Tracey Lindberg’s novel Birdie is narratively constructed in a contorting and poetic manner yet illustrates the seriousness of violence experience by Indigenous females. The novel is about a young Cree woman Bernice Meetoos (Birdie) recalling her devasting past and visionary journey to places she has lived and the search for home and family. Lindberg captures Bernice’s internal therapeutic journey to recover from childhood traumas of incest, sexual abuse, and social dysfunctions. She also presents Bernice’s self-determination to achieve a standard of good health and well-being. The narrative presents Bernice for the most part lying in bed and reflecting on her dark life in the form of dreams.
When reading a Catherine Pigott essay called Chicken Hips, I had this sense of connection throughout the entire essay when she being judged and called ‘chicken hips’ for how she looked when teaching in Gambia. Throughout the essay Pigott got called out for not fitting the criteria of an African woman. As mentioned in the essay, “There, it is beautiful - not shameful - to carry weight on the hips and thighs, to have a round stomach and heaving, swinging breasts” (Pigott, 6). I can personally relate to this as I, myself, don’t fit under the criteria of a traditional Sri Lankan Tamil woman. Therefore, as I was reading this essay, there were many parts that I could personally relate to.
In Victor Martinez’s novel, Parrot in the Oven, Martinez makes up a lifestyle of a kid and his family and how they live. He wrote about a kid named Manny who lives in projects in Fresno with his mom, dad, two sisters and brother away from the city and more “wealthy people”. Martinez uses internal monologue, dialog and action to create character development in the book Parrot in the Oven. Victor Martinez uses internal monologue, dialog and action throughout the book to help you understand the main character of his story.
Randall McMurphy, the protagonist of Ken Kesey’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest has an unlikely destination at a mental hospital in Oregon. There, he fights against the system that has been imposed on his recently made friends in the hospital, such as Billy Bibbit and Chief Bromden, who he helps overcome the unfair system imposed on them. With his imminent battle for power against the institution, McMurphy is an archetypal Christ-like hero, although some of his actions aren’t Christ-like. The duel between him and Nurse Ratched ends in the ultimate de-throning of Ratched and McMurphy achieving what he wants to do-- even if he wasn’t there to witness it.
The journey I was taken on while reading the novel had a beneficial effect on myself, expressed significance to the world about a common topic and showed how the main character gradually changed throughout the story. I felt
The Lord Of The Flies by William Golding is a book about a plane full of boys crashing on an island. The boys are by themselves no adults so they have to survive on their own and establish their own government. Piggy is one of the first characters we meet as a boy with poor eyesight, a weight problem and asthma so the readers already like him even if no one else likes him. Piggy is the closest thing the boys have to an adult on the island. Throughout the story Piggy embraces the character traits of being intellectually intelligent, Mature and loyal.
Flannery O’Connor’s The King of the Birds is a narrative explaining the narrator’s obsession with different kinds of fowl over time. The reader follows the narrator from her first experience with a chicken, which caught the attention of reporters due to its ability to walk both backward and forward, to her collection of peahens and peacocks. At the mere age of five, the narrator’s chicken was featured in the news and from that moment she began to build her family of fowl. The expansive collection began with chickens, but soon the narrator found a breed of bird that was even more intriguing; peacocks.
Bradbury alludes to mythological tales, specifically the myth of the Phoenix, to explain to the readers that one must use knowledge from books to learn from past mistakes. By incorporating the tale of the Phoenix and comparing its rebirth to the renewal of society after prior mass destruction, it becomes clear that without books man cannot learn from his prior wrongdoings. The myth of the firebird entails the constant restoration of the bird from its ashes after death. The Phoenix always comes back, therefore it cannot die. Bradbury uses the Phoenix’s cycle of rebirth in Granger’s speech to Montag when mentioning the nature of society.
“Pancakes” by Joan Butler made the best use of conflict because it was essential to the development of the protagonist and overall theme of the story. At first readers see that Jill, the protagonist, has a desire for perfection and is extremely narrow-minded on her perfectionism. The first type of conflict Jill endures occurs as she reminisces her break up with her boyfriend. Unable to finally take notice of her wrongdoing, she defiantly tells him that “[she hopes he finds] a messy, inconsiderate girlfriend who can never find her purse or her car keys … [and has] no aptitude for planning” (Butler 212).
Exigence is all around us in daily life, whether it be politics, the media, or even science. Exigence tends to happen during every crisis in today’s world, shining light on issues that need to be seen. William Goulding has commenced a call to action with this book, making all the readers informed on his philosophy. In “Lord of the Flies”, by William Goulding, we see that a group of boys have crash landed on an island. The boys will begin to form a civilized group within themselves, only in order to break out into disarray.
Do you know anyone who has Orinthophobia, the fear of birds? Or do you yourself fear the birds? “The Birds”, written by Daphne De Maurier, is a short story that uses various literary terms to make an exceptional piece of writing. The story uses the literary devises such as foreshadowing, imagery, and characterization to create an exhilarating tale. Maurier uses these three components to tell a thrilling story that keeps the reader on edge.
In Brothers Grimm, Fitcher’s Bird is told in a third person’s point of view and a past tense and an active voice. The characters in the story does not have names or an specific characteristics, but only have a title of what they are. Which the characters is just a she or he doing their things. The story have long sentences because majority of Brother’s grimm sentences are conjunction and compound complex sentences.
“Real courage is when you know you’re licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what.” (Harper Lee). As an author, Harper Lee is mostly known for her award winning novel To Kill a Mockingbird. This is because she has written about the racial tension in the sixties. Her courage and confidence allowed her to write about a topic that wasn’t talked about.
It taught me that strength and perseverance can make a significant impact in life. I also learned that forgiveness and the ability to forgive is much more powerful than I ever realized. This novel sucked me into the story and its characters and took me on an emotional ride of highs and lows. Finally, it forced me to reevaluate my previous judgement of the homeless.
It made me realize that I am perseverant, think outside of the box, and
