In almost every literary work, there is a lesson learned by the narrator of the story through other characters and/or occurring events. Two short stories that have this happen are Lan Samantha Chang’s “Water Names” and Toni Cade Bambara’s “The Lesson.” In both of these stories, adults are teaching the lesson to the children. However, this lesson is taught in an entirely different approach in one story than it is in the other. Waipuo of “Water Names” requires thorough attention from her grandchildren and ignores all questions asked, leaving the children to come up with their own meaning of the story. On the other hand, Miss Moore of “The Lesson” answers all questions asked, and even asks questions to the children. It is clearly evident that Waipuo and Miss Moore have different teaching ethics. This is most likely because the children in both stories are different. However, the lesson taught in each story is the same—just in a different context.…
“I bet there were a lot of people mad at Shakespeare, too, but aren 't we all glad that he wrote Hamlet?" Yolanda 's sisters said in trying to make their tight situation with their little sister Yolanda just a little bit lighter. Even during the days the Garcia family had resided in the Dominican Republic, and Yolanda had always had a cause to tell her stories in either fact or fiction form. The family had to be cautious in the dictatorship, which in turn, had caused many sleepless nights in the Garcia household. When the family had immigrated to the United States her mother still had to worry about the stories that Yolanda would go on to write. Would she have to wait around for a social worker to stop by the house if Yo were telling her fiction stories at school? Yolanda had to write her stories about the…
In 1595, an old play of 2 star-crossed lovers takes their life (Prologue, pg.7). In William Shakespeare’s play, Romeo and Juliet, Friar Lawrence is shown as honest and trustworthy. William Shakespeare has written many plays in olden day language. During some time people thought that plays and poems were not worth anything and thought it was rubbish. People now study the writing of Shakespeare because of the rich language, the literature and the writing style and context.…
Dishonesty, as many people know, comes with consequences. But, on the contrary, honesty is rewarded. In “the Mermaid and the Woodcutter,” and “Head Tree,” the characters face a big obstacle, and their actions will decipher whether they will be rewarded or punished. In the story “the Mermaid and the Woodcutter,” a man is very honest and tells the truth, for his good actions he is rewarded, In the story “Head Tree,” the main character faces terrible consequences because of his cruel lies, and suffered tremendously. This shows that honesty is always the best policy. For example, in the short story “the Mermaid and the Woodcutter,” In the story, “Head Tree,” a man was punished for being deceitful. The actions of both characters in the stories reinforce the main theme: honesty is the best policy.…
Childhood is a crucial time in everyone’s life, as it affects the decisions they make later on. In fact in some cases, our childhood determines who we are, or whom we’ll become in the future. A child’s childhood must be kept innocent and pure for the well being of the their future. The recurring theme in Heather O’Neill’s Lullabies for Little Criminals, is the loss of innocence at a young age, led by the choices and decisions of the characters, and this theme can be connected back to the novel itself, Alden Nowlan’s short story, The Fall of a City, and William Golding’s Lord of the Flies.…
This scene presents tender, if somewhat humorous, dialogue between sister and brother, father and son, and father and daughter. Buried in the conversation, however, is the undercurrent of honesty vs. deceit, love vs. betrayal, reality vs. appearances, all themes…
Many times adults, parents, or teachers bend the truth to protect a child’s emotions and innocence. In the following poems, “A Barred Owl” by Richard Wilbur and “The History Teacher” by Billy Collins, both poets state a situation where an adult provides an explanation for a child by withholding the truth. Nevertheless, both poets use rhyme scheme, tone, and detail to execute their point.…
Sometimes circumstances almost force children into growing up and becoming self-sufficient. At the same time adults can lack in maturity, and being proper role models for children. Not all adults are mature and not all children are naive. Lahiri shows us this when Mrs. Sen admits that, “[Eliot is] wiser that[...]. [He] already taste[s] the way things must be.” (Lahiri 123) Eliot has been exposed to the real world and all its ugly, but very real, parts. Eliot represents the majority of children in this modern-day, pushed into the adult world because of parents lack of responsibility. Children can learn from grownups mistakes and strive to do better and become better people. While this is not always negative, it is tragic, the loss of innocence is never a pleasant occurrence, especially at young ages. Lahiri was emphasizing the ugly truth of how the roles of children and adults can switch, how children have to be their own examples and adults struggle to fully grow up and be the role models that children need. I enjoyed reading this story because it shows a reality that is so common yet so easily overlooked. It’s the ugly truth that everyone should…
