The Rock and the River, by Kekla Magoon, is a book about an African-American pre-teen named Samuel Childs, who is living in 1960s Chicago. The quote: “Bravery is not the absence of fear. Bravery is acting even though you’re afraid,” can relate to this book. Throughout the book, Sam faces the realization that his childhood is leaving him. So, as an effort to become an adult, Sam feels that he must be brave, even though he is scared of what could happen to him. Sam feels that he needs to protect his girlfriend, Maxie, so he can show her that he is brave and strong. However, Sam’s only motivation is to get Maxie to like him, which is not very mature, thus meaning he is not really an adult yet. When Sam’s father, Mr. Roland Childs, is stabbed in
“As Simple as Snow” is a mystery novel made in 2005 that may confuse people’s minds with all the art, magic, codes, and love while reading. As a teen age boy who wants to find the secrets his girlfriend who left behind all these mysteries after her odd disappearance. It also tells about the lost gothic girl, Anna Cayne, who meets the young high-school aged narrator. Throughout the postcards, a shortwave radio, various CDs, and many other irregular interest. After all that they loved each other but a week before Valentine’s Day she suddenly disappeared out of nowhere. If Gregory didn’t know what was happening the reader would be able to break through
William Golding’s Lord of the Flies paints two stark and opposing images of reality. On the one hand, the novel suggests that certain characters have venerable attitudes, making them seem like the protagonists, like Simon or Piggy. This can be seen from the motivating forces behind Simon’s decisions, or by the civilized behavior portrayed by Piggy. On the other hand, the novel also suggests that a deep built-in mechanism exists in every human being, one that prioritizes survival over morality. Just by observation, the novel demonstrates Jack’s exercise of hunting instincts, his combat of the social recourse from Ralph, his influence on everyone else to join him, and his eventual takeover of the
Risks are a possibility of loss or injury; all humans at least once in their lifetime have to do something risky. If life has no risks, you’re not really living it, since we humans do not grow as a species (or society) if there is no challenge in life. People in this world must have challenge and struggle to overcome an obstacle in their life to discover the real world. This way a person will grow physically and most importantly, mentally, to never do something adventurous or take the easy way out is on them. Krakauer, Emerson and Thoreau all have their own ideas on risk, but they all have in common is that risk can change a person for the good or bad.
The mysteries of man’s mind is complex enough research for years and never understand, and yet it is simple enough for someone to summarize it in a fictional story. In Lord of the Flies, Golding displays the ideas, simplicity, and complexities of the mind. Golding conveys the message that darkness tempts man 's heart by symbolically relating every character to a part of the mind. The story follows along with Freud’s theory of the conscious, unconscious, and subconscious mind. The main character, Ralph, is in fact the only boy who is trapped on the island. All of the other boys are simply representations of Ralph’s mind. These characters are Ralph’s Id, Ego, and Superego.
A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry is a play which contains many different obstacles that the characters face. One character, Beneatha, faces an obstacle that is out of her control. This obstacle is gender inequality. Throughout A Raisin in the Sun, gender inequality is experienced by Beneatha and reflects the struggles women faced in the 1950s.
Humans, according to the philosopher Thomas Hobbes, are selfish by nature. In his landmark work, Leviathan, he explains the importance of a strong government in society. According to Hobbes, without a strong system of government people would revert into a primitive state; war would run rampant, the natural law would not be abided, and those once tamed by society would become evil. William Golding based his novel, Lord of The Flies, on a similar idea. In this novel, many characters digress from civility into savagery. This digression is caused by the absence of adult supervision on the island, specifically affecting Jack, Roger, and Samneric.
Maturity is subjective. Maturity has no definition, since everyone views maturity in different ways. Some view maturity as putting other's dire needs before one’s minor needs. Some say maturity is a coming of age, where one finds one’s morals, or what one believe to be right and wrong. One of the most common definitions for maturity is the ability to adapt to the environment one is given. Sometimes, immaturity can be evident in adults. So, what is the thread which ties all of these ideas together?
During an unnamed time of war, a plane was shot down over the Pacific carrying British schoolboys. There was a kid rising up from the floor. The kid found himself in a beach. He saw trees sand and an ocean. It had occurred to him that he was in . He looked around and saw someone else. He was young. And also wears glasses. He told him what's your name. “I don’t care what they call me,”he said confidentially, “so long as they don’t call me what they used to call me at school.”. What did they used to call you. They called me Piggy. He could see why. And it made him laugh. He said to stop. The kid said what's your name. The kid replied Ralph. “I expect there’s a lot more
In the book My Brother Sam is dead, a boy named Tim tells about his family’s life during the Revolutionary War. He lived in a town that was very loyal to King George. His biggest problem though was that his father was a loyalist and his brother, Sam, was joining the war to fight against the British. Who is right? Sam is.
Sam Houston was a fighting soldier, he is popular for putting his hard work and dedication into making the state Texas into the United States as a constituent state. Sam worked and fought so hard, he was considered the father of Texas. His commitment and continuous labor along with his men conquered Mexican General Antonio López de Santa Anna in the Battle at San Jacinto to lock in the independence of Texas from Mexico. He put so much effort into Texas that he performed duties as the senator and Governor after Texas became a state in 1845. Houston spent most of his time growing up in Tennessee, then went to Cherokee country. Living with the Cherokee Indians taught him a lot of values and beliefs about life. He was exposed to a lot, and that made
Nineteen Minutes is Jodi Picoult’s staggering and heartbreaking story about the devastating aftermath of a small town tragedy. The story begins in the town of Sterling, New Hampshire, following the lives of the citizens on an ordinary day. That all changes when there is a shooting at Sterling High. Throughout the story, there are flashbacks to before and after the killings and the reader learns about the history of each of the characters, and how that has influenced their journey throughout the novel. We are shown the once close relationship between Josie and Peter, and also about Peter’s rocky home life where Peter is often outshined by his older brother whose death creates a rift that puts him even farther from his parents. . The jumps back in
Jay Heinrichs in the novel Thank You For Arguing, asserts the reader that every argument has three basic steps: simulating the audience’s emotions, changing the audience’s opinion, and getting the audience to do or choose something. Heinrichs supports his assertion by defining the three types of argument... The Greek Philosopher Aristotle determined the three kinds of argument as forensic argument (which deals with balme and takes place mostly in past tense), demonstrative argument (which deals with values and morals and usually takes place in the present tense), and finally deliberative argument (which deals with choices and decision making and usually takes place in the future tense). The
The National Honors Society places a strong emphasis on the cornerstone traits of character, leadership, and service within the school and outside of school. I have met, and exceeded these qualities by being honest, assisting others, and participating in school activities.