Jacinda stood on the roof top, the skirt of her ball clothes flowing behind her. She heard laughter and music below her. She sighed, thinking how wonderful life was when it was as exciting as hers. She was a spy in the home of the false rulers of Dunixi. She, her sister Jamille, and her friend Rashia were all posing as loyal nobles to the Garraitzes. She loved this life. There was always excitement, far more than there was in her boring life when she lived at home. The only times that it had been really exciting then was when she was with Alasandrese and Rashia. Suddenly Jacinda was interrupted in her thoughts by the sound of footsteps coming towards her. She hid behind some chairs that had been set up on the roof for the current festivities. She waited and watched the only stair entrance to the roof, expecting some drunken couple to stumble up them and not wanting to be in there way or vice versa. She blinked and turned to her side only to see her friend Rashia beside her. Jacinda jumped slightly and then looked at her friend in annoyance. “Must you always sneak up on me? It gets kind of annoying.” “I know. That's probably the main reason I do it. What have you been up to?” Rashia said, smiling. Jacinda shook her head and Rashia just grinned even wider. Sometimes, Jacinda thought, she is so like her brother! “Rasha?” Jacinda asked her. “Mm?” “Do you ever miss how it used to be? You know, when we were all little and Alasandrese was still with us?” Rashia looked at Jacinda curiously for a moment and then said “Yes, sometimes. But,” Her face split into a big grin “Guess what!” “What!? What!?” Jacinda asked, sharing Rashia's infectious excitment. “Jakome found Alasandrese!” Rashia told her. Jacinda stood up, dazed. It had been nearl... ... middle of paper ... ...man on her left be shot down and began to really believe that she would make it! But then, the man left chasing her managed to urge his horse just fast enough to grab Jacinda with his arm and put her in front of him on his horse. All the while arrows had been whizzing past but they stopped. The man had a knife to her throat and so called out “If you continue to shoot at me anymore, I will not hesitate to slice this girl's throat! And I swear to you, my knife is quicker than your arrows!” After a while, when the man was sure the arrows had stopped flying, he backed up his horse until he was out of range and he quickly turned around to set his horse to a gallop. He still had the knife pressed against Jacinda's throat. The sun had fully risen now, but Jacinda's hopes seemed to have fallen with the moon. Now there appeared to be little chance of escape for doomed Jacinda.
Often when children are spoiled, they develop a sense of superiority to those around them. However, after leaving the closed environment of a household, the need for authority and supremacy can create unintended consequences imbedded with sorrow. The fallout from this misfortune is seen in “Why I Live at the P.O.” in the family quarrel that ensues due to the return of Stella-Rondo. Throughout the narration, the author asserts that because, the world is apathetic to one’s dilemmas, a shielded and pampered upbringing can only hamper personal development. Through the denial of truth that the family exhibits in attempts to improve relations and through the jealousy that Sister experiences as inferior to Stella-Rondo, the source of hindered maturity is exemplified.
The band of characters is drawn from every level of the class system. Unique interactions among characters from different social standings are conveyed, from the distressed, kindly gardener, to the impertinent daughter of the village innkeeper, to the prosperous de Luce family, and to the royalty. What appealed to me was that Flavia could trace her family’s history back many generations, and for one to be able to make these personal connections is extremely rare. Of course, this awareness of their past is correlated to the de Luce’s chain of affluence.
Imagine, for a moment, Marian Forrester in her kitchen preparing a tray for tea. As she works, her mind wanders to the letter she received in the post today from Frank Ellinger. "It's been too long since Frank has been out from Denver," she thinks as she glances out the window across the meadow, half expecting to see his form approaching. Instead, she sees in the distance an exotic form, a Spanish maiden, and in a cloud of dust a soldier approaches her.
