Hope In Night, The Glass Castle, And Red Rising

Title Have you ever been hopeful, even when it seemed your hope was hopeless? Hope is something all humans share whether it be for a better life or for a different path. All humans have something that resembles hope. It almost seems that humans love to tell others how hope has helped them survive troubling times. For centuries mankind has been drawn to literature about the underdog overcoming odds because we as a species enjoy seeing the little guys win. Three pieces of literature in particular come to mind when speaking of hope and how it fills mankind with a fight for survival. The books, Night by Eliezer Wiesel, The Glass Castle, By Jeannette Walls, and Red Rising, by Pierce Brown all feature main characters believing in themselves and
From right in the beginning of the book the reader can see that the children are positively brimming with hope. Their father tells them of “the Glass Castle” that they will one day build as a family where they can live and be free from the world's problems. As the book goes on and the kids become more mature they realize that the Glass Castle is not going to be a possibility for them. Once the kids realize this they start to lose the hope they once had as children, and with the hope gone incidents such as the start occurring in the family household. An example of which is when Rex and Rose-Mary are fighting because their is no food at the house and as Jeannette Walls describes, “The fight escalates to a point where Dad Dangles Mom out of a second floor window,” (Walls 56). Towards the end of the book the kids meet with some big city men who encourage Lori to go to New York if she is serious about being an artist. When Jeannette tells Lori about her escape fund their hope is renewed for a better life and they start working harder than before to achieve this goal. Momentarily, however, the hope is dashed when Rex steals it to spend on booze and gambling. One of Jeannettes babysitting clients offers to have her come with for a trip to Iowa so they can have a babysitter, but she
It follows a young boy who breaks the chains of the caste system and believes in a better future. Darrow is a boy filled with hope. His wife was taken from him at a young age with her last words to him being “Break the chains.” (Brown 25). Darrow joins a “terrorist” group named the Sons of Ares that are fighting to bring down the oppressive government. He undergoes rigorous surgery to make his body into that of a Gold. The surgery included the shattering and healing of all of his bones and as the head of the Sons once said, “A normal man wouldn’t’ve survived that, there's something special about you. A fight for survival that no one else has…” (Brown 56). A fight for survival and hope for a better future that were all implanted by his late wife, Eo. Darrow continues to rise through the ranks of society until he becomes the top student in his entire class at academy. Red Rising is a book about belief in a better future and how it sires the fight for survival in