ipl-logo

The Other Side Of The River Analysis

709 Words3 Pages

The Other Side of The River tells a story of two towns: One by the name of St. Joseph and one by the name of Benton Harbor, which are 95 percent white and 92 percent black respectively. Although these two towns are geographically close, they are socially separated by class, race, and virtue. After the death of Eric McGinnis, a black teenage boy from the town of Benton Harbor, tensions grew between the two towns. The story of McGinnis’ death had several versions to it and the one you believed in was indicative of which side of the river you called home. In this paper, I will describe the concepts of meaning and social audiences and show how they are illustrated in this novel. Many believe that meaning is based on one’s behavior or choice of action and how it reflects a person; however, that is not necessarily true. The essence of evil, immoral, and unjustifiable acts do …show more content…

Eric’s mother, family, and friends, who all fall under the concept of informal audience, believe that Eric was murdered. Some believe he was shot by a white man and others believe he was drowned by one, nonetheless they all believe the people from St. Joseph took part in covering up his death and making sure no one would find out the truth. All the while, the informal audience of St. Joseph consists of their residents who believe that Eric was suicidal and that he willingly jumped into the lake or he somehow accidently drowned.
There is a continuous contest over meaning when it comes down to Eric’s death. In the novel The Other Side of The River, both towns of Benton Harbor and St. Joseph argue that their meaning behind his death is the truth. Unfortunately, by the end of the novel no one truly knows what happened to Eric McGinnis, his death will remain a mystery between the two towns of Michigan. Throughout this paper I used illustrations from the novel to support my argument of meaning and social

Show More
Related
278 Words | 2 Pages

The book The River Runs Salt, Runs Sweet depicts the time of the division of Yugoslavia and the Bosnian war. The book contains a number of stories that tell the readers about the life in Bosnia and the desire of people to survive. The historical landscape at the time covered in the memoir is characterized by the disintegration of Yugoslavia that was strengthened by the beginning of the intolerance among the races. Those factors influenced the lives of people and broke many of them.

Read More
712 Words | 3 Pages

Did you ever wanted to sail to the new world to get gold and other treasure’s. In 1607 John Smith (Captain Smith) brought some colonist with him to build the new world. .

Read More
669 Words | 3 Pages

Have you ever felt safe somewhere, but realized your only protection was ignorance? In Jacqueline Woodson’s When a Southern Town Broke a Heart, she introduces the idea that as you grow and change, so does your meaning of home. Over the course of the story, Woodson matures and grows older, and her ideas about the town she grew up in become different. When she was a nine year old girl, Woodson and her sister returned to their hometown of Greenville, South Carolina by train. During the school year, they lived together in Downtown Brooklyn, and travelled to.

Read More
510 Words | 3 Pages

The film At the River I Stand was a very interesting film that went back to the civil rights movement and told the dream that Martin Luther King had and how his dream has come a long way. This film took place in 1968 in Memphis, TN. It focused on how African Americans were excluded out and were paid low wages and worked in poor working conditions. Not only did they go on strike to gain equality, but they also wanted to stand up for what’s right. Being though Martin Luther King was assassinated during this film, African Americans started more riots all over the country to fight for justice.

Read More
1135 Words | 5 Pages

Perry’s disturbing past urges both the reader and the townspeople to view the culprit’s entire story from a moral standpoint. Thus, this causes them to empathize with him and question whether such a brutal punishment should be inflicted upon a man who may potentially have mental issues. The uncertainty that arises in the minds of the townspeople is portrayed in the prosecutor’s conversation with the newsman after Perry is hanged.

Read More
1242 Words | 5 Pages

The interpretation is important to the story because it shows that the perception of a person is not always who they are, leading to the realization that it is necessary to not be blinded by first

Read More
612 Words | 3 Pages

Reader Response of “On the Rainy River” The short story “On the Rainy River” by Tim O 'Brien explains to the audience that all men are influenced to go into war, and that they should hide the fears and emotions that they may have along the journey. Throughout the short story the author explains his journey and opens up about his emotions when he was sent to war. Being the audience of this short story explains to you what every man must go through if they were to be sent to war.

