Mary Fragalla Mrs. Teague Honors American Literature 10 December 2015 Reading Portfolio Assignment Author’s Background and Purpose John Knowles wrote his novel "A Separate Peace" after his memories from his years at the Phillips Exter Academy in New Hampshire. John Knowles grew up in a small town in Fairmont, West Virginia. He came from a wealthy family.
A great terror struck our nation September 11, 2001, two aircraft’s hit the world trade centers, killing 2000 people and injuring over twice as many. A third aircraft flew into the Pentagon while a fourth crashed in a rural area in Pennsylvania. This day will forever be engrained into history as one of the worst terror attacks faced in this nation. Nearly three years later, in an attempt to figure out what happened on that tragic day, scholars came together to discuss the possible parallels between foreign and domestic terrorist. The author, Michael Kimmel, outlines the possible cause of the 2001 attacks and offers us a link between both foreign and domestic terrorism.
In this book there is mystery, terrorism and a whole lot of suspense. In this journal I will be evaluating, visualizing and clarifying. I like this book for several reasons, but I also have my problems with this book too.
Neal Shusterman’s novel, Unwind, published in 2007, follows three teenagers, Lev, Connor and Risa. The book revolves around the idea of being Unwound, which the book quotes as” The process by which a child is both terminated yet kept alive”. Shusterman portrays this through clever narration with metaphors and a vast array of other literary devices with private looks at characters’ lives and thoughts that respond to actions around them, showing that Lev is proof that terrorists can be created by the society in which they live, as they are responding(albeit myopically) to how they have been treated. In response to social pressures, Lev becomes a clapper who detonates a bomb inside themselves once clapping, proving this, with this, trying to connect to real life and current-day situations
Samira Ahmed’s realistic fiction novel, Love, Hate, and Other Filters, takes place in modern-day Chicago where a suicide bombing has engrossed the attention of America. Maya Aziz, a Muslim teenager, is targeted for her heritage while attempting to lead a life free of high school drama, controlling parents, and difficult relationships. As Maya copes with Islamophobia, prejudice against Muslims, she begins to understand the horrors and shortcomings of violence. One lesson the story suggests is that hatred is an infectious and blinding motive. From the very beginning of the story, readers are familiarized with the source of terrorism through thorough description and sentence structure.
At the age of ten, Edward Isham threw the first punch that led down the long road of a violent lifestyle (Bolton, 1). He grew up without a mother and with an alcoholic and a womanizer role model of a father (Bolton, 102). Unlike most, Isham was uneducated and not involved in the church after being kicked out of both (Bolton, 2). His far from average and tumultuous childhood mirrored his far from average life (Bolton, 101). Edward Isham’s life was not one of a typical poor white man because of his work circumstances, his relationships, and his extremely violent lifestyle.
He was lost for the rest of the war, shuttered inside his apartment, nervous, morose, and broken.” Hedges uses heartbreaking accounts like this to make his theses invulnerable. Later he writes about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, about the “celebration of suicidal martyrdom and justification of the tit-for-tat killing of noncombatants.” Once he establishes this point he tells the story of Murad Abdel Rahman, whose son was killed for sport by Israeli soldiers. “A half-hour after he left, people came running to tell me he was shot in the leg.
The Kite Runner describes the life of Amir. Before the war, he lived in Kabul with his father Baba, their servant Ali and Ali’s son Hassan. Hassan and Ali are from a lower class than Amir and Baba, but Amir and Hassan are best friends regardless. In this essay the assertion ‘Amir is selfish and
Sacrifice, one the most prominent themes in Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner, clearly determines a person’s unconditional love and complete fidelity for another individual. Hosseini’s best-selling novel recounts the events of Amir’s life from childhood to adulthood. Deprived of his father’s approval and unsure of his relationship with Hassan, Amir commits treacherous acts which he later regrets and attempts to search for redemption. These distressing occurrences throughout his youth serve as an aid during his transition from a selfish child to an altruistic adult.
Amir exploits Hassan’s loyalty in order to feel superior. Assef uses sexual abuse to give himself power over Hassan and Sohrab. The Taliban use religion and terror to enforce their rule over the people of Afghanistan. Although all of these people employ different means to maintain power, the root of their strength is the guilt and shame of their victims: Hassan’s need to be a good friend, Sohrab’s sinful feelings, and the people’s guilt of not adhering to their religion. The Kite Runner illustrates how power changes people and relationships, and exhibits the extremes a person will go to into order to keep a firm grasp on
The Power of People: The Lasting Influence Rahim Khan has on Amir in The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini It is often the individuals taken for granted that have the most impact in the lives of others. Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner explores the profound power that lies in the hands of influential figures, and the resulting impact that they can have in terms of shaping ones identity and actions. While personally lacking rich character development, Rahim Khan’s role in the novel is significant, not only in terms of influencing Amir’s life, but also as a tool of personification used to embody the overall themes that are exemplified.
In the Ethical Life, by Russ Shafer-Landau, chapters written by Michael Walzer and Alan Dershowitz express their knowledge and opinions on the topics of terrorism and torture. Is it possible to justify and defend such acts? In the chapter “Terrorism: A Critique of Excuses”, author Michael Walzer shuts down four excuses that attempt to justify terrorism. In the chapter, “Should the Ticking Bomb Terrorist Be Tortured?”, Alan Dershowitz defends his theory that it is necessary to torture a terrorist if that means saving the lives of innocent people while protecting their civil liberties and human rights at the same time. Terrorism can never be moral because it violates all “excuses” and torture is an acceptable tactic to save lives.
In the novel The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, there are many different important conflicts throughout the story. These conflicts are brought upon by the recurring motifs, such as redemption and loyalty. The different dissensions support the ideas of characterization by how they react to the sudden adversity in their lives. Amir attempts to redeem himself through Hassan’s son, Sohrab, by saving him and giving him a better life. Further developing the meaning of the story, connoting the mental struggle and the way priorities change over time, keeping readers mindful of the motifs and how they impact each character.
In a not too distant future Britain is filled with torture cells, unfair punishments and prejudice against minorities, although through all this chaos one masked man known only as “V” dares to stand against the government thus being labeled as a terrorist. Little is known about the masked vigilante only that he is an anarchist revolutionary trying to bring down the government and convince the people to rule themselves. In the following essay I will be doing a full analysis on the movie titled “V for Vendetta” Focusing mainly on analyzing the character “V” and also analyzing themes such as Identity, Rebellion, and Anarchism. The motive of the essay is to explain “V’s” ideals and purposes to end the essay with an explanation to why V for Vendetta has been used by libertarians and anarchists to promote their ideals. The movie “V for Vendetta”
In the short story My Son the Fanatic, the relation between father and son gets tested, when the father Parvez, discovers that his son Ali has developed his religious believes into a more extreme manner. The short story takes place in England, and deals with a father’s desperate attempt to understand his son, and a son’s attempt to find himself, and take a stand on western society and believes through a religious perspective. In this essay I will analyze and interpret the short story, by answering following research questions: The characterization of the protagonist Parvez, the setting in the short story, the relationship between the father Parvez, and his son Ali, and the main theme. Parvez is the protagonist in the short story; he is a Pakistani immigrant, making his living in England, driving the taxi.