Jasper Jones, the iconic Australian novel, explores the main theme of morality and ethics, through a range of language techniques and conventions. As the story progresses, Silvey portrays Charlie’s constantly challenged notions of right and wrong, with the use of language techniques. The story is mainly written using first-person narrative perspective through the eyes of Charlie. Silvey exploits language conventions such as capitalization, spacing, dialogue, descriptive language, and imagery to create Charlie’s point of view and construct his thoughts on morality and ethics.
For my book talk, I read a realistic fiction novel called Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer.
Jenny Lawson’s focus of her book, Furiously Happy about Horrible Things, is to educate people on the detrimental effects caused by mental illnesses. Throughout the book, Lawson develops the significance of mental illnesses with stories from many of her various experiences with mental illness. Lawson then goes on to show many methods that she uses to conquer her depression and severe anxiety. Lawson uses her exuberant and witty personality to cope with the struggles of living with a mental disorder. Along with sharing many of her own coping mechanisms, Lawson attempts to enlighten people on what to do if they see someone they love showing signs of a mental illness. The main purpose of the book is to inform the reader on how she confronts her
“The Red Convertible” by Louise Erdrich and “Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin both have the common theme of death; however, in “The Red Convertible”, the death of Henry ends the very close relationship that he has with his brother Lyman while in “Story of an Hour”, the death of Mr. Mallard marks an opportunity of independence and freedom for Mrs. Mallard which shows that the relationship between Mr. and Mrs. Mallard was unsatisfactory.
The essay Confluences by Jennifer Sinor was my choice for this reading reflection. First published in the American Scholar in 2008, seemed like a good choice for this assignment since it is a popular essay and attracts the attention of a variety of readers. Being a personal narrative, I was eager to learn about the author’s experiences and share a part of her life. The title seemed intriguing, since I had to search for the meaning of the term ‘confluences’ even before reading the essay. The title revealed nothing about the essay and created a sense of mystery that readers might want to uncover through reading the essay. This was an interesting read and it provided a new perspective into personal narrative
Travel Writer Kellie Schmitt wrote the essay The Old Man Isn’t There Anymore when she lived in China for two years. She writes about the death of a neighbor and a case of mistaken identity.
Everyone has done something in their life that they have deeply regretted and mostly refer back to their childhood. However, from a young age a person may not understand the issue until they grow into an adult. The author, Susan Perabo shows this to be especially true in her short story “The Payoff”. The use of the main characters Anne and Louise reveal how unwise a young mind can be in realizing the most simple of things. However, through the use of these characters an important message is suddenly conveyed over the story. In order to fully understand the story it must be evaluated to show what lesson is to be learned from the reading. The story has an epiphany implemented into the writing which gives a new realization in the importance of this part.
Although they lead different lifestyles, Anne Bradstreet and Phillis Wheatley both deal differently with death in Before the Birth of One of Her Children and To a Gentleman… the latter in a way that is more optimistic than the former.
“Are We Worried About Storms Identify or Our Own” by Patricia j Williams uses the child’s gender complexity issues of the parent’s decision not to release the gender once born to ask a philosophical question to people who feel that they must know a person’s gender. Patricia j Williams feels that the label of a gender should not be a crucial issue in the world that we live in today. She feels that the world should become less gender oriented in todays world. People talk all the time about how we should not categorize by gender, but as soon as someone attempts to erase gender ideals the world goes into an uproar.
Transitional states of maturity can be challenged or championed by unexpected discoveries which can be confronting or provocative. This is explored through Alice Walker’s 1973 prose fiction, “The Flowers”, as the protagonist’s view on the world is transformed due to the personal zemblanic discovery made. The short story explores the themes of loss of innocence and death in order to address cultural indifference and the prejudice experienced by certain groups within society, which in turn causes individuals to be effected negatively. Walker hopes to evoke sense of political and social reflection in her audience, hoping that intimate discoveries of past inequity by her readers will ensure cultural equity maintains future momentum.
While Mrs. Mallard is just starting a new life, so to say, for herself, her life she has known comes to an end. She is just able to become “free, free, free!” (57) when she loses her life. Kate Chopin uses contrast with the news Richard’s gave, the way Mrs. Mallard felt in the room and the doctor’s news to show how women perceived marriage in the 19th century in her story The Story of an Hour.
The short story, “The Knowners,” is a fictional tale of an alternate reality where mankind has invented a technology which can divine the exact day, upon which a person will die. The story focuses on the impact upon one woman’s life from knowing her own ‘expiration date.’ The story was written by Helen C. Phillips.
In the novel Carmilla, Laura becomes associated with this character Carmilla. Laura has these tender feelings towards Carmilla, which is thought of as friendly at first but later causes a sort of homosexual panic. The antagonist, Laura, is most often connected with Carmilla, who is a guest staying at Laura’s house. Both already have established a strong connection with each other when they first meet with each other: “She caressed me with her hands, and lay down beside me on the bed, and drew towards her, smiling; I felt immediately delightfully soothed, and fell asleep again. I was wakened by a sensation as if two needles ran into my breast very deep at the same moment” (Le Fanu 9). To “caress” is to touch or stroke gently or lovingly. This
The Brick House is, in itself, full of underlying meaning. The family members are the only ones to call it that, to the rest of the town it is known as “the old Connor place”, “plain” and “sparsely windowed”. This starkly contrasts to the imagery Vanessa creates by likening the house to a “fortress” created by her Grandfather as a “massive monument”. The view of the house from the outside and the meaning it holds to Vanessa, an inside member, both provide insight to how
In Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” demonstrates the personal growth of the dynamic protagonist Louise Mallard, after hearing news of her husband’s death. The third-person narrator telling the story uses deep insight into Mrs. Mallard’s thoughts and emotions as she sorts through her feelings after her sister informs her of her husband’s death. During a Character analysis of Louise Mallard, a reader will understand that the delicate Mrs. Mallard transforms her grief into excitement over her newly discovered freedom that leads to her death. As Mrs. Mallard sorts through her grief she realizes the importance of this freedom and the strength that she will be able to do it alone.