In the story, Sophia’s War, Sophia and her mother witnessed the hanging of Nathan Hale. This was a big life changing event in the story that lead Sophia to the rest of her extraordinary adventures. As stated in the story, “Later we learned that the young man’s name was Nathan Hale. Over time, his death proved of greater consequence than his life,”. This showed that not only did Nathan Hale’s death just affect Sophia, it also affected others as well. While reading through the book, you could identify that Sophia was terrified about the hanging . You could also tell that she didn't what that to happen to William as well by including things like he taught her how to read and write before he left. Sophia used the hanging as a motivation to help
The lives of New York slaves was worse than ever during the American Revolution. The Revolution was a successful but rough phase of America’s history. The Revolution began through British control so when the people wanted to become independent, war broke out. The life of Isabel in Chains represents the everyday life of a slave during this time period.
Sophia's war is about a young girl living in the revolutionary times. Her dad was a printer at a shop ran by a man named Mr. Gaine. Her mother is a very typical one for the time. She does not work or make any money for the family, so the father is the one who is keeping a roof over the family's head. Her brother, William, is a very patriotic person. He taught Sophia how to read, write and taught her all about america and his love for it. They live in New York. An area that at the time was being ran by red coats, or loyalists. Anyone rebellious figure living in that area, would have to hid. However William went off to fight for america and freedom. He was not seen for quite some time. One day her family is forced to leave because there was rumors of a fleet of red coats ransacking people home for any evidence of patriotism. Having gathered all of their belongings they fled the house in a bee line. After hiding overnight, Sophia's father told her mother and her that they needed to go back by themselves. That the red coats would not hurt a woman and child. One the way back home Sophia witnessed the hanging of Nathan Hale, a patriot who greatly inspired the american dream. This hanging greatly affected Sophia, and her beliefs in america.
In this paper I will explain and discuss the historical events that took place in a small rural town in early Massachusetts. The setting for which is Irene Quenzler Brown's and Richard D. Brown's, The Hanging of Ephraim Wheeler. I will explain the actions and motives of Hannah and Betsy Wheeler in seeking legal retribution of husband and father Ephraim Wheeler. I will also discuss the large scope of patriarchal power allowed by the law and that given to husbands and masters of households. Of course, this will also lead to discussions of what was considered abuse of these powers by society and the motivation for upholding the Supreme Court's decision to hang Ephraim Wheeler.
Decisions that people today might be able to relate to. Poor decisions often times lead to people being arrested, injured, or even sometimes killed. There were obvious poor decisions made in The Great Gatsby, some of which made by Myrtle because of her being caught up in her “love” for Tom. There were abounding factors of her loving Tom. She obviously didn’t like her husband because, “ [She] thought he knew something about breeding, but he wasn’t fit to lick [her] shoe” (Fitzgerald 34). Myrtle doesn't care much, if at all, about her husband. Her obsession with Tom makes her unreasonable. This is one of the reasons that she treats her husband poorly and doesn’t care about it. At their party Myrtle aggravated Tom by shouting, “Daisy! Daisy! Daisy!” (Fitzgerald 37). Myrtle ignores the consequences of aggravating Tom at their party. Not only does she not listen to his pleas to get her to stop talking about Daisy she ignores the fact that he is drunk. Through Myrtle’s obsession with Tom, “she ran out in a road. Son-of-a-bitch didn’t ever stop the car” (Fitzgerald 149). Myrtle was so obsessed with Tom , and his money, that she ran into the road risking her life to be with him. Her desire for his money caused her to act and think irrationally. Even if Tom was in the car and stopped would he introduce her to his wife and they all go home together? In conclusion do not let desires make the decisions of life, because
Her first week as a freshman college student reveals a lot about the culture of undergraduate college students to her. It shows her a completely different perspective of their lives since she’s a professor, and times have significantly changed since she was a freshman. Obviously, it is very hard for someone of Nathan’s
...ured the reason she could deal with it was because she was just an observer, but one day, she tells Kevin, “But now and then,.. I can’t maintain the distance. I’m drawn all the way into eighteen nineteen, and I don’t know what to do… I never realized how easily people could be trained to accept slavery”(101). She and Kevin even develop a view of Rufus’ house as their home. Their present becomes their past and readers can effortlessly visualize the predicament.
