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Character development introduction
Significance of symbolism in literature
Character development introduction
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One of my favourite places to be is the Subway, although after catching trains to and from work every day for the past 6 years I guess you have to learn to appreciate it. I like the feeling I get from watching hundreds of people rush by, bumping into one another as I sit still, each one of them has a different life, family and place to be, that of which I will never know. When the train finally comes gliding through the underground station, coming to a sudden stop, the people jump up from their seats like panicked fish out of water. All pushing each other away just get on the train first. I however, from years of waiting, I know exactly where the train stops every day, so I can stand right in front of the slowly opening doors and get a seat before anybody else.
Every morning on the journey to my office in the City, which exactly 1 hour and 23 minutes from the station opposite my apartment, I study the person sitting on the uncomfortable chair directly opposite me. In the sheep skin journal that I carry around everywhere, I write a story about them, predicting what their life is like. Yesterday it was a teenage a girl, she had had long wavy silver hair with a perfectly shaped face and hazel eyes, I wrote that she had just graduated High school and it was her first day at University studying to be a lawyer, she had a perfect life one that I would have liked to have. I think that one was pretty accurate seeming as the got off at White Street Station, the closest station to Graham University. The day before that was an old man, he was holding a bunch of pure white flowers his face was emotionless and he had stared out the window above by head for the entire trip. I wrote that his wife for 40 years had passed away and he was going to...
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...w I was onto him now. “What’s in here then?” I yelled after him, pulling at the case he was holding too-tightly in one hand. He pulled the case out of my grip with too much force causing him to lose his own grip. The black leather case hit the floor corner first causing it to come open revealing the contents. I looked up at man who was now staring at me in shock. He turned around and ran down the street and back into subway, gone before I could blink. I looked back down at the case full with stacks and stacks of 100 dollar notes. I swiftly bent down to close the case and walked away, before he could come back, as if nothing had happened at all. I wondered where he was heading with that case and he reason for all the money but whatever the reason it will look definitely look nicer on my shelf next to the diamond necklace I took from that silly teenage girl yesterday.
In conclusion, the poem “On the Subway” by Sharon Olds discusses the insights of a woman on a subway. The woman feels somewhat threatened by the boy sitting across her. The author of the poem utilizes tone, metaphor, and imagery to give prominence to the contrasts between the man and
Although most ethnic groups do not like to be thought of as different, they do come to enjoy the benefits that come with being labeled as a minority. Affirmative action is a program initiated to try and bridge the gap between white Americans and the minorities that reside in America. In addition, bilingual education is constantly an issue in Southern California, especially when choosing political candidates. In the two books I will be examining, Hunger of Memory by Richard Rodriguez and Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison, both characters in the stories are criticized by their own ethnic groups for not following the path that their parents have laid out for them. Protag, the main character in Invisible Man, chooses to join an organization called the Brotherhood, instead of a similar organization which is made up of all black men. Rodriguez decides to take a stand against affirmative action and bilingual education, two issues which Hispanics have almost always been in favor of. However, the decisions by these two characters to go against the values widely held by members of their ethnic groups causes a great deal of tension. People want to question how devoted the characters are to the cause. Both characters went against the norm and made choices which brought criticism from members of their ethnic groups, but their choices ultimately led to the strengthening of their groups culture in society. First we will look at what may have influenced the character’s choices, followed by the designation of being labeled a scholarship boy may have played in their decisions. Finally we will look at what exactly they did for their ethnic group and some of the differences that exist between the two characters.
