ipl-logo

Characters In Summerland, By Michael Chabon

682 Words3 Pages

Every story has the one character who may stand out from the group and act slightly different from the rest. They may have some peculiar thoughts, but by the end, they play an important role in developing the plot of the story. In Summerland, by Michael Chabon, the author created Thor Wignutt, the unusual character of the story. At the beginning of the novel, Thor and Ethan Feld and Jennifer T. Rideout aren’t the best of friends. Ethan and Jennifer T. know how intelligent Thor is, and they need him in order to continue to travel between the worlds. Thor Wignutt may seem like the average eleven year old boy, but Michael Chabon made sure that his character had a much deeper meaning. Throughout the story, the author makes many references to people and settings from Norse Mythology and Native American Folklore. In the case of Thor Wignutt, he is very similar to the Norse Mythology god Thor. Of course their names are exactly the same, but there is more meaning behind their personalities. When Thor is traveling between the worlds, he discovers that he is a changeling with special powers. Thor makes an incredible jump to the Far Territories when, “He stood up on the seat and hund his head …show more content…

They would do anything to beat the giants and get closer to reaching Ragged Rock. Just like Thor Wignutt, but on a bigger scale, “Thor loved nothing more than killing giants. He road in his chariot pulled by two goats, holding Mjolnir high, ever on the lookout for someone to smash,” (Napoli 86). Even though Thor Wignutt never wanted to kill the giants, both characters needed to defeat them in order to continue on their journey. They both had the strength and determination to attempt to defeat a creature almost ten times their size. Michael Chabon most likely put this in the story to show how Thor Wignutt became a good leader and to prove why he was an asset to their baseball

Show More
Related
737 Words | 3 Pages

Katherine Senechal Professor Infranco History 110 27 January 2016 Revolutionary Summer Revolutionary Summer by Joseph J. Ellis begins in the spring of 1776, a year into the fighting between Britain and the colonies. The battle at Bunker Hill had resulted in the death of more than 1,000 British soldiers and American deaths in the hundreds. After the British raided several New England towns, American soldiers led by Benedict Arnold trudged through the wilderness of Maine in winter, “suffered a crushing defeating in the attempt to capture the British stronghold at Quebec” (Ellis, 2013, p.4). The leader of the radical party in the Continental Congress was John Adams. Many of his colleagues found him obnoxious.

Read More
287 Words | 2 Pages

Everyone has done at least one horrible act that has caused them to feel guilty. Gary Soto is just an example of that; he wrote an autobiographical narrative called “A Summer Life” telling his story. In the narrative he gives a visualization of what he has done as a child. His unforgettable experience of stealing a pie, and trying to fight his conscious makes him rethink every horrible act. Describing every moment of how he got the pie and how amazing it taste.

Read More
875 Words | 4 Pages

Sometimes bad things happen in an instant and all you can do is hope that everything will turn out okay. In the book Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson, Philadelphia experiences a sudden outbreak of yellow fever that affects Mattie in many ways and destroys the town she once knew. Before the plague Mattie worked in her family’s coffeehouse but dreamed of owning her own business in France but because of the raging epidemic, her life and thousands of people's lives change with over 5,000 deaths and constant struggles. Even through times of the worst hardships and suffering, Mattie Cook a young girl takes all of the extreme cases of murder, sickness, and death and turns them into life lessons and maturity.

Read More
697 Words | 3 Pages

A River Runs Through It by Norman Maclean is mainly about himself and his younger brother Paul, along with Reverend Maclean as a father. Norman Maclean, the older son, was a successful young male in his studies, unlike his brother Paul Maclean, who had his life as a harder time maintaining his fishing priorities. This remained his downfall for this reason behind the summer of his violent death from being beaten up. Their father, Reverend Maclean, stood behind the boys throughout the aggregate of the story in spite of their mistakes, as well as wrongdoings. By characterizing the Maclean men’s fly fishing, including the summer of the innocence of Paul’s death, where Norman seeks to realize this tragedy, to compensate praise to him, and represent the appreciation for his father’s love and insight.

Read More
939 Words | 4 Pages

“ Heroes represent the best of ourselves, respecting that we are human beings. A hero can be anyone from Gandhi to your classroom teacher, anyone who can show courage when faced with a problem. A hero is someone who is willing to help others in his or her best capacity.” - Ricky Martin. There is one thing that these three characters or people from short stories or real life have in common, they are all considered heros.

