While an adolescent may be taught by dozens of educators throughout their academic years, their first teacher is found in their parents. While the lessons taught do not reach to the extent of those given in school, their purpose is to instill proper morals and manners into the child. Forgiveness was an important concept that the protagonists learned in both Walls’ The Glass Castle and Hickam’s Rocket Boys. In The Glass Castle, Jeannette, despite all of the mistakes her parents made, forgave them each and every time.
Intriguing, inventive, and unusual are some words to describe the novel Tangerine by Edward Bloor. This novel is about protagonist, Paul Fisher, who just moved from Houston, Texas, to Tangerine County Florida where he has to deal with natural disasters striking everyday. On top of that he has to withstand his dissolute brother, Erik Fisher, the antagonist at home. He also needs to endure the favoritism portrayed by his father towards Erik and his football dream. In this novel we find out how Paul Fisher last living in this irregular neighborhood.
He arrives to work and see's Pino, his coworker, and son of Sal, give him a dirty look and said, " you are late". Pino is a racist person who does not like black people and does not get along with Mookie. In contrast, Vito is a nice and respectful individual who is friends with Mookie. It is with these four individuals that Sal's pizzeria had become so well known in New York. Sal is a person who likes to help everyone and is a well-rounded individual.
Birdie is not an easy read, an unexpected fact, considering the woman who penned it, Tracey Lindberg, is a lawyer and professor by trade. The difficulty in reading the novel comes not only from its harrowing subject matter but also from the way the story is told. It’s non-linear and jumps back and forth from the present to the past. At the start of each chapter are poems, which often transform characters into animals, such as Bernice Meetos/Birdie who longs to return to the tree, Pimatisewin. The story doesn’t entirely belong to Bernice however, as the chapters tell the story of Beatrice from the voice of five different women- her cousin, aunt, mother, landlord and herself.
Those who forget history are condemned to repeat the mistakes of the past. Those who never learn history in the first place do not have a chance to avoid even greater calamities. The characters in Saving Fish from Drowning are a group of fools who are ignorant of what has gone before and how they could have prepared to save themselves. This leads to their destruction.
After reading Fish In A Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt, I have learned that Ally is a dynamic character. At the beginning of the book, Ally is stubborn. Eventually, Ally becomes brave through the middle of the story. At the very end of the story, Ally becomes confident. These character traits were observed through Ally’s actions, dialogue, relationships, choices and problems.
“What is beneath my skin. Inside my bones?” (Tan 40). This is a familiarly asked question by many Asian immigrants, and many find it difficult to answer. The rich historical culture of Asian assimilation is a complex and intriguing subject.
Big Fish follows the distant relationship between father and son after years without communication. William Bloom, without hesitation, travels to his hometown of Ashton, Alabama along with his expectant wife after receiving news of his dying father, Edward. William’s issue with his father is derived from the fanciful tales Edward has told of his life, not only to William, but the entire world. William has one goal in mind: to discover the truth. In order to fully understand his father, William must determine fact from fiction, either directly from his father and/or from other sources, allowing a heart-wrenching, yet compelling story.
Question 1 Barbara Baynton’s characters demonstrate a contrast with gender stereotypes as she is described as bringing her “subjective obsession” to her writing where she portrays men as being violent and unsympathetic to women, cowards, weak and carless (Iseman 20). This contradicts the traditional bush legend identity of a masculine hardworking, caring man, as seen in Peter Hennessy’s character in “The Chosen Vessel” and in the “Squekers Mate” where the men are seen to be weak, violent and carless towards women. (Baynton) These negative views of men come across in the harsh Australian landscapes demonstrating a brutal and lonely place with a lack of compassion for women (Hourigan 15). Women are portrayed as victims of men and are left vulnerable
The main character in the historical novel “Water for Elephants,” written by Sara Gruen, is Jacob Jankowski. In the novel he is pictured both young and old. This character is in retelling a story from his youth while he is 93 years old and in a nursing home. Young Jacob and old Jacob both have their own problems and other troubles. The older Jacob tells his story of his youth because he feels bad for being old.
In the play Raisin in the Sun written by Lorraine Hansberry takes place on the southside of Chicago where Walter and his family are racially profiled and show us how the survive throughout their struggles. The central struggles for the younger family in their search for the American dream is mostly poverty and being racially profiled against for their actions. Hansberry challenges the traditional gender roles and issues of dominance throughout the play when Mama gives Walter lee the rest of the money at the end of the play. He becomes all excited and was supposed to save some for himself and put the rest of the money to Beneatha 's education. Instead, he gave all that money to Willy another character in the play which later on that he stole from him.
Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness. It drives us all. It makes us believe in something even when we think everything is against us. Author Nam Le explores the theme of hope in his short story, The Boat and director John Hill coat in his film, The Road. The author and director explore the theme through character development, scenery, the use of symbols and metaphors also through character behaviours.
Salinger’s choice of color use is also a way he used symbolism to further develop the short story. The scene with Sybil and Seymour takes place by the blue ocean because “It is the sea of innocence, where Seymour belongs instead of the corrupt hotel room” (“A Perfect Day for Bananafish”). The symbolism of water has the universal meaning of “purity”, and “the color blue symbolizes truth and innocence” (Parker). Salinger has Seymour reside by the blue ocean because of its symbolic meaning rather than the corrupt hotel room that “smelled of new calfskin luggage and nail-lacquer remover” (Salinger). It can be determined that Seymour yearns for the innocence those around him lack.
Throughout ‘A bridge to Wiseman’s cove’, James Moloney introduces to characters who are in despair. However, the reader is shown how the characters are rescued with the support of each other. The protagonist Carl Matt is in despair after moving to Wattle Beach, because his mother and sister leave him and his younger brother. Joy, a middle-aged woman is also portrayed as a character who is afraid to give love to her daughter. Another individual, Graham Duncan, commonly known as Skip is a character who is rescued from despair.
Throughout history, humans have greatly evolved as a species. Despite many physical changes, the inherently good nature of humankind and its tendency towards kindness has prevailed. The constant craving for both physical and emotional connections as well as the comfort humans find in each other are demonstrative of humankind’s true values. Humanity’s natural inclination toward bettering situations is demonstrative of the inherently good nature of humankind, that allows for societal advancements. In Donna Tartt’s The Goldfinch, the protagonist Theo Decker experiences many hardships that cause him to make questionable decisions.