These girls have had a rough life. In 1910, their mother died and the four girls only have each other for all their weeps and worries. Also, their dad has been dead for years and ever since the death of their mother, life has just not been the same. They were left as orphans and took care of each other, since they were all they had. Then, something gave the Purcell girls a glimmer of hope. They had a guardian, who for the rest of their lives would take care of the girls. His name was Mr. Mackenzie and he was married to Mrs. Mackenzie and they had kids of their own. They have three sons; Gabriel, Geoffrey, and Antony. Also, they had one daughter; her name was Lucy. One child, though, would soon become very important in Julia’s life. His name was Master Geoffrey and he had been away at school ever since the Mackenzie’s started taking care of the Purcell girls, which was in January of 1910. At this time, he was the same age as Julia. They were both 15 years old. As soon as they first met, they wanted to get to know each other better. One of the first things Geoffrey noticed about Julia is that she was very much like her older sister, Frances; except, there was something special about her. He couldn’t put his finger on it, but there was something
In this novel Glancy tells her story by using the thoughts and dialog of a wide array of characters. Their differing perspective show the wide range of emotions felt by those that had
...n away a long time ago to what I had imagined was a safer place. And hiding in this place, behind my invisible barriers, I knew what lay on the other side: her side attacks. Her secret weapons. Her uncanny ability to find my weakest spots. But in the brief instant that I had peered over the barriers I could finally see what was really there: an old woman, a wok for her armor, a knitting needle for her sword, getting a little crabby as she waited patiently for her daughter to invite her in. (pp. 203-204)
Originally, the narrator’s comprehension of herself was in sharp opposition to the opinions of her family. Her viewpoint on life and perception of herself was very childlike, and unprejudiced; whilst that of her family
A central moment of joy for Elena is spending a summer in Ischia with Maestra Oliviero’s cousin Nella. She describes “for the first time I was leaving home […] the neighbourhood and Lila’s troubles grew distant, and vanished” (Ferrante 209), and within this joy she “blossomed” (209). Life in Ischia is diametric to the neighbourhood Elena leaves behind. Nella is described as kind, enthusiastic, and encouraging, while Elena’s mother is seen as bitter, and resentful. The kindness Nella shows Elena by sewing her a new bathing suit, is a simple gesture, however, to the girl who has only known a world of “parental threat” (Wood 10), this action of affection unlike
My life began to settle into a pleasant rhythm, i studied and learned over the tv and received excellent grades that Celia would praise me for. I would still dream of the dead man on the ground occasionally, but once it got too bad that i demanded a pitcher of water by my bed. When Maria would visit she would bring her dog ‘furball’, but when she didn't visit the i would entertain myself by exploring the house and pretending that i was “El Latigo Negro.” On the afternoons i would listen to Feliccia play the piano behind the potted plants. One day i crept out of my hiding place and went to go eagerly touch the keys of the piano but as soon as i touched the key i heard Felicia's listless voice so i ran into the closet and closed the door. On
Alyss meets an orphan named Quigly Gaffer, who is, in Alyss’s eye, “the nicest in the band of homeless orphans and runaways of which he was a part” (Beddor 101). He gave Alyss and t...
The night before, I didn’t practice my English so I knew what to say. By now, I knew most of the words, so I would just let my heart guide me. Besides, my cramped old house, which is actually just a junky garage in an abandoned alley, is too small to let out my feelings. Once I got to school after a cold walk in the snow, I placed myself by her locker and waited. Fourteen minutes had gone by, and still no sign of Lily. I only had a minute to get to class now, so I hurriedly collected myself and ran to my locker. I was disappointed, knowing that without Lily here, it would be the hardest day of school. I opened my locker and to my surprise a note fell to the floor. I quickly picked it up and gazed at the neat handwriting that clearly spelled my name.
Despite the gathering winter she felt relieved to see that her sixteen- year old daughter, now her only child after the early death of her son James, was acting normal again. For the past fortnight the younger Elizabeth had been carrying herself in a strange manner. While walking along normally she would sometimes cry out. Last week she had shrieked at extremely inappropriate time in Sunday dinner and that day in church she had been overcome with irreverent laughter. She was always quick to offer a reasonable excuse to spare the swift punishment usually dispensed to children at the time, but the extravagance and immodes...
For the boy in “Araby” He finds out that his crush on his friend’s Sister was just a fantasy. He goes to Araby in search of getting a gift for his lover. He arrives late to the bazaar and finds out the bazaar was closing and the sales people where uninterested in his presence, so the boy is left frustrated because to him Araby was supposed to represent a world full of romance, which would have helped his crush on his friend’s sister become a realistic one because he believed getting a gift from Araby would have convinced his friend’s sister to have a love relationship with him. At the end of the story the Boy says this, “I saw myself as creature driven and derided by vanity; and my eyes burned with anguish and anger” (Joyce 90). The Boy is frustrated that his dream has been crushed, and realized that he can’t be the lover of his friend’s. Like the boy in “Araby”, Sammy has realized that his crush on Queenie was just a fantasy, and he is left disappointed because he has scarified is job in order to stand up for the young lady he has a crush on for being insulted by his manager, in which he thought he would impress her, and therefore she would be interested in him, but instead Sammy is left regretting for quitting his job in order to get the young lady to love him because in the end he finds out that she no interest in him by leaving the store, and not even thanking him for stand up for her. The last line of the story he says,” My stomach kind of fell as I felt how hard the world was going to be to me hereafter” (Updike39). Sammy thinks that he has learned that society could be harsh
I saw Jaclyn running past where I was hiding. “Jaclyn!” I whispered, “Come over here!” She looked startled from the sound of my voice, but once she realized it was me, we hid together. A street light was flickering a few yards away, we could see anyone who was near
... tiny paper clothes. Some characters in Cofer's childhood were exciting just like some of the people in my childhood, but the ending of her childhood and mine were very different. At the age of fifteen, Cofer had some boyfriends; they loved and admired her. She fell in love for the first time and learned a lesson about the love; she also was no longer a child at the age of fifteen. However, the ending of my childhood was caused by a war. Like the rope of a kite was broken in the raging wind, my childhood's kite disappeared into the sky. The tragedies of the war fell upon the people in my family and my country; they shattered my innocent childhood when I was only a thirteen years old girl. Although everyone has a different memory about their life, and each of us has special ending to our childhood, reading Silent Dancing gave me the urge to recall these remembrances.