One could view Flik's intelligence as a mutation of the ant colony, but an even better example is that of the grasshopper's psychotic mutation known as Thumper. Thumper is used to frighten the ants even more. His intimidation factor is used against the ants so they will work harder and faster to appease the tribal grasshopper's needs.…
Disadvantages or misconceptions can be better prophets for success than what we might consider to be the obvious advantage. David and Goliath by Malcolm Gladwell describes that bigger is not necessarily better. Malcolm Gladwell applies this principle among other extensive situations, such as the battlegrounds of Northern Ireland and Vietnam, successful and unsuccessful classrooms, cancer scientists and civil rights leaders. Were as many misconceptions and disadvantages strike young Jamal Malik in the film Slumdog Millionaire. Eighteen year old Jamal answers questions on the Indian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, and flashbacks show how he got there. Jamal and his brother Salim became young thieves after their mother dies in order to survive the streets of Mumbai. Salim finds the life of crime agreeable, but Jamal scrapes by with small jobs until landing a spot on the game show and wins. Gladwell describes in David and Goliath the possibilities of advantages and disadvantages (and the disadvantages of advantages) he talks about the theory of desirable difficulty and the limits of power. Slumdog Millionaire applies to Gladwell’s described concepts, and shows how an inspirational underdog will eventually succeed.…
In the novel, A Separate Peace by John Knowles, Gene Forrester and Phineas, also known as Finny, are best friends who have a very deep friendship. However, as the story progresses, Gene began to develop feelings of jealousy for Finny when he saw how perfect Finny’s character is. Finny has always been able to talk his way out of trouble and is naturally a good athlete who is earnest, confident, & pure. On the other hand, Gene cannot be pure like Finny and feels insecure. Seeing how good Finny is, caused Gene to become jealous, “I was beginning to see that Phineas could get away with anything, I couldn’t help envying him…” (ch2.20) Soon, Gene thinks that a rivalry is happening between them. Because Gene envies Finny’s character, he thinks that Finny is also jealous of him for his good academic performance, “I felt better. Yes, I sensed it like the sweat of relief …We were even after all… The deadly rivalry was on both sides after all.”(ch4.34). By thinking there is a competition between them, Gene feels at ease, because none of them is better than the other. One night, Finny announced that Leper will jump off the tree, in order to become a full member of their secret society. Gene didn’t want to go because he feared his grade would slip if he didn’t study and also thinks that Leper wouldn’t dare to jump off the tree. After hearing from Gene that he wanted to study, Finny was surprise because he thought that Gene was naturally intelligent, who doesn’t need to review for a test. With sincerity, Finny lets Gene study, but Gene changed his mind and would come along with Finny. On the way to the tree,Gene realizes that a competition never happened and it was just Gene that was envious of Finny. Because Gene saw Finny's goodness and innocence, Gene realizes a rivalry with Finny will never occur. Gene began…
To illustrate, Static Shock, also known as fifteen year-old, Virgil Hawkins, was described to be “just like any other awkward fifteen year-old”, the majority of his worries consisted of having pocket money, getting bullied by other students, and being pressured to do drugs. Not to mention, he had also gained superpowers, having him to also worry about, his…
‘In this coming of age story, Charlie must question his conventional notions of what is right and wrong as he navigates small town morality, racism and hypocrisy.’…
In the novel Tangerine By Edward Bloor, we read about Paul a twelve-year-old boy who struggles with legal blindness, and he also feels neglected by his parents. Paul realizes that his older brother Erik is a cruel and a twisted child. Paul tries to get his parents to see his point of view, but has trouble getting the message to them. Paul and his brother Erik, though related have many differences, but also a few similarities that make them unique characters of interest in the novel.…
In Gail Giles’ “Shattering Glass,” a group of boys work together to make a fat, but smart, Simon Glass liked all around campus. Rob (control freak), Young, (intellectual), Coop (athletic jock), and Bob (smack talker) do all sorts of things to help Glass get nominated and ultimately win the title of senior class favorite. These kids go through different struggles to get Simon where he is at right now. Most of the boys are malignant; they cause harm and distress to the people around them, and even though the boys did not expect for things to end the way they did, Simon dies. In the novel, it reinforces the guy stereotype of guys using girls just for no reason. The group was arranged by wealthiest kids (wealthiest, the top of group, & the main…
The boys are then late for dinner and decide instead to return back to the dormitories where they coincidently are roommates. The two of them then form a secret society that consists of a nightly ritual of jumping from the same tree. At this point in the story, it appears that Gene is envious of his new friend’s charisma and leadership, but keeps it to himself.…
