Within society, there are certain standards of behavior and expectations that one must be expected to comply by, and failure to do so can result in critical and discouraging prejudice, which is demonstrated significantly in The Fall of a City, by Alden Nowlan. In the story, Teddy, an eleven year old boy, is mocked at by his uncle for occupying himself with paper dolls, failing to meet society’s standards of maturity that a boy of his age is expected to abide by. As a result of his uncle’s mockery, Teddy’s passion and fondness of his imaginary world disappears, and in a fit of rage and anger, he demolishes his paper world. Teddy’s destruction of the paper world is symbolic of society’s expectations of maturity, justified by the uncle ridiculing
Darryl’s life is worth fighting for. “You can’t buy what I’ve got.” ‘The Castle’ directed by Rob Sitch, about one man, his family and neighbours on the verge of being homeless. Darryl Kerrigan, the “backbone of the family” won’t stand for that. Of course no one can buy what he has. He’s spent almost his entire lifetime building what he has, why should he give it up? Darryl’s way of life is simple yet filled with family values. 3 Highview Crescent is the home to Darryl, his wife Sal and their 3 children: Wayne, Steve, Tracy and Dale. (Wayne currently being in jail.) The house is made up of love, and simple family values. Darryl’s also added bits and pieces to it. He’s added on so much to the house, his own personal touch. His neighbours, also in the same bout are almost family to the Kerrigans. Jack and Farouk are another reason why Darryl’s ready to take matters into his own hands.
In a restaurant, picture a young boy enjoying breakfast with his mother. Then suddenly, the child’s gesture expresses how his life was good until “a man started changing it all” (285). This passage reflects how writer, Dagoberto Gilb, in his short story, “Uncle Rock,” sets a tone of displeasure in Erick’s character as he writes a story about the emotions of a child while experiencing his mother’s attempt to find a suitable husband who can provide for her, and who can become a father to him. Erick’s quiet demeanor serves to emphasis how children may express their feelings of disapproval. By communicating through his silence or gestures, Erick shows his disapproval towards the men in a relationship with his mother as he experiences them.
People within communities have a large responsibility to one another. Sometimes, however, that responsibility and respect seem to fade, as in “The Lottery”, Shirley Jackson, and “The Masque of the Red Death”, Edgar Allan Poe. Both of these stories describe settings in which communities fell apart either briefly or all together.
...el, The Other Side of the Bridge by Mary Lawson accentuates the fact that society’s expectations of a character causes negative impacts upon their lives through the creation of a struggle to achieve his goal. Ian is an impeccable example of this because he is prone to adolescent tendencies due to youth. Ian struggles to achieve his goals due to the following expectations: to leave Struan, for a superior opportunity to become successful; to strive for a medical career, since he excels at the trade already; and to … Society is too abrupt in its assumptions of an individual, these assumptions often catch one unprepared, spreading chaos and confusion through one’s mind. It would be substantially more beneficial if society did not place expectations at all.
Flannery O'Conner has again provided her audience a carefully woven tale with fascinating and intricate characters. "The Displaced Person" introduces the reader to some interesting characters who experience major life changes in front of the reader's eyes. The reader ventures into the minds of two of the more complex characters in "The Displaced Person," Mrs. McIntyre and Mrs. Shortley, and discovers an unwillingness to adapt to change. Furthermore, the intricate details of their characters are revealed throughout the story. Through these details, the reader can see that both Mrs. McIntyre and Mrs. Shortley suffer from a lack of spiritual dimension that hinders them as they face some of life's harsher realities. Mrs. McIntyre struggles throughout the story, most notably during the tragic conclusion. Her lack of spiritual dimension is revealed slowly until we ultimately see how her life is devastated because of it. Mrs. Shortley, on the other hand, seems to have it all figured out spiritually -- or at least she believes that she does. It is only in the last few minutes of her life that she realizes all she has convinced herself of is wrong.
The theme of Night is resilience. To be resilient is to be strong and able to bounce back when things happen. Elie shows resilience many times throughout the course of Night, and some of these times included when Elie and his block are being forced to run to the new camp, when somebody attempts to kill him and when he loses his father to sickness. When Elie is with the group of people running to the new camp, he knows that he needs to persevere and be resilient, even when the person that he is talking to gives up (Wiesel 86). Elie tries to tell somebody that they need to keep going, and that it will not be much longer, but when they give up, Elie does not seem to pity the boy, and he stays strong. Somebody also attempted to strangle Elie while
This short story written by Richard Wright is a very well written, and has a very good plot and keeps the reader entertained throughout. From the dialogue to the characters, who inhabit the world crafted by Wright its very intriguing. On the surface it appears to be just a story about childhood disobedience in general, but the overall theme is much deeper than that.
