In the reading “The Silent Neighborhood” by Annie Dillard, Annie describes an ordinary day in her childhood as a five year old in 1950. According to the author, “the neighborhoods across continental America were abandoned” (Dillard 1). Annie Dillard loved the silence, and wishes she could go back to it. Each morning, “the men of the household left in a hurry. The Catholic schoolchildren also left in a hurry; putting on their coats, squeezing their books against their chests, and heading towards St. Bede’s church school” (Dillard 1). The men slowly drove near the children as the children banged the car (1). Once everyone was out of sight from the view of the author, her “day of silence and waiting began” (Dillard 1). At this time, “the war
was over” (Dillard 1). The author was born on the same day Hitler committed suicide in April 1945, and eighteen days after Roosevelt passed away (1). Her father was enlisted in the war, but soon returned home because of a collapsed lung (1). After he returned, once a week, the author’s father volunteered at the Civil Air Patrol, searching the skies for new enemies (1-2). As for the women of the household, they stayed home and took care of the household duties. The author lived with her mother and her 2 year old sister for most of the day (2). The silence of the neighborhood drew the author into a “dim and watery oblivion” (Dillard 2). While the author was sitting in the kitchen, nothing was silent. “The mail slot opening and letters clattering in the living room; the maid, Margaret Butler, ironing in the back room; the walls making all sorts of noises; and the loud trucks passing by outside” (Dillard 2). Time consumed Annie. Annie’s mother comforted Amy as Annie went outside. Not a car or person in sight, and not a sudden move from the houses. The author states that she “was hoping the war would break out again” (Dillard 3). She wanted the streets to be crowded, so she can shoot her cap gun at people (3). As the rain started and then cleared, the author kept herself distracted by sending twigs and Popsicle sticks down the rivulet and watching her neighbors rake leaves (3). As the snow came and went, the author played and roamed about. She ate some ice, and got wool strands stuck in her mouth in the process (3-4). She walked in silence until the streetlights began to shine (4). The author then realized that winter was beginning, and “outside in the dimming day’s snow, alive” (Dillard 4).
The book In the Neighborhood, by Peter Lovenheim is a very interesting look into the lives of residents in modern suburban neighborhoods. His neighborhood in Rochester New York mirrors many communities across the country. He paints a familiar picture of a community that waves at each other as they drive by, yet do not know the person they are waving at. This disconnection of people that live their lives so close to one another was completely unnoticed by Lovenheim until tragedy struck his community. One night in 2000, a routine activity that Lovenheim practiced, walking his dogs, exposed his consciousness to the lack of association he shared with those who live in close proximity to him. As he approached his street he observed emergency vehicles
The book itself is an on-going dialogue between Kozol and the neighborhoods residents, interjected every so often with thoughts from Kozol. He covers a spectrum of topics from AIDS, drug addiction, prostitution, crime, poorly run and funded schools, white flight from schools to over-crowded hospitals and the amazing faith in religion and God that many of these people have.
“It was a large, beautiful room, rich and picturesque in the soft, dim light which the maid had turned low. She went and stood at an open window and looked out upon the deep tangle of the garden below. All the mystery and witchery of the night seemed to have gathered there amid the perfumes and the dusky and tortuous outlines of flowers and foliage. She was seeking herself and finding herself in just such sweet half-darkness which met her moods. But the voices were not soothing that came to her from the darkness and the sky above and the stars. They jeered and sounded mourning notes without promise, devoid even of hope. She turned back into the room and began to walk to and fro, down its whole length, without stopping, without resting. She carried in her hands a thin handkerchief, which she tore into ribbons, rolled into a ball, and flung from her. Once she stopped, and taking off her wedding ring, flung it upon the carpet. When she saw it lying there she stamped her heel upon it, striving to crush it. But her small boot heel did not make an indenture, not a mark upon the glittering circlet.
On the very first page, Riis states, “Long ago it was said that ‘one half of the world does not know how the other half lives.’ That was true then. It did not know because it did not care (5).” In first-person, Riis discusses his observations through somewhat unbiased analysis, delivering cold, hard, and straightforward facts. Following the War of 1812, New York City had a population of roughly half a million, desperately in need of homes. The solutions were mediocre tenements: large spaces divided into cheaper, smaller rooms, regardless of whether or not there were windows. Some families were lucky, being able to afford the rooms with windows, while others had to live in pitch-black, damp, and tiny rooms literally in the center of the building. These tenements contained inadequate living conditions; disease murdered many citizens, causing a shortage of industrial workers. The Board of Health passed the “Tenement-House Act” in 1867,...
In “High Holy Days” by Jane Shore the idea of innocent youth awakening from a slumber for the first time is conveyed at a rate of infinite constancy from beginning to end. At the poem opens the tone of the speaker is childish and picayune. Throughout the eloquent stanzas filled with reminisces of the speaker, the tone becomes passionate and valiant. The writer, Jane Shore, awakens the speaker to her reality as a Jewish woman living in a world that does not condone her religion.