The picture book “Where the wild things are” introduces conflict with the main character Max and his mother and father. His parents send him to his room and when he is there he feeds his anger with fantasy. He realises that his anger separates him from who he loves, and he decides that this cannot be happening. Max is a part of his family, and his fantasy world. He finds it hard to belong to both at the same time so he is then forced to choose between the two. Hence giving a sense that these relationships are not permanent as they build, grow and change.…
Every person feels rivalry or competition towards others at some point in their lives. This rivalry greatly affects our ability to understand others, and this eventually results in paranoia and hostility. It is a part of human nature, that people coldly drive ahead for their gain alone. Man's inhumanity towards man is a way for people to protect themselves from having pain inflicted on them by others, and achieving their goals and desires without the interference of others. This concept of man's inhumanity to man is developed in A Separate Peace as the primary conflict in the novel centres on the main character, Gene, and his inner-battles with feelings of jealousy, paranoia, and inability to understand his relationship with his best friend Phineas. Competition is further demonstrated by the occurrence of World War II. It is shown that, "There were few relationships among us (the students) at Devon not based on rivalry." (p. 37) It is this rivalry and competition between the boys at Devon that ripped their friendships apart.…
Joey R. Poole presents an intriguing story in “The Hand-Me-Downs.” Simon is a straight shooting kid that follows rules and does not ask many questions. But later in the story, the reader can tell that the violence surrounding Simon erodes his attitude. He begins to stand up to his brother and he begins to understand that he has free will. At the beginning of the story, the reader can tell that Simon is a typical innocent young kid but by the end of the story, the reader is convinced otherwise. Simon changes as the story progresses representing a dynamic character rather than a static character.…
People who choose not to have an abortion and don’t want their children some of the times end up putting them into foster care when they are just babies. The chances are they are going to grow up in a foster care home if that happens because on average 2% of children adopted were under the age of one in the U.S.A. Growing up in a…
Through watching this short documentary I have learned and acknowledged how we are so easily influenced and shaped through a variety of things: family, community and media. Numerous kids around the world learn at an early age to put on a so called "front" or "guise" to show only the certain parts and qualities that a tough guy possesses. At the beginning there was a clip where young boys defined being manly as: being tough, powerful, athletic, muscular, and stud. If you did not fit into this category then the names that you were associated with were: wimp, fag, and sissy. The family and community have a huge part in shaping kids this way, but the biggest influence in the media/ television. For example, kids view Latinos or Mexicans as boxers and Asians as martial artists or even as criminals. This gives them an image of male dominance, power, and also control.…
Jones begins by describing his own childhood and the loneliness felt by being consumed with internal fears of adolescent boyhood and acceptance. His parents who didn’t trust the violent world separated him from “the crudest elements of American pop culture” until the Hulk arose through Marvel Comics (195). To his world, the Hulk represented everything he was feeling. The Hulk’s rage carried Jones into this fantasy world where he was unafraid of “the world’s disapproval,” and became “unhesitating and effective in action” (195). This enhanced creativity ultimately resulted in his ideas transferring into paper and as an adult saw his own creations turned into games and cartoons. Jones promotes this upon his own son who he sees shying away from perceived stereotypes and enhances his own creativity to surpass the most basic fears such as tree climbing. The problem with his initiating argument is that Jones is comparing violent media to an angered superhero. The Hulk and all other Marvel Comic books do display forms of violence; however, they also function as moral lessons for…
The heros of the movie are outsiders, geeks, freaks, and social bottom-dwellers. They are physically awkward and wear virtually unflattering clothing.(DEnby 345 She is generally funny and sarcastic, with a hint of feministic views. She stands at an awkward still when spotting the jock, her handsome dream date. The male version of this awkward hero is a stuttering, shaking mass of sexual tension. He 's stringy and shrimpy with almost no bodily form, and he is usually some kind of genius. The female nerds tend to attract the jocks. Denby suggests that this comes from the fact that the authors of these films were once nerds themselves, and they are trying to provide some kind of closure for themselves. (Denby 345)…