Relationships are a vital component in one's everyday life. Moreover, in Bay Leaves and Cinnamon Sticks by Thelma B. Thomas, Millie, the main character in the book, has faced multiple obstacles dealing with relationships. Thelma uses a unique method of combining relationships with three different appeal schemes, Ethos, Pathos, and Logos. In fact, there are three major types of connections recycled throughout the book; which include, Romantic relationships, friendships, and family relationships. Furthermore, her relationships have steered her life in different directions since she was nine years old, and without them she definitely would not be the hardworking, determined, selfless woman she is today. Jamaica, formerly known as “Xaymaca” is …show more content…
For example, ethos is a recurring technique used throughout the book along with the importance of relationships. Firstly, Thelma says on the first page of the book, “Millie knew that she could have a house with glass windows, and from the cold day she landed in New York, she knew what she had to do. She had to save every hard earned dime she could toward her house, her place, with her name on the title.”. This passage shows the reader that Millie is determined to provide for her family no matter what; literally, she left Jamaica and her family to make a better living for them. This also shows her selfless attitude, her willingness to go without just to see her family prevail. Another example of ethos is on page 12-13. Moreover, there is a conversation between Millie and the church, they want one tenth of Millie’s earnings, but she tells them that money is all she has to live on, and God has spoken to her in a dream. “Millicent, you are a hard working girl. Follow me. Follow the light to your new house”. In other words, this passage is not only persuasion to the reader, but the church as well; this is because God provided proof in the dream. Now, not only does she believe in her ambition, but God reassured her. In conclusion, Thelma definitely leaves an imprint in the reader's mind that Millie is about her business and values her relationship with her family so much that she is willing to do whatever it takes …show more content…
Millie has endured more than anyone in the book, especially when the romantic relationship she thought she had with her husband was totaled, and her heart left in shambles. The historical context of Jamaica is already hard to devour because of all the hardships they had to sustain. From the moment Millie got to New York she knew she had multiple people to provide for. Thelma B. Thomas says on page 12 while explaining to God Millie had other priorities to handle, ”She had to send money to her aged, sick mother; she had to send money for her sister who was taking care of her children; she had to send money to her unemployed husband, Jude, to live on until he can do better.”. This shows Thelma’s ability to grasp the reader's feelings immediately after she says she is trying to provide for her sick mother. This is rather sad because her mother cannot provide for herself because of old age. Not to mention, Millie has 4 children to look over, 5 if one includes her husband. One more example is on page 39 when Millie is in the cab with William Hope and is on the way to her new house, “Millie could not speak. She walked up the incline - nothing and no Jude. How could he?”. This is relevant because Jude was supposed to be handling things while she was providing bread for the family. Moreover, she was deceived by one of the key relationships in her life, the one she trusted and loved most. With all of this being said, Most of the pathos in the book
She uses ethos in every paragraph, which helps her to increase the credibility of her ideas. The most obvious example is in the first paragraph, she illustrates three statements by two famous people and an organization: Thomas Friedman, Rachel Dresbeck, and Boston’s historic Faneuil Hall, who told readers one thing: chain stores are everywhere, and every place looks the same. Because of the celebrity effect, readers tend to believe this idea. Nevertheless, she also exhibits readers of the good influence examples in the next paragraphs. And these examples of the good influence are true stories rather than only theories. With the popularity of the chain stores, more and more people’s lives become better. That makes readers accept the advantages of the chain stores are more than their disadvantages without
Kingsolver develops the story of a strong young woman, named Taylor Greer, who is determined to establish her own individuality. The character learns that she must balance this individualism with a commitment to her community of friends, and in doing this, her life is immeasurably enriched. Many books speak of family, community, and individuality. I believe, however, that the idea that Barbara Kingsolver establishes in her book, The Bean Trees, of a strong sense of individualism, consciously balanced with a keen understanding of community as extended family, is a relatively new idea to the genre of the American novel.
The novel challenges the contradicting sides of the expectation and reality of family and how each one contains a symbiotic relationship. The ideal relationship within families differ throughout The Bean Trees. Kingsolver focuses on the relationship between different characters and how they rely on each other to fill the missing gaps in their lives. When Taylor and Lou Ann meet, they form a symbiotic relationship and fill the missing gaps in each others lives. Once the two women move in with each other, Lou Ann fills Taylor’s missing gap of motherly experience and opens her eyes to a life full of responsibilities.
On an everyday basis teens all around the world fight and disagree with their parents. In the passages Confetti Girl and Tortilla Sun this very thing is clearly demonstrated. Both stories feature two teenage girls that have lost one of their parents. They both now face the daily struggle of agreeing and relating to their remaining parent. In Confetti Girl, the narrator is constantly overlooked and out shadowed by her father’s favorite thing, books and literacy.
