The book I enjoyed most in the past year is A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki. The story switches back and forth between the diary of Nao, a suicidal teenage girl who is determined to record the life story of her great-grandmother Jiko, and Ruth, a women who lives on a remote Pacific island and discovered Nao’s diary washed up on the shore, as a result of the 2011 tsunami in Japan. After reading a few pages of the diary, Ruth is mesmerized by it and decided to find out about Nao’s life. The book covered numerous themes, including Zen Buddhism, natural disaster, Kamikaze pilots, suicide, bullying, quantum mechanics, and time. But something that intrigued me the most is the personal growth of Nao.
Nao is a very unhappy girl; after her father lost his job as a game developer, her family is forced to move from California to a poor neighborhood in Japan. Her life has changed completely. Her father became jobless, depressed, and later suicidal; her mother found a job and took care of the family income, however she gives no care about her husband and daughter’s emotional status. In school, Nao is bullied by classmates and even a teacher who collaborates with them in order to gain his popularity. Upon reading all this, there is something that surprises me. Despite how sad these events seem to a normal teenage girl, Nao tells her story in a casual tone. She is treated often in such way that it is already common to her. One time when her class set up a funeral for her, she simply felt relieved because everyone acted as if she didn’t exist. Although she is already used to her classmate’s bullying, she does have other emotions, such as despise towards her father, and hatred towards the popular girl Reiko. She only views the world as a h...
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...Nao learned the horrible truth that the Haruki she had admired is only the exact opposite of what he is really like. Haruki is a peaceful person who loves to study French literature and secretly detested the war. Instead of sacrificing himself to kill his so-called enemy, he drove his plane into the sea. After Jiko’s funeral, Nao’s father revealed the truth about his job loss: the army thought his design of the video game is very ingenious and want to experiment it in real life. After he refused, he was fired. Astonished by the truth, Nao felt deeply ashamed for what she thought of her father before. Having understood each other, Nao and her father regained hope and decided to live on. She had set goals for her future, return to school to study French, also write the story of Jiko’s life. The ending of the diary is very hopeful and indicated a new beginning for Nao.
There are 23 short stories that all together make up the compilation of Ida Finks book “A Scrap of Time and Other Stories”. All very different and unique in their own way, all tell or reveal different hidden secrets to the reader, but the first story is the most important. For in the first chapter of Finks book A Scrap of Time she reveals to the reader a hidden secret that they should carry with them in the back of their minds as they continue to journey through the pages of her book; the significance of time. For in this first story we see the importance of time to Fink. Not only does she spend the whole first page just primarily talking about time, but she also makes a distinction between two types of time. The first type is a time that
LITERACY EXPLICATION. Analysis of how the poet (May Swenson) uses poetic elements in the poem ‘ALL THAT TIME’. 1. Personification.
During the summer, I read a novel entitled Nilda written by Nicholasa Mohr. I found the novel interesting and different from ordinary novels because Nilda had a different style of writing, a journal-like style. The story is mainly about the life a young Puerto Rican girl named Nilda during the years of World War II. Nilda goes through numerous experiences that are both good and catastrophic. From camp to miracles and new friends to losing loved ones, Nilda is a novel of surprises waiting to be uncovered.
A Wrinkle in Time is a fantasy novel written by Madeleine L´ engle . The story takes place in a stormy night at Meg Murry´s house, the main character. The settings are held not only on planet Earth, but in other planets like Camazotz and Orion´s Belt. I have never been to another planet, but I think it would be really amazing.
In life we go through very hard times that’s just how life circles, but do these problems really help shape your spirit to who you are today and who you will be one day in the future? In the book Copper Sun by Sharon Draper Amari overcomes some of the most complicated problems in the history of the U.S., in which I personally don’t think I would have been able to handle as swiftly and fast as Amari had. With the help of others Amari was able to create a strong backbone to carry her thought out the way and support her in her worst times. Although some of these influences weren’t always the best people such as Clay, he helped shape Amaris future and the theme of the story. Finally, how important where the minor characters on helping to shape the main character’s spirit and inner mind, and after that transaction how where they able to slowly develop the theme/message of the book?
When war breaks out, it’s an awful time for everyone and it may even seem like the end of the world. When troublesome things happen within a family it may also feel life-changing in a bad way. Well Hana Takeda in Picture Bride most definitely felt both of these things throughout her life. Picture Bride by Yoshiko Uchida is about a Japanese woman who decides to move to America to marry a so-called successful man named Taro. When she arrives she meets a lonely, balding Japanese man with a run-down shop that isn’t selling much. Hana struggles through temptations, family hardships along with war evacuations and death all in her lifetime, quickly learning that some conflicts are worse than others.
