Certain relationships can only reach a level of tolerance before fading away and eventually collapsing. The novel, In the Lake of the Woods is a piece of fictional writing written by Tim O’Brien to explain the impact of difficulties in a relationship. The novel provides the story of the man, John Wade that goes through a mysterious tragedy when his wife, Kathy goes missing. Throughout the story, O’Brien presents evidence, and past stories of the couple to encourage readers to determine what happened to Kathy. However, by the end of the novel, the truth of Kathy’s departure is still not revealed, leaving the reader to infer what happened.…
Drown is a collection of short stories written by prize-winning author Junot Diaz. The stories focus on realistically raw situations immigrants must face when arriving to the United States, along with cultural differences. All of through the perspective of a young boy, Yunior. Whereas the cultural differences and such are seen through Ysrael. A character whom Diaz gives us a glimpse of.…
In the novel "The Color of Water" by James McBride, the two characters Ruth and James grieve over the death of James's stepfather's death, Jordan Hunter, in completely different ways. Ruth's way of grieving for her husband was very different than how her son chose to grieve his departure. James said after the death of his stepfather's death he just started to misbehave and resulted in him skipping school a lot and going to the movies with his friends. "I virtually dropped out of high school... failing every class. I spent the year going to the movies ... with my friends" (pg 6). His siblings joked about the way he dealt with he grieved saying things like "James is going through his revolution"(pg 6). Skipping school was not the only thing…
Nick W. In the Lake of the Woods Analysis In the Lake of the Woods was a convoluted mystery novel with no definitive ending. At the end of the book, it is uncertain whether or not John killed Kathy or if she is still alive. Throughout the book, the author sprinkles chapters of evidence to deepen the mystery and reveal more details as to infer what might have happened on the night of Kathy’s disappearance.…
“The Color of Water”, written by James McBride, is a memoir. The book was introduced to us in 1995. The main narrator, James, born in the year of 1957 to an African-American father and a Jewish mother. James, at that time, was not to keen about the black power in the sense he had a white mother. During the Civil Rights, his stepfather had passed away. From this point on; James realizes the true responsibility of himself towards his friends and family. He unveils his true self to the world with his memoir entitled “The Color of Water”. His mother’s name was Ruth McBride. Her story was also compelling. Ruth, born in Poland in the year of 1921. Ruth was an immigrant to the United States. Later in her life, she met her black husband Andrew Dennis…
“The small waves were the same, chucking the rowboat under the chin as we fished at anchor, and the boat was the same boat, the same color green and the ribs broken in the same places, and under the floorboards the same fresh water leavings and debris- the dead hellgrammite, the wisps of moss, the rusty discarded fishhook, the dried blood from yesterday’s catch” (White 195-196).…
They were surrounding me with shades of yellow and black; I stood in the middle of a sunflower garden. I wanted to pick a flower for my mom, who was inside of our apartment. I searched around the hoard of flowers until I found the perfect one. Then it fades to black. This exact clip was cut out of my childhood and remains imprinted in my memories for some unknown reason. Every person has one of these “clips” in which they have a vivid memory of one place or time from their youth. Both E.B. White and Eudora Welty explore these memories in their pieces Once More to the Lake, and The Little Store, respectively. Each of these writers focus in on a place from their youth that had a deeper meaning to them. For White,…
There are perhaps no days of our childhood we lived so fully as those we spent with a favorite book.” This is a famous quote said by Marcel Proust. Books over the centuries have had an influential impact on the lives of many. Arguably, there are none more influential than children’s books. Children’s books contain important life lessons and teach many children the basic values they will hold for the remainder of their lives. Examples of the best range from the well-known Dr. Seuss books, to the always-popular Winnie the Pooh books. Although those are historically popular, The Rainbow Fish, by Marcus Pfister, is one that should be kept in mind. With it’s enticing illustrations, simple and descriptive context, and lesson it portrays, the children’s book The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister should be considered for a spot on the “Top 100 Children’s Books” list.…
"Once More to the Lake" is a complex story about embracing change and accepting mortality as part of the aging process. The preference related to stylistic writing boils down to the individual reader and how the reader feels when the last word of the story is read. Will "This Old House" allow the reader to experience hopefulness or a warm and fuzzy feeling as they contemplate life moving forward? Perhaps "Once More to the Lake" leaves the reader feeling uncomfortable or uneasy as they now are faced with accepting the reality of their own mortality. Which of the two stories based on the descriptions so far in this writing are you drawn to and in addition which story inspires you to move outside the safety of your comfort zone and take a risk for self…
In E.B. White’s “Once More to the Lake” a man travels to a lake, where he vacationed as a child, with his son in an attempt to return to his youth. The apparent unchanging nature of the area brings about the realization his own mortality and inevitable change. The moments of duality and subtle alterations within the passage create an eerie sense of the adjusting world.…
As E.B. White reflects on his childhood memories and revisits his favorite past vacation spot in Maine, he undergoes an internal struggle between acting and viewing the lake like he did as a kid and viewing it as his father had.White suffers a”dual existence” as he relives the experiences and sensations of his childhood while observing his son experience them for the first time. This creates the strange feeling that he is sometimes his son who is fishing and boating, and that he is sometimes his father.…
White, he seemed pleased when he was able to find things that he remembered so vividly of his child hood. One of the major similarities that Mr. White noticed was the peace and tranquility that occurred during the early morning out in the woods. The calm and peaceful mornings reminded the author of his youth at the lake. White recollects that he would normally be the first person out of bed and into the lake spending the early part of his day paddling the canoe close to the shore being very careful not to bump the paddle off the side of the boat, for fear of breaking the peacefulness of the…
The University of California, Merced’s Men’s Basketball team was so enthusiastic, as well as full of energy that humid Saturday morning as they prepared for an extraordinary adventure at Lake Yosemite. Each player greets Dr. Boggs, also thanking him for taking his time off from work in the health center to take them to the lake. Dr. Boggs, feeling warm-hearted and comforted, appreciated the well-mannered basketball players and cannot wait to get out in the lake. “I have brought my boat out here today so you guys can get the full lake experience, but I need to go over some safety procedures. I also need to explain to you all what exactly we will be doing today.”-Dr. Boggs.…
The book ‘Once’, by Morris Gleitzman Develops a sense of hope through a carrot that a boy named Felix finds in his soup bowl, Felix’s stories he tells, his imagination and his love for books that the Nazis are destroying and a man called Barney who is caring and helpful towards children in their time of grief and loneliness. Felix goes through lots of emotions on his journey to find his parents, but keeps is head held high because of all the great memories he has had in the past…
Two docks filled with every type of boat imaginable, canoe, kayak, row boat, paddle boat, and on. Smiling, warm water ripples as my toes dip in; my feet are greeted with the tickle of the small fish swimming right at the edge of the dock. Through the years, the swim to the raft on Sugar Maple Lake becomes shorter and shallower; and once on, my cool skin meets scorching wooden planks that have been laid out through the first months of summer. Chilly water is splashed up onto the raft as my grandfather’s boat pulls near, tube attached to the back. In the beginning, the…