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Short story analysis essay
Grade 11 short stories analysis
Short story essay analysis
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“What am I doing here?”, I whispered desperately.
I realized my weakness while trying to open my eyes. I rolled his gaze up beneath my closed lids and let go the bitten apple I was holding in my hand.
An endless space of alternating sleepiness, awakening, drifting, silence and darkness were wrapping me few moments ago. “What is happening to me?”, I wondered silently while shocked by my suddenly tilting universe. I tried to react with any movement just to give a signal of life, a scream for help but I simply couldn’t.
Something new and awkward was happening to me taking all my attention. Nevertheless, I tried hard to comfort myself by forcing in a simple sense that it will be all right. But, I couldn’t resist the undeniable feeling of my universe squeezing too much. A feeling that went for so long that I couldn’t remember what came before. A dreadful feeling that was continuously fed with an alarming wish to escape consuming my resistance and leaving me completely exhausted. I didn’t want to surrender, in a final attempt I kicked my legs out straight but nothing happened. I tried to stretch out, to escape to make the suffering stop and merge again with the universe I used to know.“Please stop!”, I closed my eyes firmly yet no sound came out. My mouth was firmly glued by thick layers of mud.… I had no choice but finally relenting.
Suddenly, an oily breeze blew in a faint rumbling sound. Slowly, the roars that started dim and faint grew louder and more gigantic. I slumped down staring to the skies helplessly trying to cling to the mud with a weak grasp. The wind swiftly howled ferociously. I felt the sound coming from my eyes.Responsively, I tilted my head to the side away from the wind. My face pinched in anguish feeling the p...
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...s lips in a horrible tone while waving with his bleeding knife in front of his companion’s eyes.
The sitting man slowly moved his hand towards the blade and held it. The tall man smiled and calmly said “And if you end up by killing him, you won’t be anything but being a tool in the hand of fate”
He just threw his advise and vanished as if he was an illusion leaving behind one single evidence of his subsistence - the dried goat’s blood over my face. The short man stayed there longer canvassing the blade in his hand by his eyes covered with alternating glimpse of hesitation and clouds of tenaciousness. I stayed on obnubilating in my shelter until he commenced moving away. Subconsciously, I found me propelling myself up and over with the world around me turning upside down. I felt so weak but my enthusiasm kept me persuading this deep wish of following him.
In “Checking My Privilege: Character as the Basis of Privilege”, Tal Fortgang tries to argue that he does not feel he is privileged just because he is a white man. He believes that everything he has now is based on his personal accomplishment and does not have anything to do with his race. Fortgang feels outraged that he is stereotyped because he is attending one of the top universities in the world known as Princeton based on the color of his skin. Nothing is given to him freely without diligent work. He went to dig into his past to see if he really was privilege and somehow he doesn’t know he was. Then he gives us evidence of the hardship that his grandparents and family went through emphasizing if hardship is what privilege is, therefore he is privileged. The only privilege he has is the passed down values such as education and faith that was given from his ancestors. He feels the success that his family has made wasn’t handed to them on a silver spoon and the only privilege that his family has is being able
Over the past weeks we have learned a lot of new things. I learned about different races, ethnicities, and cultures. The world would not be the same if everyone was the same race and it is a great thing to learn about everyone and where they are from, and where they have come from. Everyone is different in their own way and it is our duty to accept everyone as a whole. I am going to talk about the social construct of race today, some of our readings, and a lot of our discussions that are always fun.
“The Illusionist” is a short story by Steven Millhauser, which was adapted into a movie directed by Neil Burger in 2008 which both take place in Vienna. The short story’s plot revolves around Eisenheim and his relationship between himself and the state, which is still featured in the movie. Eisenheim’s illusions also cause him a bit of trouble; in the short story the cause of trouble is an illusion, which produces two spirits by the name of Rosa, Elis, and a boy who appears to be no older than eight. In the movie adaptation, the final straw that causes the Crown Prince to finally pursue persecution of Eisenheim is the illusion that again, produces a spirit, which turns out to be his dead fiancée. Because of Inspector Uhl’s growing obsession of Eisenheim, throughout the movie and the short story, it further ignites the blur between what is the reality and what is his illusion. Uhl’s obsession over Eisenheim and his illusions helps blur the reality around him.
