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. It is evident from the book that only Kek and his mother managed to survive the strategy, a mother whom he misses so much. Kek is now in his new environment in America, where he experiences snow for the first time in his life and feels its sting. It becomes hard for him to adjust as the snow’s brightness is burns his eyes, and the cold is likened to claws in his skin. As life begins tougher, he opt to help his aunt by washing dishes, yet no one ever told him that the washing machine was only meant for cleaning clothes (Applegate, 18). There are many conflicts in his mind, considering the differences he notices between Africa and America. Seeing the snow, Kek wonders if the people in this new setting will be as unkind and cold as the winter itself. Further, his desire to be like one of the Americans continues, when he meets an old woman by the name Lou, who lives on a neglected farm, and she owns a cow. The image of a cow becomes very important to Kek, as it gives him an African i... ... middle of paper ... ...and has hope that a day will come when she will join him in America. In the long run, Kek and his two friends; Lou and Gol help him adjust to his new American life as well as the joy and pain that he will go through along the way (Applegate, 42). Towards the end, his mother comes to Minnesota and they make it a new home. In Conclusion, the book Home of the Brave reflects Kek’s simple way of learning and adapting to a new language, culture, and experiences. From the content above, it is proven that Kek is lost between his identities and wants to be American in the same time. This is a very sensitive narration that covers most of the issues faced by new migrants from developing countries; from misinterpretation of appliances, to the hardships to learn English, and finally, racism. Works Cited Applegate, Katherine. Home of the Brave. Macmillan, 2007.
“This is Our World” by Dorothy Allison is an essay that brings her own personal views to art and the impact that it has had on her life. She brings descriptive language to describe how the art can be compared to writing. The author persuades her audience that writing is more than just writing and it can be an eloquent and beautiful piece of art.
In this novel Roxanne is a famous soprano opera singer from Chicago. Bel Canto, one of the main characters that I chose to study was Roxane Coss. Roxanne is a famous soprano opera singer from Chicago.
“Unbroken” by Laura Hillenbrand is a capturing, inspiring, and unforgettable tale. Hillenbrand excels in narrative storytelling, expressing feelings and experiences that are difficult to capture in this style of writing. In this book, Hillenbrand provides a balance between facts and the story itself; she portrays the story by stopping at intervals and going more into depth about different facts that will help the reader to understand. The combination of the two create a story that’s both informative and emotionally capturing. Hillenbrand seizes the readers emotions through the use of morals and themes.
Has the United States government kept secrets from its citizens? Conspiracy theories have been posed throughout the history of our nation. A conspiracy theory is defined as “a theory that explains an event as being the result of a plot by a covert group or organization; a belief that a particular unexplained event was caused by such a group” (Dictionary). Is this an on-going theme in U.S. Government history? Many people believe that our government has purposely fabricated or withheld information regarding historical events; was the moon landing simulated, were service men murdered at Pearl Harbor, who really shot President Kennedy? On the other hand, there are strong believers that the United States government has not and will not deceive its citizens. The novel Real Enemies by Kathryn S. Olmsted enlightens readers regarding major U.S. political and historical events.
In this book, a young boy was upset when he finds out that his family has to move due to his father’s new job in the German military. Their new home is in the middle of now where and Bruno has no friends to play with and nothing to do. So he decides to explore the boundaries around his home. After exploring, he comes across an odd fence place next door to his family’s home. After awhile of exploring and stuff, Bruno ends up making a friend, but the only problem is that his friend is trapped behind a fence.
