daughter explores the struggles of maintaining relationships when betrayal weaves its way into them, ultimately proving that only the strongest relationships …show more content…
In Ojibwe culture, kin relationships are foundational to any familial structure. Brothers and sisters thrive off one another and protect each other, reflecting Daunis’ relationship with her brother before her involvement in the methamphetamine case. While eavesdropping on the Super hockey team, Daunis overhears a physical altercation between her brother and another player, who says, “‘Well, who’s the Incredible Bulk that Johnson’s boning? She’s got a nice ass.’ [...] ‘Are you kidding me?’ Levi shouts a second before there is the crunch of a fist connecting with bone. Don’t you ever talk about her like that? She’s worth ten of you” (Boulley 299). Levi’s intense reaction, which could have resulted in his expulsion from the team, portrays an unwavering and instinctual loyalty. The sound of “the crunch of a fist connecting with bone” suggests the brutality of Levi’s actions, while simultaneously demonstrating his fidelity to his sister by physically confronting another esteemed player. Levi’s declaration, “She’s worth ten of you,” reveals the high regard he holds for his sister. His actions were risky because the Supes were his only way out of Sugar Island after high school, yet he was willing to jeopardize his scholarship to protect his sister’s reputation. However, his previous acts of
“Look out for the people who look out for you. Loyalty is everything.” In the book, Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes by Chris Crutcher, Ms. Lemry is loyal. Ms.Lemry is a teacher and a swim coach for a school. She is a teacher who stays loyal to her students. She is loyal because she cares for her students who are in her class. Ms. Lemry stands by Sarah at all times and is there for her. Sarah is a girl who got abused by her dad when she was younger. Sarah’s father when she was younger out her face on the stove. Sarah was always scared of her father and she still is because she is afraid of her dad coming back and killing her. Sarah was about to go on the train and Lemry was there to inform her to not get on the train. Her class is called CAT known
Looking towards the second protagonist, Andy can also be a good role model for young boys. Even though the events that lead Andy into the war are not admirable he does show great attributes during the war. Andy is a young man of courage, maturity, mate ship and just like Henry, integrity and honesty. When faced with danger Andy is quick to quite literally step up to the mark. In combat, the soldiers were hastily called to ‘man the fire step’. Andy showing bravery and courage was the first to volunteer himself, manning the fire step all through the night. It is through these sole actions the reader gets a taste of Henry and Andy’s personalities, highlighting the minor messages in this book such as honor, mate ship and responsibility. If we were to look at the boy’s love lives, we would see the more prevailing message of relationships. Henry and Andy both face hardships in their romantic lives. With Henry in a struggling, unhappy relationship with his girlfriend (Marcelle), Henry finds himself more attracted to his friend’s girlfriend (Janine). When his friend (Trot) is killed off the most un-fascinating and foreseeable way possible, it leaves Henry in a sticky situation. Through all this, Henry can stay true to his moral code just like a real Aussie. On the other side, Andy also gets himself into a sticky situation when he regrettably impregnates a girl (Frances-Jane) while in another relationship (Cecelia). However, Andy does not abandon Frances but instead turns to her and his unborn baby for comfort in his time of darkness and despair. He shows integrity and honesty by choosing to tell Cecelia the truth. In the time of Andy’s story this was an orthodox thing to do. The author accentuates the belief through that even if society tells you it’s the wrong thing to do it is sometimes best to stick to your morals. The actions of these young men are a good influence to the social,
All in all, Cyrano’s loyalty to Christian and to Roxane demonstrates the theme that loyalty forms a deep connection that extends beyond love. The motif of faithfulness shown between Cyrano and Roxane, even when love was no object, portrays the idea that being a dependable friend creates long lasting relationships. As Nicole Yatsonsky articulates, loyalty is a decision to stand by a friend in hard times, even when it hurts; and when things are going well, loyalty is a willingness to be outshone.
This established relationship that the reader is now part of allows the emotions that Walton’s sister may have felt to be recreated and obvious to the reader. “Be Assured… I will not rashly encounter danger.” Walton reassures his sister and it is made clear to the reader that she feels concern for him due to his tendencies. This emotion that she feels is recreated by his words of comfort to her. This pathos helps to build the relationship as do the other elements in combination with it.
