Imagine a life where everything seems to revolve around one important element. And just as everything seems to be going well, it all changes within a matter of seconds. In the novel Shark Girl by Kelly Bingham, the main character, Jane Arrowood, had to go through this. She had a strong passion for drawing, but she has to have her dominant arm amputated because of a shark attack. As she recovers slowly in the hospital, she shows her true inner strength when she learns to draw and write with her other hand. When I read this book and learned about how Jane worked to redefine herself after the accident, it reminded me of all the roadblocks I’ve hit during my basketball career, and all the obstacles I had to go through to conquer the journey of …show more content…
recovery. The majority of the book is revolving around Jane and her major injury of a shark attack when she went for a swim at the beach.
Jane claims she remembers a few conditions she was in before the attack. Such as how she was only 4 yards from shore in waters four to five feet deep, and how there was a lot of blood surrounding her from being bit. Comparable to Jane, I’ve also had major injuries that have had an impact on my life as well. For example, during the summer of 2015 at a Show-Me-State Game tournament, I suffered a frontal concussion from being hit it the head with the basketball. When I had my concussion, I remember lying on the floor with the light and noise around me giving me a painful headache. In addition, I remember having to go through a series of test with an on-site doctor. Along with remembering pieces of how the injury occurred, in the novel Jane stated when everything after the attack started to go downhill. She was in a coma for the first 10 days, but when she finds out that she had to have her arm amputated above the elbow, she describes her emotions by saying “I didn’t think things could get any worse”(Bingham 4). Jane didn’t want to accept the fact that her arm was gone forever. And neither did I. When I had my concussion, I found myself in a similar situation. I was devastated when I found out I couldn’t play for the rest of the tournament that weekend. That was when I realized that if you have a strong passion for something close to your heart, you
have to learn how to accept bad things when they happen. In addition to learning how to accept bad consequences when they happen, you also have to learn how to not just give up and to work hard to recreate yourself into the person you wanted to be. For Jane, because she had the thought of never being able to draw again, that meant she had to secretly begin practicing with her left hand. At first, her mom downloads a drawing software on her laptop, but Jane doesn’t think it portrays the same way as actual pens on paper. So she starts by drawing on a leftover gum wrapper she found in a trash bag. Resembling Jane, when I got hurt I couldn’t do anything for the first few weeks. But that didn’t mean I wasn’t going to work on my skills. On the days when I free time I would work on ball handling drills and my shooting technique. As the novel progresses, Jane continues to draw with her left hand and her drawing skills start to increase. As for me, when I was released to play again, my basic skills did not get worse because I took advantage of the time I had and did something productive with it. This learning experience taught me that if you work hard towards something, that you are most likely going to get the results you want in the end.
People change everyday, whether it is from good to bad or for the better. People often say to themselves, maybe, if I didn't do “blank” this wouldn't have happened. However, the reality is, it happened, and there is no way to change that. Why go around throwing maybe’s around if you cannot change it? Authors purposefully make readers ask those questions. Authors love to create complex characters, characters that go through change. In Ellen Hopkins’ book, Crank, is the perfect example. Ellen Hopkins writes from her own daughter's perspective, Kristina, on how “the monster” changed her own life and her family's life.
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...
Both Saturday Climbing and mirror image are stories of dealing with changes in life. In Saturday Climbing an overprotective father struggles to let her daughter make decisions for herself as she grows up and in Mirror Image a teenage girl with a recent brain transplant surgery struggles with sudden change in identity. The protagonists have different kinds of attitudes about change: in The two stories have similarities and differences between how the protagonists approach these differences.
The novel Tangerine, written by Edward Bloor, perfectly demonstrates how a character can change their ways and learn lessons. When the protagonist, Paul Fisher, was first introduced, he was a shy, quiet kid, who never tried to change his situation. He has a terrible relationship with his brother, Erik, and is literally terrified of him and what he will do to him. In the beginning of the book, he was moving from Houston, Texas to his new home in Tangerine, Florida. In his fresh start to life in Tangerine, he learns that he shouldn’t be scared, and that he needs to start standing up for himself and letting his voice, thoughts, and opinions be heard. Even though Paul starts off scared, afraid, intimidated, and full of self doubt, he learns that he needs to change his ways and attitude towards his life, and to take action to make things right.
We learn that Jane is a young girl who is a victim of emotional and
What would you do if you knew you could be dead in the matter of a few months? That’s the question Michelle, an inpatient dealing with leukemia struggles with on the daily. Although she’s a high school student with a bright future ahead of her, she can’t help but be pessimistic about her illness, and focus on the negative. In the story “the michelle i know” written by Alison Lohans, the author uses literary devices such as characterization, foreshadowing, and mood to convey the message that there is always a light at the end of the tunnel. Initially, the author uses characterization to effectively portray the theme of the story.
