Erik Larson is a nonfiction author with a number of bestsellers including The Devil In The White City. He lives in Seattle with his wife and three daughters. In The Devil In The White City, Erik Larson tells stories of two men accomplishing different lifestyles in Chicago. The book takes place around the time of the World’s Fair and is written in a third person omniscient point of view. While one man is trying to prove Chicago’s ability of not being a failure to the country, the other man brings a whole new meaning of failure to the city of Chicago.…
In The Crossing, a book by Gary Paulsen, a boy named Manny Bustos is trying to overcome the challenges of crossing the border between Mexico and the United States. Manny, a 14 year-old homeless boy thinks that if he can cross the border his life will be good forever. He is right that he will be able to get a job and be able to do fine. He will be fine if he is able to make it to America because if he is able to survive in the harsh conditions of Juarez, Mexico such as fights, drunken soldiers, older homeless boys, and is able to find food or money to buy food Manny will be able to make money in the United States.…
Maya Angelou once said, “Freedom is never free.” This is true because a person always has to pay some sort of price in order to be free, whether in a literal sense or not. In the book Among the Hidden, by Margaret Peterson Haddix, Luke Garner is an illegal third child in a place where overpopulation forces the government to make unfair laws. Each family is allowed to have two children, so Luke envies his older brothers and cannot live his life the way he wants to. This is similar to in “Two Sisters, Two Americas,” by Brooke Ross, which tells the reader about an illegal immigrant named Veronica Saravia. Veronica came to the United States with her parents illegally when she was 4 years old. Her sister, Diana, was born in the United States. Diana…
“...If you work hard enough and assert yourself, and use your mind and imagination, you can shape the world to your desires.” In the book 'outliers' by Malcolm Gladwell, Gladwell States that there is no such thing as a self made person. That if you succeed in life it depends on who you are and where you came from. I disagree with this statement for the reason that, although this may be occasionally correct, mostly it isn’t true . There are many people who have created success for themselves and are famous now. Such as Jim Carrey and Tyler Perry.…
The short stories “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst and “My Brother’s Keeper” by Jay Bennet are both realistic examples of family dynamics and how they can affect the way siblings treat each other. “The Scarlet Ibis” demonstrates how older siblings tend to feel the need to assist or help their younger siblings in things they cannot do, often leaving the younger siblings codependent on the older siblings for everything. In comparison, “My Brother’s Keeper” demonstrates how trauma can lead to siblings leaching to each other and becoming reliant, more often one more than the other. Even when two people are not siblings but are close, one person can become codependent on the other, Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck is the prime example of this.…
Since the beginning, humans have been fascinated by war, having not only participated in the bloodshed themselves but detailing them in works of literature in the hopes that others may learn from those dark times. Books such as The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, Night by Elie Wiesel, and All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque focus on a specific war: World War II. During a time of fighting between the Allied Powers and the Central Powers, the authors of these books detail the different point of views of life in the twentieth century in a time of endless bloodshed. The Book Thief shows the perspective of a fictional young girl growing up in Nazi Germany whereas All Quiet on the Western Front shows what it was like to be a German…
In the openings of pages 9 and 10 of ‘The Rabbits’, written by John Marsden and illustrated by Shaun Tan, techniques such as colour symbolism, font and salience and reading path are used to create issues involving the mistreatment of the Aborignal people after the ‘Invasion”.…
In merely 200 years, the world has gone from the first car in 1800, to the first moon landing in 1969, and to the first major production electric cars (Tesla) in 2008. It is these examples that provide evidence of the exponential growth of technology. Furthermore, these inventions have served a great importance in today’s economy. Cars have become a staple point in society and space exploration and sciences have become increasingly more helpful towards society due to the first moon landing. However, how will the exponential rate of technological advancement affect the economic health in terms in scarcity and production efficiency in the future?…
The affect of the author's choice of resolution in "The Interlopers" shows that the two men, Georg and Ulrich, ended their feud just in time. Although they had prepared to kill the other and make it out of the forest alive, they ended up becoming friends and both happily dying together. "...I will ask you to be my friend." said Ulrich in the passage. Georg had accepted his offer an they had become close lads before they died.…
On the surface, A Separate Peace, written by John Knowles in 1959, is a tale of two boys and the events that take place between them one school year during World War Two. Behind the simple storyline, however, lies a deeply woven web of symbols, themes, and lessons that are all of great significance and relevance to our lives today. Perhaps one of the most important concepts we can learn from this novel is how we, as a species, create our own enemies due to our jealousy and insecurity. Knowles’ story shows how humans tend to satisfy the need to have someone to compete with by sometimes choosing to dislike the people who deserve it the least.…
The poem "Visiting Hour" was written by the Scottish poet Norman MacCaig. In the poem, MacCaig shows the central idea is loss and death. This central idea is achieved through the use of various techniques such as imagery, structure and narrative stance.…
The book "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer is a story about a man by the name of Chris McCandless. He is a man who grew up in a DC suburb, graduated college and decides to change the ways of his life. He journeys across the country, and finds his way to Alaska. His means are to leave the material lifestyle and become at one with nature. During Chris's adventure he seems to neglect all communication with his family and over look the fact that they care about his health and future.…
In everyone’s life, there is loneliness but that loneliness is always filled up by something. This something is what makes someone happy and not alone. This something is friendship. The book A Separate Peace by John Knowles tells a story of the friendship of two boys attending a private boys school during World War II. These two boys, Gene and Phineas who is also known as Finny, shows an example of friendship. These two boys are best friends that learn from each other and they both have each other during this era but this friendship starts to take a turn for the worse. Friendship is not only filled with happiness, but also it can be filled with distrust. Knowles shows an example of distrust through envy. Envy can poison the heart even the closest of friends.…
According to Maalouf, a person shouldn't have to define himself or his identity to people if he were exposed or raised according to different cultures. It is unfair to him- as it is to other people- to have to choose between certain aspects of his identity, or even hide those facets and "save" them for a different gathering or group of people who can cope with those different sides "The identity cannot be compartmentalized" .…
‘Conquerors’ written in 1933 by Henry Treece is a poem about the horrors of the aftermath of war in the point of view of a victorious soldier. Throughout the text the persona is a soldier as there is a sense a teamwork shown by the author’s use of “we” or “not one amongst us” eliminating one’s individuality. Also the last sentence implies that they are away from home as they are thinking about it rather than looking at it. By saying “No one told us victory was like this” implies that they were victorious. This was probably written to remind people of the atrocities that come with war, as in 1933 Hitler came to “power” and production of weapons increased. The paradox is that although the soldiers won, they brought nothing but death and misery. Meanwhile, victory usually brings a sense of accomplishment and happiness. The title already suggests that the poem is about the aftermath of a war in the view of those who won. The title fits quite well as the poem describes their remorse by depicting a gloomy environment. The tone is melancholic and the structure is free verse. This commentary will be broken up into the Literal/Figurative meanings followed by the structure of the poem and its significance.…