A Dutch girl named Hanneke Bakker is working as a black market delivery girl during World War II, as a small rebellion against the Nazis for killing her boyfriend, Bas. While delivering sausages to Mrs. Janssen, Hanneke was asked to find a Jewish schoolgirl, named Mirjam Roodvelt, who she was hiding in her secret room behind the pantry from the Nazis. Although she disapproves of the idea, she knows that this would be something Bas would want her to do. Hanneke decided to trespass Mirjam’s school but was caught by a secretary named Judith and had to make up a lie about trying to find pictures of Bas. A few days later, Hanneke finds Ollie, Bas’ older brother, waiting in her living room to talk to her about why she was at the Jewish School. After
Out of the prison, they run and keep running until they find Kristina Polanska, a 17-year-old girl who was running from a vile foreman who controlled the farm she worked at. With her, the group crosses the Trans-Siberian railway into Mongolia after coming across a hospitable man. Helped by kind Mongols, they make their way into the Gobi Desert, unprepared and unknowing of its challenges. Kristina, due to a mix of heatstroke, exhaustion, dehydration, and hunger, begins to weaken, falling down on her swollen legs. Not long after, she dies and is buried. Sigmund Makowski, the 37-year-old ex-Polish captain, shows the same symptoms of swollen legs and uncontrollable collapsing and repeats the process. When they believe all hope is lost, they find mud, harboring snakes. After drinking the water from the mud, and eating cooked snake meat, they again think that it is possible to survive the Gobi. Finding dogs ands sheep, they know an owner is near. With the old owner, they eat, and set off. Now, they enter friendly
The Glass Menagerie - Amanda Wingfield If there is a signature character type that marks Tennessee -Williams’s dramatic work, it is undeniably that of the faded Southern belle. Amanda is a clear representative of this type. In general, a Tennessee Williams faded belle is from a prominent Southern family, has received a traditional upbringing, and has suffered a reversal of economic and social fortune at some point in her life. Like Amanda, these women all have a hard time coming to terms with their new status in society—and indeed, with modern society in general, which disregards the social distinctions that they were taught to value.
The novel, Alone Together: Why We Expect More From Technology and Less From Each Other (2011) written by Sherry Turkle, presents many controversial views, and demonstrating numerous examples of how technology is replacing complex pieces and relationships in our life. The book is slightly divided into two parts with the first focused on social robots and their relationships with people. The second half is much different, focusing on the online world and it’s presence in society. Overall, Turkle makes many personally agreeable and disagreeable points in the book that bring it together as a whole.
Kate Balland is a sixth grade student at Martha Brown Middle School. She is a dedicated and committed author of Stepsister Twisted. She had a lot of fun writing this story thanks to her wonderful English teacher, Mrs. Smith. For example, Kate enjoyed adding the dialogue to give the characters some real life and meaning. She thinks that it gives them a real meaning to their role that they play in the story.
For the characters in the story, they struggle to feel part of American culture. Ashima worries about how her child will grow up in a foreign land with a mother who barely knows anything about it. For Gogol, he has grown up with the culture, but due to his heritage, he is not completely seen as an American. These struggles the characters face perfectly reflect how other humans like them have to deal with these situations. By detailing their struggles in a work of literature, the reader can better understand the emotions and hardships people with the same conditions must
Mary Barton, the first novel of Elizabeth Gaskell, shows a thoughtful portrayal of the lives of the common laborers amid a time of fast industrialization and financial gloom. Starting in the industrial center of nineteenth-century England; Manchester, the work joins the characteristics of a sentimental romance with the features of a social-problem novel, a genre that was at the height of its popularity during this time.
Helen Kellar has proved to be one of the greatest role models of not just disabled people, but also people striving towards a goal. Helen Keller (1880-1968) was born in Alabama, USA. When she grew to be 19 months old, her body was taken from sight and hearing. Through this rough time in her life, she still had hope thanks to the gracious teacher, Anne Sullivan. Through Anne Sullivan’s dedication to help someone in need, Helen Kellar learned how to read and speak, just by the mere form of touch. Later on in life, she began schooling, and graduated from university at the phenomenal age of 24. Due to her outstanding energy, enthusiasm, and will, she became an inspiration and strength, which furthered the cause of the worlds deaf and blind. The development of the essay, “Three Days to See,” helps reveal the true feelings of the extraordinary Helen Kellar, and also exposes an important message to the audience.
The 2009 documentary film, Home by Yann Arthus-Bertrand, shows the diversity of life on Earth and how humanity is threatening the ecological balance of the planet. According to the film, 20 percent of the world's population consumes approximately 80 percent of the Earth's natural resources. Natural Resources are all resources that exists without the actions of humankind. No matter how we use the resources, one day they will run out, the question is how soon? Therefore, we have no choice but protect the remaining natural resources to avoid their depletion for future generations.
The description of marriage in the poem “Habitation” written by Margaret Atwood is very similar to the courtship of Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy in Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austin. The poem describes marriage using many metaphors that may be difficult to understand, but after analysis, they are simple and seem to be describing the relationship between Elizabeth and Darcy. The poem “Habitation” is very interesting because of how similar its description of marriage is to the courtship of Elizabeth and Darcy in Pride and Prejudice.