1. Summarize Ernest Gaines’ life in 5-7 sentences. Ernest James Gaines was conceived on the Stream Lake Manor close to the little villa of Oscar, in Pointe Coupee Area, Louisiana. His progenitors had lived on the same ranch since bondage, staying after liberation to work the area as tenant farmers. Gaines and his crew lived in the houses, tremendously extended, that had once served as slave quarters.
In “The Scarlet Ibis”, James Hurst shows that one should not take the easy way out by submitting to one’s obstacles because in the end, it won’t be worth it. “I heaved him up again collapsed… ‘I just can’t do it.’ [Doodle says]” (Hurts 598). An example of the theme is when Doodle submits to his obstacle, which is his brother setting a goal for him he doesn’t care to achieve. By not facing his problems, The narrator’s younger brother’s problems get worse, and somewhat lead to his death.
Chris Crutcher, the author of “Angus Bethune”, uses literary devices like character foils, allusions, and situational irony to engage the reader and make his characters come to life. There were many examples of allusions in “Angus Bethune”. I think he did this because he wanted the story to seem like it took place in our world. On page 1 Angus was having a conversation with his Grandfather. He described him as “A silver haired Rolls Royce of a grandfather.”
In the story the Scarlet Ibis by James Hurst the narrator knows what he did was wrong. In the end, he realized that his own pride was the downfall for his own little brother. For wanting a normal little brother and not a crippled one. As stated on page 2 “ It was bad enough having an invalid brother, but having one who possibly was not all there was unbearable, so I began to make my plans to kill him by smothering him with a pillow”. Clearly, in this sentence, it shows that the narrator would rather have no brother at all than having one that is crippled.
In the book The Other Wes Moore by Wes Moore, Moore talks about his life experiences and the experiences of another man who is also named Wes Moore. The author states, “The chilling truth is that his story could have been mine. The tragedy is that my story could have been his,” is true up to the extent in which they had different support systems involving family and friends (Wes xi). Both men had many similarities, but they had differences in their support systems that lead each one to make different choices. They are around the same age, live in the same neighborhood, and both were raised by their single mothers.
In the short story “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst, a boy is born crippled and no one thought he would live. The boy lived however, and they named him Doodle. Doodle and his brother were very close and Doodle loved his brother and never wanted his brother to leave him alone. Doodle’s brother was ashamed to have a crippled brother so he attempted to help doodle become normal throughout doodle’s life in the story. Doodle loved his brother, even though his brother was very selfish in his reasons to help Doodle to become normal, and his brother realized how selfish and guilty he was when it was to late for Doodle in the end.
Even the strongest, most determined people have their breaking point. In James Hurst’s short story, “The Scarlet Ibis” the narrator tries to lift his disabled brother, Doodle, to his impossible expectations. His hard work, dedication, and his tough ways benefit and damage his brother. The narrator’s pride makes selfish and cruel sometimes, but very determined.
Can an experience change a person’s outlook on life? One might think that are the toughest person, but eventually they will realize they are not the only one. The exact same idea is shown in T. Coraghessan Boyle’s short story “Greasy Lake.” The short story “Greasy Lake” is about three friends, the narrator, Digby and Jeff. One night the narrator and his friends go to Greasy Lake in the narrator’s mother’s car.
Social Capital refers to the networks of relationships among people who live and work in a particular society, enabling the society to function effectively. This term is essential to become successful in life. Another factor that can affect an individual is mindsets; this is the established set of attitudes held by someone. The book, The other Wes Moore and the documentary All the Difference both are inspired by the author Wes Moore and his mother Joy Moore. It explores the struggles between two young African American men and their different path in life.
Special treatment due to a physical or mental challenge reveals the strength and true character inside, When a challenge, or adversity comes up, a good character is usually revealed, although in some cases a person isn’t caring or selfless inside. Adversity can cause the bad inside someone to come out. In “The Scarlet Ibis,” the narrator teaches his physically disabled brother to walk. “Once I succeeded in teaching Doodle I began to believe in my own infallibility, and I prepared a terrific development program for him, unknown to Mama and Daddy of course” (Scarlet Ibis, Hurst). After succeeding he keeps trying to get Doodle to be more like everyone else.
In the Glass Castle, Jeannette Walls analyzed her mother’s emotional breakdowns. In one instance, she notices “... the positive thoughts would give way to negative thoughts, and the negative thoughts seemed to swoop into her mind the way a big flock of black crows takes over the landscape, sitting thick in the trees and on the fence rails and lawns, staring at you in ominous silence” (Walls 418). Negative thoughts can consume one’s mind, whereas the positive thoughts are nugatory. The negative thoughts keep a person agonizing and stressing over it. This quote emphasizes how a negative mindset can make a person depressed or ill to be around.
Poor choices can lead to bad things. Yet if you set your mind to something positive, you can achieve it, and can change your life around in a positive direction. A story on how you can change your life even though you’ve done something terribly wrong. This is why if you want to be successful it doesn't take changing your surroundings, but changing your mind. Chris Green wasn’t Chris Green anymore.
A myriad of common themes exist in literature, employed by authors for an infinite number of effects: among these are the basic human experiences such as life, death, joy, and adversity. As defined by Merriam-Webster dictionary, adversity is “a state or instance of serious or continued difficulty or misfortune.” A subject commonly explicated upon, adversity is present in literature’s earliest works, all the way through modern compositions. The role of adversity in literature can vary: if a character triumphs over or falls to adversity can paint the work in a positive or negative light, and be the difference between a tragedy and a triumph.
An education can lead to a valuable set of skills. It did for Wes Moore, the author of The Other Wes Moore, Wes found another person with the exact same name as he and they both had different turning points in their life’s which resulted in one being in prison and the other writing a book about the whole thing. The author was motivated to do better even with his environment trying to tear him down. I can personally relate to this because I have begun to do the same with this semester of school. Wes and I have some things in common, he strived to make a better life for himself
In our life, there are periods of challenges that we must face, but the real challenge is how we grow and learn from overcoming them. Being naive children, we believed that life was simplistic and effortless. Well, we were wrong, we can only yearn for life to be easy. Growing up, we continue to face countless hurdles that only get bigger and bigger. My life, in particular, has been filled with numerous up and downs.