Growing up and becoming mature can be an intimidating experience; it is difficult to let go of one’s childhood and embrace the adult world. For some people, this transition from youthfulness to maturity can be much more difficult than for others. These people often try to hold on to their childhood as long as they can. Unfortunately, life is not so simple. One cannot spend their entire life running from the responsibilities and hardships of adulthood because they will eventually have to accept the fact that they have a role in society that they must fulfill as a responsible, mature individual. The novel “The Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger follows the endeavours of Holden Caulfield, a sixteen-year-old teenage boy who faces a point in his life where he must make the transition from childhood to adulthood. In an attempt to retain his own childhood, he begins hoping to stop other young children from growing up and losing their innocence as well. As indicated by the title, “The Catcher in the Rye” is a book that explores a theme involving the preservation of innocence, especially of children. It is a story about a boy who is far too hesitant to grow up, and feels the need to ensure that no one else around him has to grow up either. His own fear of maturity and growing up is what leads to Holden’s desire to become a “catcher in the rye” so he can save innocent children from becoming part of the “phoniness” of the adult world.
Within society, there are certain standards of behavior and expectations that one must be expected to comply by, and failure to do so can result in critical and discouraging prejudice. This unrelenting and derogatory hatred can often cause dire reactions, such as a loss of morale and self-confidence, demonstrated significantly in The Fall of a City, by Alden Nowlan. In the story, Teddy, an eleven year old boy, is mocked at by his uncle for occupying himself with paper dolls, failing to meet society’s standards of maturity that a boy of his age is expected to abide by. As a result of his uncle’s mockery, Teddy’s passion and fondness of his imaginary world disappears, and in a fit of rage and anger, he demolishes his paper world. Teddy’s destruction
The pressure of conformity affects individual expression and varies in degrees in which it impacts an individual’s life. Regardless of time period, conformity is able to force individualists to abide by the social standards inculcated into society and deemphasize the importance behind individualism. In the 1920s, New York City adopted a structure parallel to conformity in its figurative hierarchy after the grief and devastation of World War I. With fear of the unknown, a reestablishment of tradition and routine followed, including an adaptation to the use of silences. The individuals with class and power used silence as a vehicle to conform and unify but, free-willed individuals gave another purpose to silence. It became a tool to express the pitfalls of this new society. Edith Wharton analyzes the dual purpose of the silences through characters that represent different facets of views during the time. In the Age of Innocence,Wharton emphasizes Olenska and Archer’s silences to identify and criticize the invisible evils that lurk within the hierarchy of “old New York” and reveal the rationalization of a pretentious and delusional society.
As a person looks around themselves and their surroundings they can pick up little details about themselves as well as their society. Society has a lot to do with the things that are bought, taken home, displayed. Society depicts what things are fashionable and what’s not. This alludes to the fact that one acquires the ideals of the society around them. Though conforming seems like the best way to make one’s self seem respectable, does it mean that one must lose themselves in order to gain the respect of society? That is the very struggle that presents itself in Virginia Woolf’s Orlando.
In the short story Zero Hour, Ray Bradbury questions the innocence of children by allowing their imagination to control their actions and invade an ideal community. In the beginning of the story, Bradbury sets a peaceful, harmonious tone as a Utopian society by describing the perfect setting, “The children catapulted this way and that across the green lawns, shouting at each other, holding hands, flying in circles...such tremulous joy, such tumbling and hearty screaming. The city hummed. The streets were lined with good green and peaceful trees only” (222). The neighborhood children running around and playing games together symbolize child innocence and imagination because they’re imagining themselves being adults with careers like astronauts and firefighters, acting as if they were in a fantasy. However, this innocence was terminated when all ‘the children in every yard on the street brought out knives and forks and pokers and old stovepipes and can openers’ (233). These tools are not normal items that children all play with on a casual day, signifying a change in their actions.
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.
When reflecting and writing on Eiseley’s essay and the “magical element”, I balk. I think to myself, “What magic?”, and then put pen to page. I dubiously choose a kiddie pool to draw inspiration from, and unexpectedly, inspiration flows into me. As I sit here in this little 10x30 foot backyard, the sky is filled with the flowing gaseous form of water, dark patches of moist earth speckle the yard, the plants soak up their scattered watering, and the leaves of bushes and trees imbue the space with a sense of dampness from their foliage. As my senses tune into the moisture that surrounds me, I fill Braedon’s artificial pond with water. I stare at the shimmering surface, contemplating Eiseley’s narrative, and the little bit of life’s wellspring caught in Brae’s pool. I see why Eiseley thought the most abundant compound on the earth’s surface is mystical.
Throughout history there have been many dystopian societies, societies with major flaws. In these societies actions occurred which caused harm to the citizens such as murder, destruction of property and other unfortunate consequences. These events are often portrayed in novels to point out the consequences of these societies. The novel Legend by Marie Lu contains events and situations based on historical occurrences such as World War II, North Korea and Tiananmen Square in order to point out societal flaws in real dystopian societies.