Setting is important to any story, and having a setting that creates a story helps give the reader a better feeling about what they are reading. Writers use setting all the time in a story to make a great story an amazing story. In Barry Callaghan’s “Our Thirteenth Summer” Barry uses setting to give the reader the reaction he intended to. In an introduction before the story titled “About the Story” the author states that “it's during the Second World War” (Callaghan 123). In addition Bobby also declares that they are not Jewish by saying “We're not Jewish” (124) after the narrator asks and argues that they are. This is important because one of the most significant parts of World War II is how people of Jewish faith were treated. This also connects
The Impossible Knife of Memory by Laurie Halse Anderson is the tale of Hayley Kincain, a seventeen year old girl, and her incredibly unstable life with Andy, her father. Andy is a war veteran who suffers from Post-traumatic stress disorder, and is constantly assaulted by horrific memories of the past. Hayley’s mother perished in a car accident soon after Hayley was born, while Andy was still deployed in Iraq. Hayley was raised by her grandmother Barbara until Hayley was seven, at which point Barbara died and Andy returned home to care for Hayley. However, Andy’s past war experiences and the horrifying events that he had seen on the battlefield haunted him endlessly. Rather than living a traditional life in an ordinary home,
The novel, Cold Mountain, by Charles Frazier demonstrates literary fiction more than commercial fiction. The characters, particularly Stobrod, Ruby and Inman, are round and complex. They have more to them than what meets the eye, and as the novel unfolds their true thoughts, feelings and actions are revealed. Each has his or her own internal conflicts that they deal with, realistically showing that life is full of disappointments and struggles.
"Truly great friends are hard to find, difficult to leave, and impossible to forget"-G. Randolf. In the story "Good Times" by Rion Amilcar Scott the quote by G. Randolf relates to Rashid and Walter friendship by the way they became friends. They became close friends based on Walter saving Rashid life and bonded off his mistakes he experienced throughout life. In the story "Good Times" one of the main characters Rashid tries to commit suicide by hanging himself from his balcony when Walter notices him and save his life by cutting the rope. Rashid thanks, Walter and explains that it was a mistake and he wasn 't trying to commit suicide. Rashid feels bad about what happen and talks to Walter explains that he was trying to kill himself but he
As a child we tend to look up to someone much older than us. We watch everything they do from their actions, how they interact and speak with other people. Someone a child would usually look up to is an older sibling, mother or father. We look for this person to lead us down the right path and to have our best interest at heart. To encourage, provide and make sure that whatever decision we may make is the right decision. In William Faulkner's short story "Barn Burning," Abner is the opposite of what a father should display to his child. Instead of encouraging his son, Sarty, to make his own morally decisions. Abner wants Sarty to lie for him in order to protect him from being punished for burning farms.. Abner forces fear into Sarty by telling him he must always stay loyal to his family. Abner and Sarty relationships goes through trials due to Abners criminal and manipulative ways.
Magnus Chase and The Sword of Summer by Rick Riordan is the story of how Magnus Chase, a son of the Norse God Frey, meets his untimely demise at the hands of the fire giant Surt after learning of his heritage. After being revived in the Norse afterlife, Valhalla, Magnus is taken back to the world of the living to fulfil his destiny as being the harbinger of the Wolf. Along the way Magnus meets many mythical creatures including: a talking goat, a deaf elf, and a tall dwarf. In the end Magnus and his new found friends rebind the Wolf Fenris and defeat the fire giant Surt. The Theme of Magnus Chase and The Sword of Summer is that when things are at their worst it can always get better.
The story “Two Kinds” by Amy Tan explores the deep familial emotions between a mother and her daughter. Jing-Mei’s mother had left China to come to America after losing her family, and had been raising Jing-Mei in America with her second husband. Despite her mother’s grand hopes for Jing-Mei to become successful in America by becoming a child prodigy, Jing-Mei did not share the same opinions. This disagreement quickly became a source of resentment and anger for both of them, but Jing-Mei and her mother were unable to resolve this conflict because of their different backgrounds and experiences. The story showcases how relationships between mothers and daughters can be strained because of differences in culture and a lack of communication.
