Sometimes, pain can be so overwhelming, that people feel that happiness is something that they don’t deserve. Eventually, with the right guidance, it is easier to let go of the pain and start over, while creating a new path in life. In the novel, Rock and a Hard Place, the protagonist Libby has lost everyone she has ever loved in her life. Her mother and younger sister both died in a car accident, and her emotionally unstable father left her in a new town with her abusive aunt. Libby hides from her pain by isolating the world and everyone in it. Through the characterization of Libby, Angie Stanton is able to capture the reality of pain. As people, it is hard to communicate pain, because it hurts too much. People choose to give out their trust …show more content…
to others because they need someone to listen. The love between Libby and her family was genuine, because of this love letting go is not as painful as starting over.
After the day of the accident, Libby had no one. Everyone she loved was gone. She tried to forget and move on but it’s hard when there’s a constant reminder. Reminding her day after day that it’s all real. Angie Stanton proves this when she writes, “...Libby traced the scars on her palm with the tip of her drawing pencil. If only she could wash the marks away along with the memories of that tragic day” (pg.1). The scars that Libby has aren’t just on her palm. She has a permanent scar on the inside that becomes a part of who she is. Libby clearly misses her family, and it isn’t a surprise. She was in the car during the accident she lived. Her little sister didn’t get to live life, to experience it all. While her mother the one who raised her died too. Libby’s scared to live life. When there isn’t anything to live for. Angie Stanton writes,“She picked up the small, framed picture of her family…..Their arms hung comfortably on one another’s shoulders, reminding her of the love they’d shared” (pg.15). The moment describes how Libby’s past was full of love. She lived a picture-perfect life and now that it’s all falling she can’t hold herself …show more content…
up. With all the pain and betrayal Libby has faced, it overweights her happiness.
She’s afraid to feel happiness when she has already lost so much. Libby doesn’t give out her trust so easily. “...she preferred to be alone. It was easier. She has grown comfortable with solitude…(pg.5).” Libby didn’t want people to feel bad for her. No one in the new town knew her or her family, she didn’t want their pity, it only made things worst. Her mom wanted her to be strong, but by letting people in Libby felt weak, and that she was disobeying her mom. Libby drops her guard when someone finally chooses to pay attention to her, the quiet and lonely girl trying to hide. Everything changes when Libby meets Peter. Angie Stanton writes,“He was beautiful and perfect, and she couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt so happy. The best part was that he didn’t know about her life or that she lived with her crazy aunt Marge”(pg.30), to show that Libby is changing. It has been forever since Libby got to feel a moment a happiness. Everyone in her new town sees her as the sad motherless girl who is forever alone. He didn’t know anything about her secrets or her horrible life. Libby craves the idea of forgetting everything and starting over. With Peter, she got to forget and live, because in that moment she could be anyone and he would
know. Libby allows herself to see the good the world has to offer and open herself up to let someone in, to help. She gained the strength to the value memories brought by the past, and to live in the present while following her heart. Peter played a big role in her life. Angie Stanton writes,“When I met you, you were the bright light that saved me from the darkest depths.” Peter literally saved Libby. Libby was so buried in depression that she lost herself. She couldn’t handle the idea of living, but also while struggling the abuse of the crazy aunt. By Peter gaining Libby’s he help her escape from the abuse of her aunt and the internal abuse you was giving herself. Stanton writes, “It was time to stand up for herself and move forward, not cower in submission as other people made bad decisions for her.” This proves Libby’s jurassic change from a quiet nobody to a stronger girl standing up for herself. She allows herself her see that she’s in charge of her future and that there is a future worth living for. “Rock and a Hard Place” explores the overcoming of pain and the idea trust. Throughout the novel, Libby struggles with overwhelming pain and afraid to trust others in helping her. Angie Stanton shows sometimes it’s trust that brings people closer to finding salvation in life. When people finally learn to trust they are able to release the burden that keeps them behind.
The book “Dead Girls Don’t Lie” written by Jennifer Shaw Wolf focuses on a variety of different ideas and topics, mostly fixating the murder of the main character’s best friend Rachel. With this also comes gang violence, lost and found relationships, and the fact that some people will go to great extents in order to keep a lethal secret from the public eye. Rachel and Jaycee were best friends up until 6 months before where the book started. But, an altercation between them caused the breakup of their long lasted friendship. It is soon found out that Rachel was shot through her bedroom window, which is at first suspected to be gang violence. When Jaycee doesn’t answer her phone on the night Rachel was murdered, she received a text that circulates
“Picking up the pieces of their shattered lives was very, very difficult, but most survivors found a way to begin again.” Once again, Helen was faced with the struggle of living life day-to-day, trying not to continue feeling the pain of her past.
