On Turning Ten Analysis

One day Doodle went to Old Woman Swamp with his brother and a storm hit, so Doodle and his brother were going back home, when as a result of his heels being stepped on several times, his brother started running away from him, leaving Doodle alone in the storm. When his brother realized what an atrocious thing he had done to his helpless sibling, he went back to get Doodle, and just like the Scarlet Ibis they saw die in their tree hours earlier, Doodle was lying there under a tree… dead. The first example of the theme “selfish people aren't the ones that suffer their selfishness: it's those around them, in which it harms”, is when the narrator says “ Occasionally I too became discouraged because it didn't seem as if he were trying, and I would say, ‘Doodle, don't you want to learn to walk?’ He'd nod his head, and I'd say, ‘Well, if you don't keep trying, you'll never learn.’ Then I'd paint for him a picture of us as old men, white-haired, him with a long white beard and me still pulling him around in the go-cart. This never failed to make him try again,”

Rudolfo Anaya clearly points that out in his novel Bless Me, Ultima with the main protagonist Tony. From this, Anaya reveals that childhood is filled with disorientation and awareness with the main protagonist Tony, experiencing death. All of these deaths helped Tony grow more and looking back at the death of Lupito, Narciso, and Florence, they were events that confused him or made him more aware of life. Anaya shows people that childhood is filled with many moments that everyone cannot pinpoint exactly. With Tony, he certainly wants to forget his childhood, but he also keeps it in order to remind himself of what made him Tony.

Disliking Books Summary In Gerald Graff’s work “Disliking Books” the author explains how he is surprised that he would become a celebrated writer and literary critic because he formerly despised reading. Graff, who grew up in a tough working class Chicago neighborhood, grew up thinking reading was boring and irrelevant. Graff’s parents brought him modern adventure books and classics that have traditionally interested young men, but it didn’t work. Since he was listless and lacked ambition Graff “chose” liberal arts and majored in English when he started college. Graff struggled mightily through his studies since he still hated books.

Bud, Not Buddy is a book written by Christopher Paul Curtis. It is about a young 10 year old boy who was in foster care. His name is Bud not Buddy, which is what people call him thinking that’s his name. Bud gets a new foster family, Amoses. Their 12 year old son would constantly bully Bud by calling him Buddy and teasing him.

The work, “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst is a realistic nonfiction short story. In this work, a boy Doodle is born with major disabilities, and his brother (the narrator) is ashamed of him. However, he also loves him. Doodle cannot walk, but the narrator teaches him, and goes further into the “net of expectation” and pushes his brother too far. Eventually, Doodle dies tragically in a storm, and his dead body resembles a scarlet ibis that has made an appearance in the story before.

The lack of innocence is indicated throughout A Separate Peace, by Gene’s involvement in adult ways. Most vividly, it is shown by Gene’s intentional choices to hurt Finny, the beginning of the Winter Session, and the Devon men’s engagement in World War II. For Gene, innocence was lost quickly. However, for others, innocence can be held onto for a long time, disappearing much more gradually. In the end, innocence cannot be held onto forever.

Sarty had a rough childhood and throughout the story he grows to be a round character, whereas in the beginning he was flat. Sarty is a young boy, 10 years old of age, who is stuck between doing the right thing or sticking by his family. As a reader, the thoughts shown throughout the story should make

Gary Soto the writer of the poem Behind Grandma's House stats off the poem by saying "at ten I wanted fame." This gives the reader comprehension that the poem is a flashback to when the speaker was a young boy. The title Behind Grandma's House gives the reader knowledge about the poem's setting before reading it, also that Grandma may be in the poem. Soto writes the poem is in free verse form in first person. All through the poem, Soto writes about a young child coming of age, by doing pointless and asinine things.

Family; a blessing, or a curse? In the book Night, Elie Wiesel offers many significant themes, but the question, “is family a blessing or a curse,” is one of the most prevalent and begging themes in the novel. During the novel, Wiesel often questions if he should try and keep his father around, or if life would just be better without him in the picture. “‘Don’t let me find him! If only I could get rid of this dead weight, so that I could use all my strength to struggle for my own survival, and only worry about myself,’ I immediately felt ashamed of myself, ashamed forever,” (Wiesel, 111).

In the beginning of the novel,  the nameless invisible man heard the dying words of his grandfather which states  "overcome 'em with yeses [and] undermine 'em with grins, agree ‘em to death and destruction. let em swoller you till they vomit or burst wide open." (pg.16) the narrator grandfather views this as war and advocate; by playing the system which oppresses your very existence, you can essentially take them for everything. these words became a paradox to the protagonist throughout the book; he was confused and didn 't understand the true meaning of what his grandfather had said at first. As an eager, ambitious and optimistic individual, he soon realizes the benefit of being invisible to the world.