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The effect of mythology in literature
Mythology and its influence on literature
Mythology influence on literature
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The book I read was Never Trust a Dead Man by Vivian Vande Velde. Never trust a Dead Man is a very interesting murder mystery. The main plot of the story is that Selwyn has been framed for murdering Farold. You would automatically assume that Selwyn murdered Farold if you knew that Selwyn and Farold were bitter enemies, Farold stole Selwyn’s girlfriend, and Selwyn’s knife was found stabbed right through Farold’s back. Naturally, all arrows are pointed at Selwyn for murder, but surprisingly he wasn’t the murderer. Now under disguise, he must find out who the real murder is with some help from a witch named Elswyth and Farold, revived from the dead. I think something to learn from this book is that you should always be cautious of what you have and what you do with it. Allow me to explain. …show more content…
In this story, there is a Witch named Elswyth that helps out Selwyn throughout the entire story as mentioned above.
Selwyn and Farold wouldn’t have made it anywhere without her magic. She was very helpful to them. The only problem with her, is that every time Selwyn gets help, he has to do 1 year of service for her. An example of this happening is when Selwyn needed a disguise from Elswyth. “I need a disguise to visit town without anyone knowing it’s me.” he said. However he try’s out multiple different disguises and gets carried away with using the witch's magic. By the end of the book, he had a total of 15 years of service! At
the end of the story the witch let him off the hook but what if she made him be an assistant for 15 years? That's a pretty long time to be spending with a witch doing slave work for her! Like I already said, Selwyn was framed for murdering Farold. Well, his punishment for the murder was to be tied down in a cave where the dead people are placed. This is when Selwyn meets Elswyth the witch for the first time, and also realizes how tough she can be to him. Immediately after Elswyth helps Selwyn, she forces Selwyn to give one year of service to her. This is where it all starts. Not only does he think about how long one year of service would be, he later forgets about how long one year actually is and gets carried away from taking advantage of the witches powers, while giving up more years of his life. Something we can all take away from reading this story is that it is very easy to get carried away with certain types of things in life, while forgetting the cost. Selwyn got carried away and took advantage of the witches help. Giving 15 years of service could have ruined his life, but luckily she let him off the hook. This shows why you should always be cautious of what you have and what you do with it.
In chapter seven of “No Promises In The Wind” Pete Harris, the manager of the carnival is talking to Josh. They are talking about how the cold harsh winters in Nebraska made it hard for Josh and Joey to get what they needed. Pete knew that Lonnie, the truck driver, was really close to them and that he helped them out multiple times. Although Lonnie was like a father to them, Josh did not want to admit it openly. Pete wanted to help Josh become something great, he promised to pay him whenever they got a new gig to do. Since the money was tight in those times, Pete could not pay well, so he had to lay Josh off.
Escaping Salem: The Other Witch Hunt of 1692 by Richard Godbeer. This book was published in 2005 by Oxford University Press, Inc. Richard Godbeer examines the witch trials in the seventeenth century. When a young girl Katherine Branch of Stamford, Connecticut is stricken with unexplainable convulsions, her master and mistress begin to think it is caused by something supernatural. Godbeer follows the incident without any bias and looks into how the accusations and trials are handled by the townspeople and the people in charge of handling the trails. Godbeer’s purpose of writing this book is to prove that Salem was not the norm. Godbeer’s approach of only one using one case, slightly weakens his effectiveness that Salem was not the norm.
After reading "scared to death" and "wolf family values" I think the second article gave better reasoning behind why we should protect the wolf population. Both articles talk of the wolves return to Yellowstone national park, but the first essay "scared to death" by Ed Yong focuses on the wolves effect on the elk population. The second essay "wolf family values" by Sharon Levy focuses mainly on the wolves and their population and changes of their behavior because of hunting and trying to manage the population. it also focuses on the effects they have on the environment in general.
While most people are familiar with the notorious Salem Witch Trials in 1692, many people are unaware that similar events were taking place in other parts of New England in the very same year. The book, Escaping Salem: The Other Witch Hunt of 1692, takes readers through an intriguing narrative of a young girl with claims of being bewitched. Although I was concerned at first about the book being in a narrative style, the author was very concise and used actual evidence from the trial to tell an accurate and interesting story.
While most people are familiar with the notorious Salem Witch Trials in 1692, many people are unaware that similar events were taking place in other parts of New England in the very same year. The book, Escaping Salem: The Other Witch Hunt of 1692, takes readers through an intriguing narrative of a young girl with claims of being bewitched. Although I was concerned at first about the book being in a narrative style, the author was very concise and used actual evidence from the trial to tell an accurate and interesting story.
