In the novel, Out of My Mind, one observation was that people, doctors included, underestimated Melodies abilities in school and in life. For example, in one point in the novel Melody is faced with a teacher that couldn't accept that Moldy was intelligent. “ Melody does have mental and physical limitations” “You have to learn to accept that” (Draper 58). In this instance, Melodies teacher can't look past her limitations. Yes, Melody does have limitations but these limitations should not dictate how highly you think of Melody. Melody isn’t and never will be physically normal but she is still an 11 year little indian girl, who has gone through a lot more than any other 11 year old. A little later in the text, Melody had received a computer that
gave her a voice. Soon after this she made the social studies trivia team. Melody finally thought they(her classmates) thought she was smart, but no they thought nothing more than they did before. They took away the one thing she cared about, because they couldn't get past her disabilities. They couldn't see the smart little girl hidden inside a broken body.
Many poets use different types of figurative language to express themselves and convey a message, theme, or idea. In the poem The Day Brushes Its Curtains Aside, by Jimmy Santiago Baca, he describes a man in prison by using figurative language. Reading this poem has helped me grasp a deeper understanding of different ways an author can incorporate figurative language to make the reader feel as if they are in the story right next to the character.
Clive Barker, the author of The Thief of Always, writes a fantasy about Harvey(the main character) taken into into a place full of illusions. Soon he finds out that there was this horrible Hood that had taken his precious time and almost has eaten his soul. So, Harvey then tries to destroy this evil Hood who ends up to be the oh so perfect house. Hood is evil and different ways he is evil. There are many things that makes someone or something truly evil. Hood is ultimately evil. These are the things that make him who or what he is. Evil is significant to most stories because that is the major conflict. The antagonist, Hood, does a really good job of being the bad guy. Usually it’s a person who is has some kind of kindness inside,
The desire to learn about family and its history can lead a man to great monuments of nature. Scott Momaday is Kiowa in the blood, but doesn’t know the impact of his ancestry, what they had to endure, and how they adapted to the obstacles thrown at them. Scott Momaday decides to travel 1,500 miles to “see in reality” what his family went through. He writes this story with a mixture of folklore, myth, history and personal reflections. Scott Momaday uses nature as a main component of his story, incorporating different voices and his memory to bring personal vision into the story with different time frames to give the ultimate experience of the Kiowa and his family.
In a country like the United States of America, with a history of every individual having an equal opportunity to reach their dreams, it becomes harder and harder to grasp the reality that equal opportunity is diminishing as the years go on. The book Our Kids by Robert Putnam illustrates this reality and compares life during the 1950’s and today’s society and how it has gradually gotten to a point of inequality. In particular, he goes into two touching stories, one that shows the changes in the communities we live in and another that illustrates the change of family structure. In the end he shows how both stories contribute to the American dream slipping away from our hands.
Poverty and homelessness are often, intertwined with the idea of gross mentality. illness and innate evil. In urban areas all across the United States, just like that of Seattle. in Sherman Alexie’s New Yorker piece, What You Pawn I Will Redeem, the downtrodden. are stereotyped as vicious addicts who would rob a child of its last penny if it meant a bottle of whiskey.
Pain is one of the most complex words in the modern day language. It is perceived differently with every situation with varying definitions for all types of people. Pain for an infant who scraped their knee seems petty compared to a terminally ill mother who will leave behind three children. The feeling of discomfort or agony may never go away in some cases, especially mental pain. Author of In the Lake of the Woods, Tim O’Brien, writes a novel about war stress and how PTSD can change a person’s entire personality. John Wade suffers through tremendous pain that eventually leads to the disappearance of his wife Kathy. O’Brien portrays the effects of pain through John Wade’s post traumatic stress disorder throughout his lifetime during
“Often fear of one evil leads us into a worse”(Despreaux). Nicolas Boileau-Despreaux is saying that fear consumes oneself and often times results in a worse fate. William Golding shares a similar viewpoint in his novel Lord of the Flies. A group of boys devastatingly land on a deserted island. Ralph and his friend Piggy form a group. Slowly, they become increasingly fearful. Then a boy named Jack rebels and forms his own tribe with a few boys such as Roger and Bill. Many things such as their environment, personalities and their own minds contribute to their change. Eventually, many of the boys revert to their inherently evil nature and become savage and only two boys remain civilized. The boys deal with many trials, including each other, and true colors show. In the end they are being rescued, but too much is lost. Their innocence is forever lost along with the lives Simon, a peaceful boy, and an intelligent boy, Piggy. Throughout the novel, Golding uses symbolism and characterization to show that savagery and evil are a direct effect of fear.
