Depth Perception: A Hero's Journey

Why do people follow authorities and traditions blindly without reflecting upon what they are doing? The two short stories, The Lottery by Shirley Jackson and Examination Day by Henry Slesar, are perfect examples of societies that don’t question what they are doing because killing a person is rather an uncivilized and barbaric act. People will often be cruel when following traditions, beliefs, religion, or authorities. Thus, in the two short stories The Lottery and Examination Day, the authors are indirectly warning the reader about the dangers of not questioning authorities or traditions, and how we tend to be sheep that simply follow and don’t question.

All people are attracted to the beauty found in ancient monuments. All these structures were at one time magnificent, but for many they live in a current state of rot despite their previous glory. In the poem “Jade Flower Palace,” Tu Fu uses figurative language to convey the theme statement that even the finest of things dissolve with the wear of time.

Asian American Cathy Song drew closer to her Korean-Chinese ancestry, and was able to describe in a clear image of the two women she represent, one being the industrial American women and the other one being the Chinese caretaker. Cathy Song was born and raised in Hawaii making her an American by birth right. This fact did not keep her from engulfing her Korean-Chinese heritage. In the poem “Lost Sister”, Song isolates a young girl who struggles to find who she truly is in China, because of all the restrictions. The young girl wants to go to America to seek a needed fulfilment. The analysis of the young girl in “Lost Sister” is no doubt an effort to link Cathy Song’s two worlds together. Cathy Song wanted acceptance of her culture, using it as a release and that freedom is within.

Recently, the alarming rates of obesity in our contemporary society has been due to the lack of active behaviours starting from a young age in which the younger generation spends a large amount of their childhood watching television. Both concerned and disappointed, Zan Smith’s pragmatic article titled “Beach Lessons”, published on the Child Monthly magazine, exposes the concerns of the increasing amount of time children spends viewing television and playing video games and should, therefore, be minimized. Accompanying her informative piece are two photographs that are contrasted and accentuates the importance of a child’s youth. Furthermore, Smith targets parents of young children in an attempt to encourage parents to take their kids outside

In the story “Paddle to Canada” by Heather Monley, a happy family self destructs over time. The narrator recalled an adventurous family caught in a storm while canoeing on a lake. After the frightening experience, the parents and children safely made it to shore and were able to find the amusement in the situation. This fond memory changed after the parents divorced. It seems that all of the children’s memories are tarnished. The children are not sure they can tell the difference between what they thought they had experienced and what has been shared with them. The central idea is that current events can cause a person to reexamine the past.

1,053,829 people died in the Soviet gulags. In the novel Between Shades of Gray, readers see Lina get taken from her home in Lithuania to go to a Soviet gulag camp in Russia with her brother and mother. In her travels, she makes new friends and new enemies. Ruta Sepetys uses Symbolism, Flashbacks, and Unique structure.

Most people will have obstacles in their life, and many of these people say the important thing is how does one deals with them. In Mary Oliver’s poem “Crossing the Swamp” she writes about someone's experience with an obstacle. Oliver's use of vivid imagery and captivating diction reveal the speaker’s complex attitude towards the swamp. The poem paints the swamp as an almost evil entity.

Traditions and heritage are important to be kept. As an immigrated family, culture seems to fade while trying to fit in. Also, when the death of a loved one occurs, it is important for families to help each other cope with grief.

When I first started researching Angel Island as part of a personal project, I wasn’t expecting much. Very few primary sources have been left behind by those who passed through Angel Island. Most Chinese immigrants during the Exclusion era, when Angel Island was active, were illiterate. Those who were literate often had limited access to writing materials, didn’t preserve their writing, and produced work that remains untranslated. Yet, I found a wealth of knowledge about Asian-American history translated through one medium: poetry.

Character development is the most crucial element of a story, as it urges the reader to analyse the motives or the emotions that character may convey, therefore making the story immensely impactful. Wayson Choy effortlessly and deftly develops the character of Sek-Lung in his renowned short story, “The Jade Peony.” Sek-Lung, who is also the narrator in this story, is six years old and he’s struggling dreadfully to cope with his grandma’s upcoming death. The protagonist’s affectionate yet sorrowful feelings during this emotional crisis are clearly delivered, “Her palm felt plush and warm...I could not imagine how she could ever part from me. Ever,” (Choy 120). Upon reading that sentence, the reader understands how appalled Sek-Lung is to discover

Taking place in Vancouver, Canada, as a Chinese immigrant, Grandmama, is determined to stay true to herself and her beliefs in order to decide her own fate, despite what others think. The short story, The Jade Peony, written by Wayson Choy, demonstrates how one's dedication to their culture, love for family and the preservation of memories can allow one to feel intact, regardless of other people's opinion and resulting in one's capability/ability to determine one's own fate. As Grandmama prepares for death, she cherishes and passes on her past experiences in China as well as her current memories in Canada, she continues to follow her traditions and prepares her family for her death while attempting to pursue her destiny.

The Two Acolytes short story by Tanizaki Jun’ichirō involved in religious themes its start off with an interesting plot. Its talk about two young monk journey going to a different direction. One of the monk would leave to go to the scared mountain to look for life devoted to earth passion while the other side remind faithful to his promise. On the other hand, the other monk was hesitated to go explore the outside world. The author makes his reader to see the departure as a privileges in life of religion and observes the pleasure of the floating world. The two monk where interested in religious training on Mt. Hiei where they both have to face their density either to remain on the holy mountain or explore the outside world with happiness and

Brooks also craft his argument with examples of literary devices and technique, which helps cement his ideas in a striking manner. David describes the regular attendance as “hostile soil” that “produces charismatic flowers.” This is to say that with today’s harsh society the likely hood of a huge turnout is rare. However, the people who go to Kathy and David’s house are loyal and feel like a family. He also described the children’s relationship with each other “like plants toward the sun”. A metaphor that proves the children have grown interdependent amongst each other. The use of such literary devices are uses to enforce his message of how great change can happen from small beginnings.

The twelve districts in theory should view the Hunger Games as the necessary tool that keeps Panem from uprising and self-destruction, however, the reception of the Games in the really poor districts clearly shows that the Capitol cannot reform them to think so. Statistically, the poor districts are always the most likely to lose one year’s competition because they lack resources to train tributes and their children are starving. Therefore, the response to the Hunger Games in the poor districts who are on the brink of starvation is the most dramatic. Citizens of districts such as 11 and 12 can only view the Games as injustice because once a child is chosen at the Reaping he or she is evidently doomed to die. There are rare exceptions as the

With a cultural identity as unclear as her own, Sarah Howe grew up questioning the human condition, specifically regarding the idea of belonging. Yet despite her great efforts in discovering what it means to have a bicultural heritage, her journey of understanding is forever ongoing.