The Notebook (Cassavetes, 2004) is a love story about a young couple named Allie Hamilton and Noah Calhoun, who fall deeply in love with each other. The Hamilton’s are financially stable, and expect for their daughter Allie to marry someone with the same wealth. Noah on the other hand works as a laborer, and comes from an underprivileged family. Throughout the film there were several negative behaviors, and interpersonal communications within the context of their relationship, which relates to chapter nine. This chapter explores relationships, emphasizing on affection and understanding, attraction, and the power of a relationship. The focus of this paper is the interpersonal conflict with Noah, Allie and her mother, Anne Hamilton.
Nick observes many relationships during his stay in New York, and looks upon these relationships with a perceptive eye. He sees that relationships which lack mutual feelings are destined for failure. Nick watches as Tom Buchanan meets with his mistress, Myrtle, and Nick notices the disparity in the respect that Tom and Myrtle have for each other. Myrtle appears to follow Tom’ s each and every demand, as if she were at the end of a tightly held rope, which Nick compares to the “...small expensive dog leash made of leather and braided silver” (166) which was found in Myrtle’ s drawer at her house. Myrtle’ s leash, one that could be used to control and manipulate every action of a person’s pet, is representative of Myrtle’ s willingness to subordinate her will to accommodate Tom’s demands. Myrtle’ s absolute de...
Relationships play an important role in one's life. They are formed on the basis of love and understanding. Relationship helps various people in every aspect of life and assists them in being a better person. Such a relationship was found in the novel
Love caused his logic and sensibility to fail him, and provoked him to commit monstrous acts that destroyed many lives. Through analysis of “Happy Endings” by Margaret Atwood, it can be concluded that one of her many intended lessons was to show the value and the powerful effects of love. Atwood successfully proved this lesson by using powerful examples of both successful and disastrous relationships to illustrate the positive and negative effects of love. Atwood truly demonstrated what it is like to follow your heart.
In this documentary about Millie, her daughters grew up thinking that their mother was a “normal person,” and that how she made them feel was “normal.” They didn’t know any other type of relationship between a mother and her daughters, so they never thought to tell anyone about what went on in their household.
Candy, an aging swamper and former ranch worker, is a character that experiences the heartbreak of becoming lonely. Many can attest to having an extremely good friend that they lose whether it be because of work, personal reasons, and in Candy’s case death. When occurrences like Candy’s incident transpire one can feel as if the world is crumbling all around them. A gaping hole is left in Candy’s heart after his dog was shot, and regret is present because he did not do it himself. Candy loses the only friend he has, and his disability and age hinders his chances of gaining new friends. Loneliness can envelope an individual and make their logic warped and more susceptible to the idea of utopia and serenity. This can be seen in people today especially in teenagers who are willing to please others in exchange for friendship and similar concepts which mostly ends in bullying and broken hearts. In this circumstance Candy is willing to believe i...
In all human life relationships are very important, and this is shown in many different aspects of human life . Relationships are so significant that Authors often use them as the revolving point of their stories. Such as in The Great Gatsby the author F. Scott Fitzgerald uses the different relationships as the revolving point in his story. Fitzgerald shows how the relationships between the couples in The Great Gatsby are similar in many different ways. The couples in The Great Gatsby are Gatsby and Daisy, Tom and Myrtle, and Myrtle and her husband. Each couple in this play has a dishonest relationship in which one or both are Unfaithful to their significant other.
She defines her idea of what is right in a relationship by describing how hard and painful it is for her to stray from that ideal in this instance. As the poem evolves, one can begin to see the author having a conflict with values, while simultaneously expressing which values are hers and which are unnatural to her. She accomplishes this accounting of values by personalizing her position in a somewhat unsettling way throughout the poem.
Throughout this powerful novel, we observe the injustice in societal rejection and the pain caused by this. However, another extremely dominating theme involving the need for friendship surfaces again and again in all of the prominent characters. The Creature's isolation reveals the effects that loneliness can have when it is the strongest feeling in one's life. Taken as a whole, while the ability to care for oneself is important, people will always need someone to be there when the road gets rough.
Through the duration of this course there have been many themes influenced through the works of literature that have been read and analyzed. One major theme that has been discussed is that of love. Whether the love being romantic, fantasized, or familial as a class we have seen it all. The focus of this essay will be on the familial type of love. Familial love, an overwhelming theme in some of these stories, strikes a serious type of thought in the mind of any reader. The three main stories that will be focused on are “Fences,” Oedipus the King, and “My Papa”s Waltz.” These three stories are unique and each explains a completely different type of familial love. Familial love that will make the heart warm, the head strong, and the stomach churn.
In Literature and Life, Love is a powerful force. Sans love; feelings, desires and relationships may seem empty. This force however, can also be destructive, even may end a marriage. Marital discord, arising in general, due to infatuation, lust or affection for a third person, may crop up primarily facilitated by adverse familial, economic or societal conditions that do frequently find their mention in the written word. Some of these concerns like family, marriage, sexuality, society and death, are notably illustrated by the authors, Gustave Flaubert in Madame Bovary and Laura Esquivel in Like Water for Chocolate.