Alexander Stowe is a twin, his brother is Aaron Stowe. Alex is an Unwanted, Aaron is a Wanted, and their parents are Necessaries. Alex is creative in a world where you can’t even see the entire sky, and military is the dream job for everyone and anyone. He should have been eliminated, just like all the unwanteds should have been. He instead comes upon Artimè, where he trains as a magical warrior- after a while. When he was still in basic training, and his friends were not, he got upset, he wants to be the leader, the one everyone looks up to.
The fourth Chapter of Estella Blackburn’s non fiction novel Broken lives “A Fathers Influence”, exposes readers to Eric Edgar Cooke and John Button’s time of adolescence. The chapter juxtaposes the two main characters too provide the reader with character analyses so later they may make judgment on the verdict. The chapter includes accounts of the crimes and punishments that Cooke contended with from 1948 to 1958. Cooke’s psychiatric assessment that he received during one of his first convictions and his life after conviction, marring Sally Lavin. It also exposes John Button’s crime of truancy, and his move from the UK to Australia.
After a basketball game, four kids, Andrew Jackson, Tyrone Mills, Robert Washington and B.J. Carson, celebrate a win by going out drinking and driving. Andrew lost control of his car and crashed into a retaining wall on I-75. Andy, Tyrone, and B.J. escaped from the four-door Chevy right after the accident. Teen basketball star and Hazelwood high team captain was sitting in the passenger's side with his feet on the dashboard. When the crash happened, his feet went through the windshield and he was unable to escape. The gas tank then exploded and burned Robbie to death while the three unharmed kids tried to save him.
There are people existing among us with a special trait or characteristic that makes them stand out above the masses. They are “heroes” in a sense, who perform great acts of sacrifice and promote hope when it seems that the last drop of faith has evaporated from one’s soul. These individuals remind us of saints who walked before us, healing and caring for the sick and destitute when no other man dared. Author, Tracy Kidder (2004), brings to the forefront the noble deeds of a modern day saint, Paul Farmer, through his writing in Mountains Beyond Mountains. He illustrates how a single man can lead nations toward healing, even in the midst of war, turmoil, limited resources, or “mountains” of bureaucratic red tape. Although the book tells a story about Farmer’s life, academic achievements, and global contributions toward curing infectious diseases, the main theme, as illustrated by the book title, is that no matter what a person does, there is always more to be done. Beyond the hills and valleys of Farmer’s journey, Kidder (2004) provides scenes of leadership styles along the way. Is a leader born or is leadership learned? A review of Paul Farmer’s mission, through the eyes of the author, may provide insight to support both philosophies.
This tendency provoked Hazel to the point where “there were tears on [her] cheeks, but she'd forgotten…what they were about” (1). The loss of emotion has taken the citizens’ entitlement to experience not only happiness and love but also sadness and grief. These are all traits that people need in order to operate like normal human beings. When George and Hazel witnessed the traumatic murder of their son on television, George automatically forgets due to his mental radio. Hazel, however, reacts to the frightening scene in front of her but forgets the occurrence just as fast.
Kate Morrison is a well educated, independent woman with a decent job, supportive boyfriend and family. Externally, Kate has a life that some people might envy of but, internally, she isn’t as stable as she seems. Crow Lake, a novel written by Mary Lawson, leads the readers to the protagonist, Kate Morrison and the struggles in her life. Kate loses her parents in her early age and for this reason she lives with her siblings with some help from her neighbours and other family members. Despite the absence of her parents, Kate and her siblings seem to grow well. Although there is some crisis in the family, they seem to be inevitable consequences of not having an adult in the family. However, Kate spends an innumerable amount of time accepting and letting go of the past and eventually it causes another crisis in her present life. She continuously has some kind of depression, and she does not realize that her depression is coming from herself, not from anything or anybody else. Crow Lake contains a great message that shows refusing to face the past affects your future negatively. We see ...
