From day one, kids are expected to meet the standards of their generation, and as a result children are taught what to do and how to act in order to reflect these expectations, however these limits can impact a child's imagination. A kids' imagination can cause the child wanting more of what they cannot have, and lead to a life that they want to escape. In Alden Nowlan's expressive short story “The Fall of a City”, it conveys the creativeness of kids' imagination. The Main character, Teddy, has a make-believe world where he frequently puts himself in the shoes of a character. This make-believe world is made up of pieces of cardboard and paper, located in his attic, where he spends most of his day. His aunt and uncle, whom he lives with, are …show more content…
The first pages of this short story are used to describe the events of his world, indicating that this will set the foundation of what Teddy feels or is thinking. On the first page, the narrator describes how “armies… were attacking [his land]”, showing that he imagined this attack. Although it is not stated directly that he is doing this, before the attack when he looked around in the things in his attic, in the center of the room “stood a fort and a palace… constructed from corrugated cardboard cartons”. Explaining that this palace was made from paper and cardboard shows that this is a fragment of his imagination, among the other things that were placed on the floor around him. These “matchboxes and the covers of exercise books” that surrounded his palace, draw the conclusion to Teddy's imagination of his world. This word had given him an imagination that captivated him, and whenever he went up to his attic, his “eyes had shown with excitement” when he viewed his creation. Though near the end of the story, the narrator explains Teddy had no longer felt the joy as he had used to, and now “there was only a taste like that of spoiled nutmeat”. This reaction of Teddy looking at his kingdom indicated how much it meant to him and how much he uses his imagination, considering how much work he had put into it. Now, Teddy's eyes had longer lit up when he observed his creation and instead of seeing it as an escape, he saw only the words his uncle had thrown at
Children are given the luxury of romanticizing the subtleties of life. Curiosity aloofly guides their imagination, which allows them to perceive and preserve the world as utopian, enhancing their happiness. However, as time passes, this luxury is categorized as a childish delusion when it was previously praised. Individuals who lacked this protection were forced to mature at a faster rate, helping them view life with more transparency. Jeanette Walls' intimate memoir, The Glass Castle, questions why this romanization is a distorted perception and discusses how it harms one’s healing.
“The carpet near Bertis’s foot resembles a run-over squirrel, but Karen’s seen worse.” (Coupland 138) The imagery in this novel keeps the reader engaged by prompting their own imagination to visual the setting. Without the author’s skillful choice of words the imagery in this novel would have greatly
In, We Have Taken a City, by H. Leon Prather Sr., we learn of the violence that occurred in Wilmington, North Carolina on November 10, 1898. Throughout the paper, Prather writes about the different aspects that ultimately caused the racial massacre. Prather makes an important claim in his short introduction about the events in Wilmington in 1898. He also makes several key points throughout the paper, one being that the racial massacre would not have occurred if it would not have been for the white supremacy campaign. He provides key information in his paper that supports the claim.
In his poem “First Grade” Ron Koertge describes, from the point of view of a student, the first major change children face: starting school. Beginning the poem, the speaker describes their fond memories of before school; but, towards the end of the poem, the focus shifts to how the speaker felt upon entering school for the first time. During the time the speaker of the poem recalls events from before school began, they focus on positive memories. Koertge expresses the whimsical joys of childhood shenanigans, such as thinking “it would be fun to wear snowshoes/all the time”, to establish normal behavior for kids (Koertge 3-4). Children possess imaginations strong enough to convince themselves that “Every forest/[has] wolves in it”; and, looking
Clara, the quiet beautiful girl with brown eyes and black hair, was a pure joy. At eight years old, she was finishing first grade with excellent results, helping with house chores and making sure that little Chaim was not up to his mischiefs. The blue-eyed Chaim, with his unruly blond hair, was a handful of problems. He had little interest in toys; rather using his endless energy, he followed his father everywhere. His favorite place was the basement; chosen toys were father’s tools.
