Motivational slogans appear everywhere, it seems. Printed on water bottles, or painted in murals, or perhaps even sewn onto T-shirts, enthusiastic flags display themselves wherever the eye might look. One particular saying that has become quite popular reads, “live life to the fullest.” Average teenagers see it so often that they become callous to the truth of this simple, cliché saying. For God did indeed create humans to live their lives to the fullest and to enjoy their Creator's marvelous gift of life, and in doing so to give glory to Him who made all things. Unfortunately, the majority of the population rush through their nerve-wracked days; speeding from one thing to the next in order to climb higher on the social ladder as they disregard …show more content…
However, Tom Benecke, from Jack Finney's “Contents of a Dead Man's Pockets,” strives passionately towards a goal that he has become obsessed with. Indeed, the young man finds himself so consumed with becoming “. . . know as the Boy Wizard of Wholesale Groceries” (Finney 1) that all else appears irrelevant, and Tom lets his young family go unattended whilst he types away furiously. Mamzelle, on the other hand, remains quite placidly in her aimless life, and makes no attempt to better herself or change her situation. Day after day she goes through her solemn routine, devoid of any laughter or love in life, very much complacently alone and content in staying so. These two people, Tom and Mamzelle Aurlie, appear as quite different characters, but they share a key personality trait – a mind that cannot see past its current circumstance, and which neglects to tend to the truly important things in life, such as love and family. Doubtless, each author wrote the individual characters in this way so as to prove a specific point, or to get a message across to their audience. Such …show more content…
In Tom's case, the situation rapidly descends into an emergency and brings him near to death, which prompts him to rethink his priorities. While he dangles outside of a window, the determined businessman realizes that what he regrets most in life are “. . . the evenings he had spent away from her [his wife], working. . .” (11), when he should have spent them with the woman he loved. For Mamzelle, however, the situation comes out of nowhere, yet it turns out as a positive experience and brings happiness into her dull soul. Needy children arrive upon her doorstep and begin to teach her what it means to love, yet when the youngsters return to their family, a gaping hole forms in Mamzelle's heart as she now begins to realize how much of her life she has dwelt in loneliness and absence of emotion. Tom and Mamzelle Aurlie's separate realizations hold importance because they develop each character in different ways, therefore showing several common types of reactions under similar circumstances, as well as showing that one does not have to necessarily go through a near-death experience jump out of his or her comfort zone. Realizing that it does not always require a severe jolt in order to reconsider one's purpose on Earth creates opportunities for teenagers to reconsider their own lives, and for certain the author designed their
In the story, “Contents of the Dead Man’s Pocket,” the main character is Tom Benecke. As the story progresses, he is faced with many decisions. He is forced to act quickly and because of this, many things about him change. In the story, Tom is ambitious, self-centered, and impatient. These three traits change significantly throughout the story.
Burke intentionally places frequent flashbacks throughout the novel to ignite curiosity in the readers. The novel soon reveals that not only did Daniel’s illegal action cause him to “lose his spirited outlook on life” (Burke, pg 123), but it also uprooted everything Tom once had. Nevertheless, lesson by lesson, the tragic incident succeeds admirably in teaching Tom to overcome his weaknesses. In addition to drink driving, Burke has significantly addressed the common issue of a teen’s sense of insecurity in numerous ways.
Life is a complicated process. It’s filled with many things that keep it interesting but at the same time, very dull. Life’s what you make it and for many, it’s something we all strive for. In the story, The Space Between, the author takes full advantage of the premise as there’s rarely a dull moment- as in life. The book is filled with many literary devices that work nicely with the plot and dialogue. These include; metaphors, similes, irony, personification, and many more. We follow a young man who is finding his way in the world. He has only a week to change his life for the better. But he will face many obstacles on the way that brings the readers into a startling and fun journey.
All through the times of the intense expectation, overwhelming sadness, and inspiring hope in this novel comes a feeling of relief in knowing that this family will make it through the wearisome times with triumph in their faces. The relationships that the mother shares with her children and parents are what save her from despair and ruin, and these relationships are the key to any and all families emerging from the depths of darkness into the fresh air of hope and happiness.
After finished the journey with Tilly and her team Agnes felt like a burden of regret for not getting to know her sister while she was alive. This made me think about how strong of an emotion regret can be in changing a person. The play made me reflect on how regret in my life has changed me and my future actions. You can also see the change in Agnes as a person after her journey. This makes me think how we all might have some Agnes in all of us.
