A Stolen Life Analysis

Julie Otsuka’s When the Emperor was Divine is a story about a Japanese-American family and their experience in an internment camp in Utah. In the book, the young girl says to her mother “Is there anything wrong with my face?... People were staring” (15). The reader can see from this quote what it was like for the Japanese-Americans during the war. The quote shows how it was not just a national problem; it was a problem for everyone- including making a ten year old girl feel self-conscious. What makes this stand out from the others is that as far as the reader knows, she has not done anything wrong. She also has no clue as to why people are being discriminatory towards her, hence why she has to ask her mom. What she has yet to learn is that

Captivity stories have become a popular genre throughout the American culture. The idea has gained popularity because America’s history with captivity has left unforgettable memories for all Americans. Stories like A Narrative of the Captivity of Mary Rowlandson and The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano have become very popular because of this. Although there are many differences between these stories, they both are similar in one way or another.

A Rip in Heaven by Jeanine Cummins is described as memoir written about murder and its aftermath. Throughout the book a third person point of view displayed the background stories of the victims of murder and assault, the children and family it effected, and the assailants themselves. A Rip in Heaven establishes a timeline of the events starting on a night in April with the extended family of the victims - Julie and Robin Kerry, and Thomas (Tom) Cummins. From that night on the Kerry and Cummins family were changed forever. Tom, Julie, and Robin snuck out to the Chain of Rocks Bridge, where Julie and Robin were forcibly raped and pushed off a bridge while Tom was assaulted and threatened to be shot if he didn’t jump by Marlin Gray, Daniel Winfrey, Reginald Clemmons, and Antonio Richardson. Tom survived the fall and was taken in by the St. Louis Police where he was interrogated and arrested. Shortly after Tom had been arrested, new evidence was found that led the detectives to Antonio Richardson, who eventually confessed leading the police to rest of the group involved in the assault. Throughout the rest of the book Cummins does her best to show the aftermath of the violent tragedy, including the trials and conviction of the attackers and the funerals of the

Within Sold, Patricia McCormick describes the life of a young girl sold into sex slavery to support her stepfather’s selfish needs. The first example of her family's already being

Theresa Flores’s “The Slave Across the Street,” is a personal anecdote whose main purpose is to make Americans aware of the reality of human trafficking being in the U.S. and in our neighborhoods. The book shows how even in seemingly good life situations, traffickers are able to pick out and victimize those that are vulnerable. This does not only happen in third world countries, or in inner city, low income housing. Human trafficking is apparent throughout the U.S., in all levels of socio-economic classes. By Flores telling her story, she achieves the purpose in showing a different side of human trafficking that most people do not realize it has.

Child abuse is the maltreatment of a minor, and it can come in many different forms. The most common forms of abuse are physical, neglect, or sexual molestation. In The Glass Castle, all of these forms of abuse become more pronounced as the story line progresses. As Jeannette Walls grows from girl to woman, most of her abuse stems from her alcoholic father and her selfish mother. The abuse Jeannette faces as an adolescent, shapes a woman later affected by her events, that are created by her parents' selfishness. Jeannette experiences neglect from her own parents, physical abuse from her distraught father, and sexual abuse from strangers, all before she turns eighteen.

Captivity is defined as the state of being imprisoned or confined. A tragic experience is given a whole new perspective from Louise Erdrich 's poem, “Captivity”. Through descriptive imagery and a melancholic tone, we can see the poem and theme develop in her words. Erdrich takes a quote from Mary Rowlandson’s narrative about her imprisonment by the Native Americans and her response to this brings readers a different story based off of the epigraph. Louise Erdrich compiles various literary devices to convey her theme of sympathy, and her poem “Captivity” through specific and descriptive language brings a whole new meaning to Mary Rowlandson’s narrative.

Killing is an action that can never be undone. In the novel War Brothers, Sharon E. Mckay examines the impact of this action. War Brothers is a story about four children fighting for survival after their capture by the LRA. During their time in the LRA, they all learn what the true meaning of family is and how you have to look out for not only yourself but others too. There are three characters in the novel that are impacted in different ways by the choice to kill. While the experiences in the LRA influence Tony, Lizard and Jacob differently, it is the decision related to killing that ultimately impacts the individual the most.

This was my book report about Peg Kehret’s book Stolen Children. I really enjoyed reading this book and I think you would to. It is a book about persistence and loyalty. If you think you may like this book be sure to check out one of Peg Kehret’s other

Imagine a person, lying on his or her deathbed. Throughout life, this person accomplished nothing whatsoever because there was no instance where he or she needed to leave his or her comfort zone or figure out life. Often times, situations like these can happen to people because they spent their entire lives avoiding scenario after scenario. In Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelsen, one of the central topics addressed in the novel is finding solutions to problems in life. The protagonist, Cole, overcomes serious problems he has and, in turn, makes his life more agreeable. Not only does Cole tackle tough situations, but other supporting characters such as Peter and Cole’s mother do so as well. Peter has to overcome the damage that Cole has inflicted

Are you looking for suspense that will keep you on your feet? How about action that will send chills down your spine? Well look no further, Stung is the perfect choice. This book will take you on the adventure of a lifetime. Bethany Wiggins from Brunswick, Georgia is the author behind this masterpiece rated 5 stars. This science fiction novel will chase you as beasts come rampaging down a dark wasteland.

“That was the thing about the hospital. You never had to worry about running out of stuff like food or ice or even chewing gum. I would have been happy staying in that hospital forever” (Walls 12).

In the text “Broken Sentences,” Anna Deavere Smith is informing the reader of the stories of African American females who are incarcerated. Before Smith incorporates the women’s stories into the text, Smith goes into a backstory of her childhood. She speaks of the quality of her childhood and tells it as not only pure, but also as a revealing time period. Also, she speaks of her experience with the prison setting during her time in the Girl Scouts. Smith encompasses this short anecdote to not only set up an ambience of innocences, but to also foreshadow the testimonies to come. Furthermore, her method of writing in this text is very peculiar because she writes in incomplete or “broken sentences.” Throughout the text, Smith first gives a brief

In Noah Mckenzie 's review of the short story Fat by Raymond Carver. He argues that many of the “small actions” in the story and “ statements mean a lot.” He claims that it’s a straightforward story to read and get no meaning out of it the first time. However, it is necessary to reread the story more than once to uncover things that weren’t there the first time. The author believes that carvers story has a deeper meaning and that it can only be found by reading the story more than once. The thing that I found very interesting that pulled me towards this review was the fact that he had mentioned psychology and how it was hard to notice it throughout the story. The evidence that he had used to show that psychology was an element in this story

In my essay I am going to analyse Seamus Heaney’s poem, Act of Union. It is important to know the background of the author in order to understand the poem. Seamus Heaney was one of the major poets of the 20th century. He was from Northern Ireland. His upbringing made a great impact on his poetry, as his most common topic was Ireland, and how English rule ruined its culture, and its language. He wrote Act of Union during the Troubles, the conflict in Northern Ireland which lasted from 1968 till 1998, and in which over 3600 people were killed. The constitutional status of Northern Ireland was at the heart of the conflict.