When Thomas Jefferson wrote the second paragraph of the Declaration of Independence, it became one of his greatest legacies. In the first line he wrote, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal" (U.S. Constitution, paragraph 2). Jefferson wrote these words to give inspiration to future generations in the hopes that they would be able to change what he either would or could not. The word “men” in the Declaration in the early 1700 and 1800’s meant exactly that, but even then it only was true for some men, not all. Women, children, and other segments of the population such as slaves and Native Americans were clearly not included. Jefferson himself was a slave owner and held the belief that women were inferior to men. Though women played no role in the political environment, they were crucial to the development and economic success of the times. The strength, courage and work ethic of pioneer women like Martha Ballard in “A Midwife’s Tale” (Thatcher, 1990) created the very fabric of the community and wove it together so the community could thrive.
The world is filled with many different types of societies and cultures. This is due to the fact that many people share dissimilar beliefs and ideas, as well as diverse ways of life. People lived under different circumstances and stipulations, therefore forming cultures and societies with ideas they formulated, themselves. These two factors, society and culture, are what motivate people to execute the things that they do. Many times, however, society and culture can cause downgrading effects to an assemblage if ever it is corrupt or prejudiced. Society and culture not only influences the emotions individuals have toward things like age differences, religion, power, and equality but also the actions they perform as a result.
“Mama, do you remember why we came to America.” I said with wonder and curiosity in my eyes. “Yes dear, I remember the story, because, Grandma Tsunade has told me it enough times. I was about your little brothers age around 2, the day was an unforgettable event to, Grandma Tsunade. It was a bright summer day, the wind was blowing just right, and the older kids were working in the fields, the day was going perfectly, until(Mama paused for a second)... All of sudden “Boom! Boom! Boom!” bombs and mines were set off, shots were fired, and many people lost their lives that day. Grandma had to round up all the young ones and sadly had to leave the older kids in the field. As we were running we were stopped by a woman telling Grandma Tsunade to take
Phoenix’s journey is a little long just by walking alone in the middle of the
The book Running out of time is about a girl name Jessie who is thirteen years old. She lives in Clifton Village in Indiana and lives with her Ma, Pa and sister Katie. Jessie thinks that the year is 1840 but the actual year is 1996 in the real world.When all the children are starting to get diphtheria jessie's mom sends her on a dangerous mission to the real world she’s scared and doesn't know if she can do it.She has no idea how or what the world is like. When Jessie is about to go her mom tells her about all the new technology and her mom gives her a pair of jeans from 1885 so Jessie could blend in with everybody,but what Jessie does not know is that people change and you can’t trust everyone you meet. Jessie learns that both worlds are
How different are families compared to the past? Lately there has been some major changes in relationships, weather female dominance, or even just having no relationships at all. We also see that relationships are based only on a basis of reproduction and sometimes the child of the relationship is rather irrelevant. In a Temporary matter by Jhumpa Lahiri, the reader can see how relationships have developed with the rest of the world into failing, no relationship, and feminist relationships.
In the Pacific there is an island shaped like a big fish sunning itself in the sea. Around it, blue dolphins swim, otters play, and sea elephant and birds abound. A young Indian girl lives and waits for her people to return for her, from the land to the east. Karana with her long black hair and her dark skin, held her own on an island after her people had left for a new place. She was sure they would come back the next spring, but after two springs she learned to live on her own. I really admire her strength and her will power. She faces so many different adventures that you can relate to your life in a different fashion.
Imagine a world where you are constantly seen as wrong for just being who you are. You’re a fifteen year old boy named Ethan. It all started last year when other boys around you would talk about how cute the girls in your class were. Your best friend Dylan was starting to experiment, kiss girls and even do other more sexual things. Dylan one day made a comment about you dating a girl in your P.E class. Her name was Jade and she was quite pretty. However, you felt nothing when you looked at her. The butterflies you were supposed to get when your eyes met, never happened. It was when you looked at Dylan that they stirred. Dylan didn’t know how much he had just hurt you with such a comment, but your distaste for Jade was obvious. Your classmates soon noticed and it wasn’t long before your life at school was filled with hate, and only hate. From then on you were mocked, ridiculed, and seen as the lowest of the low, for something you couldn’t help. It didn 't matter how hard you tried to like girls, you simply couldn 't, and because of it your world was filled with
It seemed like a normal day when I entered Mrs. A’s AP Language and Composition class, but little did I know that she was going to assign a very important project that was going to take forever. I took my seat and wrote down what was on the board. Then I sat patiently and waited for Mrs. A to come explain what we were doing today. When the tardy bell rang, Mrs. A glided into the room and gave us all a stack of papers. She then proceeded to discuss our upcoming assignment, a memoir. As she explained the very important assignment, I wondered whom I would write about. No one really came to mind to write about and I thought for sure I would never be able to get this thing done on time. I finally decided that I would write in on my mother, Kari Jenson. I knew I would probably put the project off until the very end and do it the weekend before even though it would get on my mom’s nerves. Putting work off was just how I did everything, it worked for me. When I arrived home from school that day, I told mom about the project. I told her I would most likely write it about her and she was overjoyed.