Neely Crenshaw-The Star Football Player

“How you respond to a challenge in the second half will determine what you become after the game, whether you are a winner or a loser.”- Lou Holtz. This quote relates to the book Bleachers by John Grisham, specifically to the character Neely Crenshaw. Neely’s “second half” is determined not only in a game but also in his life.

While reading David Wallace’s short story, “How Tracy Austin Broke My Heart,” it started the story convincing the readers that Wallace was just jealous of the professional tennis player, Tracy Austin. He made his argument that he was once a tennis player, growing up playing in the same league as a now successful player. However, this short story developed much more than just an overthrow of the prodigy this girl has become. This text was wrapped around Wallace’s idea of autobiographies and how they are crowd-pleasing texts. Wallace developed that athletes write their autobiographies all with the common themes of growing up poor and the obstacles they had to overcome, instead of the interesting and real facts about what actually

Edith Wharton's book Ethan Frome is the tale of a man, his wife and the woman he falls in love with. Ethan marries Zeena but falls in love with Mattie who is the opposite of his wife in every way. Where Zeena is sedentary and a sickly woman, Mattie is exciting and lively. In an ironic turn of events the woman he falls in love with transforms into a mirror image of his wife. Ethan married Zeena, out of fear of being alone for the rest of his life and suffers an unhappy and loveless marriage because of it. "After the funeral, when he [Ethan] saw her [Zeena] preparing to go away, he seized with an unreasoning dread of being left alone on the farm; and before he knew what he was doing he had asked her to stay with him." (36) Ethan first met Zeena

In life there are so many things that can go wrong; in a matter of seconds or even years. However everything in life has its upside. The hardships we face, the battles we fight, they all end up making us stronger, better people. Jeannette Walls writes a memoir about aspects of her life in The Glass Castle, where she strongly reflects this philosophy. In this memoir Jeannette Walls describes the hardships in her life, which consists of low income, neglect of her parents, and underestimation. She goes through these hardships and eventually experiences release and growth in her life. Walls turns her struggles into a blessing. The Joshua tree in The Glass Castle displays the theme, that one’s struggles are what make them beautiful and strong; it’s

The eye opening topics of The Twilight Zone reveal societal issues that were relevant in the 60’s when this show was first released. The black and white, 22 minute episodes each told a story while teaching lessons to the audience. This series was a popular science-fiction show during the 5 seasons it ran. Each episode highlighted a different part of society and brought light to the problems it will have if society doesn’t fix them.

Connie is a young teenage girl hoping to find out who she is as a woman. She spends an obsessive amount of time observing herself in the mirror. Little does she know, the mirror won’t give Connie the key to becoming a lady. Later, a Friend will hand her the key. Connie admired herself and, “she knew she was pretty and that was everything,”(Oates). Connie spends a

Dystopian society, a community in which it is the opposite of a utopian society. A utopian society is a perfect place for all people. There are many examples of both these in all sorts of places. Just like in Fahrenheit 451, 2081, and Uglies.There are many examples of dystopian societies in books, films, and many other sources of presentations. These societies can have many differences and similarities to today’s modern American society. Three societies that people can compare the modern society to are Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, the fire dept. 2081, the daily life Last but not least Uglies by Scott Westerfeld, laws and what you can and can 't choose to do.

Serial killings are not a strange thing in most countries of the world. Various books of history, Internet sites, and old newspaper articles tell of the gruesome details of the murders of people who were unfortunate enough to be the victims of psychopathic murderers. This could have been the inspiration behind ‘Where are you going, where have you been?’ written by Joyce Carol Oates in 1966.

As we still have yet to fathom what my brother and I will become, I learn to understand the extraordinary sacrifices you and Dad have made to make sure that both me and my brother will succeed in a new world. Over the summer as I read the Glass Castle ,I realized how important determination truly was. Although you have faced hardships such as the death of both your parents, Jeanette, the author of the memoir, had a father who disappeared and a mother who lacked decency to feed her kids. Even though your parents were efficacious unlike Jeanette’s, you two were both determined to take control of your future. With a strong sense of determination to get out of dilapidated West Virginia like you had to from Greece, Jeanette states that, “I was

Growing up we often fail to recognize how we are privileged and the opportunities we are given due to our privileges. In the essay “White Privilege: Unpacking The Invisible Knapsack,” Peggy McIntosh discusses the privileges of being White and the ways she was prioritized because of her race. Throughout the essay McIntosh allows readers explore how she has been given opportunities, due to specific traits she has in her invisible backpack, privileges she once had taken forgranted. Her personal experiences take up most of the essay and with it she invites the reader to partake in her apprehensions and fears. Like McIntosh, I also have been rewarded with privilege contributed through my beauty, social class,

The story Sweetheart of The Song Tra Bong by Tim O’Brien is about the decline of human innocence. Throughout our lives we face many changes whether it be by choice or by the environment we are surrounded in. Although change can be good it can also decrease the morale of those around you. Mary Anne is the face of such a change that will make brave men cower in fear; her change signifies a falling of the most beautiful of angels, the epitome of light but who has been seduced by the hatred and darkness. Even the most beautiful of people can metamorphose into something that gives us great despair in every possible way.

Anna Schmieg’s life began in a small village of Amlishagen, where she faced one struggle after another. When her father passed away in 1620, her mother was forced to find a way to support herself and her three children. After her mother passed away, she had to become dependent on other family members in order to support herself in life. As life as an outcast began, Ms. Schmieg developed the traits which lead her to be singled out as an outcast later in life, Anna spent her formative years among villagers thrown on their own wits and meager resources to survive. In a world that was not fair to women, Ms. Schmieg’s personality was developed through the sheer determination to protect herself and her family’s honor. Despite the death of her mother, father and siblings, she continues to rely on sheer determination in order to

According to Greenberg (2013), approximately 20% of the girls between the age of 8 and 18 who are using makeup say that they felt unappealing and undesirable without wearing makeup. And as a result of the survey she conducted, girls are wearing or using makeup in early age. They are also influenced by their celebrity idols, other people in TV shows and by the people in the environment they belonged. It says that women are more comfortable going out and socializing when they are wearing makeups. It also implied that the reasons why girls in early age prefer using makeup are because they are copying what older people around them do.

Toni Morrison published her first book, The Bluest Eye, in 1970. In this novel, Toni Morrison shows how societies racist and false beliefs on beauty can be seriously destructive if believed and taken to heart. Toni Morrison displays the destructive nature of racialised beauty through the character in the novel named Pecola Breedlove. Pecola lacks self esteem and believes that she is the blackest and ugliest girl, and she believes that white is the only beautiful race. Morrison challenges Western standards of beauty and demonstrates that the idea of beauty is socially constructed. Toni Morrison shows how when one race is used as the standard of beauty, the value of the other races is diminished. The standard

The classic tale of Beauty and the Beast by Madame de Villeneuve and the story of Cupid and Psyche by Edith Hamilton share many similarities and contradictions. A commonality between both stories is that both main female role is renowned for their beauty. Another parallel is that the main male love interest lets his love go back to their loved ones which also leads to developments within the stories. However, there are many differences in each story as well. Within Cupid and Psyche, the location of their story takes place in a kingdom within Ancient Greece, and Beauty and the Beast takes place in a small town. An alteration between the stories is that of main male character being depicted as a monster or a beast. Throughout the classic tale of Beauty and the Beast characteristics of the characters as well as situations that occur are similar to the story of Cupid and Psyche but do differ in many ways as well.