Ferris Beach: Search for Permanency
Jill McCorkle's novel, Ferris Beach, fits perfectly into the popular genre of the bildungsroman. Ferris Beach tells the story of Kate Burns and her struggle to find her identity in a rapidly changing world. Kate looks for permanency in the swiftly changing environment of the New South. Kate's search for permanency forces her to deal with many of the other vital questions in her life. The struggle to deal with change, a central theme in most bildungsromans, certainly plays a major role in Ferris Beach.
McCorkle's Ferris Beach participates in the bildungsroman tradition. Like Bronte's Jane Eyre and Dickens's Great Expectations, McCorkle's narrative focuses on the "coming of age" of its hero - in this case, Kate Burns. Ferris Beach traces Kate's physical and spiritual journey on the path to maturity as she deals with sexuality, insecurity about appearance, and most importantly, the question of life's impermanence.
McCorkle sets her story in the changing South, creating a parallel between Kate's transition and the South's transition from adolescence. The transition of the South can be seen from the opening of the novel where a pillar of Kate's small southern town, Mrs. Poole, gripes about the "Split-levels" (the northerners) moving into their neighborhood. Mrs. Poole's attempt to resist the South's change immediately confronts the reader; this sets the mood for the rest of the novel.
As Kate Burns goes through adolescence, she slowly begins to realize that change can never be avoided, and change truly scares Kate. Naturally, Kate attempts to hold on to moments of security, where everything exists as she would like it. Kate desires permanency; her constant longing to stop time and freeze certain periods of time shows this desire. Kate takes mental snapshots of certain times and just cherishes and savors these moments.
As Kate matures, she begins to understand that life's little surprises always bring the unexpected, whether it be good or bad, and she must treasure the brief moments of security: "I stepped into the middle of the road and just stood there, the lights stretching in either direction, glowing in the deep chilly air. I could see my own breath, could feel my own warmth as it formed right there in front of me. Behind me, our house looked dark, faint lingering of I'd walk a million miles, and I wasn't even sure if it was really playing or if I was imagining the familiar, the same way a bright light remains when you close your eyelids, the way I imagine that the sight of an eclipse would burn its image into your eyes forever" (pg. - citation missing).
The Changeable nature of life affects us all somehow. Whether it be moving to a new city, having children, or losing people that we love, it can affect people in many different ways. For example, in the novel, the main character Taylor Greer changes her name from Marietta and moves...
As a world’s most populous country, China, is experiencing breakneck growth in the process of industrialization and urbanization, with a roughly rate of 10 percent on GDP each year for the last three decades (World Bank). Now it is choking on something which is not only suffocating the lifeline of this country, but also shrinking those GDP for decades. That is the smog, the other Chinese landmark you can see from space through NASA satellite picture besides the Great Wall. Obviously, smog cannot be ignored anymore, especially in 2013, when smog “blackened Chinese cities with appalling frequency, closed airport and roads, and sent children to hospitals with pollution – filled lungs”(Wong). Smog is also the main contributor
In North and South, Elizabeth Gaskell examines the Hale family as they moved from Helstone to Milton. The family moved because Mr. Hale felt like he could no longer faithfully fulfill his position in the village, so the family went to the city for a change and to start over. (Gaskell...
I love when the scripture uses food to prove a point, that’s the only way to get my undivided attention besides cars. Through fruit bearing we are required to live out the nine fruits of the spirits, displaying Christ in us. Of course it’s not easy to display all nine, especially with my experience driving in South Florida. Driving from Palm Beach County to Miami Dade County I lose joy, peace, love, meekness, temperance, long suffering and particularly gentleness. That’s seven out of nine fruits, all because I have a low tolerant for simple minded drivers. Through prayer, the Lord gave me a simple situation, “Stop driving to Miami and take the train. I’ll provide transportation when you get there. If your ride is late, please practice patient (long suffering) and wait for them and not walk.” Since I travel back and forth to see my family frequently, I weigh my options seven out of one fruit lost. I can deal with those odds. I can do it alone, in order to deal with my regular drives, I must be prayed up till I get to my destination, abiding in Christ. Staying attach to the vine, the source of my strength.
"Several changes of day and night passed, and the orb of night had greatly lessened, when I began to distinguish my sensations from each other. I gradually saw plainly the clear stream that supplied me with drink, and the trees that shaded me with their foliage. I was delighted when I first discovered that a pleasant sound, which often saluted my ears, proceeded from the throats of the little winged animals who had often intercepted the light from my eyes. I began also to observe, with greater accuracy, the forms that surrounded me, and the boundaries of the radient roof of light which canopied me. Sometimes I tried to imitate the pleasant sounds of the birds, but was unable. Sometimes I wished to express my sensations in my own mode, but the uncouth and inarticulate sounds which broke from me frightened me back into silence."
