Choices always have a consequence no matter what. In the novel Tangerine, by Edward Bloor, every critical decision that Paul makes, guides him to understanding success. Paul’s choices have a huge effect on his family when he tells them that he wants to go to Tangerine Middle School, when he jumps on Coach Warner and gets expelled, and when he tells the police about what Erik and Arthur did. Paul’s choices affect his life with every word he says, and every action too. Paul decides to attend Tangerine Middle School so he can play soccer.
Throughout the book The Overachievers:The Secret Lives of Driven Kids, Alexandra Robbins develops the theme of competition between the students at Whitman High School and the students she individually observed. The Journalist Alexandra Robbins returns to Whitman, where she attended her high school years to follow a few of Whitman’s upperclassmen and journal about their experiences in high school towards achieving admissions to top elite colleges and universities. The students she follows around are Taylor, Julie, Audrey, AP Frank, Sam, Pete, Ryland, Stealth Overachiever student, and C.J., which were Juniors and Seniors at Whitman. As she observes these nine students at Whitman High School, she discovers that High School was an indirect battleground between students who competed against each other for best grades, top scores in standardized tests, best athletic achievements, and their admissions towards post
Carl Jung said, “If one does not understand a person, one tends to regard him as a fool. ” The short story “Saturday Climbing”, by WD Valgardson, explores how the protagonist, Barry, an overprotective father of a sixteen-year-old girl, struggles to let go and trust his daughter Moira. Initially, Barry faces adversity trying to communicate and understand Moira. However, after he signs himself and Moira to rock climbing, new trust starts to be created causing the ‘rope’ within their relationship to strengthen. As a result, Moira opens up to her father and he starts to understand her desire to carve out her own life.
The Narrator in the story A&P by John Updike tells an experience where he chose to make a decision that would change his life and take him to new places. This decision was one that was derived from the need for freedom and change. Usually a decision like this takes a realization that growing up and taking a new path is necessary. In this story, this realization began from the narrator seeing how his manager treated the girls in the store with such hostility because they were just wearing bathing suits. The boy, watching this, realized he wanted to live like the girls had been living.
To display my understanding of the four-course outcomes, I selected my summary and rhetorical analysis of Bruno Bettelheim's "Fairy Tales and the Existential Predicament," and my in-class writing "Seattle Versus the
Writing Assignment #1 Gerald Graff is an English Professor at the University of Illinois and also the founder of “Teachers for a Democratic Culture”. In his article “Hidden Intellectualism”, he explains how non-academic writing and discussions involving “lightweight” subject matter can improve one’s writing and allow for critical thinking (245). He starts off by stating “Everyone knows some young person who is impressively street smart but does poorly in school” (244). He refers to his experience of how he was not always interested in reading scholarly, but without recognizing it, he was building himself towards an academic life. Graff describes how he used his interest in sports to excel in academics.
The current grade 11 University English course at St.Elizabeth Catholic High School study four books in the process of the whole semester. Obviously, the English Department has contemplated greatly over the nomination of these four books to educate your students. Although the education of these books is astonishing, I would like to introduce to you a book titled Next Year For Sure by Zoey Leigh Peterson. I believe this book would exceed your expectations, and allow the department to replace one of the four books.
Samantha Gonzalez Ms. Turnquist English 9 Honors Period 6 8 November 2015 The Impact of a Quest During life, one of the most difficult tasks one is faced with is acquiring self-knowledge; this can sometimes be confused with the person one wants to be and strives to be, as opposed to learning who they truly are. The five quest elements in Thomas C. Foster’s book How to Read Literature Like a Professor includes a quester, a place to go, a stated reason to go, challenges and trials, and the real reason to go; which in this step ultimately results in gaining self-knowledge (4-5). Sammy, the main character from the short story A&P written by John Updike, and Rainsford, the main character from The Most Dangerous Game written by Richard Connell,
3 The story of “A&P” by John Updike adopts the uses of figurative language to embellish the critical moments of transitions of people’s lives, particularly in the life of Sammy. Updike utilizes crafts of plot, character, setting, point of view, theme, and symbol to constitute the story, and to project the idea of "life passages. " Also, Sammy undergoes a series of events that enables him to transition as a person in his life. 3
Authors of short fiction always strive to communicate a message in their stories for the reader to discover. Their message makes their story memorable and it gives the reader something to take away. Raymond Carver’s “Cathedral” and Flannery O’Connor’s “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” have very comparable messages concealed behind their stories. Although these two authors share their messages with vastly different stories, the protagonists in their stories convey similar messages for the reader to uncover. The authors of both “Cathedral” and “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” use the protagonist to communicate that maintaining a stubborn mindset is human nature and it takes a significant experience to change one’s way of thinking.
In many cases, people may be forced by external circumstances to make decisions that they would not have made if such circumstances did not present themselves. The results of such decisions can either have a positive or negative impact on the lives of an individual. Such a case is well presented in the story A &P by John Updike where the major character, Sammy is portrayed to be rebellious. His rebellion appears to have more disadvantages than advantages as it complicates his life in many cases, which leads him into making uninformed decisions. It is, therefore, true to say that Sammy's rebellion in the John Updike's A & P is more futile than heroic and only makes negative complications in his life.
" all portray the act of taking risks -and their outcomes- in different ways, but their authors all show how lessons have
While the short story, “Cut” doesn’t have many traditional author opinions that readers are used to, Bob Greene develops his central claim that is detected by the use of rhetorical devices. Greene’s choice of showing the reader examples of stories that sparked the motivational mindset of these men instead of analyzing these stories help display a clearer thesis while shifting the attention off of him as an
One example of this is when Junior’s teacher tells him not to lose hope. Junior’s teacher is the one that teaches him this lesson. He explains how, if he loses hope; he will be stuck in a cycle like the rest of his family. This influences Junior to go to rearden, so that he doesn’t lose hope in the reservation. Junior knows that everyone in the reservation lacks hope, that is why they are stuck in a cycle.
In the short stories we have read there have been numerous themes. The impact of tradition, the value of heritage, the importance of family, the divide between social classes, and the presence of love are all ideas that can be found in the stories we have read. Short stories have managed to encapture the importance and true meaning of life in just a few sentences by imposing on the readers themes we can all relate to. A common theme presented in Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use” and Toni Cade Bambara’s “The Lesson” is the power of knowledge and education. In “Everyday Use,” two sister Dee and Maggie have different views on how they should preserve and honor their heritage.