However, the 4 train resides with me because it gives me the chance to explore the subway thoroughly. It’s always a scary feeling as the 4 train approaches the train station because it sounds like a pack of Rhinos crashing into a halt. I enter the train and quickly gaze of a seat because I know people will be racing to any open seats available. Luckily I found two empty seats and that’s where my luck ended because right next to me sat a drunk who smelled like he had been drinking gallons of liquor. Everyone around him decided to get up and move somewhere else. I decided to move carts because I can’t stand the smell of liquor. That might have been a good thing because I walked right into someone signing “Barcelona by Bill Newman.” After he finished signing I was the only one who clapped and the man turned around and gave me a big smile that I still remember till today. Most people were far too busy listening to their earbuds and didn’t even acknowledge him singing. There were no chatter or laughter, everyone is minding their own business. The mood gradually became positive as more teenagers and kids entered the train. The train ride just became a news source because you can year the gossips or the latest
Not realizing that people were watching him, Michael grabbed the bucket of coins, and dollar bills and began to run off. The man started to chase him. Michael, scared didn't know what to do. Michael just kept running, until he ran out of breathe. When he stopped to catch his breathe, Michael looked around to see if the man was still chasing him. He was nowhere to be seen. He looked inside the bucket. There were too many coins for him to count. The bucket had been filled half way up with coins. There were little to no dollar bills, but what had caught his eye was there was a small black book in the bucket. Michael picked the strange book up and opened it. Inside, there was a small wooden pencil and writing. It was the journal of the man that he had taken the bucket from. He began reading from the first
Ralph Ellison uses symbolism in the first chapter of Invisible Man to illustrate the culture in which he lived and was raised. In the chapter, entitled “Battle Royal”, Ellison intends to give his graduation speech to the white elite of his community. However, before her can deliver said speech, he is forced to perform humiliating tasks. The use of symbols is evident throughout “Battle Royal” particularly with regard to the Hell imagery, power struggle, and the circus metaphor.
The New York City Subway System, or the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), has become the “life line” of New York City (NYC) since people are reliant on the subway system for commuting to different places within the city. One such person, who buys this fact, is a person by the name of SunDo K, who runs and owns a restaurant business in Cypress, California. He claimed in his profile on Yelp that, “One of the best part about New York City is traveling via the subway.” Now there are also acid twists and turns into this. Precisely there are many others out there whose judgment matches flawlessly the same with K. They find the MTA quite advantageous of there way of going around town, while there are other people, who find the system comparatively exasperating, and disappointing for its following: punctuality, fare, overcrowded, and filthiness. Though few peoples’ psyche has been launder by the term “detestation” for New York City’s subways (Tubes), they are the ones who are going to notice a hole in their pocket as other approach of transportation call for more money in addition to not being safety as well. One such example can be found at NYC’s taxi cab. Periodically few New Yorkers tends to believe that Tubes makes their ride trouble-free, efficient, inexpensive, as well as comfortable experience. Some people also trust the city’s subway as one of safest way of roaming around the city than other transportations. What’s more gossiping is the fact that, both safety and security happens to be Subway’s primarily concern according to the MTA.
When the day came to leave I was woken at the crack of dawn. I was keen to get to Blackpool as swiftly as possible, not only for the football that was ahead of us but also for the famous Pleasure Beach. The coach picked us up at around 8 am and in we crammed into an already full coach. The journey down was full of laughter and friendly joking from the parents. That day, it was particularly hot and inside the coach a number of people were becoming uncomfortable. I was unaffected by the warmth inside the coach, with my earphones in I relaxed and paid more attention to the vast countryside we were passing through. The vivid scenery blew me away, with colossal hills to calm rivers that we met on the journey.
The author of this book Bruce Barton was a partner in a successful advertising firm during the 1920’s. This was a time when the industry of advertising was under going some major changes. These changes had a lot to do with a number of factors the first of which being the post war prosperity this meant people had more money than they ever had before. Another one of these factors had to do with the high number of teens who were now attending high school, this proved to be important because it created a whole other market which hadn’t existed before. One more factor was the advances made in transportation and communication, these advances allowed goods, people, and information to travel long distances relatively quickly intern allowing companies to grow large enough to spread their services nationally. Still another important factor was the invention of financing, this allowed people to pay for durable objects (large objects that would last a couple of years) with affordable installments or payments. But the biggest changes were the actual advertising practices themselves, many of which were pioneered by Barton and his associates, and didn’t become norms in advertising until after the release of Bartons book “The Man Nobody Knows” in 1924. This book served not only as a manual on how to advertise more affectively but also as an example of good advertising itself.
