James Howe's 'Everything Will Be Okay'

Darrel, or Darry has always wanted to become something amazing in life, but sadly when his parents died in a fatal car crash, he was left to raise his two younger brothers, Sodapop, and Ponyboy. More specifically, Darrel chooses his gang over his potential future to care for his friends but sadly, “. . . Darry has never really gotten over not going to college” (Hinton 109). Basically, anybody would choose to finish a career over a more strenuous life of arduous occupations. Of course, Darry would have chosen college over two jobs, but because of his compassion towards the gang, he would choose them over anything.

As children, Adam and Charles play many games, however Charles always has to win. This reaction causes Adam to fear his brother, and leads him to let his brother always win. Throughout his childhood, Adam gives up many opportunities for success, but only because of fear of his brother. By giving up opportunities to feel successful, Adam develops a contentious relationship with Charles. In one instance, Adam and Charles give their father a gift for his birthday, however their father appreciates Adams gift more.

The short story “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst elucidates the theme “selfish people aren’t the ones that suffer their selfishness: it's those around them, in which it harms”. The story is about a boy who received a brother after six years of being an only child, but because of an unfortunate disease, his brother wasn’t expected to live long. He unexpectedly lived far longer that anticipated, so his parents finally named him: William Armstrong. Because William wasn’t “all there”, his brother had plans to kill him with a pillow, but his plan was corrupted when his brother smiled at him, showing that he was “all there”. The narrator (who is also William’s big brother) renamed his brother Doodle.

Unoka was a sensitive man who never relished at the thought of war, but found joy in playing his flute. Unoka did not have the greatest luck when it came to farming, this caused him to end up in a lot of debt that he couldn’t pay back. Unlike his father, Okonkwo had no problem with the idea of war. Okonkwo grew up resenting his father for not being stronger and more masculine. Okonkwo is constantly fearing that he will end up a failure like his father.

“If you wish to continue to grow intellectually, you need to work harder right now than you have ever before. Otherwise, you risk wasting your potential”(pg.10) this is a quote said by Colin’s father. Talk about uptight. Colin has always been pushed. ’ Markers’ (his dad’s word for ‘goals’) were constantly on his mind.

Gatsby differs from these characters because he has a purpose that justifies every little thing that he does. These qualities that Gatsby possesses, his ambition, dedication, and optimism, set him apart from everyone else. Ever since Gatsby was a young teenager, he had an ambition: to be the best version of himself possible. In order to become successful, Gatsby decides to continue on with his education beyond high school.

He was forcefully reverted to his original identity, having nothing. This experience showed Okonkwo that no matter how hard he worked he could always end back in the position that Unoka was in because that is where everyone

He is thought to be lazy and weak and does not live up to the expectations that his father has for him as his oldest son. Okonkwo’s biggest problem with his son is that he is reminiscent of Okonkwo’s father. After the arrival of Ikemefuna, Okonkwo began to see positive changes in his son. He began to adopt more manly attitudes giving Okonkwo hope for him. “He wanted Nwoye to grow into tough young man capable of ruling his father’s household when he was dead and gone to join the ancestors” (52).

“No one would have taken them for brothers” (Wolff 364). Truth be told, this is the main thought that can be drawn throughout the entire short story, “The Rich Brother” by Tobias Wolff. From the very beginning of the story, it’s clear that these two brother Pete and Donald are polar opposites of one another. The reader will discover from this that Pete and Donald, no matter what time it was in their life, had problems with each other. This would infer that Pete and Donald were in a dysfunctional relationship due to Pete’s success, Donald’s lack of success, and “abuse” incident in their childhood.

Okonkwo’s hard hand upon his son can be seen as a result of his own father-son issues with Unoka, because it is described that Unoka “the grown-up, was a failure.” (Achebe, pg 5), Okonkwo “wanted his son to be a great man indeed” (pg. 33) unlike his grandfather. Due to the actions of his father, Nwoye finds this new religion in town to be a mysteriously, fulfilling faith, which is one of the reasons he is drawn to Christianity; to go against his fathers wishing could be another reason to transform. As described in the book that “it was not the mad logic of the Trinity that captivated him” but rather it was “the hymn about brothers who sat in darkness and in fear seemed to answer a vague and persistent

Growing up in a world revolving around Biff, he was never given the chance to excel. Rather, he was left neglected to grow up in the shadow of his older brother. Happy’s actions in the play demonstrate a deeply rooted sense of insecurity: an ever-present need for attention. Despite numerous obvious pleas for recognition, like when Happy said to his father, “I lost weight Pop, you notice?” (Miller 52), he never received so much as a slight acknowledgement.

Chris hated that. He hated the thought of his parents, especially his dad, having had near total control over him. He never showed any signs of it, but by the end of college, Chris McCandless was dying to get away. Throughout the story, Chris showed he had a determination to get to Alaska.

I disagree with the author that Chris McCandless was a crazy person, a sociopath, and an outcast, but even though he was very bright, he made some decisions. Before entering the wild Chris had just recently graduated from college with his degree. He was an intelligent student without any street smarts. Upon his departure, he left behind his sister whom he loved very much and his parents who he was upset with. That was a feeling he had especially about his father. His anger toward his parents and his eagerness to go on an exciting adventure around the country were the factors why he ultimately made the decision, thus going, “Into the Wild.”

Wake up, they’re going to throw you out the side!” (pg 99) shows the reader that midway through the story Elie still really cared about his father and did not want him to die. He still had hope that his dad could survive. However, this quote at the end of the story, “I no longer thought of my father,” (pg 113) showed that he lost all hope and only thought about himself and his own health due to the circumstances. Also, Elie was not the only son going through

He was the first born son and went to a private Catholic school. His father made it very clear that his grades, and his religion were to be the main priority in his life, but as Charles grew older he realized that he wasn’t like the rest of the boys at his school, he was gay. That never stopped him from being his crazy self though, in Charles’ eyes he was perfect the way he was. So it came to no surprise that when he told his father about his newest discovery that he did not support it. Charles was named after his father so that way he could carry on the family name that had been based down from son to son in his family.