There are numerous works of literature that recount a story- a story from which inspiration flourishes, providing a source of liberating motivation to its audience, or a story that simply aspires to touch the hearts and souls of all of those who read it. One of the most prevalent themes in historical types of these kinds of literature is racism. In America specifically, African Americans endured racism heavily, especially in the South, and did not gain equal rights until the 1960s. In her renowned book The Color Purple, Alice Walker narrates the journey of an African American woman, Celie Johnson (Harris), who experiences racism, sexism, and enduring hardships throughout the course of her life; nonetheless, through the help of friends and family, she is able to overcome her obstacles and grow into a stronger, more self-assured individual. While there are numerous themes transpiring throughout the course of the novel, the symbolism is one of the strongest prospects for instigating the plot. In The Color Purple by Alice Walker, numerous symbols influence and drive the plot of the novel.
The Stranger, written by Albert Camus, tells the story of Meursault. It is about Meursault an indifferent young man living in France. It shows what leads up to Meursault committing murder, the murder, and the aftermath. Albert Camus writes the story in first person narrative. The Stranger being written in first person narrative shows us why and how Meursault is so isolated. This in turns shows us how extreme isolation leads to disinterest in society, and in this case, murder.
Death can both be a painful and serious topic, but in the hands of the right poet it can be so natural and eloquently put together. This is the case in The Sleeper by Edgar Allan Poe, as tackles the topic of death in an uncanny way. This poem is important, because it may be about the poet’s feelings towards his mother’s death, as well as a person who is coming to terms with a loved ones passing. In the poem, Poe presents a speaker who uses various literary devices such as couplet, end-stopped line, alliteration, image, consonance, and apostrophe to dramatize coming to terms with the death of a loved one.
A Wrinkle in Time, Star Wars and The Hunger Games are similar and different in their approach to the Hero’s Journey. Many parts of the Hero’s Journey such as the call to adventure, crossing the threshold, tests/allies/enemies, and the ordeal have many differences as well as similarities.
In Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel Never Let Me Go, Miss Lucy and Miss Emily set up two contrasting perspectives between rigid reality and the luxury of lies. Throughout the novel, there are plenty of examples where both perspectives show positive and negative effects between lying and telling the truth Its hard to say who is right but exploring both point of views will give insight on what’s best for the children. It is clear that Miss Lucy wants to tell the truth because it is immoral to lie about someone’s most important part of their identity and she believes it is humane thing to do; however, Miss Emily feels as if it is better to lie for the sake of a happy childhood and to ultimately figure out if the children have souls. With this, we perceive
"East of Eden deals with the inexplicability of the emotion we call love" (Wyatt xxii). John Steinbeck’s East of Eden explores love’s inexplicability and attempts to explain the pernicious effects of love through the characters’ relationships. Proving very complicated, love takes many forms, from a simple coquetry to deep romance.. East of Eden explores three main types of love; parental love, sibling love, and romantic love. Romantic love, typically one-sided in the novel, has negative effects on the characters who fall for one another. All the men who adore Cathy, along with Aron’s and Abra’s relationship, have love that revolves around idealization and manipulation. Parental love, or the lack of it, causes sibling rivalry, which spurs jealousy
Along with reading “The Open Boat” by itself, using other sources like poems and literary analysis is a productive way to find a deeper meaning behind the story. Two poems by Stephen Crane and an analysis by Gregory A. Schrimer provide an insight to the central theme that the universe does not care about one single person. To begin, the poem, A Man Said to the Universe shows how the universe is not responsible to humans. “A man said to the universe: ‘Sir, I exist!’ “However,’ replied the universe, ‘The fact has not created in me a sense of obligation.” This poem shows that the universe in this case tells the man that he has no obligation to him so he does not feel the need to protect him in face of danger. The same poem provides another
The West couldn’t be freed from all oppression and for the pioneers sometimes there is struggle with familiar expectations and social norms. There is a constant battle for success and survival for many settlers in the barren land of the West. There seemed to be a sense of loneliness between the characters in the novel. Alexandra was successful and independent, however she “had a pretty lonely life…” (Cather 125) and she still wishes “Freedom from the land” (Cather 89). It’s as though she truly enjoys hearing of others travels, such as Emil and lives vicariously through them. Carl expresses his loneliness to Alexandra telling her “Freedom so often means that one isn’t needed anywhere” (Cather 89). He always seems to be on a constant search