In The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi, Charlotte, the main character, is a thirteen-year- old girl who had to travel across the Atlantic to America as the only passenger on a ship. On her sea voyage, her courage was shown by the way she handled the many challenges and dangers that she encountered. For example, when she wanted to join the ship’s crew, she met resistance from the crew members, who finally decided that she must prove herself worthy before they would take her. The crew proposed, “Let her [Charlotte] climb the royal yard [highest sail on the mainmast of the ship]. If she does it, and comes down whole, and still willing to serve,…
In this quote, Wes Moore, had been on the phone with his older half-brother, born to Mary when she was only 16. Tony is protective of Wes, although Wes doesn’t see him as often as Tony spends most of his time in the Murphy Homes Projects and has been dealing drugs since before the age of ten. By the time he was 14, he was a “certified gangsta” with a strong reputation. While on the phone with Wes, Tony asks about school; Wes attends an elementary school nicknamed “Chicken Pen,” where 99% of the students are black and 70% receive free lunches. Tony tells his little brother to “take this shit seriously,” urging Wes not to follow in his own footsteps. Despite Tony’s tough and admirable exterior, he wishes he could undo the past and put himself…
Vengeance, retribution, vendetta, and settling a score. These are all synonyms of revenge which means retaliation against a person or group in response to a perceived wrongdoing. In the book Jennifer Government, written by Max Berry, the plot revolves around the idea of revenge. With five main characters, the book shows how the various characters lives are transformed and intertwined after the antagonist, John Nike begins his evil plan to get himself and Nike the company rich. During the story the characters carry and complete various vendettas they have against each other. As a result we see how revenge negatively affects the characters choices, relationships and personality.…
Leslie Edwards (Matthew Perry), a clumsy aristocrat, and the hilarious Bartholomew Hunt (Chris Farley) are competing against the famous Lewis & Clark to be the first to chart and make it across the United States to the Pacific Ocean. In the beginning of the film, Edwards has high hopes to head the first expedition to make it across the U.S., but while he has the want and the money, he is a sheltered man who knows nothing of the wilderness. To aid in his journey, he hires the services of a supposedly knowledgeable wilderness-man and tracker, Hunt, who, once they get underway, turns out to be less than advertised (too good to be true haha). Aided by a crew of various rugged frontiersmen, they are also joined by their group's version of Sacagawea, a young Indian woman by the name Shaquinna (incredible), who plays a big part in helping them find their way across the dangerous and unknown land ahead, as well as, eventually becoming Edwards' love interest.…
This quote is about Susanna Kaysen finally reading a book about her given diagnosis. I do believe she was given an accurate diagnosis and that it was necessary for her to spend some time in the mental hospital because she did try to kill herself even though she never admitted it. I disliked the fact that Kaysen had to be in the hospital for almost two years for her to actually try to get better. Instead of arguing and being upset about being in the hospital she should have gotten over it and started putting an effort to get herself out of there. In my opinion I don’t think Kaysen was in dire need to go to a mental hospital. Kaysen did take fifty aspirins, but I don’t believe she was intending to kill herself. She only took the aspirins because…
Different factors impact one's decisions, possibly changing their lives permanently. In the memoir, The Other Wes Moore, both Wes Moore's nature and how they were nurtured influenced their decisions, successes, and failures. Drugs in both Wes Moore's environments have similar effects on their decisions, successes, and failures, as opposed to their role models, who had different effects on them.…
Who is the central character? That is, on whom does the story focus? What do you learn about her? What are her circumstances of life? Why does she explain her actions as she does?…
Colors are a powerful form of communication used to convey what words cannot. Fitzgerald’s use of symbolism in the form of color is on display in nearly every chapter of The Great Gatsby. To understand his use of color as a symbol, a reader must recognize the situations in which they are used. Fitzgerald applies colors to his characters to hint at their personalities. The colors are intentionally repeated multiple times to establish a significance between them and the characters personality they are used to symbolize. Therefore, to understand each character entirely, colors must be considered. Throughout The Great Gatsby Fitzgerald uses color symbolism to show how people mask their personalities to hide from the truth which results in negative…
