Can a person’s pride be the cause of someone’s death? Pride can be a wonderful and horrible thing. In The Scarlet Ibis pride was terrible. The narrator had a bit too much pride and it caused horrible things for his younger brother Doodle. Doodle was different. He was born with a caul, his head was big, his body was red and shriveled, he was supposed to die at a young age, and he couldn’t walk. All the narrator wanted was a normal brother, obviously he didn’t get what he wanted.…
Often times in literature we find common themes, meaning the same idea can be conveyed by another writer. In Anthem by Ayn Rand and Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury common themes of individuality, leadership, and broken societies that need to be rebuilt arise. As we see through reading Fahrenheit 451 and Anthem one must break through the norm of society in order to achieve true individuality, so they can become a leader, in order to rebuild a society which is otherwise broken.…
After a summer full of early morning workouts and endless hours in a stuffy gym, the week of tryouts was finally here. As I shuffled into the gym early Monday morning, I had no idea what I was getting into. Little did I know that this would be a week of high school volleyball tryouts that included: conditioning, drills, and scrimmages. By the time Friday rolled around, I was physically and emotionally drained. Surrounded by older, more experienced players, I was sure that this was the beginning of the end. When I was selected to become a part of the team, I was overwhelmed with pride knowing that I had succeeded where others had fallen short. Although some of the characters in Tennessee Williams's Cat on a Hot Tin Roof were able to aggrandize through the pride they had gained throughout life, others fell short of this success and instead spent time drowning themselves in reminiscence and rum.…
One of the most powerful motivators in life is pride. People will go against their wants, desires, and even die for what they are prideful about. Pride can encourage a person to do something so small that has very minimal effect on anything or something so large that the world is changed as a result. Prejudice is one of many things that challenge the idea of pride. Prejudice is prejudgment that is not based on reasons or actual experiences. In simple terms, prejudice is judging a book by its cover. A person can feel prejudice towards a single individual or to an entire group of people, but in either sense the effects are felt by the victims none the less. Both pride and prejudice are major themes that Lorraine Hansberry weaved throughout her play A Raisin in the Sun and in turn these themes have affected the main characters in many different ways.…
One may find the denotation of dignity throughout the entirety of To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee seeping from the characters written on the pages within. Someone who reacts without becoming less of their true selves and continues to believe in themselves when faced with hardships and the cruel realities of the world portrays significant dignity. Atticus Finch represents dignity throughout the novel and amplifies this characteristic during the case of Tom Robinson. Although the majority of the white population in the county of Maycomb despised the idea of Atticus defending Tom, especially Bob Ewell, Atticus continued to live his life the way he always had: the same in his home as on the streets. While he received horrific criticism, which…
While death is a component of life that no one can elude, the choices people make could elongate or shorten their lives. Brooks’ “ We Real Cool ” describes seven friends and the results their choices induce after leaving school and escaping the norms that show liberation. The poem exudes a jazzy rhythm and mood which accentuates the players and scene. In “ We Real Cool” the author is able to show, the theme of pride and the consequences of the choices people make with his utilization of irony and repetition.…
This response letter is for Sarah Powell’s story “Nothing but Blue Skies”. The story is about a group of lab mice trying to escape the lab to reach to the green field and observe the sun, but encounter many obstacles in their journey. The story main themes are of hope and dreams, how sometimes following your dreams is not an easy journey because it is full of dangers and difficult tests.…
The lyric poem “We wear the mask” by Paul Laurence Dunbar is a poem about the African American race, and how they had to conceal their unhappiness and anger from whites. This poem was written in 1895, which is around the era when slavery was abolished. Dunbar, living in this time period, was able to experience the gruesome effects of racism, hatred and prejudice against blacks at its worst. Using literary techniques such as: alliteration, metaphor, persona, cacophony, apostrophe and paradox, Paul Dunbar’s poem suggests blacks of his time wore masks of smiling faces to hide their true feelings.…
