Rachel Rabinowitz Research Paper

Rachel Watson is not a good person. She is obsessive, petty, manipulative, and is delusional at the best of times. However, she has a some redeeming characteristic, her strong sense of morality and hate for greed and selfishness. Over the course of the novel Rachel exhibits an unnerving amount of obsessive behavior. Rachel knows Megan and Scott’s lives, their habits, and the house they live in, claiming to know the “color of the the curtains in the upstairs bedroom [...] the paint peeling off the bathroom window frame and that there are four tiles missing from a section of the roof on the right-hand side”, while undoubtedly creepy and possibly untrue, it reveals another side of Rachel, an observant and slightly delusional side.

“Eleven” by Sandra Cisneros and “The Flowers” by Alice Walker are both short stories with underlying themes related to the concept of coming of age, or “growing up”. To be more specific, the idea of loss in the context of childhood innocence is particularly prevalent in these stories. The situation in which this loss occurs is drastically different within the two stories. In “Eleven”, the protagonist, Rachel, is forced to wear a sweater that is believed to be hers by her teacher and classmates.

The fate of the timeless friendship of Ross, Rachel, Joey, Chandler, Monica and Phoebe picks up in this short sequel of Friends. With turbulence (1- Information Theory, Haun 16) within the status of Ross and Rachel 's relationship, the group fears their demise will inevitably ensue. The friends are there for Rachel as they help her decide to take action. Ross widely known as, “the divorcer” makes an effort to clear his name in a not so surprising gesture. Joey surprises everyone when the fate of their friendship helps him realize what 10 years of friendship has been preparing him for.

“The most identifying trait of humanity is our ability to be inhumane.” This is a quote from Dean Koontz, an American author. As Koontz stated, humans often times act inhumane, lack the kindness or compassion for the things around them. This meaning that humans sometimes turn to other traits or abilities in order to live on with their life such as judgment or hatred. But just as humans share the ability to be inhumane, other characteristics of humanity can play a role in their lives as well.

The theme of this novel is "Not everything is the way you predict it is". I believe this thematic statement suits the story because throughout the book there are lots of surprises, and most situations don't go the way people predict they will. For example, Aunt Alexandra was first seen as mean, according to her attitude towards Scout. At the end of the book Aunt Alexandra hands Scout her overalls, as mentioned in the story, "the garments she most despised." Because she always wanted Scout to be a lady and wear dresses.

Rachel’s views herself in “Eleven,” is that she’s growing up and she doesn’t know how to handle it. There are many reasons and evidence, to back up why I feel this way. “How do you think Rachel views herself?” When I saw the question, I thought about when Rachel said, “And when you wake up on your eleventh birthday you expect to feel eleven, but you don’t.” (Cisneros 99)

Feminism/Gender “Women are expected to wear just the one style of garment and no other. But the men, now that is a course of different color” (44). Rachel made observations about gender norms in Kilanga, which are not that different from the U.S. culture. Back in the 1960s, women did not have much rights and opportunities to present and express their thoughts and opinions. Just like wearing clothes, they did not get a chance to choose based on their individual preference.

What would happen to a baby if there was no one there to take care of her? In the book “Gone”, by Michael Grant, that’s exactly what’s happening in Perdido Beach. Sam Temple and his friends, and anyone 14 years old or younger are trapped in a barrier surrounding Perdido Beach, while anyone older than that has mysteriously disappeared. Sam and his friends go on a search for answers, while chaos reigns through the streets without any adults. In the book it emphasizes that curiosity leads to new and different discoveries.

In the short story “Your Move” by Eve Bunting, a boy named James is in charge of watching his brother Isaac every night while their mother is at work. One night, James decided to take Isaac with him to meet up with the K Bones group. They want James to complete a dangerous task for him to be able to join them. Afterwards, they head home and James and Isaac get in big trouble my their mom.

Christopher Abernathy was found guilty of the rape and murder of a fifteen year old girl in 1987. Although it was almost thirty years later, Abernathy was luckily released in 2015 when forensic evidence revealed that he did not commit the crime. In the federal court system, everyone expects justice to be served to those who have the right to it, even though that is not always the case. Many people have been wrongfully convicted of serious crimes and given sentences that kept them imprisoned for years or worse. It took some time, but in the end Abernathy is one of many who received their justice.