They are both born into impoverished families, but deny acceptance of their lower status. Myrtle and Gatsby also share similar aspirations, to gain money and higher status. They are attempting to rise above their social class. Fitzgerald’s interpretation of Gatsby however, is much different from his portrayal of Gatsby. Gatsby is a tragic hero. He has nothing but good intentions and aspires for love, while Myrtle is simply shown as a foolish woman who is so absorbed in greed that she sacrifices her morals and sanity, in exchange for money and higher status. Gatsby, unlike Myrtle, maintains redeemable qualities until his murder. Everything he does is for his love, Daisy, because he wants only the best for her even if his life turns to ruins as a result. In contrast, Myrtle who has the same aspirations as Gatsby, exhibits impure intentions. She wants to achieve her goals of becoming a wealthy, elite member of society, purely to feed her selfish, eager desires, at the cost of her husbands’ sanity. This is what removes any sympathy a person may have had for Myrtle. She is depicted as a silly imbecile who cheats her way out her marriage and into her
One day during a walk in a village nearby, she met Joan Smith who lived in a village store and owned a post-office. Joan Smith was married with Norman. She had a complicated background. Before she was married to Norman she was a liar, fugitive and a prostitute. However, she confessed her sin and became a member of a religion. Since then she had regarded herself as a tool in God’s hand and she wanted to punish anyone who had done something wrong against the Bible. Because George was married twice, and this was against the Bible, Joan found him a disrespectable man and she hated him a lot.
Elizabeth's role in the novel was Victor's foundation. Elizabeth would write letters to Victor, which really helped him get through many of his difficult struggles. For example Elizabeth says, "Get well and return to us. You will find a happy, cheerful home and friends who love you dearly" (98). These letters also helped reassure Victor that his family still loved and cared for him. Victor was in shock, and did not know how to react when finding Elizabeth dead. For example Victor says, "I was bewildered, in a cloud of wonder and horror. The death of William, the execution of Justine, the murder of Clerval, and lastly of my wife" (342). This statement shows that
In addition, possibly the greatest burden of Linda 's life is that her children will become slaves. Harriet Jacobs writes, "There is a great difference between Christianity and religion at the south. If a man goes to the communion table, and pays money into the treasury of the church, no matter if it be the price of blood, he is called religious. If a pastor has offspring by a woman not by his wife, the church dismisses him, if she is a white woman; but if she is a colored, it does not hinder hiss continuing to be their good shepherd(8)." Pious slave owners were often the ones who beat, raped, and killed their slaves, but you would find them in the pew of church every Sunday. Many slave owners of that time used the Bible to justify slavery. Jacobs, whose grandmother was a God-faithful woman, understood the hypocrisy of the "pious" slave owners of the south. The people in the north did not understand the true atrocities of slavery. The novel was written to open their eyes to a "Christian" nation that so desperately needed the true love of
Firstly, the theme of destruction of lower-class characters is presented, as they are violently destroyed throughout the story to fulfill the selfish desires of the bourgeoisie. Myrtle Wilson, who lives a poor life at The Valley of Ashes is murdered by Daisy Buchanan, a high-class character known for her beauty and wealth. Daisy protects the power of her name by letting Jay Gatsby take the blame for Myrtle’s death because she does not admit her
Lydia’s understatements in her letter to Mrs. Forster reveal her genuine motives of true love and minimize the severity of ignoring her family’s expectations. Austen develops climax in the story through downplaying Lydia’s opinion of her frowned upon marriage as she giggles, “For it will make the surprise greater, when I write to them, and sign my name Lydia Wickham. What a good joke it will be” (276). Lydia’s casual tone expresses Austen’s satirical message: that the pressures on women may backfire and influence them to unconsciously rebel against the status quo. As Lydia runs away and laughs about the shame she brings to her family, Austen provides a climax against 19th century society by warning of the consequences of too much
Lathbury states, “Wilson’s dull, self-defensive grief is the embodiment of the sterility of the valley of ashes; lacking a dream, his life itself is a kind of death” (79). This shows how George does not aspire for a goal in his life, a poor attribute, as a person without a goal is more likely to detract from achievement. Additionally, George is unable to cope with the loss of his wife, ending with the death of Gatsby as well as himself. Although George’s poor attributes have an effect on their relationship, Myrtle’s traits also happen to be an issue. Myrtle does not have any feelings for George any longer. When talking about her life, Myrtle states, “‘Well I married him’...I thought he know something about breeding, but he wasn’t fit to lick my shoe”’ (34). With emotions like this, any person can see that Myrtle does not like George and instead uses him for the little wealth he makes from working hard in his garage. Myrtle does not like George anymore, making their marriage more of a one-way relationship where George would sacrifice everything for Myrtle, but Myrtle would not give away a single object if it meant saving her
Now Howell uses George's view on war, his family history and even his death to symbolize realism. From the beginning George sees war as a negative thing that can bring so much pain and suffering contrary to Editha's views. His family had a personal experience with war, having his father lose his arm at war shaped his family's view on war influencing George. His mother's straight forward words about girls that give up their loved ones thinking they will come back alive and unaltered, only expecting to "kill someone else- kill the sons of those miserable mothers and husbands of those girls.
There is something poetic of having the person, who is, arguably, one of the most formidable characters in Shakespeare’s work, die at the hands of her own blood. In many stories, the villain is killed by an act of love. Goneril, having a lack of empathy for anyone, could not be stopped until someone close to her was able to stab her in the heart. Regan could kill Goneril because no one else could, redeeming her character before she died as doing one good thing to make up for her other atrocities in the play. For never was a story of loves so weakend, than this of Goneril and her sister Regan.