Traditions, heritage and culture are three of the most important aspects of Chinese culture. Passed down from mother to daughter, these traditions are expected to carry on for years to come. In Amy Tan’s The Joy Luck Club, daughters Waverly, Lena, Rose and June thoughts about their culture are congested by Americanization while on their quests towards self-actualization. Each daughter struggles to find balance between Chinese heritage and American values through marriage and professional careers.
This novel is a story of a Chicano family. Sofi, her husband Domingo together with their four daughters – Esperanza, Fe, Caridad, and Loca live in the little town of Tome, New Mexico. The story focuses on the struggles of Sofi, the death of her daughters and the problems of their town. Sofi endures all the hardships and problems that come her way. Her marriage is deteriorating; her daughters are dying one by one. But, she endures it all and comes out stronger and more enlightened than ever. Sofi is a woman that never gives up no matter how poorly life treats her. The author- Ana Castillo mixes religion, super natural occurrences, sex, laughter and heartbreak in this novel. The novel is tragic, with no happy ending but at the same time funny and inspiring. It is full of the victory of the human spirit. The names of Sofi’s first three daughters denote the three major Christian ideals (Hope, Faith and Charity).
The first encounter with Helga Crane, Nella Larsen’s protagonist in the novel Quicksand, introduces the heroine unwinding after a day of work in a dimly lit room. She is alone. And while no one else is present in the room, Helga is accompanied by her own thoughts, feelings, and her worrisome perceptions of the world around her. Throughout the novel, it becomes clear that most of Helga’s concerns revolve around two issues- race and sex. Even though there are many human character antagonists that play a significant role in the novel and in the story of Helga Crane, such as her friends, coworkers, relatives, and ultimately even her own children, her race and her sexuality become Helga’s biggest challenges. These two taxing antagonists appear throughout the novel in many subtle forms. It becomes obvious that racial confusion and sexual repression are a substantial source of Helga’s apprehensions and eventually lead to her tragic demise.
After returning from a devastating war, Seymour Glass finds it difficult readjusting to civilian life and the challenge to fit into society becomes the underlying conflict in the story. It is typical and almost expected that soldiers who have been involved in a traumatic war may lead them to symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Being a victim of PTSD, Seymour suffers from ominous recurring flashbacks, difficulty coping with painful memories, and maybe even something that is called “Survivors Guilt”; guilty of being alive while others are dead. Since the term PTSD was not yet coined during this era, there was a misunderstanding and confusion about the behavior of those affected soldiers. Seymour displayed signs of forgetfulness, anxiety, avoidance, and estrangement. In the beginning of the story, the phone conversation between Muriel and her mother re...
She continues in this sequel to talk about the abuse she faced and the dysfunction that surrounded her life as a child and as a teen, and the ‘empty space’ in which she lived in as a result. She talks about the multiple personalities she was exhibiting, the rebellious “Willie” and the kind “Carol”; as well as hearing noises and her sensory problems. In this book, the author puts more emphasis on the “consciousness” and “awareness” and how important that was for her therapeutic process. She could not just be on “auto-pilot” and act normal; the road to recovery was filled with self-awareness and the need to process all the pieces of the puzzle—often with the guidance and assistance of her therapist. She had a need to analyze the abstract concept of emotions as well as feelings and thoughts. Connecting with others who go through what she did was also integral to her
The characters in Alice Sebold’s The Lovely Bones are faced with the difficult task of overcoming the loss of Susie, their daughter and sister. Jack, Abigail, Buckley, and Lindsey each deal with the loss differently. However, it is Susie who has the most difficulty accepting the loss of her own life. Several psychologists separate the grieving process into two main categories: intuitive and instrumental grievers. Intuitive grievers communicate their emotional distress and “experience, express, and adapt to grief on a very affective level” (Doka, par. 27). Instrumental grievers focus their attention towards an activity, whether it is into work or into a hobby, usually relating to the loss (Doka par. 28). Although each character deals with their grief differently, there is one common denominator: the reaction of one affects all.
In July’s People, Nadine Gordimer gives a very detailed and knowledgeable explanation of the political turmoil within South Africa. By expressing the emotions of a family involved in the deteriorating situation and the misunderstandings between blacks and whites, she adds a very personal and emotional touch, which allows the reader to understand the true horror and terror these people experienced. Gordimer writes of how the Smales family reacts, survives, and adjusts to this life altering experience. She makes obvious throughout the book that prejudice plays a major role in uncovering the reactions of Bamford and Maureen Smales.