In An American Childhood by Annie Dillard, Dillard reminisces on her many adventures throughout her childhood living in Pittsburgh. Her stories explain her school, her home life, her family, and growing up. Dillard also talks about changes in her life, and how they affect her, and how she felt about others around her. One’s childhood is a crucial part of life, because it’s a time of learning more than any other time of life. Childhood is a time of curiosity and realization. What you learn in your childhood has a big impact on how you make decisions and act as an adult.
After reading The Story of An Hour by Kate Chopin, Daniel Deneau remarkably breaks down and analyzes the most intense aspects of the short story. Deneau acknowledges simple things such as “the significance of the open window and the spring setting” along with more complex questions including what Mrs. Mallard went through to achieve her freedom. He also throws in a few of his own ideas which may or may not be true. Almost entirely agreeing with the interpretation Deneau has on The Story of An Hour, he brings stimulating questions to the surface which makes his analysis much more intricate.
King, in introducing the little convent girl to the reader, goes to great lengths to present her as a dreary and uninteresting creature. She wore dark clothing, sat rigidly upright, secluded herself in her room, and displayed little zest for life. Therefor, when King uses the work "blac...
Crucet says, “I don’t even remember the moment they drove away,” but unlike the author’s family, mine left after I moved in, they did not stay the whole first week into my classes. After the first day of being alone, I wish they
The fifth child is the story of David and Harriet Lovatt, a couple who met at an office party neither of them wanted to be at, where they soon found each other. Both of them have a rather traditional mindset and believe that marriage, fidelity and a large family is more important than a successful career or sexual liberation which was the norm at the time. It didn’t take long before they started talking about having children, but decided to wait until Harriet could quit her job in two years so they could afford the mortgage of their victorian house that they decided to buy. Although in a moment of passion they ignored their plans and Harriet got pregnant with their first child, Luke. Eventually they came to have more children until they had 4 in total and both of them couldn’t be happier. Their dinner table was always crowded with relatives and friends. And they decided that they didn’t want more children.
It is a serious and quiet event. She sees the boys as "short men" gathering in the living room, not as children having fun. The children seem subdued to us, with "hands in pockets". It is almost as if they are waiting, as the readers are, for something of importance to take place.... ... middle of paper ...
In this article, the author writes about the Urban Renewal Plan and what it did to a community in Oakland, California. The West Oakland community was found in 1852 and had a diverse population living there. That article says that upper-class people would be living next door to working class people. After the World Wars that changed because lower income families started moving to the area looking for jobs. The jobs they had were created because of the war. When the war ended these people lost their jobs. At the same time, the Urban Renewal Plan was put into place. This plan set out to remove slums in urban places. This plan would relocated families, demolish houses and create low-income housing. When a family was relocated they received little
Orleans, Jesse Hardman / New. "Abandoned but Not Uninhabited: The Blighted Homes of New Orleans." Time. Time Inc., 06 June 2011. Web. 9 Mar. 2014.
It is written, “In any extra hour\I can steal\for myself\I walk outside\..I wonder\where are all the girls my age? (page 128)” Clara wanders the streets of her new home. As she tours, she observes that there are only men and young children filling the streets, cafes and synagogues. The next day, Clara learns of a free school across the Lower East Side. She is filled with bliss to have found a place that will fill her mind with endless knowledge. Presumed, her plans come to a halt when her father informs her that she needs a job to help support their family. Crowder writes, “the gloom\inside our apartment\seeps through my skin\weighing down\my limbs\pressing like an iron\filled with red-hot coal\against my chest. (page 133)” Her dreams crumble right in her hands as she is forced to work while her father and brother sit around all day and study Torah. This doesn’t stop her from standing up for herself. When she is treated wrongly in the workplace, she speaks up, risking of her job. Clara undergoes over 2 jobs just from speaking back to her bosses. Clara’s mother asks her why she doesn’t stay silent if she isn’t the one being touched. Why can’t she just be quiet and keep her job? Clara in pain that her moth doesn’t understand, responds with “would you have me stay silent\while those around me suffer? (page 186)” Her mother walks away defeated, unable to persuade her child’s mind. In the thick smoke of the cellar’s dank air, Clara hears the new world union uttered from the boss’s mouth in English, and is determined to learn what it means. To her mother’s astonishment, Clara uses her ambitious words to change the working lives of girls in the
Interview #1: On February 8th I interviewed a 72-year-old neighbor who has lived in this community his entire life. He told me that many things have changed over the years such as farmland disappearing, a large influx of immigrants coming from India and increasing crimes against the elderly. He said that he “no longer feels as safe as he once did in the community and back when he was young people respected their elders and never hurt them.” On a bright note he stated, “I still have several safe places in my community to meet with my friends such the YMCA and my local