In Jack Finney's short story, "Contents of a Dead Man's Pocket," the main character, Tom Beneke, over works and doesn't spend much time with his wife, Clair. He soon regrets that after he spends a lot of time working on a paper, then loses it and realizes that he did all of the work for nothing. Finney uses setting, internal conflict, and dialogue in his story to create suspense and to develop the theme.
... is reminiscing about the fact that she messed up and it cost the boy’s life. The overall tone in the end of the novel is depressing as the governess’s actions and attitudes about current events tend to reflect the tone of the situation.
The primary theme of love prevailing over all hardships was relatable because I have experienced death in my family and have watched people have each other’s backs and express love to one another in order to cope with the hardship. At the same time, not only was it a relatable theme, but the theme was also an eye opener as it taught me love isn’t just intimacy. A lot of times movies and books show love between two characters as being romantic and steamy, however this book proved love to be much more as it made love what healed and helped someone prevail through a time of need. It came in the form of adoration for an object that in turn mended two very opposite people together and kept them together during the time when they felt distanced because they had two different plans for their lives. Another example of this was Mia’s love for the cello helping her get through high school, a time when she couldn't fit in even if she tried. I could also relate to this aspect of the theme because I went to school at Lake Highland, where I couldn't fit in if iI tried because I didn't play a sport, but since I loved dancing so much, I knew that could get me through
We are reminded that if we strip away the grandiose plots and dramatic shells we create for ourselves as our idea of life, and just take a step back to look at it critically, life is very much normal. An ordinary sequence of seconds passing by one by one. We are reminded about the transience of life and how we let each second pass by when in fact we should be treasuring them doing the things we love. As Olivia rightly points out as Mason leaves for college, “I just thought there would be more”. We all get to this milestone at some part of the journey we call
Suffering from the death of a close friend, the boy tries to ignore his feelings and jokes on his sister. His friend was a mental patient who threw himself off a building. Being really young and unable to cope with this tragedy, the boy jokes to his sister about the bridge collapsing. "The mention of the suicide and of the bridge collapsing set a depressing tone for the rest of the story" (Baker 170). Arguments about Raisinettes force the father to settle it by saying, "you will both spoil your lunch." As their day continues, their arguments become more serious and present concern for the father who is trying to understand his children better. In complete agreement with Justin Oeltzes’ paper, "A Sad Story," I also feel that this dark foreshadowing of time to come is an indication of the author’s direct intention to write a sad story.
Tom clearly does not believe that staying at home with his mother and sister is worth the unhappiness he feels. A common issue that arises in The Glass Menagerie is Tom’s nightly trips to the movies. When asked about his frequent trips to the movies, Tom describes that “adventure is something I [he]” doesn’t “have much of at work.” (4.Tom) Living vicariously through the movies he sees, remains one of Tom’s only true sources of happiness.
Although it may be obvious that it is crucial to maintain a strong relationship with the important people in one's life and sometimes people can get stray away from what is essential, it took a life threatening moment for Tom to come to this realization that he should have spent quality time with this family and focused on other aspects of his life. Indeed, Tom Benecke’s change in perspective from beginning to end undeniably help convey the Jack Finney’s key principle of not forgetting about one's undoubtedly fundamental
Mrs. Mallard’s repressed married life is a secret that she keeps to herself. She is not open and honest with her sister Josephine who has shown nothing but concern. This is clearly evident in the great care that her sister and husband’s friend Richard show to break the news of her husband’s tragic death as gently as they can. They think that she is so much in love with him that hearing the news of his death would aggravate her poor heart condition and lead to death. Little do they know that she did not love him dearly at all and in fact took the news in a very positive way, opening her arms to welcome a new life without her husband. This can be seen in the fact that when she storms into her room and her focus shifts drastically from that of her husband’s death to nature that is symbolic of new life and possibilities awaiting her. Her senses came to life; they come alive to the beauty in the nature. Her eyes could reach the vastness of the sky; she could smell the delicious breath of rain in the air; and ears became attentive to a song f...
quote: "For the secret of man's being is not only to live... but to live for something
An abundant life is a life that everyone has the ability to live. Every person regardless of his or her disabilities, race, culture, affect, or geological location is able to live an abundant life. The meaning of an abundant life put simply is to truly love oneself. If a person can truly live out these seven components, they truly love themselves, and therefore they are living an abundant life.