After reading ‘The Man Who Couldn’t Read’ by Gary Smith, most people would think of John as a sophisticated man simply guided by luck because of his experience and strategies at school and college. Some would think of him as a stupid person because of the way he led his life- hiding from his weakness and not even trying. I think of John as a boy who is filled with “rage and hurt” and who is ashamed of himself for being “stupid and silent as a rock”. He is observant, good at analyzing people, shrewd, a good actor, and vigilant. He is smart, hardworking and has a good understanding but he just cannot read. He lives his entire life thinking that he is not giving up, that he is simply waiting for a magic or miracle. To the outside world he may
Owen Meany, on the other hand, is almost the complete opposite of John. He knows that everything that occurs happens for a reason, and that there is no such thing as coincidences. John Irving follows the journey from childhood friendship into adulthood between the two, showing the true meaning of friendship and the impact that Owen has on John. John doesn’t feel a connection with God while growing up, quite possibly because he had changed churches several times as a child, due to his mother and her relations with Reverend Merill. John is characterized as a person lacking to know the very self of him, and he seems to learn from the events that occur around him, rather than to himself.
In this article “ The Old Man isn’t There Anymore” Kellie Schmitt writes about the people she lives with crying in the hallway and when she asks what happened she is told that the old man is gone. This starts the big ordeal of a Chinese funeral that Schmitt learns she knows nothing about. Schmitt confuses the reader in the beginning of the story, as well as pulling in the reader's emotions, and finishes with a twist.
1. “ John Holbrook told Dr. Bulkeley you can read as well as he can” (Speare 80).
When John was a teenager he was frequently in trouble. He finally quit school and got a job in a machine shop in Indianapolis. He was very intelligent and a good worker, but he soon got bored and often stayed out all night. His father began to think that the city was corrupting his son, so he sold his property in Indianapolis and moved his family to a farm near Mooresville, Indiana. John reacted no better to rural life than he had to that in the city and soon began to run wild again.
Although the narrator feels desperate, John tells her that there is “no reason” for how she feels, she must dismiss those “silly fantasies”(166). In other words, John treats her like a child and gives her reason to doubt herself. “Of course it is only nervousness”(162). She decides. She tries to rest, to do as she is told, like a child, but suffers because John does not believe that she is ill. This makes her feel inadequate and unsure of her own sanity.
John’s repression results from the absence of his feminine side. Spirituality, a part of the human psyche of which John lacks, accounts for his repression. Jane feels that John “has no patience with faith,” justifying his stubborn behavior and the detraction of his masculinity (1148). An ideal attribute for one attempting to obtain self-individuation is a concern for faith, which is not present in John (1148). John’s scarcity of feminine emotions accounts for his repression. John shows no understanding of Jane’s need for an intellectual stimulus, signifying his lack of intuition (1150). For John, everything must be “put down in figures” (1148) in order for him to make sense out of anything, illustrating his stronghold on the stereotypically obstinate man (1155).
John Wesley is the character with the least psychological issues, and is chiefly an indolent boy who seems to believe he is superior to the world. Throughout the majority of the story, he kept to himself, reading comics, or asking questions like a normal young boy. Also, like most young boys, he believed that he was mighty, and that he could take on anyone and anything that he didn’t like.
Some of the moments during the story that show how smart John is, would be when Will, and all readers, learn that John is the vice president of his office in the world trade center, which makes him the 2nd most important person in the company, which does different types of trading including stocks, which they trade millions of dollars worth at once, the company also is involved in trading random goods. Aside from being the vice president John is also the fire marshal of the entire floor, which gives him the duty of calling out fire hazards, announcing escape...
... middle of paper ... ...(10.14) Israel Hands makes this statement, but Jim discovers that he agrees with Israel. John is a person who lives his life and has no regrets about his decisions. Jim discovers that John Silver is a mysterious and complicated role model. The most important lesson he learns from John is courage and how important it is to make decisions for himself.
For my solo performance, I sang a piece named ‘I remember’ in the Musical Theatre genre. My piece was written by composer and lyricist, Stephen Sondheim who wrote both the musical score and the lyrics of the song. This song was written, along with several others, for the show ‘Evening Primrose’, a musical based on a short story, written by John Collier, which was published in the 1951 collection ‘Fancies and Goodnights’. It tells the story of a poet, Charles Snell, who takes refuge from the world by hiding out in a department store after closing. Once there, he meets a community of night people who live in the store and falls in love with a beautiful young girl named Ella. In this particular song, character Ella Harkins – originally played by Charmain Carr – reminisces about the outside world and all the memories she has from when she was younger and out in the open. It was written specifically for the television anthology series ABC Stage 67 and first aired in the US on November 16th 1966. It was later adapted into a stage show. I chose this song as it was requested by my
In both “Oh, Come On, Men Aren’t Finished Yet” by Christina Sommers and “When Bright Girls Decide Math is a Waste of Time” by Susan Jacoby they discuss how gender effects opportunities when applied to continuing and changing stereotype deceived through gender opportunities. In “Oh, Come On, Men Aren’t Finished Yet” Sommers ……
Jane Eyre is the story of a journey to be loved. Jane seeks not just for romantic love but for being valued. Throughout the course of the book, Jane must learn how to gain love without sacrificing herself in the process. Only after proving her self-sufficiency to herself can she marry Rochester and not be asymmetrically dependent upon him as her “master.” The marriage can be one between equals. As Jane says: “I am my husband’s life as fully as he is mine. . . . To be together is for us to be at once as free as in solitude, as gay as in company.
The narrator's insensitivity reveals itself early in the story when his wife's blind friend, Robert, comes for a visit after the death of his wife. Almost immediately in the beginning of the story the narrator admits "A blind man in my house was not something I looked forward to." [Carver 2368] He even goes so far as to suggest to his wife that he take the man bowling. He hears the story of Robert's dead wife and can not even imagine " what a pitiful life this woman must have led." [Carver 2370] The narrator is superficial, only recognizing the external part of people and not recognizing the value of a person on the inside.
Behold the Man concludes the Jerusalem Chronicles by Bodie and Brock Thoene. Despite being a long time fan of the Thoene's this series did not meet expectations. It began well with When Jesus Wept, a dramatic retelling of Christ's friendship with Lazarus and the miracle in which Lazarus is raised to life. Take This Cup, was a drastic departure from the Thoene's usual style of writing and I set the book aside — unfinished. Yet, when my book club decided to read Behold the Man in March, due in part to how it would coincide nicely with Easter, I agreed. Therefore, prior to our meeting I'd wanted to share my thoughts with you.
There was a lot that I have learned this semester from this class. Some of the stuff I learned is more important than other stuff I have learned. One of the most important things I learned from study strategies is having better communication skills. I used to never email my professors or give them a call to let them know I wasn't going to be in there class I just wouldn't show up to class and they would be really frustrated and upset with me that I wouldn't go to class and never tell them. This class has majorly helped me get in the habit of contacting them and letting them know when I wasn't going to there.