In Joyce Carol Oates’s short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” the main protagonist finds herself in a very hostile situation. With an all most fateful encounter with a man known as Arnold Friend. Forcing her to choose whether to run off with him or taking her by force. This man known as Arnold Friend to the reader comes off as almost a demon. A person who uses many temptations, word play, and threats to take advantage of the young protagonist Connie. Oates’s biography explained her fiction writing as a mixture violence and sexual obsession. The writing style definitely fits the plot point of this story with both of her literary ingredients being present in not only Arnold Friend but in Connie as well.
In The Complete Maus, Art Spiegelman uses his style of illustration to convey the theme of power in his graphic novel. In 1980, cartoonist Art Spiegelman wrote the first volume of Maus. Before Art’s work came into prominence, comics had not been truly acknowledged as art. His work would practically evolve graphic novels into a recognized form of literature. Art Spiegelman was born in Stockholm, Sweden in 1948 to Vladek and Anja Spiegelman, but his family immigrated to Rego Park in Queens, New York three years later. His father, Vladek, was a wealthy textile salesperson and manufacturer in Poland. Both of his parents survived confinement to the Jewish ghettos and imprisonment in the Auschwitz Nazi Concentration camp in Poland. His mother, Anja,
“I turned from him and went into the church. Irene Cole told the class to rise with their shoulders back. I went up to the desk and turned to face them. I was crying.” (Gains, 256) The book A Lesson Before Dying set in a small community of Bayonne, Louisiana, in the 1940’s. It tells the story of Jefferson an uneducated black man, that was wrongly convicted of the robbery and murder of a white man. After being sentenced to death, his godmother and Miss Emma convince local plantation school teacher Grant Wiggins to go to the jail to teach Jefferson to be an educated man. At the end the person who ends up learning the real lesson before dying is Grant, after him and Jefferson forge a close bond. In the story A Lesson Before Dying the author Gains never truly reveals which character, Grant or Jefferson, actually learns the lesson of being a man, but through characterization and setting Gains shows that Grant learns the true lesson of becoming a man.
Kindness is often overlooked in society yet it still manages to hold a great deal importance in the lives of many. Kindness is an empowering emotion that can change perspectives and alter destinies. In The Glass Roses by Alden Rowan the true importance of kindness is personified throughout the story. In the story Stephen is encapsulated by the kindness of his fellow worker and greatly impacts Stephan’s ability to determine his own destiny. The Glass Roses shows that individuals tend to hide their true emotions in order to gain respect from their peers however kindness, once truly unveiled can play a huge role in determining ones destiny.
Out if the Dust by Karen Hesse is about a small town girl named Billie Joe, evolving throughout many hardship that take place in this book. This debate is whether or not Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse should or should not remain in the eighth grade curriculum. Out of the Dust should be part of our eighth grade curriculum because it introduces to students a more advance and emotional form of poetry.
In the book An Invisible Thread, the author often provides examples of parents that have a poor quality of parenting. First there is Laura’s father Nunziato Carino, who’s a bartender. After he is done with his shift, he would often come home drunk and yell at his son, Frank who is Five. Frank will quickly hide under his bed sheet as his father dammed his name again and again. This happened frequently and every one would hide in their rooms as unfortunate Frank takes his father’s heavy word beating each night. The next morning Maria, would tell the children to act as if nothing happened. Therefore, they did as they were told, but they never overlooked the incident (Schroff and Tresniowski 77).I think Marie could do something to prevent Nunziato
We Believe You is a collection of stories by survivors of campus rape, written by Annie E. Clark and Andrea L. Pino, they focus on the heartache and heroism that many students face, including themselves, after becoming victims of sexual assault, some victims speaking out and loud about their stories, while others choose to stay quiet and anonymous.
Literature is never written – or read – for entertainment alone. There is always another purpose.