Read More
414 Words | 2 Pages

Thorin Oakenshield should have a right to take his company on a journey for his ancestor’s claim. Throughout the entire journey, Thorin proves that he is a rightful leader. His family ancestry, skill, and his bravery prove that he has a right to his claim. Thorin comes from a family of Kings under the Mountain. There is his grandfather, Thror and his father, Thráin.

Read More
213 Words | 1 Pages

"Summerland" by Michael Chabon explores themes of loss, grief, and the power of family through the story of its main character, Ethan Feld. A young baseball player, Ethan finds himself transported to a magical world filled with spirits and mythical creatures. This fantasy world serves as a metaphor for the grieving process and the journey to find hope and purpose after loss. "Summerland" has been praised for its exploration of loss. Ethan Feld, the main character, must come to terms with the passing of his father and the absence of his mother.

Read More
1548 Words | 7 Pages

Kat Reagan ENGL:3267 The Shapeshifter and the Seeress: Manifesting Power in the Medieval Norse Sagas Magic is a constant underlying presence within the Norse sagas. It is rarely the focus of a full tale, but even in the most down-to-earth story there is a chance that one will encounter a stray shapeshifter or seeress along one’s way, such as Skallagrim from Egil’s Saga and Thorbjorg from Eirik the Red’s Saga. These two figures exemplify the kinds of magic available to them as members of their societies. Skallagrim is a mighty and fearsome shapeshifting warrior, while Thorbjorg is a wise and highly respected “Little Prophetess” (33).

Read More
833 Words | 4 Pages

Oakes College is a place where diversity and individualism can thrive. The principles that Oakes College stands for are represented in its theme: Communicating Diversity in a Just Society. Throughout the Oakes Core Course the students have been taught how they can be effective members of society. Octavia E. Butler’s novel, Parable of the Sower, displays the themes of diversity and justice all throughout while tackling the many issues that stem from them. Butler depicts how difference is needed in a society for it to thrive.

Read More
469 Words | 2 Pages

Literary Analysis Suspense. It's what makes us sit on the edge of our seats at movies, or has us biting our nails as we read. It’s the backbone behind any classic horror film where the babysitter keeps getting unknown phone calls about checking the children and she asks the police to trace the call only to get a call back saying it's coming from upstairs.

Read More
552 Words | 3 Pages

Gilgamesh and Thor are both extraordinary heroic characters. The purpose of Gilgamesh’s quest was to gain fame, knowledge, and immortality. Thor on the other hand, wants a world that is peaceful and free of wrongdoings and he will go to any measures necessary in order to gain peace for the people of the world and for the world to be free of wrongdoings. Both Gilgamesh and Thor were different in many ways, yet similar in others.

Read More
904 Words | 4 Pages

Not only does he plunge into the terrifying lake but he goes to fight Grendel’s mother alone. All the witnesses are amazed he completed such a task. Thorin demonstrates this similarly in his fight against Azog. Azog is a monstrous, pale orc that murders any foes, including Thorin’s grandfather and father, in his way of conquering others. Thorin bravely battles against this enemy with nothing but his weapon and a tree branch as a shield.

Read More
770 Words | 4 Pages

Meghana Sunder Mr. Wachtor English 12 31 August 2015 Beowulf Character Analysis In the poem Beowulf, we see the Anglo-Saxon hero. It is an epic of a hero who embodies the honor of the Anglo-Saxon culture and tradition. The poem in itself is an elegant script of Anglo-Saxon times. Composed in 8th or 9th century the epic was passed down from generation to generation orally and has no known author.

Read More
867 Words | 4 Pages

Beowulf The Epic Hero In the epic poem, Beowulf, by the Beowulf Poet, it talks about the battles, and the challenges that Beowulf the protagonist has with the supernatural antagonists Grendel, and Grendel’s mom. After reading this poem and discovering what it took to become an epic hero, Beowulf strongly represents most of the characteristics of a hero. Some people may say that Beowulf was just a guy with some good luck, and he was not an epic hero at all, but this statement is proven to be false. In the poem it talks about the Anglo- Saxon way of life and what an epic hero was to them.

Read More
497 Words | 2 Pages

Thor would have treated the situation differently, not necessarily thinking of protecting his realm but just wanting to start a fight. Although at first Thor seems a bit too immature to become a king, I believe he would also risk his life for his

Read More

More about Characters In Summerland, By Michael Chabon

Related Topics

Open Document