"...Now this is the point. You fancy me mad. Madmen know nothing. But you should have seen me. You should have seen how wisely I proceeded--with what caution--with what foresight--with what dissimulation I went to work! I was never kinder to the old man than during the whole week before I killed him."
bites his thumb at, he loses his courage. "No sir I do not bite my
As I inched my way toward the cliff, my legs were shaking uncontrollably. I could feel the coldness of the rock beneath my feet when my toes curled around the edge in one last futile attempt at survival. My heart was racing like a trapped bird, desperate to escape. Gazing down the sheer drop, I nearly fainted; my entire life flashed before my eyes. I could hear stones breaking free and fiercely tumbling down the hillside, plummeting into the dark abyss of the forbidding black water. The trees began to rapidly close in around me in a suffocating clench, and the piercing screams from my friends did little to ease the pain. The cool breeze felt like needles upon my bare skin, leaving a trail of goose bumps. The threatening mountains surrounding me seemed to grow more sinister with each passing moment, I felt myself fighting for air. The hot summer sun began to blacken while misty clouds loomed overhead. Trembling with anxiety, I shut my eyes, murmuring one last pathetic prayer. I gathered my last breath, hoping it would last a lifetime, took a step back and plun...
He charges his blade, and all of a sudden, Peter stares death right in the face.
“Nice try.” Rojo said as he pulled his gun out and shot the man in the head.
The voices in my head become a swelling crescendo. I forcefully grab my head in between my hands as the words echo through my skull. Pain pulsates with every word. I squeeze my temples hard with my palms but the pain is unbearable. Clawing at my face, a scream rips through me; sapping every last drop of energy in my body. Like a rag doll, I collapse onto the cold concrete floor as a growing darkness overcomes me.
Shivering in the blasting cold night, the words fear and death invaded my soul and lamentably waited for the deathblow. The darkness of the lemon orchard under the full moon hidden behind long, high parallels of cloud was accelerating my fear and advancing the idea of `suddenly disappearing` in my mind. I had never thought of death before. The rows of lemon tree standing like elite soldiers made me feel like an enemy soldier captured in war and was being taken to be executed by guillotine. A shotgun was targeted towards my head which made my eyes and legs become paralysed; thus I could not feel or sense anything. My eyes looking blindly and my legs walking briskly with the question” will I die” stuck on my mind like a tick attaches into skin.
A shrill cry echoed in the mist. I ducked, looking for a sign of movement. The heavy fog and cold storm provided nothing but a blanket, smothering all sight and creating a humid atmosphere. The freezing air continued to whip at my face, relentless and powerful. Our boat, stuck in the boggy water. Again a cry called. Somewhere out there was someone, or something.
Imagine walking down a white sandy beach. The sand is warm between your toes and there is a light breeze that moves your hair. You look across the horizon at the bright warm sun, a little to bright you think as you squint. But the water before you is so clear, you can see small fish clear to the bottom. The water is cool and it feels refreshing as you let the waves crash gently at your feet. This place is beautiful and peaceful, but you realize your not alone. You look to your right and see a child and her mother splashing in the water. You can hear the child laughing and feel the rippling sensation in the water against your legs. The sun is getting a little warm as a small bead of sweat falls across your brow. You look onto the beach and see the white sand as it glistens from the sun. You look a little farther and see the towel and chair you left earlier. You marvel about what a beautiful day it is. Then, you sigh as you walk across the warm sand and it sticks to your wet feet, water is dripping off you, but you feel relaxed. You don't want to leave this beautiful place, but you realize your time is up. You feel a sharp tap on your shoulder and your helmet is slowly being removed from your head. Reality comes flooding back to you, gone is the white sandy beach and warm sun, but and in its place are the cold uninviting walls of the laboratory. The scientist smiles and asks how you enjoyed your experience.
Disappointment, disbelief and fear filled my mind as I lye on my side, sandwiched between the cold, soft dirt and the hot, slick metal of the car. The weight of the car pressed down on the lower half of my body with monster force. It did not hurt, my body was numb. All I could feel was the car hood's mass stamping my body father and farther into the ground. My lungs felt pinched shut and air would neither enter nor escape them. My mind was buzzing. What had just happened? In the distance, on that cursed road, I saw cars driving by completely unaware of what happened, how I felt. I tried to yell but my voice was unheard. All I could do was wait. Wait for someone to help me or wait to die.
I looked up at the black sky. I hadn't intended to be out this late. The sun had set, and the empty road ahead had no streetlights. I knew I was in for a dark journey home. I had decided that by traveling through the forest would be the quickest way home. Minutes passed, yet it seemed like hours and days. The farther I traveled into the forest, the darker it seemed to get. I was very had to even take a breath due to the stifling air. The only sound familiar to me was the quickening beat of my own heart, which felt as though it was about to come through my chest. I began to whistled to take my mind off the eerie noises I was hearing. In this kind of darkness I was in, it was hard for me to believe that I could be seeing these long finger shaped shadows that stretched out to me. I had this gut feeling as though something was following me, but I assured myself that I was the only one in the forest. At least I had hoped that I was.
Suddenly I awake at the noise of sirens and people yelling my name. Where am I? Those words radiate out my thoughts but never touching my lips. Panic engulfs me, but I am restricted to the stretcher. “Are you ok?” said the paramedic. I am dazed, confused, and barely aware of my surroundings. Again “Yes, I am fine” races from my thoughts down to my mouth, but nothing was heard. Then, there was darkness.