In the young adult novel Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds, Jason illustrates a story by using poems to portray a young black boy named William Holloman. William has gone through many difficult challenges, one of which was losing his brother to gun violence. Ever since that day, Will has been grieving the death of his brother, Shawn, and realizes that he can avenge his older brother. Therefore, Will, in his quest for revenge, finds himself trapped and yearning to conform to societal norms. As a result, the author utilizes internal conflict to develop the concept that revenge stems from a sense of hopelessness and anger confined within oneself. Moreover, Jason Reynolds uses the elevator as a symbol in his book to represent how grief can trap someone …show more content…
Acknowledging his brother's death had a profound impact on Will. Will’s struggle becomes evident when he expresses how “it's hard to say Shawn’s dead”. So strange to say that. So sad. But I guess it is not surprising, which is, I guess, even stranger and even sadder.” (pg8) In other words, Will finds it difficult to comprehend that the one with whom he shared his fondest memories has left him all alone. This is significant because it demonstrates how Will’s love for his brother is so immense that it is hard to let go of him. Will lives in a society where he has to follow the rules, and the rules prevent anyone from crying or snitching, which enables him to get revenge on those who hurt his loved ones. This internal conflict introduces the idea that Shawn's death was Will's motive to follow the 3rd rule that says, "NO.3: REVENGE If someone you love gets killed, find the person who killed them and kill them.” (pg. 34), which consequently results in the need for retaliation. This correlates to the central idea of revenge: that revenge will mess with your head because subconsciously, your mind will bring up all the consequences and guilt you may experience if you undergo this plan of
Have you ever experienced conflicting feelings that pulled you in multiple directions making life seem like an impossible and stressful task? Grant Wiggins, one of the dual protagonists in the novel “A Lesson Before Dying”, experiences many conflicting feelings throughout the entire novel which pull him in every which way, and make him wish to just leave it all behind and start a new life somewhere else. Most, if not all, of these feelings are a result of the other protagonist Jefferson, a young black man, who is facing execution as a result of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. These feelings experienced by Grant are influenced by four main things, his own desires, ambitions, obligations and influences by those around him.
In this day and age the term “murder” is coined as a word used in everyday language, albeit fifty years ago in the [rural] heartland of America, that word evoked emotion out of the entire town’s population. Prior to writing In Cold Blood, Truman Capote had written several pieces that lead him to writing a piece of literature that would infuse fiction and nonfiction, thus In Cold Blood was created, albeit after six years of research (“Truman” 84). "Truman Capote is one of the more fascinating figures on the American literary landscape, being one of the country's few writers to cross the border between celebrity and literary acclaim…He contributed both to fiction and nonfiction literary genres and redefined what it meant to join the otherwise separate realms of reporting and literature." ___ In Cold Blood takes place in the rural heartland in America, capturing the lives of the Clutter family in the days preceding their murder. The story shifts to the murderers, Dick Hickock, Perry Smith, and the lives of the men prior to the events that ultimately unfold in the murder of the Clutters, although the actual events of the murder are not revealed until later in the story through Perry’s flashbacks. At this point of the story the narration switches between the fugitives and the investigation lead by Detective Alvin Dewey of the Kansas Bureau of Investigation. Truman Capote's novel In Cold Blood delineates justice in order to depict the disruption of an all-American society.
His outside actions of touching the wall and looking at all the names are causing him to react internally. He is remembering the past and is attempting to suppress the emotions that are rising within him. The first two lines of the poem set the mood of fear and gloom which is constant throughout the remainder of the poem. The word choice of "black" to describe the speaker's face can convey several messages (502). The most obvious meaning ... ...
He constantly tries to defy the laws of nature. Will is not scared of anything and believes he is the greatest pilot and nothing could ever happen to him. He lacks a respect for the natural world. Will exclaims, “You know I was a bush pilot. The best. But the best have to crash. And I’ve crashed a plane, me. Three times. I need to explain this all to you. I was a young man when I crashed the first time. The world was wide open. I was scared of nothing” (Boyden, 1). Will also has complication with his inner violence. He tries to kill Marius out of fear and anger, which goes against his Native morals. Their families have hated each other for years and out of revenge he commits such an act he justifies by the violence Marius inflicts on his family. Will explains, “This wasn’t the best plan go do what I did to Marius. An act of revenge, an act of anger, and especially of fear. The cold fire of payback was the warmest that drove me to do it” (Boyden, 211). Fortunately, it is when Will runs away from Moosonee where he discovers that nature will get the better of him. During the time on the island, he becomes humble as he realizes he needs the help of others to survive. This contrasts his pride and allows Will to reconnect with the Native world once again. Evidence of this is when Will kills a moose and thanks the animal for its meat stating “meegwetch,” which can be translated to “thank you.” Animals in the Native world are highly respected and they play a significant role in the novel as they are reflected through human characters. The moose represents Will’s family and his dependency on them to survive. Will states, “Meegwetch for your life, I whispered. I am sorry for the bad kill. I was scared you’d run off and die alone far in the bush. Your death alone would be useless, and I, too, might end up starving this winter without you. Meegwatch” (Boyden, 306). Will is able to overcome his challenges of
Evil exists naturally in the world, and there are many acts that are considered evil. As a result, evil is often a theme in literature. “The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark” by William Shakespeare, and “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe each rely heavily on evil to portray a message. Out of all of the evil acts that exist, exacting revenge is the evilest act that a person can make, for a person’s rash decision to exact revenge will ruin their sense of morality. The characters of Hamlet and Laertes in “Hamlet” each commit terrible acts of revenge, as does Montresor in “The Cask of Amontillado.”
