As the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic looms over students' lives, their self-growth falters in the background. This can be connected to Five Midnights by Ann Cardinal, particularly through the character of Lupe Davila. Lupe's journey mirrors the struggle for personal growth and uncertainties many students might also be experiencing today. As protagonist Lupe Davila navigates her chapters, readers can see her lack of personal growth within her chapters and identity in a gripping mystery in Puerto Rico. Through Lupe's journey, the story explores themes of cultural heritage, reliance, and self-discovery within other characters. In the novel Five Midnights by Ann Cardinal, the character development of the protagonist Lupe Davila, does not effectively …show more content…
Lupe is introduced as a confident and outspoken character, however as the story progresses, we do not see significant growth in her character. This is evident in her consistent reactions and behaviors. For instance, the text, states “No way she was riding in the back like some kind of perp”. Though it was probably against the rules, this experience was already humiliating enough” (Cardinal 15). When told she must ride in the back of the car, she protests, asserting her desire to sit in the front. This reaction suggests that her character remains consistent, not evolving despite the …show more content…
When Javier Uttier tries to put words in her mouth, she immediately corrects him, showing her assertiveness and unwillingness to be misrepresented. Towards the end, the lack of personal growth in Lupe's character arc is a significant factor in this argument. Regardless of the opportunities for growth that arise throughout the novel, Lupe's character remains largely static. Her actions and decisions continue to align with her initial personality traits, indicating a lack of significant character development. Based on the passage “Lupe wasn't satisfied with that answer”(Cardinal 281) when Lupe is given an unsatisfactory answer, she expresses her dissatisfaction, indicating that her character remains consistent and does not evolve despite the situation that occurs. Another example is “Lupe laughed”. Not the best response when a lunatic was holding a knife to your throat, but scared as she was, she couldn’t help it.” (Cardinal 259). Even in a scary situation where a lunatic is holding a knife, Lupe's reaction is to laugh. This reaction suggests that she is not easily frightened and that her character does not significantly change throughout the
Victor Martinez’s “Parrot in the Oven” is a novel that reflects the protagonist’s school days, his athletic activities, and family life. Victor Martinez experiences as a Mexican-American are the influences that induce him to produce such a literary work with figurative language that he receives naturally from his family. In his life, Martinez’s high school days and his teachers take important role as they motivate his to find opportunities that he can get as a son of a migrant worker. He presents his feeling and emotion for finding his identity and belongingness in his novel. As “Parrot in the Oven” is a coming-of-age story of a boy, the high school days and family life of the protagonist is explicitly presented. Everyone has unforgettable school days that made a great impact on the mind of the person. I can never forget about my school days and the sports activities I have participated, got victory, and met failures. I have learnt not only education, but also life, as does the protagonist of the novel. I would like to describe the high school days, athletic contests, and family matters of the protagonist, Manny Hernandez that is concentrated mostly on the chapters 7 and 8 of the “Parrot in the Oven.”
Mara, the main character, is a perfectionist. She has straight-As, is in National Honors Society, and is a future Yale student. She is competing with her only ex-boyfriend for the Valedictorian. Her life changes completely when her niece V, who is only a year younger than her, comes to live with Mara. V is a slutty, druggie that has an attitude. This story takes the reader on an adventure of two complete opposite girls who have to learn to love each other. Mara eventually learns that she cannot control everything and has to take life as it comes.
The short story Eleven by Sandra Cisneros, focuses around the main character Rachel as an insecure developing girl who lacks the experience to handle everyday encounters. Rachel, an eleven year old girl truly encapsulates the thoughts that are present within an adolescent. The lack of confidence in herself, excessive fear of being judged, and ideas of growing up are ideals that are relevant within each and every one of us. The reader is able to relate to Rachel because her feelings and experiences that are described by the author are similar to what most people have been through and are currently experiencing. The characterization of Rachel is expressed through the author’s usage of point of view, imagery, and repetition.
The starting point of this book shows how much she hates Ms.Leone and complaining about her current situations. For example, in one of her first entries, she talks about when she got in trouble for coming home late from school. Her foster parents think she is doing drugs, so they search her. After that they lock her in the laundry room. ...
