Between Remembering and Forgetting The book Strength In What Remains by Tracy Kidder, tells the journey of Deo, from his escape from Hutu-Tutsi genocide in the mid-1990s to the United States and back to Burundi. In his journey, Deo struggle’s against his memories of the genocide, he was faced with two different ways of dealing with his memories, to forget or to remember. In the first half of the book, Deo follows the Burundian concept of forgetting about the past, this is due too the unwillingness of victims to recall and, thereby, relive the violence and pain of their recent history. But as he went through his journey, he realizes that although he wants to forget his past tragedies, he was unable to do so.
“The Threshold” by Cristina Peri Rossi is a captivating short story that explores the theme of self-discovery and transformation. The story centers on the protagonist, who is struggling to reconcile her past experiences and her present reality. Through the use of various literary elements, Peri Rossi creates a vivid and powerful story that draws the reader into the protagonist's inner world. One of the most interesting elements of the story is the use of symbolism. The threshold, which is the title of the story, serves as a metaphor for the protagonist's transition from one phase of her life to another.
Annie Dillard’s purpose in writing this was to express how her incessant mood-swings affected her demeanor, causing her teenage years to be gloomy. This is exemplified when Dillard states, “I felt myself coiled and longing to kill someone or bomb something big” (Dillard 143). With this single remark, she encapsulates the extent of her anger and how it possessed her mind. The diction in this sentence, specifically the use of the word “coiled,” reflects how her feelings are similar to those a snake feels when it's about to bite its victim.
In her essay "Naked Citadel," Susan Faludi talks about the "whole man," that is, the stripping of the individuality of young boys in order to turn them into men through monstrous ways while devoting their lives to the citadel, completely going against the beliefs of Sacks. In his essay "The Mind 's Eye," Oliver Sacks talks about, and respects everyone 's individuality. Faludi 's essay gives a sense of how the people in citadel are supposed to comply with cultural expectations, whereas the evidence in Sacks ' essay seemingly defies cultural expectations. These two types of people self evidently do not complement each other, illustrating the two types of people created. Although in the end expectations aren 't always met, and by facing the
With the death of Angelo Bruno and Stanfa in hiding and later imprisoned, a power vacuum was left with the Philadelphia crime family. The self-claimed boss, Philip “Chicken Man” Testa was murdered as well by a nail bomb infront of his home in 1981, and in the end, powerful Atlantic City captain Nicodemo “Little Nicky” Scarfo claimed victory as the new boss of Philadelphia. Scarfo brought a new and notorious regime at the top, as he allegedly ordered the murders of more than 30 people throughout his reign in the 1980s. He tried to gain more influence in New York with the five families through then-current Gambino crime family boss John Gotti but failed. Scarfo was soon indicted on massive charges and sent to prison for the rest of his life
“The Glass Castle” is a biography, drama written by Destin Daniel Cretton; it portrays a young girl (Jeanette Walls) and her family as they struggle in poverty stricken towns with a mother who is an eccentric artist and her alcoholic father who she blindly puts her faith in. The film was released on August 11, 2017 and features Brie Larson, Woody Harrelson, and Naomi Watts among others. The big question, “What do I think about “The Glass Castle” film? The film was dissatisfying overall, I did not feel same emotional attachment that I felt with the book. They did not show enough of Jeanette and Rex’s connection to each other.
After few hours reading, “The Sanctuary of School” was written by Lynda Barry, grew up in an interracial neighborhood in Seattle, Washington State. Then, I think this article was interesting to read. I love the way how she told us her past experience by using her own voice to lead us step by step get into her story, then she also shares us about her feeling and how it impacted to her future life. Plus, at the end, she argues that the government should not be cutting the school programs and art related activities. Those programs definitely do help the students and the parents as well.
In Julia Alvarez’s poem “Dusting,” the author uses the metaphor of a mother dusting away her daughter’s fingerprints and drawings to represent an oppressing mother and a child who wants to be a unique individual. Throughout the poem, the daughter runs about her house, playing with the dust everywhere instead of just wiping it up like most other girls would. At the top of each morning, the girl in the story says that she “wrote my name / on the dusty cabinet, then crossed / the dining table in script” (lines 1-3). The girl just wants to make a name for herself and write, but as soon as she finishes her precious art, her mother “followed, squirting / linseed from a burping can / into a crumpled up flannel” (lines 6-8). In an essence, this is
How does one become a man? Have you ever wondered if you are truly a man? In the novel, “The First Part Last,” the main character, Bobby, wonders if he would ever become a man. Bobby is a sixteen year old teenager who was careless and impregnated another teen named Nia. Bobby decides to raise the baby himself after the mother goes into an irreversible vegetative coma.
When society thinks of the word “childhood,” they imagine it as a precious time for children to be in school and freely play, to grow and learn with the love and support from people dear to their hearts. It is also known to be a cherished period where children are to be innocent and live carefree from fear. However, in the context of The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls, childhood is viewed as a tough hardship that Jeannette and her siblings have overcame, and the memories they carry has greatly impacted their lives that it has molded them to who they are
The Glass Castle is about four children and their mom and dad, who struggle to get by. They go from day to day with little food and barely a roof over their heads. In this book, it shows how children overcome little guidance and abusive parents while growing up. Jaennette introduces us to her father in the beginning of the book, Rex Walls. He is a father who can't provide for his family because he can't keep a job and focuses more on himself than his children or wife.
Dreams, contrary to popular belief, are terrible. The best thing to do, is to stop chasing dreams because all dreams do is distract people from more important responsibilities. People spend their time chasing their dreams, but they don’t perform their day to day tasks they need to survive on their own. In the memoir, The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls, Jeannette’s mother, Rose Mary, has a dream of becoming an artist. Instead of getting a job to provide for her poverty stricken family, she decides to stay home and paint all day.
Taneisha Grant’s narrative “When the Simulated Patient is for Real” discusses the real-life application of the information one learns in school by describing a situation between Doctor Grant and her patient, a worrisome man named Mr. G. Grant highlights the need to understand the patients themselves prior to treatment through her encounter with this patient. This encounter ultimately reminded her that her education will always continue to effect and to increase throughout her work. Grant takes a very patient-oriented view, making clear her medical aim to be helping her patients as best as possible. She mentions a need for objectivity, because it does not matter what “race, gender, or socioeconomic” status the patient has (Grant 182).
In the Ted talk on "Battling Bad Science", the speaker Ben Goldacre tackles the lack of critical analysis by the public of scientific claims by debunking popular medical claims and exposing methods of borderline falsifying evidence behind claims. Science is a unique subject varying from all others in many rights, particularly when it comes to the critical analysis of its claims by the general public. Unlike politics, law, history, etc., science is given huge leeway to make uncontested claims by the public, where as in other fields their claims are scrutinized before being accepted. On the contrary, people willingly expect dodgy “scientific” claims which often contradict themselves.
Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes by Eleanor Coerr is a tragic story of young Sadako who suffered from Leukemia as a result of radiation left over by the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. Our story takes place in 1955 Hiroshima, Japan. Eleven year old Sadako was one of the fastest runners in her class, she had big dreams of being the fastest runner in her school once she reached junior high. Her dreams came to a halt when she is diagnosed with Leukemia and is immediately hospitalized. Sadako is a girl who believes in good omens and luck.