...craft is a book that is written very well. The two authors, Paul Boyer and Stephen Nissenbaum, take a story that most of know from high school and take it more in depth. Not just showing the church side or the side of the accused but it shows how the social side of the town played into everything. After reading this book and going on line and look at some reviews I now have a better understanding of why the outbreak of “witchcraft” first started and why it got to the point that people were killed. Not only did the book going in depth about the social aspect but it also break down the cause and effects of the actions taken in Salem during this time. I could find no real downside to this book, it took something I had prior knowledge of and showed me so much more on it, thus allowing me to learn so much more. Makes me glad I chose this book instead of the pirate book.
Conclusion: I think that the Salem trials can teach a lot of life lessons; by not automatically assuming something must be true if coming from an “innocent” child. If it were to be true, whether it be a woman or man, the devil can and will get who it wants. I believe there are possible possessions that still take place in today’s society that are out of a person’s control. However, contrary to the ideals of the Salem Trials; todays’ “devil” affects all races, genders, and ages. During their time, race, gender, and age played a massive role in the accusations of witches and executions of innocent people.
Mary Warren started out in a manner reminiscent to that of Peter Pettigrew from the famous “Harry Potter,” series; she was a timid follower of a popular group, and admired the bravery and kindness she lacked. After Mary and her so-called ‘friends’ are found dancing naked around a fire in their conservative town, they know they will likely be accused of a crime that could punish them with death; witchcraft. Mary’s friend Abigail, tells the girls to stick to their story that they were dancing in the woods and threatens to kill the girls if they reveal the truth; that Abigail was practicing witchcraft and drank blood in order to take the life of the wife of a man she had had an affair with; Elizabeth Proctor, the boss and friend of Mary Warren.
Witches the supernatural of the world, the coming out of Katherine Branch and her episodes. When really it’s just crazy young orphan girl wanting attention from her owners. That was the reality of the book, it stated of really well, the excitement the realistic acts, then the lies came down clashing. She couldn’t keep up with the names; she couldn’t keep up with the lies. I didn’t like the book; I enjoyed the beginning, first chapter, when the episodes I was reading where realistic. They came together, pieces where slightly going together going with her allegations. Then she became not knowing what she was talking about then asking questions to her mistress, then all of a sudden knowing the person they where talking about became her main suspect just because she heard it. The book report of Escaping Salem: The other Witch Hunt of 1692 by Richard Godbeer.
The name of my book is Killing Mr. Griffin by Lois Duncan. This is a mystery thriller about five teens who plan to kidnap their English teacher to teach him a lesson. Their teacher is very hard on them and does not allow any room for slacking. But instead of just kidnapping him for a while, they decide to abandon him for a while by a deserted lake in the middle of nowhere. Two of the teens come back to find that he is dead. Now they must decide what to do with the body and how to explain his death.
Aronson, Marc. Witch-Hunt: Mysteries of the Salem Witch Trials. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2003.
Agatha Christie depicts a descriptive, fictional murder mystery in the novel ABC Murders. With the help of the narrator, Captain Arthur Hastings, Hercule Poirot solves the murders of four victims who are killed in alphabetical order by Franklin Clarke, more commonly known as ABC. The story elicits copious high points but the rare low point as well. Examples of these aspects can be found within the plot, setting, characters, conflict, and theme of the book. According to Stanford’s Suggested Reading List, the book is considered a “must read.” ABC Murders definitely holds up to the reputation placed upon it by Stanford and would be a favorable choice for anyone wishing to read a well written novel.
In the short story “The Man Who Was Almost a Man,” Richard Wright describes how a seventeen-year-old African American boy named Dave struggles to become a man. Dave desires to be viewed as an adult, but is perceived as a boy by his family and community. He foolishly believes that he can prove he is a powerful and mature adult by owning a gun, and as a result, purchases one. However, the route Dave takes to prove he is a man reinforces everyone’s belief that he is still an adolescent. Many critics regard this piece of literature as a representation of the confinement that racial oppression created for African Americans during this time. Through this story, Wright is arguing his primary claim that the oppression Dave and other African Americans
In the one-act play Death Knocks, Woody Allen constructs a humorous allegory revolving around an ordinary man, Nat Ackerman, and his unanticipated encounter with death. In the story, death is personified as an actual character and resembles his victim’s overall appearance. However, Death is not simply portrayed as a typical frightening character but more as an uncoordinated klutz. With the intention of preventing Death from accomplishing his mission, Nat challenges Death to a game of gin rummy and wins one more day of life. In Woody Allen’s Death Knocks, the ironic dramatization of death enables Nat to utilize humor as a coping mechanism to alleviate the common fears associated with dying.
In conclusion the topics that have been stated are good examples of why a person should read this book. Death, Society, and murder can be hard topics to talk about. People may not think about the meaning behind a book. Some just read and know the plot but do they really know the meaning behind the story? Most likely the do not. People should read books that give them something to discuss with other people. By reading more interesting books a person will have more to talk about with people in general.