takes the form of “an eye for an eye”, meaning that the offender should be punished by an act of
Slavery consisted of numerous inhumane horrors completed to make its victims feel desolated and helpless. Many inescapable of these horrors of slavery are conveyed in the “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass”. The entire prospect of the duration of the story is to plan an escape from the excruciating conditions awaiting Douglass as a slave. When his escape is finally executed, unpredictable emotions and thoughts overwhelm him. Within the conclusion of his narrative (shown in the given passage), Frederick Douglass uses figurative language, diction, and syntax to portray such states of mind he felt after escaping slavery: relief, loneliness, and paranoia.
An analysis of metaphor can offer us insight into the deeper meaning within literature. As almost nothing is directly revealed regarding its nature, such analysis is vital in the case of Thomas Wolfe’s short story ‘Only the Dead Know Brooklyn’. While the plot may be simple, even bemusing, it is in fact a delicately woven philosophical allegory. Wolfe is alluding to the theme of what it really means to live life to the fullest, can we merely wait for our ‘train t’ come’ or must we “thrust our feelers in distressful ooze” in order to truly appreciate the world around us, even if we end up ‘drownin’? The aim of this essay is to consider how Wolfe’s enigmatic story, expounded by metaphor, delivers an urgent defence of our threatened individuality, one which transcends the ordinary encounter at a Brooklyn subway station.
Will was influenced to follow the rules, due to Buck and Shawn being so committed to them they'd die for them.
Under the orders of her husband, the narrator is moved to a house far from society in the country, where she is locked into an upstairs room. This environment serves not as an inspiration for mental health, but as an element of repression. The locked door and barred windows serve to physically restrain her: “the windows are barred for little children, and there are rings and things in the walls.” The narrator is affected not only by the physical restraints but also by being exposed to the room’s yellow wallpaper which is dreadful and fosters only negative creativity. “It is dull enough to confuse the eye in following, pronounced enough to constantly irritate and provoke study, and when you follow the lame uncertain curves for a little distance they suddenly commit suicide – plunge off at outrageous angles, destroy themselves in unheard of contradictions.”
The sudden death of Shawn puts Will in a state of shock, influencing him to plot the death of Shawn’s former best friend, Riggs. Will decided that he would kill Riggs, even though he wasn’t given any proof of that being the
The Roman poet, Juvenal, once said that, "Revenge is always the weak pleasure of a little and narrow mind." Most people would agree with Juvenal that revenge is an abhorrent human need that can only satisfy narrow-minded people. Even though, we know revenge will generally not bring us much satisfaction, we still constantly lust for taking revenge on someone. It is because revenge is such a natural part of human nature that writers so often use it as their theme. Revenge can easily be an awe-inspiring theme for a novel because it is something that all people can relate to, whether they know it or not. The suspense from it will make most people sit on the edge of their seats.
The character of Will lives directly on this trapline. Forced to tiptoe with every step he takes to escape the interconnected, systematic blockades before him. Faced with the impacts of intergenerational trauma, Will must navigate the presence of white substances and subsequent abuse within his household. Leading
Philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche once declared, “It is impossible to suffer without making someone pay for it.” In other words, when one is suffering, the desire to reap revenge without consideration as to who is being harmed in the process is innate. This is a common theme within the poem The Epic of Gilgamesh, Euripides tragic play, Medea, and Shakespeare’s play, The Tragedy of Hamlet. Characterization is used in these three works to exemplify the revenge seeker’s disregard for anyone but themselves in order to take vengeance on those who committed an act against them.
John Mason’s father is shot and killed by bandits, therefore John Mason seeks revenge on the man who killed him. Thus, the entire plot of the movie is all focused on John Mason getting his revenge. This is also seen when Ben (John Mason’s miffed friend due to relationship drama) removes all of the bullets from John Mason’s gun before he is going to face Rudd. This theme is prevalent all across the western movie genre. Most likely because people associate the American West with justice. Not necessarily in a court of law justice, but pragmatic or an “eye-for-an-eye” justice. This is compelling for anyone as the simple concept of if someone does something wrong then they will experience the same or similar wrong on the same scale. This is extremely exciting as that is not how it works in today’s world. So in a way the theme of revenge is playing towards the idealism that is prevalent in American Society in regards to if someone does something wrong than equal justice will be