The Rivercene Mansion, a Civil War era country home in New Franklin, Missouri, is known to be haunted by the souls of previous owners. The Kinney family, the original owners of the house in the late 1800’s, had eight members of their family die in the house. Joseph Kinney, the father of the Kinney children, was a steamboat captain along the Missouri River who work hard and saved money to built the house in 1869, he died of natural causes in 1892. Six of the eleven children died before the age of seven. The youngest son, Noble Kinney, suffered the most tragic of the deaths: he fell over the second story balcony and down the main staircase, he died instantly. His death led to his mother’s death a year later. The house was passed down from descendant
“Object, may be missile, fired from Soviet base, Anadyr Peninsular… DEW Line high sensitivity radar now has four objects on its screens. Speed and trajectory indicates they are ballistic missiles” (Frank 89). Pat Frank’s Alas, Babylon, which is based on a fictional nuclear attack against the United States by the Soviet Union, is a post-apocalyptic novel set in the early 1960’s in America during the Cold War that aims to warn people of the alarming possibility of nuclear war with the Soviets. Fort Repose, a small town in central Florida, faces the aftermath of this attack. Randy Bragg, a young man in Fort Repose, must rise up to save his town from their crisis and help rebuild it. This novel tells the story of how the community of Fort Repose puts aside their normal social boundaries and prejudice to come together to achieve a common goal: survival. Pat Frank uses difficult settings, challenging conflicts, and indirect characterization to convey his theme that during a catastrophe, a community must work together to survive.
John Wade, the main character, helps the reader slowly understand the once hidden aspects of life. As the beginning of the novel depicts the present, with a couple’s location and marital problems. As the story begins to unfold, the readers soon come to the
In her story “A Good Man Is Hard to Find,” Flannery O’Connor shares the tragic experience of a grandmother and her son’s family during their trip to Florida. Although her son, Bailey, and his family act coldly and disrespectfully towards her, the grandmother maintains a positive, cheerful attitude and loves them all. When they stop by Red Sammy’s barbeque during the trip, she reflects on the golden years of the past when people would respect each other and trust in one another’s goodness (O’Connor 501). As the family continues their trip, the grandmother recalls a planation in the area that she visited as a young lady and influences the children to convince their father to take them to the house (O’Connor 502). As the family travels down the wooded, unpaved trail, the grandmother suddenly recalls that the plantation is actually in Tennessee. In her embarrassment, she accidently frees her cat from its cage and it causes her son to wreck (O’Connor 503). Then, a car filled with three armed men slowly approaches them. As the men inspect the scene, the grandmother recognizes that the leader is the Misfit, a criminal on the loose. As the other two men take the rest of the family in the woods to kill them, the grandmother tries to appeal to what remained of the man’s integrity and capacity to
The tone of chapter 11 in John Steinbeck's, “The Grapes of Wrath,” is sympathetic, sad and hopeless. His word choice and syntax show how the sad houses were left to decay in the weather. His use of descriptive words paints a picture in the reader's mind. As each paragraph unfolds, new details come to life and adds to the imagery. While it may seem unimportant, this intercalary chapter shows how the effects of the great depression affected common households.
“Lennie broke in. “But not us! An’ why? Because…because I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you, and that’s why.” He laughed delightedly” (14). In John Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men the author develops two main characters by the names of George Milton and Lennie Small, these characters share an unbreakable bond. Of Mice and Men takes place in the Salinas Valley, during the Great Depression, George and Lennie are on quest for job opportunities. George and Lennie end up getting a job on a ranch, where they meet many crucial characters. Lennie struggles with mental disabilities, making him slow and clueless, Lennie causes many small issues on the ranch which eventually lead to his death. After
This passage is from Act 4, scene 7, lines 163-183 of Hamlet. Laertes, hearing of his father’s death, storms the palace seeking revenge. Claudius, in an effort to calm Laertes’ rage, conspires with him on how to effectively kill Hamlet shortly before Gertrude interrupts with the news of poor Ophelia’s death. Laertes, heartbroken after hearing that his sister has died, seeks to mourn in peace, but Claudius insists that he and Gertrude follow him so that he can keep an eye on his temper. This passage highlights how man’s incessant need for power and retribution leads him to neglect the weak, ultimately leading to their downfall.
Killing an estimated 1,833 people, Hurricane Katrina was one of the deadliest hurricanes to ever hit the United States. The flooding alone caused massive devastation and destruction. Millions of people lost their homes and all their possessions. This flood was horrific, but imagine a flood so great that it destroyed all of humanity. This great flood occurs in the stories of Noah, Utnapishtim, and Deucalion. The flood stories from Noah and the Flood, the Epic of Gilgamesh, and Deucalion, are all similar but have unique aspects.
“Hamlet”, one of the most famous play in the world, was written by the brilliant author William Shakespeare. In this play, there are two main female characters namely Ophelia and Gertrude. Moreover, as foil characters, both of them are also similarly depicted in several ways to generate the masterpiece “Hamlet” to become a classical work.
Throughout the play, Gertrude’s honour is constantly attacked and damaged. Following the death of her beloved husband, a hasty marriage to her former brother-in-law, Claudius, commences. “Although the memories of my dear brother Hamlet’s death are fresh…with sadness and delight do I marry my former sister-in-law” (Shakespeare, pg.10). Gertrude’s integrity and honour is brought into question as she weds the unknown murderer of her deceased husband. A basis of respect for the deceased is an important statue in the court of Denmark. In the courts of Europe, there have been many precedents in which the widow of a deceased king does not remarry and remains in solitude for the remainder of her life. Gertrude’s marriage to Claudius dishonours her relationship with the past king.
Chapter one of Justice begins by retelling the details of hurricane Charley and how many people were devastated by the disaster it left in its wake. Individuals and families were left without shelter and electricity, many
Family isn't always by blood, it's by the ones who are always there and care for you. That is the theme is Block Party by Jewell Parker Rhodes. A family is split up and they live in a small house with many family members in it. The people in the community throw many block parties celebrating their freedom. Anyone can plan the parties. They are great fun parties and the fun is endless. They dance and party and just come together as a community all have fun and party.
On February 26, 1972 the Buffalo creek community was destroyed by a terrible flood. The flood caused many tears, pain and death. In the blink of an eye, people’s lives completely changed; lives were lost, houses were gone and families were destroyed.
Authors, especially female authors, have long used their writing to emphasize and analyze the feminist issues that characterize society, both in the past and the present. Kate Chopin, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, and Susan Glaspell wrote narratives that best examined feminist movements through the unreliable minds of their characters. In all three stories, “The Story of an Hour”, “The Yellow Wallpaper”, and “A Jury of Her Peers”, the authors use characterization, symbolism, and foreshadowing to describe the characters’ apparent psychosis or unreasonable behavior to shed light on the social issues that characterized the late 19th century and early 20th century.
When reading the Of Mice and Men you could clearly see many examples of segregation, for example, in gender, you could see that they are in a man’s world and people like Curley’s wife weren’t trusted, or were segregated. Your race is also another way that people are being segregated, Crooks, for example, can’t go to the stable room with someone else only by himself. After examining the book, I concluded with the theme segregation. In the fictional Ethan Frome book, people were being separated from the technology of that time. The main characters are isolated from those clean and advance innovative products that are available in popularized places. They were extremely poor living in Starkfield, Massachusetts but freedom was their number one priority at all times. For this book, the theme I