Read More
534 Words | 3 Pages

I choose to analysis the ethical approach of “Zora Neal Hurston’s “How it Feels to be Colored Me.” I think the author used a very unique to say how she feel about herself. I can relate to the author, when she speaks of her town, and how she didn’t realize her skin until she left her. Growing up I really didn’t know how different my skin was, until I found myself in predominate white church. For a while, people treated me differently, until they realized I was human with a great heart and attitude.

Read More
1184 Words | 5 Pages

How does a person’s response to and perspective of a crisis define him or her? In the event of a crisis, a person’s response and perspective of it can define him or her. In the novel, The Book Thief, written by Markus Zusak, and the short story, “On the Rainy River”, written by Tim O’Brien, the characters experience crisis all around them. Hans Hubermann in The Book Thief and Tim O’Brien in “On the Rainy River” have a hard time staying true to themselves in moments of crisis.

Read More
692 Words | 3 Pages

Throughout the story of “Sonny’s Blues”, James Baldwin develops a theme that can still be related with today. The misunderstanding and lack of knowledge that the narrator experiences, about his brother, is something that many today feel, as their own family members are being prosecuted and they do not comprehend why. Within the story, there are numerous subtle ideas that are used to progress the story and theme along to the ending that is given. James Baldwin advances the theme of his story, that misfortune and anguish can be renovated into a unique art form, using characterizations, settings, and symbolisms. One of the main literary devices that is used to express the theme is characterization.

Read More
1205 Words | 5 Pages

In the short story, “On the Rainy River” by Tim O’Brien, the author develops the idea that when an individual experiences a feeling of shame and humiliation, they often tend to neglect their desires and convictions to impress society. Tim, the narrator, starts off by describing his feeling of embarrassment, “I’ve had to live with it, feeling the shame”, before even elaborating on the cause of the feeling. Near the end of the story, he admits he does not run off and escape to Canada because it had nothing to do with his, “mortality...Embarrassment, that’s all it was”. The narrator experiences this feeling of intense shame and then he decides that he will be “a coward” and go to war. His personal desire is that he wishes to live a normal life and could never imagine himself charging at an enemy position nor ever taking aim at another human being.

Read More
1117 Words | 5 Pages

This is shown when the characters in this novel speak out against a concept they know nothing about. Therefore, the literary terms an author uses can make an immense impact to the connections the reader makes to a novel, and help to shape a theme that is found throughout

Read More
921 Words | 4 Pages

Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun follows the struggles of an African American family living in a neighborhood in 1950s South Side Chicago. The play discusses several issues pertaining to African Americans of the time, such as poverty and discrimination. One of the major themes of the story is the search for a sense of belonging; whether that’s a sense of belonging to the continent of Africa, a neighborhood in Chicago, or on a personal level within the Younger family. The play explores this theme through its characters Beneatha, Mama and Walter.

Read More
909 Words | 4 Pages

In James Baldwin's short story, Sonny’s Blues, the reader should understand and visualize the historical context in order to understand the world being presented. The reader has to comprehend the harsh life of a male African-American who struggles with his dreams and drug addiction sometime around early 1957. I will discuss Baldwin's writing style, the life/value of an african american's life during this time, and the relationship between Sonny and his brother. Baldwin’s short story illustrates the hardships a person faces while searching for themselves in a world full of people or obstacles that stand in their way. Some of these obstacles are self inflicted, present from the beginning of their existence or appear as though they are random.

Read More
905 Words | 4 Pages

By creating characters in the novel who are excluded and labelled the author demonstrates how cruel society can be to people. The purpose of this essay is to show how the author reveals the experiences of marginalised characters in society. Joseph Davidson is an introverted, fourteen year old boy who feels that he is trapped within his own world of chaos, and he too is a marginalised character in the book. It is suggested by the author that other characters believe that Joseph’s mother smothers him too much and his father has

Read More

More about The Other Side Of The River Analysis

Related Topics

Open Document