The cyclical nature of time and the supernatural are recurring themes in Cristina García's 'Dreaming in Cuban'. Throughout the book, the members of the del Pino family find themselves reliving the same events and situations. This is characterized by the repetition of mental illness, attempted suicide, personal exile, and lovesickness that occurs over three generations. Celia, realizes that time will continue to repeat itself unless the family history is documented and carried on. She takes the responsibility of writing letters to her lover, in order to record their story, but understands more must be done, 'memory cannot be confined' (47). When Pilar is born she is endowed with specific gifts that will enable her to carry on the del Pino family history and end the vicious cycle that consumes the family. Through supernatural forces that manifest themselves as extraordinary memory, telepathy and dreams that serve as premonitions, Pilar is lead to return to Cuba where she fulfills her predetermined destiny; learning the del Pino family history and ending the cycle of lost memory that consumes them.
“I would like to baptize myself under a new name, a name more like the real me, the one nobody sees” (11). Adolescence brings on many changes in one’s life and is the time when a person is shaped into who they will be forever. Sandra Cisneros shows the experiences one may go through while growing up through this book. A child, especially during their adolescence, is a very moldable person. The situations they go through and their position socially can greatly impact who they become. Cisneros touches on the importance of friends, life at home, and experiences in the real world that can influence a child’s life. In The House On Mango Street, Cisneros uses strong descriptive words, first person point of view, and suspense
Demetria Martínez’s Mother Tongue is divided into five sections and an epilogue. The first three parts of the text present Mary/ María’s, the narrator, recollection of the time when she was nineteen and met José Luis, a refuge from El Salvador, for the first time. The forth and fifth parts, chronologically, go back to her tragic experience when she was seven years old and then her trip to El Salvador with her son, the fruit of her romance with José Luis, twenty years after she met José Luis. And finally the epilogue consists a letter from José Luis to Mary/ María after her trip to El Salvador. The essay traces the development of Mother Tongue’s principal protagonists, María/ Mary. With a close reading of the text, I argue how the forth chapter, namely the domestic abuse scene, functions as a pivotal point in the Mother Tongue as it helps her to define herself.
Familial influence can have a great impact on a protagonists’ life decisions and future, whether it be a lack of paternal guidance or cultural expectations. This can be seen in the life of Yunior, the protagonist in Junot Diaz’s Drown. Yunior immigrated to the USA from the Dominican Republic when he was little shortly after, his dad left the family and went to live with another woman. This lead to Yunior’s mom becoming a single mother and the breadwinner of the house. The focus of this essay will be on the chapter in the book called “Drown”. In the chapter Yunior remembers his adolescence with his friend Beto and their life in their Dominican dominated neighborhood. The chapter showcases the financial struggles of Yunior and his family along
In Drown, a collection of short stories, author Junot Diaz presents readers with an impoverished group of characters through harsh, but vivid language. Through the voice of Yunior, the narrator throughout the majority of the stories, Diaz places the blame for Yunior’s negativity and rebellious nature on the disappointment caused by his father and the childhood illusion of America. Diaz, through language and symbolism, forces readers into an emotional bond with Yunior while exposing the illusory nature of the American dream. Although intertwined with each story, “Fiesta, 1980” allows for a more concise discussion of Diaz’s purpose. Diaz’s language, even at first glance, appears very different from conventional authors:Mami’s younger sister- my tia Yrma-finally made it to the United States that year. She and Tio Miguel got themselves an apartment in the Bronx…He didn’t say nothing to nobody.