Growing up as a Negro in the South in the early 1900's is not that easy, some people suffer different forms of oppression. In this case, it happens in the autobiography called Black Boy written by Richard Wright. The novel is set in the early part of the 1900's, somewhere in Deep South. Richard Wright, who is the main character, is also the protagonist. The antagonist is no one person specifically, it takes many different forms called "oppression" in general. The main character over comes this "oppression" by rebelling against the common roles of the black, society.…
Under Communist rule, everyone is equal by law. That 's why during the 1920 to the 1950 's, African Americans flocked to join the party. Included in the flock of black Communists was the renowned black author, Richard Wright, whose works are today known for their dark portrayal of black Communist life. A critic summarizes the influence on his stories: "As a poor black child growing up in the deep South, Richard Wright suffered poverty, hunger, racism and violence... experiences that later became central themes of his work" ("Richard Wright" 1). Richard Wright 's many literary work, especially his short stories, all deal with those dark themes. One of his most famous short stories, "Bright and Morning Star", is a story that: "[. . .] carefully investigates the inner psychology of Aunt Sue, a mother of Communists[. . .]" as an essayist summarizing the story 's plot (Kent 43). In other words, the story follows the deadly and dangerous dilemmas of Aunt Sue, a black Communist mother of black Communist sons living in the South, as she tries to protect her son that is not in jail, Johnny-Boy, and the other Communist members at the same time.. He is out recruiting for a Communist meeting, and the Sheriff and his white mob are hunting him down. Wright writes the story so expertly that the reader really experiences Communist life in the South, and get caught up in the danger and suspense of the story, living it as though he or she were part of the story! He was able to create this tone of fright and suspense using stylistic devices like colloquialisms, foreshadowing, and symbolism.…
Social inequalities have shaped and defined the culture of the modern american history. Social inequalities were the breakpoints that drove movements such as the harlem renaissance and many more african american fronts all striving for equality. This idea is dominant in both the poems of “langston hughes” and “The Blind Side” directed by John lee hancock. The adversities that are raised between the two play a major role in the struggle for equality. “The blind side” establishes this with michael oher's hardships and Langston Hughes displays this with “mother to son”.…
My reaction to the poem “ We Wear the Mask” is a feeling of truthfulness. It tells about what people see and what others hide. People that I have met don’t really act like themselves. Like when it says “We smile, but, O great Christ, our cries to thee from tortured souls arise” those are the people who have hid themselves from others. They are people we wouldn’t know that are at home cutting themselves are even attempt to do suicide that only the lord knows. They can talk like anybody with friends “and with myriad subtleties” because they hide behind the mask so we don’t know what is happening behind them. From what we see is what we do not know “but let the world dream otherwise” because it takes time to learn about what…
In the novel A Thousand Splendid Suns, shame and discrimination against women is a main theme that evolves throughout the novel. Growing up Mariam is always reminded by her mother that she was a harami, an illegitimate child. Her mother tries to hold Mariam back from progressing by reminding her of shame, even when she wants to attend school, Nana claims, ”They will call you a harami. They will say the most terrible things about you.”(19). Despite Mariam motivation to attend school, her mother always finds a way of bringing her down. It was as if she did not want her child to be happy and live in better conditions. Even when her mother, Nana dies, her father’s wives still deal with her as major shame source to the family. They try to…
America 's Story from America 's Library. (n.d.). Retrieved October 12, 2009, from Library of Congress in Washington D.C.: http://www.americaslibrary.gov/cgi-bin/page.cgi/jb/modern/parks_1…
The theme of identity is central to the novel ‘The Color Purple’ as it is part of the journey and the creation of the main character ‘Celie’. Her character’s journey is what the reader becomes attached too, enforcing the ideas that are therefore presented throughout the novel. Walker had some very strong ideas present, such as the subversion of stereotype, inspiration for African-American citizens, relationships and family; all of which are used to help form Celie’s identity throughout the novel. There may be several meanings to the novel however each of them plays a significant role in forming the identity of Celie, a strong black independent woman.…