Within the play, Much Ado About Nothing, there is a central theme of deceitfulness, as a way to solve a problem or an issue amongst the characters. Though deception is inherently perceived as evil, it led to positive endings after several conflicts throughout the play. In the creation of this theme, Shakespeare uses both negative and positive examples to contribute to his lesson on ruses. Within this particular scene, all of the cons that the various characters have put on are officially disclosed to each other. This scene highlights that deception is not always evil, nor is it always moral, but can be means to an end that can be beneficial or detrimental to a character’s arc. Shakespeare’s use of honesty within this particular scene, establishes the deconstruction of illusions within human relationships in order to complete a story.…
Embarrassment from Adults. We all know what it's like to be embarrassed by an adult. But there is one adult in each story that does not decided to embarrass the boys. In Seventh Grade there was a part when Victor tries to impress Teresa by talking french. When Mr. Bueller asked if anyone spoke french, Victor raised his hand thinking he would impress Teresa. But that didn’t work out. But Mr. Bueller didn’t embarrass him. Instead Mr.Bueller remembered when he was Victor's age and tried to impress a girl. In Oranges, the boy brings the girl to the drug store and offers her candy. She picks chocolate and when he went to pay he didn’t have enough. So he gave his nickel and orange in payment. He then didn’t get called out by the clerk. Instead the…
As a child, Dick is nothing more than a poor city boy who is trying to earn money on the streets of New York City. He spends his time shining shoes for working men, making only about ten cents a pair. Although he works and struggles to remain an honest, hardworking boy, he also gets caught up with smoking cigarettes and gambling. Through Dick’s shoe-shining business, he tends to meet lots of people. Each and every day is another learning experience for Dick. There are many times when Dick’s integrity and honesty are tested, yet being a boy of good trust, he never cheats anyone.…
At the age of twelve, Amir committed the act which would dominate his thoughts for the rest of his life. His childhood friend and servant, Hassan, was raped by the neighborhood bully, and Amir watched in horror. Afraid of the same fate, Amir made no attempt to help his friend or to make his presence known. Instead, he hoped that Hassan had not noticed him watching. This is not uncommon for children. Not all children can be expected to face their fears or to try to be heroes. Children often try to pretend things away, as well. Guilt-ridden, Amir avoided Hassan, but the more he did so, the more guilt he felt for abandoning his friend in his time of need. Deciding that he could no longer stand Hassan's presence, Amir framed Hassan for stealing objects from the house. He had second thoughts and planned on confessing until his father forgave Hassan. Amir had always been jealous of his father's love for Hassan, so when his father readily forgave Hassan for, according to his father, one of the ultimate crimes, Amir…
Anger, disappointment, and disbelief are often reactions an individual encounters after confronting betrayal. In fact, it is an unwanted experience due to its reputation of dissolving relationships. In history, fine literature has provided us with novels and plays that reveal betrayal as the basis and central theme of the story. The fact is, it can emerge from acts of revenge and even through pure selfishness. Furthermore, betrayal is a recurring topic in the tragic play, Hamlet, written by William Shakespeare. Many characters deceive one another as well as deny their own feelings, causing the betrayal of their emotions. The universal notion of betrayal is exemplified through Shakespeare's portrayal of dishonesty in his characters. They demonstrate…
The world we currently know has experienced many stages and eras such as the Renaissance era and the New World Era. In each of these eras, falsehood, dishonesty, deceit and revenge all seem to grow rich, however remorse and guilt grow poor. Like a domino effect, with all this tremendous falsehood come fatal and destructive dangers in life. Whether it be due to the risks of overthinking, or perhaps the risks of taking action, they seem to grow exponentially with time. William Shakespeare portrays evidently this changing world and it’s forever increasing perils of deceit throughout the play Hamlet, representing the aftermath of lying and its effects on everything around us, specifically the Great Chain of Being and Nature itself.…
Deception has been a vital part of literature for as long as writing itself has been relevant. This being said there is more than one method or type of deception present; this essay will use three pieces of literature to further understand the different types of deceit that an individual can, and most likely will interpret from literature. The three pieces of writing that will be picked for this are as follows: “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allen Poe, The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Othello by William Shakespeare. These three different pieces all have deceit within them. However it takes a different rhythm and rhyme in each. Deception while almost always relevant cloaks itself in many different shapes and forms throughout literature past and present.…