The book titled "An Abundance of Katherines" by John Green is a story about a washed up child prodigy named Colin Singleton who is distraught by the 19 breakups of his girlfriends in his life strangely all named Katherines. He then travels with his Muslim friend away from the bustling city and into the rural areas of Tennessee to escape the pain from his recent breakup as well recover from it until he felt better enough to go back to the way it supposed to be. As he recovered, he worked on a theorem that mathematically explained why he broke up with each of his 19 girlfriends. He also met a girl named Lindsey Lee Wells who is as well intelligent and kind-hearted to her friends. But in the middle of his stay at Gutshot, he noticed that he's…
Redness and blood is often connected to religious imagery. In All The Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy, the spirituality of blood connects man with the landscape, horse, history, and his destiny. Thomas C. Foster’s How to read Literature Like a Professor makes reference to the bible in chapter 6. The Bible states that wine is often symbolized for the blood of Christ and is thought to be a spiritual cleanser. At the end of Part III, after John Grady had lost a lot of blood while staying in Saltillo Prison, he continues his journey back to Don Hector’s ranch after being spiritually cleansed. Chapter one sets the scene of the main character, John Grady Cole, attending his grandfather's funeral. In the evening, Grady notices that “the sun sat…
PASSAGE: “I have been afraid of putting an air in a tire ever since I saw a tractor tire blow up and throw Newt Hardbine’s father over the top of the Standard Oil Sign.” (pg. 1.Barabara Kingsolver)…
Max Oeschlaeger is an American ecological philosopher. Oeschlaeger received his B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. from Southern Illinois University. He is affiliated with the department of philosophy and religion studies at the University of North Texas. Oeschlaeger’s book The Idea of Wilderness was published through the Yale University Press.…
Since I was a child I was always described as a "Tomboy". One way to define the term "Tomboy" is, a biological girl/woman who doesn't fit society's ideal and beliefs of what is consider being feminine and/or doesn't correspond with stereotypes of feminine roles. Personally, I can somewhat agree to being call this, but on the other hand I never really thought about how it affects/affected my life. I was raised by my grandparents, who were used to working physical jobs, and also involved with activities like hunting, woodcutting, and farming; so, as a kid I always thought it was pretty normal to want wear jeans or overalls instead of dresses, and getting in trouble for grass stains on my clothes from playing outside.…
I wanted to begin with an interesting question what is love? Love is an intense feeling with a deep affecting to someone you really care about. However, why do we tend to be falling in love with different kinds of people and not just one. From one moment to the other we stop having feelings towards the people we thought were going to be our everything. This semester I had the opportunity to read a book about love, happiness, murder and also a possible psycho is was writing by Tim O'Brien called “In the Lake of the Woods”. The story begins with the protagonists John and Kathy Wade; both of them are talking about happiness without knowing what happiness really means. “They wanted happiness without knowing what it was, or where to look, which made them want it more” (O’Brien pg. 2) For both of them one of their biggest desires is to express their love for one another. Kathy Wade decides to cheat on John Wade, because it’s her way of showing John that she knows that he is watching her.…
9. Fable: a short tale used to teach a moral or lesson (often uses animals as characters).…
Imagine being abused, hit, yelled at, and left alone without the most important feeling of love. Growing up without a shoulder to cry on or a hand to hold. How would these actions sculpt you as an individual? Would they compel you to do the same actions to your own loved ones, or show them love and compassion, which your life had lacked? Poets tend to write pieces of literature as reflections back on their personal lives, describing situations that stay afloat in their heads. Sharon Olds’ happened to be one of these poets, who expressed her upsetting past relationship with her father and current relationships with her children through these works of art. In Olds’ first poems, she…
Four young sisters, who had little in materials; yet, had the greatest of spirits affecting everyone who knew them are portrayed through Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. The eldest was gorgeous, sweet Meg. She worked as of governess for an affluent family to try to help out at home. Next is, tomboyish, strong-minded Jo. She worked for her old aunt as servant, to help like Meg, and loved to read and write whenever she could. Third was humble, quiet Beth. She was not the school type; therefore, stayed home and helped with the housework as well as worked on her special musical gift on the piano. Finally, was self-centered, conceited Amy. She attended school and had problems fitting in; though, she had a great gift for art and drawing. They made…
Storytelling can be found in every corner of the world. It is used to pass the time, tell of past or current events, and is the way that we communicate with each other. In Balzac and the little Chinese Seamstress, by Dai Sijie, storytelling occurs during times of hopelessness when life seems hard and allows the characters to live vicariously through the tales told. The narrator and Luo use storytelling as an escape from reality in times of desperation. The tailor is influenced by the stories to the point where he changes the style of clothing he creates to escape the boundaries of Mao approved clothing. The importance of storytelling to the little seamstress is that she learns the importance of beauty, and is able to leave the current life she lives. Throughout the novel the characters use storytelling to escape the reality of life in either a mental or physical way.…
Her first book, Flower Fables, published in 1854, is a small collection of fairy tales. Hospital Sketches (1863) told the story of Alcott's experiences of a nurse during the Civil War. The Civil War had a huge impact on her, for there, thirty year old Alcott had the rest of her life decided for her when she caught typhoid fever and was treated with mercury. Her first novel, Moods (1864), was about an unsuccessful marriage. Two of the characters represented Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. These two had an enormous impact on Alcott's life, educating her and being there for her. The novel, Little Women (1868), recounted Alcott's life growing up, with each character representing someone important in her life. A short story, An Old-Fashioned Girl (1870), is about a young girl who does not fully fit in with everyone around her. She is made fun of, but in spite of all the teasing, she pushed through and makes the best of it. Three years after Little Women was published, Alcott published a sequel to the story. Little Men is about the boys at the school that Jo runs with her husband. However, Little Men did not receive as much praise as Little Women. Alcott's fourth novel, Work (1873), is about "the efforts of a poor girl to support herself by working as a seamstress, domestic servant, and a companion" (ABC-CLIO). This story seems to be about Alcott…
Although The Scarlet Letter is commonly associated with Romanticism, Hawthorne allows Transcendentalism’s traits to pervade his themes, symbols, and motifs within the novel. The heart of Transcendentalism is the belief that divinity is in every part of nature and humanity. An obvious example of this idea occurs in Chapter 12, when Dimmesdale sees a red “A” in the sky:…
In his poems, Ovid wants readers to understand what he thinks should be known to them. He does this by providing stories in the format of a poem with a moral that captures the reader's attention. An example of this is in The Story of Tereus, Procne, and Philomela, where the poet writes how the antagonist named Tereus…
“Where is Here?” By Joyce Carol Oats is a story about a mysterious stranger visiting a family.The visitor discusses the idea of infinity.The drawing,the house,and the characters all support the idea of infinity.…
n Annie Dillard’s book of Pilgrim of Tinker Creek presents many examples of our natural world in repulsive, horrifying, beautiful and wonderful ways.…