Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Common themes in literature
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
In the short story, "An Hour With Abuelo", the tale tells us of boy reluctantly visiting his grandfather, Abuelo. The story's theme is that things that you expect may not turn out the way you think. She conveys the theme at the end of the story when the main character learns the theme of the story. The most important component of the story is Abuelo. Arturo is forced by his mother to visit Abuelo in Golden Years nursing home and figures his time will be slow, dull, and stodgy. Arturo complains that he needs time to study to get into AP English due to his declining grades. In addition to that, he hates the place as expressed in the statement, "Besides, I hate the place, the old people's home, especially the way it smells like industrial-strength ammonia and other stuff I won't mention, since it turns my stomach." However, Arturo eventually gives into his mother's request and goes into the building. He then sees Abuelo writing in a notebook and waits until time passes. …show more content…
Abuelo notices Arturo's desire to leave and shares what he's writing.
Written in the notebook is the story of his life and decides to read to Arturo to help pass the time. He speaks of his dream, as a kid, to become a writer and a teacher. His persistence leads to leaving his father's farm to attend high school. After he graduated, a high school diploma was enough to teach in school for all grade levels. Abuelo was unfortunately was drafted in the military for war. Hearing this, Abuelo objected and describe how important it was for him to teach. The government declined and he had to clean the latrines when he arrived. After he finished his service, the system changed and a degree was required to apply for a job as a teacher. This set Abuelo's dream awry and became a farmer instead. He raised a family and taught his children and grandchildren how to read and write, which brings him
today. Arturo is intrigued by Abuelo's story and wishes to learn more. Suddenly, Abuelo says, "Arturo, look at your watch. I believe your time is over." This statement surprises the narrator and plans to ask his mother if he can stay for a long time. Abuelo's story has drawn the narrator and teaches his lesson. The grandfather's life story describes the conflicts, his persistence, and struggle. At first, Arturo expected a tedious visit to his grandfather, but instead the one hour zooms by and turned out to be interesting. Thus emphasizing the theme, "Everything may not turn out the way you think."
One example of the theme occurs when the author first introduces the story. “But the summer I was 9 years old, the town I had always loved morphed into a beautifully heartbreaking and complicated place.” (pg. 1). The author is saying that the year she turned nine, she found out something about her town that broke her heart and changed the way she saw it. This quote is important because it supports the theme. It shows that now she is older she has learned something about her town that made her wiser than when she was younger. She is now more informed because the new information changed her and caused her to begin to mature.
He grows up to become a nerdy, fat, and awkward adolescent with few friends and even less interest from girls. This phase persists throughout his life and he never develops out of the nerdy boy he was as a child. The Dominican Republic was a hostile and poor place during the time of the novel. The dictator Trujillo controls the lives of the people of the country. This influenced the de Leon family’s present and future.
The universal themes that are used in the story are racism and better the young.”And mothers and fathers, if it is too late for you, think of your children. Make it safe so they don't have to run away, for I want for you and your children what I had.”( Baker, 83) These themes are universal because both talk about things that has happened multiple times. Like better the young. We want the young to be the greatest generation and not make the mistakes we had made. The children of each generation need to be better than the last generations. The other theme racism. Racism was back then and it is now. The theme talks about the racism in the past and in the present and in the future. Racism will be the theme for lots of things in the present but also
The first theme, racism in which the narrator is trying to find out who he is. As the narrator who plays the role of “The Invisible Man” has issues of finding his own identity, he struggles with the fact that he is an African American man living in an extremely racist white society. From the beginning to
He understands complex concepts that only mature people understand, like empathy. Camila shows up to Arturo 's apartment out of nowhere after visiting Sammy. Arturo said " 'But why see him? ' 'Because I 'm in love with him '"(155). Arturo wonders why Camila is still visiting Sammy if he hates her and abuses her. After she responds with "because I 'm in love with" he understands and doesn 't question her any further. He is able to understand so quickly as opposed to before because he able to empathize now. Before in the beginning of the book, he wasn’t able to understand the concept of empathy. Arturo empathizes with Camila because he knows what it 's like to love someone and knows that you do anything for the person you love even you if you get hurt. Arturo loves Camila exactly the same way Camila loves Sammy so he understands. The final event that shaped Arturo and made him into what he is at the end of the novel is when Camila goes crazy and wanders off into the desert. Arturo says "I carried the book a hundred yards into the desolation, towards the southeast. With all my might I threw it far out in the direction she had gone. Then I got into the car, started the engine, and drove back to Los Angeles"(198). Arturo shows his level of maturity by being able to hand the situation here. He just lost the woman he loved but he is able to handle the situation with a level headed fashion. He gets closure
When a reader grasps a theme throughout any piece of literature they never clearly understand the intent without knowing where the theme came from. The theme that is portrayed ...
Before we analyze this short story and get in to the grit of things lets talked about theme and what it actually means. Initially when we think of the theme, we may think it is the summary or the plot of a story (Clugston, 2010) when it is not. The theme itself is more complex then that; a theme is the representation to the idea behind the story. “What does this mean?” you may ask; Well a theme is not what happens in the story, The theme tells you what the story is all about. Everyone’s answer to what a theme is may vary slightly due to individual interpretations.
These stories are laden with humor, but have, like all other stories, an underlying theme. Both themes of these stories are “implied,” and provide an excellent stage to compare and contrast a story on. Theme is the underlying power beneath a story; the “force” that makes the whole experience worthwhile. Theme is “an idea or message that the writer wishes to convey” (Holt 874). A theme can be either stated or implied.
In “The Story of an Hour”, it shows Symbolism and Irony samples in the story that you can find them everywhere.
In the story "Thank you M'am," the author communicates the theme through the plot. The central theme is that a person always deserves another chance to fix his or her mistakes, no matter what mistakes he or she makes. After Roger tries to steal Mrs. Jones's pocketbook, Mrs. Jones said, "If I turn you loose will you run?' asked the woman. 'Yes'm,' said the boy. 'Then I won't turn you loose.'" This clearly shows Hughes’s theme because when Mrs. Jones decides to take Roger in and not turn him in to the police, she gives him a second chance: A chance to correct his mistakes. In contrast, Saki reveals the theme of his story simply through his characters. In Saki's "The Story Teller," the theme is that children enjoy entertainment more than education. The way the children react to both
the main theme in the book, as the expectations turn out to be not so
As the reader commences this essay, it would be preferable for the audience to add a new definition to their vocabulary archives. What is “theme”? Theme can be described as the main focus of a narrative. Theme can naturally identify moral issues to the reader. In addition, it can share a self-conscious evaluation of a person or group of persons. One general expectation of the author is if the audience would focus their thoughts on a certain particular idea throughout the narrative by use of actions, characters, or setting.
Characters actions is the first way the author conveys the theme of the story. In the story the girls piano teacher gives her a white umbrella that the girl really wanted. The girl was so happy that she told her that she wished she was her mother. But, in the car ride home she realized she loved he mother most and was grateful for her. This led to her
In the poem "Beowulf" the author uses theme to make the epic intriguing to the audience. A theme that the author of "Beowulf" was trying to convey is fate is already planned out and can't be stopped. To illustrate this theme the author uses characterization and foreshadowing.
In the excerpt from the novel, Boy's Life, by Robert McCammon and in “Emancipation: A Life Fable,” by Kate Chopin a similar theme is developed. A theme is a message the author wants you to understand. The theme that is illustrated by both authors is freedom. Freedom is developed in both Boy’s Life, and “Emancipation: A Life Fable,” through the lives of the characters.