Chick critiqued Judith Ortiz Cofer’s Silent Dancing by advising that it is a collection of fourteen essays and poems. It talks about Cofer’s adolescence and how she did not achieve the expectations for her to become a traditional Puerto Rican woman (AEW 381). Initially, Mamá is portrayed as an authority figure because she keeps her family in control just by the use of storytelling. With Chick’s point of view, I cannot disagree since it is accurate. Cofer, also disagrees with becoming the traditional Puerto Rican woman from receiving an education and going on her own path to becoming a writer. It is interesting how some of the characters are perceived, although they are considered as fiction since their identities are hidden. Cofer achieves her storytelling by being half fiction and auto-biography since it is written by herself. She reevaluates how women should be known as, but specifically the means of the life of a Puerto Rican
Much of Lupin’s description, even before he reveals his lycanthropy to Harry, focuses on his physical appearance, mental health, and socioeconomic status, all of which his lycanthropy severely impacts. When Lupin first appeared in the series in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, he was “wearing an extremely shabby set of wizard’s robes that had been darned in several places. He looked ill and exhausted. Though quite young, his light brown hair was flecked with gray” (Rowling 74). In this scene, he was sleeping, and his name had not even been revealed yet. He was also on the train to Hogwarts with the students, though no other professor ever rode the Hogwarts Express in the entire series. The first thing we learned about Lupin, therefore, is that he was fundamentally different than other wizards. We were not told why, but his shabby robes, illness, exhaustion, gray hairs at a young age, and riding the Hogwarts Express with students already indicate a low socioeconomic status within the Wizarding world accompanied by some sort of mental or physical
As Clarice Lispector was writing what would become her last literary creation, The Hour of the Star, little did she know that while her body was plagued with the devastations of cancer, her mental struggle for peace and grace in death would inspire her most renowned novel. Perhaps it is because of those circumstances, she created a novel with intuitive reflections on both life and death, as seen through the life of the main character, Macabea. The story is narrated by Rodrigo S.M., and although Rodrigo attempts to maintain a neutral stance, he is often conflicted by his own perceptions and feelings. At the book’s commencement Rodrigo spends quite some time explaining that while the story is mainly about a woman, having the book narrated by a female would weaken the richness of content. He explains that a woman is incapable of clearly emphasizing the harshness of reality; that she is too emotional and attempting to explain the life of a wretched girl would be hard because her emotions would not allow an unbiased depiction of the cruelties of life. Macabea is introduced in the novel as a poor girl who does what she must to survive in the slums of Rio de Janeiro. She is, Rodrigo remarks, nothing out of the ordinary. Physically there is nothing about Macabea which sets her apart from the other countless street rascals who live hand to mouth. He then provides readers with some of her early life history, including how she almost died at birth because of rickets, and how both her parents succumbed to typhoid fever when she was a toddler. Finally after their death Macabea was forced to move in with her aunt, who too eventually passed away, but not before procuring the child a job to support herself. In the course of the novel the popular culture, though vague and metaphorical at times, affects Macabea and the secondary characters personalities and actions.
Rivas-Rojas, Raquel. “FABULAS DE ARRAIGO VICARIO EN LA NARRATIVA DE JULIA ALVAREZ. (Spanish).” Canadian Journal Of Latin American & Caribbean Studies 33.66 (2008): 157-169. SocINDEX with Full Text. Web. 25 Mar. 2014.
He is also a werewolf...yes, that’s right, werewolf! The name Remus comes from a story about two twin babies (Romulus and Remus) who were sent to be drowned by orders of a king’s brother. A female wolf found the children and did not kill them, but she cared for them. This has relation to Remus since he turned into a wolf himself. Also, his last name “Lupin” is Latin for “wolf”. Overall, his name is a way of showing who he is. The story behind the name Remus doesn’t have much to do with Professor Lupin’s personality or life considering that he did not have a brother or a wolf for a parent. In a way, Remus from the ancient Roman story and Remus Lupin have similarities. When Lupin first became a werewolf, he almost was not allowed to attend Hogwarts, but he found his way to become a student. As for the ancient Roman Remus, he was thrown into a river and out of his kingdom as a baby, but he found his way to become the ruler of a kingdom. Of course they aren’t exactly the same, but I do see a bit of a
“One never knows where the velocity of bad feeling comes from,” (pg. 74) says our frantic protagonist and with this statement, the character’s complexity continues. Elena Ferrante’s enthralling novel, The Lost Daughter, is told in the point of view of Leda, an English professor in Italy and divorced mother of two now teenage girls. The girls have recently moved to live with their father in Canada. Now feeling liberated from her parental duties, she decides to vacation in a dainty coastal town down south, yet once there, an impromptu emotional journey begins for her.