As a lonely woman facing the evil of her husband Sykes, Delia Jones can be viewed as the epitome of strength and strong- will. She works hard as a wash woman to support her family and household but is still referred to by her husband as “one aggravatin’ nigger woman” (par. 8). Jones is forced to deal with mental, physical, and verbal abuse all at the hands of her husband. Sykes greets her at the door with anger and chastisement. As an African American poor woman Delia Jones deals with the struggle of maintaining a household, constant abuse, and utter unhappiness with her life and marriage.…
Although fiction texts are simply narratives, they can also reflect a particular time and place. The novel Jasper Jones written by Craig Silvey follows the character of Charlie, the thirteen year old protagonist, who is forced to rethink his traditional notions of right and wrong, through his friendship with Jasper Jones. The novel highlights Australia’s attitudes towards foreigners and Indigenous people. The small country town held strong beliefs about the value of sport but also the lack of education.…
To say that there is no good in evil is to deny the very reality of evil’s existence. Black and white thinking such as the topic previously stated is what truly can hurt us the most. When you look at moral issues you must acknowledge that it is a grey spectrum, with many different viewpoints. If I told any person who has actually read East of Eden that I admired Cathy? They would think me insane and possibly give me some nasty looks, as well as cross the street when I walk past. But since you have to read this essay, I think it’s fair that I make my point. Cathy is a real go-getter, she does what she has to to make ends meet. She isn’t easily swayed, and has a strong moral foundation, whether or not it’s a good one is a moot point. Lastly, she’s not easily discouraged. Even in the face of direct adversity, she brushes herself off and keeps on trucking.…
Cora Jenkins is seemingly difficult to define static or dynamic at first. Throughout her story, her character suffers great tragedy, and hardship. Many people might describe Cora’s character as flat, rather than round because she does not fight against the facts of life: her drunken father, sickly mother, demanding employers or unplanned pregnancy from a transient lover. Cora is steadfast in her work and love until it is impossible to keep silent and stifled any longer. She railed against fate when death struck her baby. Cora denounced the women responsible for the injustice done to Jessie, the daughter she adopted in her heart. In conclusion, Cora is a dynamic character because you understand her struggles, feel her pain and in the end, applaud…
In the literary classic To Kill a Mockingbird, moral development is very clearly seen in the character of Jem Finch. Over the course of the two-year narrative, his ideas of right and wrong change and grow drastically. He becomes unafraid of voicing his opinion and breaking social rules, exemplified through his bold opinions and hope regarding the Robinson case, as well as grows tremendously in his definition of bravery and how it should be expressed. As he matures, Jem Finch’s ideas about bravery and social rules grow and change as he encounters new experiences with the residents of Maycomb, experiences that shape his morality into that of a young adult.…
Leading a multitude of people to find the "truth" about a village's most respected townspeople is Abigail Williams. She was the finger that accused dozens of people, who in all likelihood were innocent of the crimes brought against them. Abigail was not the single candle that showed the judges of Salem the way but merely the candle that lit the others. Arthur Miller's "The Crucible" makes Abigail the conveyance of everything the Puritans would have thought as evil. She had committed sins that made any upright citizen flinch at the mere mention of them. All this appalling information about Abigail makes a person stop and wonder what her motive was. Was she merely being selfish or is there a deeper meaning hidden beneath all the layers she is covering her past with?…
In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby, the changing and conflicting roles of women and their persistent mistreatment by males emphasizes the struggle for women’s equality in the 1920s. Fitzgerald uses the differences between Daisy and Jordan’s lifestyles to highlight the changing roles of women at the time. Although the female characters in the novel appear to progress toward independence, the persistent mistreatment by male characters stresses the lack of acceptance for women within upper-class society. The lack of strong, independent female characters shows the absence of progression and the mindset that “the best thing a girl can be [is] … a beautiful little fool.” (17). The lack of strong, female viewpoints portray the gender…