Biotechnology is a growth field that consists of the use of biological systems or living organisms in which technology is developed and applied1. Take a look at IBB in figure 1 below it shows an increasing upward trend in the past 5 years showing the fast expansion and growth of the bio sector. One of the significance and importance of biotechnology is that it covers almost every field. The application of biotechnology can be used for industrial, agricultural and medical purposes. The study of microorganisms and particles can be beneficial to mankind. With a clear understanding of internal body composition and molecular behaviour, vaccines and medications can be produced to treat diseases and conditions. Fruits and vegetables can be modified to grow faster, taste better, resist different temperatures, repels insects, etc2. Although biotechnology has the potential to affect modern society and have a positive impact on the environment, the misuse of such technology can lead to devastating consequences and side effects. The creation of bioweapons, food toxicity, errors in products and many ethical issues are also to be considered with the development of such technology. However, the upside and potential breakthrough in this technology could feed the hungry, reduce environmental or human footprint, develop cleaner and more efficient energy sources, etc. On top of this, the emerging applications in the biotech sector is creating plenty of opportunities for businesses that offer biotech related services for other organisations to make use of3. Examples of these applications and subjects include combinatorial chemistry, bioinformatics, biochips, proteomics and high-throughput screening. However on of the most looked at, compelling and c...
The first and most important is group development. Group development is something that every group must go through. It is easily explained by using Cog’s Ladder of group development, five stages of group development: Polite, why were here, bid for power, constructive, and Esprit. These stages outline the path that all groups go through to form their identity. The way your group develops can often determine your actions and your comparative status amongst the other group members. (notes)
The Bildungsroman genre entails a character’s formative years and his or her development from childhood. The characters from this type of novel recall, in detail, past relationships and experiences that impacted the characters growth, maturity, and exemplar for their relationships with other characters. An important component to Bildungsroman novels is the concentration on the characters childhood (Gottfried & Miles, 122). In Jane Eyre and David Copperfield, both characters childhoods were despondent. Both characters experience the loss of a parent: Jane is a literal orphan; David’s loss is metaphorical, then literal. When Jane Eyre begins, Jane has already lost both parents and is under the guardianship of her aunt, Sarah Reed. Reed and her children, Jane’s cousins, are abusive to Jane and never accept Jane as family. Jane has lost both parents and with the death of her uncle, Sarah’s husband and an advocate for Jane, Jane is without any caring relationship. In addition to being without affection, Jane must endure torment. It is this lack of adoration that leads Jane to seek acceptance throughout her life, while attempting t...
Why would schools want to cut student’s recess time out of the daily agenda? Perhaps, the faculty is unaware of the joy it raises for the children. More importantly, recess also raises other surprising factors. Every student loves recess because it gives them a break from the hard school day. However, recess does provide several benefits for the children. Recess time must remain in the schedule. If schools allow children time for recess, positive factors emerge such as, communicating and interacting with peers, increasing their health in the short and long term, and the possibility of a profound interest in a sport or physical activity. These several factors prove why students need recess.
The pollution of China is so severe it affects the lives of the next generation. Outdoor air pollution took 1.2 million premature deaths in 2010 (Wrong). Chinese officials have made little progress to disclose crucial air pollution statistics but collect data refusing to relea...
The point of view that Katherine Mansfield has chosen to use in "Miss Brill" serves two purposes. First, it illustrates how Miss Brill herself views the world and, second, it helps the reader take the same journey of burgeoning awareness as Miss Brill.
As the sky begins to brighten to a gray, and the stars that were so brilliant just seconds ago begin to grow dim, my imagination starts to picture things moving that are really nothing but shadows in the trees. It is as if the shadows are racing around trying to find their owners before the sun peeks its gleaming face up over the horizon. A deer jumps from its bed, scaring the horses and pumping a quart of adrenaline through my system, as my pistol jumps to my hand. Once I realize it is just a deer, I put my pistol back in its holster.
The silver moon suspends in the velvet sky, glowing dimly. Moonlight travels through the yellowish leaves and sheds on the land. I see the obscure, indistinct shadows of the trees are swaying on the floor letting me have the illusion of thousands of devils dancing slyly in the night, planning some evil trick. The hazy mist surrounds the street making it more mysterious and attractive, and the bright...
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The female bildungsroman, also known as the bildungsromane, is known as a sub-genre of novel where the novel's subject is, "the development of the protagonist's mind and character, as [s]he passes from childhood through varied experiences…into maturity and the recognition of [her] identity and role in the world" (Abrams 112-113). The character of Elizabeth Bennet from Jane Austen's celebrated novel Pride and Prejudice is one such bildungsromane heroine. The reader is given insight into the psychological development as she matures over the course of the novel. According to Critic Esther Kleinbord Labovitz some important thematic elements of the bildungsroman genre are that, "it describe[s] the process of development and education of a single protagonist…leaving him at the threshold of maturity... Throughout the course of the novel the inner life of the protagonist and his self-realization become and important element along with the unfolding of the whole person" (3-4). Elizabeth Bennet fits many of these traditional bildungsroman characteristics. She begins the novel as a clever, but somewhat immature protagonist. While she initially revels in her powers of discernment, she later learns that she has allowed prejudice and her own pride to blind herself to reality. Her ‘education’ and ‘maturity’ are the principle focus of the novel.