Jane's treatment leads her to insanity. When this story was written, there was neither the medicine nor the treatment methods that we have today. If Jane was in today's
There is very little internal conflict in Jane’s early life; children typically do not struggle with very complex emotions. However, as Jane matures and is sent to Lowood School, her newfound friend Helen Burns presents her with a new way of looking at the world: she can continue letting her emotions get the best of her, or she can choose to think of her reactions and try to better understand those who hurt her. Helen says, “It is not violence that overcomes hate – nor vengeance that most certainly heals injury.” (70) This changes Jane’s philosophy entirely. Up to this point, Jane was accustomed to using wrathful outbursts to express her emotions, as a result of her abusive upbringing. Once she learned of an alternative, Jane was able to use her head as well, and not just her heart.
... she truly loved, but simultaneously gained knowledge and the skill of teaching. Similar to her time spent Lowood, at Thornfield Jane became acquainted with love and pain deeper than she had previously known. Yet again Jane experienced emotional suffering at Moor House and Morton, nevertheless she also received tranquil rest and a lasting friendship from her cousins, which was much need for the recovery of proper mental and physical health. In the novel Jane Eyre, the experiences that she must overcome in the book are parallel with real world scenarios. All though Jane experienced incredible pain, she was able to overcome it by relishing the joys in life. This clearly depicts the reliance that humans have. In spite of growing up in harsh conditions and being psychologically scared, Jane Eyre was able to overcome the hardships and create a positive life for herself.
Have you ever made a mistake and ended up growing and changing because of it? Everyone has. Especially in literature, you can read about characters that were shaped and developed by personal values and experiences. Literature reveals characters coming to terms with their values, and/or telling about their own experiences to help with someone else’s values. Judith Cofer Ortiz shows this in “Abuela Invents the Zero”, as well as Langston Hughes in “Mother to Son.” Even though these pieces of literature are very different, the authors gave us the point of view of someone experienced, and someone who is changing values as they are learning. Whether it’s advice or a story about someone who learned something, they can both give you an idea of how
He says that with my imaginative power and habit of story-making, a nervous weakness like mine is sure to lead to all manner of excited fancies, and that I ought to use my will and good sense to check the tendency. So I try. I think sometimes that if I were only well enough to write a little it would relieve the press of ideas and rest me.” (23). At this point you can tell Jane is completely insane because John her husband makes all the decisions for her and she is kept in complete isolation, which was ultimately what was the downfall to janes physical and mental
My Response: Jane was so sick of people telling her that she failed at almost everything that she did and so she should just give up on it all. Jane refused and since she failed at almost everything she just decided to keep on trying but to also not feel
Somewhere in New England, there is a small town resort named Amity. Martin Brody who is the new police chief moved to this small town with his family of three. On a cold summer morning, Martin Brody received a call from dispatch that a mangled body washed ashore at the local beach. This mangled body was a vacationer that goes by the name of Chrissie Watkins. After speaking to the medical examiner, Martin Brody is informed that the body could have been the target of a shark attack. Amity’s Mayor, Larry Vaughn is worried that once the public and tourists finds out that it was an actual shark attack, the town will lose possible revenue since 4th of July is a major holiday and a source of income for Amity. Mayor Vaughn encourages Martin
At the beginning of the book, Jane was living with her aunt Mrs. Reed and her children. Although Jane is treated cruelly and is abused constantly, she still displays passion and spirit by fighting back at John and finally standing up to Mrs Reed. Even Bessie ‘knew it was always in her’. Mrs. Reed accuses Jane of lying and being a troublesome person when Mr. Brocklehurst of Lowood School visited Gateshead. Jane is hurt, as she knows she was not deceitful so she defends herself as she defended herself to John Reed when he abused her, as she said “Wicked and cruel boy! You are like a murderer – you are like a slave driver – you are like the Roman emperors!” to John Reed instead of staying silent and taking in the abuse, which would damage her self-confidence and self-worth. With the anger she had gotten from being treated cruelly, she was able to gain ...
In my life time I have accomplished many extraordinary tasks that I’ve put my mind too. I discovered that my signature themes have greatly affected the methods that I use to complete these tasks. People use their strengths in everyday life as well as in crucial, life changing situations. Important self-building achievement is one factor that makes people who they are. Another is the way that people apply there strengths to different situations.