Isobelle Carmody’s short story, “The Pumpkin-Eater”, portrays a middle eastern woman, a lone rider and former princess in the days of the crusades, retelling her story of her childhood living in a tower with her mother and maid, leaving to accept the engagement proposed by a prince, only to discover that in this, she is to be exchanging one prison for another. The discovery of self-reliance is seen through her leaving to take care of herself, to not be locked up and kept hidden away to preserve beauty. Foreshadowing of her journey is utilised through the drawing of tarot cards to set the story in motion. “I remember drawing the card of long journeying the year my firstblood came. The bird of my heart, caged for so long, beat its wings against my chest” The mention of her “firstblood”, a significant component to becoming a woman, as a normally hidden bodily function attends to the process of maturity, and the metaphor of the caged bird of her heart symbolises the anticipation and excitement to escape her tower prison to find love of her own. The drawing of this particular card acts as a catalyst to the protagonist’s story, providing reason for her to leave and start anew. The world the protagonist is confined to the tower, with her mother and her maid warning her from love, therefore, forming her basis of rebellion, challenging the views of the world seen through other’s eyes. “ ‘Was it love then?’
The word family evokes an image of trust and a bond of loyalty. In William Faulkner’s “Barn Burning” and James Baldwin’s “Sonny’s Blues”, the main characters in both these stories demonstrate the idea of family loyalty in several ways. While they continue to express the values of family loyalty, the main characters have to overcome several obstacles. Searching for ways to communicate effectively with their families and maintaining their changing identities trap the characters. In “Barn Burning”, Sarty is conflicted with being loyal to his family and being loyal to himself and in “Sonny’s Blues”, the brother has to deal with being loyal to Sonny’s values. During this process, it changes their character and forces them to change and learn about themselves.
John and Clarisse both show honesty in their words at all times, no matter what, which according to Data Koncepts, is, ”the single most important quality or trait our polling sample looked for in a hero,”(1). Honesty always causes for the better in the situations that John and Clarisse tell the truth in, and this is a very important quality that makes a hero a hero. For example, when Heidi’s father is consistently calling John’s house, and his wife says that they should catch him calling and put him in jail for several more weeks, he says that,”[they] should simulate real life as much as possible, and there will be a time… when Alicia has to figure out whether or not she is going to be able to put the kids’ best interests ahead of her own,”(Crutcher, 138), since this is the right thing to do. John knows that being honest of his opinion that seeing if Alicia is willing to protect her children from he...
Loyalty is like glue, since it keeps the camaraderie in a relationship intact. If someone breaks the loyalty, then that trust and camaraderie are damaged as well. But yet, one can remain loyal without sacrificing one’s needs or desires. Examples of this have often appeared in modern day literature. For example, take the Tillerman siblings from Cynthia Voigt’s novel, “Homecoming.” In this novel, the oldest sibling, Dicey, has to take care of her three younger siblings after their mother deserted them in a mall parking lot. In addition, Dicey has to lead her siblings to her aunt’s home in Bridgeport, Connecticut, which is well over 60 miles away. At the beginning of the book, I believed that Dicey had to sacrifice everything she loved to keep her siblings close and together. But, as the novel goes on, you see that Dicey did not have to give up as much, since the one thing Dicey treasured the most was her family. Sure, they did make her mad and annoyed at times, but she loved them, and all she wanted was to keep them safe. Her love is what made her so allegiant toward getting to Aunt Cilla’s home. A similar situation applied for the siblings. Sammy, the youngest child, was a real, “mama’s boy.” You can tell that when their mother left them, he was the child that was in denial for a while. “Go on, because nobody cares about me except Momma, and Momma will come find me but she won’t find you, so you ahead (Pg 41).” But eventually Sammy finally admitted that Momma was gone, and that made his loyalty to Dicey even stronger. He fished, cared, and even stole so his family would be safe. In this example, loyalty kept the Tillerman siblings close together. But, even in a more futuristic, fictional story, this concept exists.
What the reader understands of the infidelity of Milan Kundera’s characters in The Unbearable Lightness of Being is a mere distraction from the real substance of the story and of the character’s real purpose. Kundera offers the reader a red herring and only through close examination can one dissect and abstract the true essence of each character’s thread that links them to one another in this story. For it is not clearly seen: in fact, it can not be seen at all. It is the fierce absence of the word commitment that is so blatantly seen in each individual, yet the word itself is buried so deeply inside of Tomas and Tereza that it takes an animal’s steadfast and unconditional love to make the meaning and understanding of commitment penetrate the surface.