In the novel, The Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison, the narrator of the story, like Siddhartha and Antonius Blok, is on a journey, but he is searching to find himself. This is interesting because the narrator is looking for himself and is not given a name in the book. Like many black people, the narrator of the story faces persecution because of the color of his skin. The journey that the narrator takes has him as a college student as well as a part of the Brotherhood in Harlem. By the end of the book, the narrator decides to hide himself in a cellar, thinking of ways he can get back at the white people. However, in the novel, the man learns that education is very important, he realizes the meaning of his grandfather’s advice, and he sees the importance of his “invisibility.” Through this knowledge that he gains, the narrator gains more of an identity.
Ellison's book, Invisible Man was written in the 1930s. It deals with the identity of a black man in white America. The narrator writes in first person, emphasizing his individual experience and events portrayed; though the narrator and the main character remain anonymous throughout the book, they go by the name Invisible Man. The character decides that the world is full of blind people and sleep walkers who cannot see him for who he really is, thus he calls himself the Invisible Man, though he is not truly invisible, it is just a refusal for others to see him. Through a long and frustrating search, the Invisible Man hopes to answer questions that may be unanswerable. The search begins with his desire to attend college. Education represented on opportunity to escape ignorance and poverty. The ability to attend the Negro college comes to him through hard work. As valedictorian of his high school class he receives a scholarship. Invisibility, in the story, is looked upon as a bad thing. While the Invisible Man thinks optimistically and uses his invisibility as a way to undermine people, or society. Though invisibility can not allow you to be powerful or have power of your own, it can bring you freedom, to allow you to go and do whatever it is that you may chose. One person becomes invisible because someone is blind. He should have thought of that at the beginning of his search so that he might have known that no one is ever truly visible to everyone. Ellison uses every aspect of his novel to emphasize his intentions. The novel takes place in early 20th century in a racist-filled Eastern United States. The racism is evident throughout the novel, in the south where the narrator enrolls to college. White men and women influence th...
Carl Jung is credited with applying archetypes to literature. He explained that there are recurring themes and images found in pieces of works that can take the reader deeper into the story and uncover a whole other meaning. He found that these themes are universal in literature, regardless of the time, culture, or plot of a story. For example, a wise old man who helps a young heroine or comedic sidekick, both these examples can be found in many stories throughout time. Invisible Man is no exemption from archetypes but is the complete opposite-- a melting pot of undercover ideas.
The story of my history as a writer is a very long one. My writing has come full circle. I have changed very much throughout the years, both as I grew older and as I discovered more aspects of my own personality. The growth that I see when I look back is incredible, and it all seems to revolve around my emotions. I have always been a very emotional girl who feels things keenly. All of my truly memorable writing, looking back, has come from experiences that struck a chord with my developing self. This assignment has opened my eyes, despite my initial difficulty in writing it. When I was asked to write down my earliest memory of writing, at first I drew a blank. All of a sudden, it became very clear to me, probably because it had some childhood trauma associated with it.
My eyes flit back and forth along the conveyor, scouring the endless succession of case after case for the small, black briefcase – but it doesn’t appear. I clench my fists, and I can feel my palms moistening. The seconds are dwindling away, and I can prevent them no more than the tumultuous thud of my heartbeat. I need that case. Right now, I don’t have the luxury of time.
Standing on the balcony, I gazed at the darkened and starry sky above. Silence surrounded me as I took a glimpse at the deserted park before me. Memories bombarded my mind. As a young girl, the park was my favourite place to go. One cold winter’s night just like tonight as I looked upon the dark sky, I had decided to go for a walk. Wrapped up in my elegant scarlet red winter coat with gleaming black buttons descending down the front keeping away the winter chill. Wearing thick leggings as black as coal, leather boots lined with fur which kept my feet cozy.
It was 1590 in Austria, still in its Age of Belief, and also still in the Middle Ages.