Shivam Patel Mr. Lane ENG2D1-02 17 September 2014 The Breaking of the Human Spirit Often people in society believe that creating jokes based off stereotypes maybe humorous to many but can also be hurtful to people. People frequently stereotype other and believe it is an innocent and easily forgivable mistake, however it can lead to a series of serious consequences. Alden Nowlan’s short story “The Fall of a City” has created depth in the perspective of a young boy filled whose imagination was crushed through the stereotypical comments and actions of this awfully rude uncle. The result of the stereotypical comments was demonstrated through the perspective of the protagonist of the short story, Teddy, as he rapidly demolishes his imagination
Alison Bechdel’s graphic memoir, Fun Home, illustrates and depicts her unique upbringing. Her life story is told through her own illustrations, showing her internal conflict with who she is, as well as struggling to understand her father’s death. This unconventional way Bechdel chose to express her story positively affects the reader's comprehension of the novel. Being able to clearly see the situations creates more feelings of empathy towards the characters, and deeper connections are made. Reading about a situation, and actually seeing it are two very different things.
In Alden Nowlan’s short story “The Fall of a City”, Teddy, a young boy living in his uncles home, is experiencing an unbelievably negative environment that he feels as he must create his own world. Teddy uses the imaginary city in the attic as an escape from the world below. Firstly, Teddy “[spends] most of his afternoon in the attic... he just about lives up there” (P.43) blocking off the negative aspects of his life. Teddy is so vigorously impacted by the negative energy that he rather be “squatting in the attic” (P.41) than spending time with his family.
Another example of technology as a catalyst for violence in the story is the role of the nursery and the way it influences the children's behavior. Latching on to the entertainment given by the technology, Peter felt as though it was acceptable to wish death upon his father (372). This statement highlights the extent to which the children have become dependent on technology and the virtual world. The nursery becomes a space where the children can indulge in their darkest fantasies, creating a sense of invincibility and a disregard for human life. This materializes in the kids thinking that it is acceptable to wish death upon someone.
In The Fall of a City, written by Alden Nowlan, Teddy’s aunt and uncle are not good parents for him. In the story he is seemingly constantly picked at by his aunt and uncle (more so his uncle). His guardians also do not seem to take the time to understand their kid and resort to commenting on his “hobby”. Finally the most important reason that his aunt and uncle are not fit to parent him is the title itself “The Fall of a City”; the cumulative result of their poor parenting. Teddy’s parents are consistently, throughout the story, bullying him.
Irony: The notion of child safety experts restricting the imaginations of children is ironic. Limiting a child’s imagination is just as unsafe and dangerous, if not more so. Preventing a kid from wandering their mind is detrimental to their wellbeing and could ruin their overall childhood experience. Imagination is a powerful tool that is vital for a child’s development and
It is no secret that children’s minds can be greatly influenced earlier on in age. What they see and experience can greatly impact their future. Throughout the story, Teddy’s uncle and aunt undermine his creativity, and think what he is doing is unconventional. After his uncle ridicules him for his paper dolls and cardboard palace, Teddy “bent and seized the cardboard palace. Gritting his teeth and grunting, he tore at its walls” (Nowlan 4).
His mother and father continuously struggle against each other for the
Samuel Novak Butler marianne ENG2DI-09 08/03/2023 The danger of imagination Alden Nowlan's short story “The Fall of a City” is about the power of imagination and memory; Alden shows that imagination can often take one's perception of reality and warp it. To start with, Alden Nowlan displays and gives us an insight as to what is going on inside of teddys time multiple times within the story, especially at the beginning. Although I want to emphasize the dinner scene because it shows how delusional he is.
In some works of literature, childhood and adolescence are portrayed as times graced by innocence and a sense of wonder; in other works, they are depicted as times of tribulation and terror. In Lord of the Flies by William Golding the author portrays that children are not completely innocent. Golding’s representation of childhood and adolescence also shows us the attitudes children have towards participating in work. In Lord of the Flies Golding portrays that children are not completely innocent.