One may never know what situations one may need to overcome in order to go on with the one’s daily lifestyle or routine, as these situations are never hoped or wished for and come as a shock with a high level of fear. Through the interpretation of the primary sources such as Heart of Darkness, one understands the events Marlow had overcome and adapted to in order to get through the journey Marlow was on, along with the journey in Blood Diamond where surviving was the most important thing and reuniting with one’s loved ones. On the other hand, the secondary sources which are trauma in young children, feminist theory, African – American Literary Theory, and the effects of sexual assault and rape allow the reader to develop a deeper understanding of the concepts which are being portrayed. Also, the tests and trials in which the individuals need to alter and face their mind and personality from the departure of one’s journey.
To start, Dally has never known love and affection. Johnny’s “pet of the gang” quality makes him “the only thing Dally loved” (152). Even though Dally has the gang, it is obvious that Johnny is the only one he truly cares for. He treats Johnny as if he is a little brother because Johnny may be the closest thing to family that Dally has ever known. Throughout the years, both Dally and Johnny’s lack of family have led them to an unbreakable bond that unifies them together.
The inability to have control and excessive control in the novel ultimately leads to the downfall of Antoinette and Rochester’s marriage which is seen as inevitable. The theme is presented in the novel culturally, socially and mentally. Rhys’s purpose in reacting to these topics is to identify the contextual issues within the novel, such as the struggle for control and power surrounding women’s role in society and traditional conventions within marriage.
and is entered by a fire escape, a structure whose name is a touch of accidental poetic truth, for all of these large buildings are always burning with the slow and implacable fires of human desperation” (3). “Human desperation” represents the problems that people face daily. These obstacles are like a “fire”, they keep getting larger. As the fire gets larger, Tom’s eagerness to leave gets stronger. The fire is a symbol of reality. Reality is full of difficulties which Tom chooses not to accept. He believes leaving will allow him to get rid of obstacles. One of his struggles is his mom’s criticisms. She always tells him what to do and gets in fights with Tom because she cannot forget about the past issues. He also feels trapped by his job. Tom works in a warehouse just for his family but does not want to live like this forever. He wants to do what his father did and be released from his restraints, but he is unable to. Each ...
Being a loyal friend and having a loyal friend makes a friendship strong and stable, but when one of those friends stabs the other in his back, the relationship falters. In Amir’s case of unloyalty, Hassan’s life was swept away by Amir’s guilt. Hassan is very loyal and humble to those close to him and shows his devotion through his action and words. As Hassan’s first word was Amir, his loyalty to his friend and brother only grew, never faltering even when their lives changed forever. Hassan
Family is a very dominate aspect in the stories that were read for this class. Especially in William Faulkner’s story, “Barn Burning,” where the blood should bond a family together forever no matter what happens. In F. Scotts Fitzgerald story of “Babylon Revisited,” a man wants to get his daughter back. In both of these stories each man experiences a sense of loss. In the barn burning, the love between a father and a son should be based on genuine respect, love, loyalty, and admiration. This is not what happened. Blood was the most important aspect. Throughout this story the boy just wants to gain his father’s admiration, but in doing so he loses his blood tie with his father. In Barn burning, Sarty’s father is being tried, but since there is no evidence to prove that he did it, he is ordered to the leave the country. A very harsh image of Sarty’s father is presented when “he followed the stiff black coat, the wire figure walking a little stiffly from where a Confederate provost’s man’s musket ball had taken him in the heel on a stolen horse thirty years ago. ” His son, knows that his father has never been a law abiding. Therefore the bond between them has been broken. It is hard for Sarty to have a sense of loyalty to his father and to do what is right especially when he knows that his father’s actions are wrong. Sarty alludes to Mr. Harris as “his father’s enemy (our enemy he thought in that despair, orn, mine and hisn both! He’s my father! ” Even with the accusations that were against his father Sarty still feels like he should protect his father. “The old fierce pull of blood” is what is preventing him from turning in his father. So here the Sarty is very torn on what he should do, but the blood binding between is father and h...