Blurred Lines In Leif Enger's Peace Like A River

“Getting Away with Murder: The Acquittal of Thomas Preston” Gentlemen of the Jury, I am here today to prove that Thomas Preston was indeed guilty of ordering his soldiers to fire at the angry mob of men. The night of the Massacre, in front of the Boston Custom House Preston and soldiers came to protect the sentry and found a crowd of a hundred angry citizens who were taunting the sentry. Jeering the British sentinel more and more by telling the sentinel to fire at them and throwing snow balls at them. But it was when the crowd was ordered to fire that lead to fatal blows.

Due to Gene Forrester's insecurity with his identity, John Knowles portrays him as conforming, afraid, and deceptive in the novel, A Separate Peace. During dinner at the Lepelliers, Gene analyzes Mrs. Lepellier's opinion of him, assuming that she thinks “'He's a good boy underneath'... 'a terrible temper, no self-control, but he's sorry, and he is a good boy underneath'” while Gene states that “Leper was closer to the truth”, with Leper accusing Gene of savagery (137). To obscure his true self, Gene provides a distorted identity towards others because he knows of the wrongdoings which negatively characterize him. By adding his commentary, Gene gives the reader the insight that he knows of his facade, and that he does nothing to persuade others

In her article, Nilsen focuses on how the epidemic of Crockett and guns affected children and their behavior. Nilsen strongly states that the popularity of Davy Crockett “fed into the postwar rise of American gun culture by making gunplay not only an acceptable and naturalized form of child play, but one that actually helped stem the rising tide of juvenile delinquency through its celebration of authentic American heroes” (Nilsen, page 82). Crockett created a spirit of adventure in the minds of children and taught them about the noble and the wicked sort of folks on the Earth. Sarah Nilsen’s point is correct; the gunplay of children only relieved violence by reminding them it is play and not real life. Although Crockett did create a gun craze for viewers of his

In Richard Connell’s “The Most Dangerous Game” , Rainsford is the positive force in a classic good vs. evil showdown against a psychopathic man-hunter. For example, Rainsford non - evilness is displayed when he declines General Zaroff’s “ We will hunt - you and I,” (10). This is substantial evidence towards Rainsford morals and integrity as a human. Based on the short story, a good and decent person would not want to hunt someone, it is an act of cold blood.

Although all the evidence pointed to Tom Robinson being innocent and the only witnesses were from unreliable and changing sources he was still convicted. This is a depiction of the death of a Mockingbird, ultimately destroying innocence and purity that resided with Tom Robinson that died when he was shot as he tried to flee from his inescapable doom. Mr. Underwood, the publisher of Maycomb 's newspaper as well as a respected all of Atticus, sadly compares Tom 's death to “the senseless slaughter of songbirds...” (pg.244) stating another reference to the ever-present mockingbird

The novel Peace Like A River takes the readers on a trip back to adolescence through the eyes of 11-year-old Reuben Land. Reuben lives in a motherless family with his two siblings Swede, a western obsessed poet, and Davy, the protective older brother. When Davy commits a crime of passion in protecting his sister and is announced a fugitive, the remaining siblings set out with their father Jeremiah to follow Davy’s trail. Throughout their journey Reuben witnesses miraculous things at the hand of Jeremiah and his deep connection with God. All the amazing events that Reuben witness all involve his father’s unrelenting kindness to all those who make his company, regardless of the way they act.

After an 18-hour stand off siege with 1 hostage and 2 corpse inside the ‘Seascape’, Martin Bryant set alight to the bed and breakfast. The hostage died before Martin escaped with burns to his body. He was arrested by police and initially denied involvement in the massacre. During police interviews, Martin was either lying or was mentally incapable of retelling the events that day. However, on the 19th of November 1996, he pleaded guilty for a court hearing and was found guilty of all charges.

It is at this moment that Jem and Scout realize that as much as they want the world to be fair, it is never going to be in favor of them. The morals in Maycomb, no matter how unfair and biased they may be, will not change as the racism and prejudice present in the novel have been in Maycomb for as long as the people living there can remember. This incident is another example of a lesson learned for both Jem and Scout as they see that life is not always perfect, but they have to make out of it what they

Anthony Marston was a young, bold man. On November 14 Anthony killed John and Lucy Combes in a car accident,but showed no remorse. This caused him to be blamed of murder for the children’s death. Anthony was

When any individual sins in this tremendous fashion, not one person who know of it can entirely erase it from their memory. More often than not, these wrongdoings are remembered longer than one would remember a good deed. In The Hound of the Baskervilles, Sir Henry Baskerville and Watson are coming to a close on their journey to Baskerville Hall when a soldier crosses their path. He informs them of a criminal escapee, the mass murderer Selden (Doyle 77). The two never forget that Selden is near and that fact merely adds to the manor’s menacing atmosphere.

“Hunting? Good God, General Zaroff, what you speak of is murder,” exclaimed Sanger Rainsford. Oftentimes, the line between right and wrong is blurred. “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell is a story that discusses the line and how thin it can be drawn. Sanger Rainsford stands on one side of the line and General Zaroff on the other.

The article forced me to ponder about the existence of unfairness and injustice which inevitably and constantly hinders society because the individual discussed in the article experiences these factors in an unusual and rather extreme circumstance. William Goldman, the author of The Princess’ Bride once rhetorically questioned, “Who says life is fair, where is [this statement] written?”, which summarizes the outcomes of life itself. Humans frequently face adversity throughout daily lives, whether minor challenges or major hurdles; these problems include unretainable lost objects or the death of a beloved individual. To others, injustice may appear judicially and politically; Ivan Henry and David Milgaard were both wrongfully convicted of sexual

After the final judgement of the trial the city sheriff’s input about the trials outcome was, “Im not a very good man, sir, but I am sheriff of Maycomb County. Lived in this town all my life an I’m going on forty -three years old. Know everything that’s happened here since before I was born. There’s a black boy dead for no reason and the man responsible for its dead. Let the dead bury the dead, this time Mr. Finch let the dead bury the dead.”

The Finches faced harsh criticism from Maycomb’s racist community for Atticus’s involvement within the case. Though Tom was charged guilty, the people still had great respect in Atticus because it had taken the jury an excruciatingly long time to decide on the verdict. Normally it would have taken them mere minutes as the case had been between a black man’s words and that of a white family’s. Although Tom was convicted guilty Bob Ewell, Mayella’s father still held a grudge against Atticus and everyone that was involved in the trial because he had felt

threat. Laila and Mariam are both forced to remain in Afghanistan and to face the ripple effects of war and what it has led them to head on. Even when they try to escape, they could not and are brought home by government officials. Because of their society, their marriage, their gender, they are left with no option other than to endure the abuse, dehydration, starvation, entrapment, rape. To undergo such pain is a noble act, something people may say a man would be able to do - to remain in Afghanistan and to stay loyal and rooted in one’s homeland-