The Ostler by Wilkie Collins
"The Ostler" a pre-20th century story by Wilkie Collins written in 1855. This short story is about the life of a man called Isaac Scatchard, who is a very unfortunate man. He goes for a job and being the unlucky man he is, gets there a day late. He stays at a frightening inn where he has a dream/premonition about a woman who tries to kill him. Later in the story he meets and marries this woman.
The Opening four paragraphs are one episode in the story where suspense I built. The narrator, Wilkie Collins, writes these first four paragraphs in first person. In the first paragraph he describes a strange old man sleeping in a stable in the middle of the day, "I find an
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The author begins this paragraph by lulling the reader into a false sense of security, "It was a bright sunny morning and the little cottage parlour was full of light as Mrs Scatchard, happy and expectant; dressed for the occasion in her Sunday gown." Here the author is acting as if everything is ordinary and it is a perfectly normal day. It's almost too normal, like a fairy tale.
He starts to rebuild the suspense when he begins to break up the sentences with dashes, "His mother rose to receive her-advanced a few steps, smiling-looked Rebecca full in the eyes-and stopped." Where he says, "…and stopped." It builds up more tension. It makes you curious as to why she's stopped. The way the author describes Isaacs mothers expression after she has first met Rebecca reveals that Isaacs mother has obviously realized something that has petrified her, "Her face, which had been flushed a moment before, turned white in an instant-…a blank look of terror-her outstretched arms fell to her sides…she staggered back…a low cry to her
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The third paragraph describes how the house looks and how things have changed that may suggest she is lurking around. "He had left the candle burning the bedchamber…now, there was no light in it…the house door…he remembered to have closed it…he found it open…"
This frightens the reader into thinking that Rebecca could have turned out the light so that she can lurk in the dark waiting for him or she could have left the house in search of him.
In the final paragraph Wilkie Collins begins to use the dashes again to break up the sentences. "…looked in the kitchen…found nothing; went up at last to the bedroom-it was empty…a picklock lay on the floor."
Where Wilkie Collins writes that Isaac goes up to the dreaded bedroom where everything was based, when he finds an empty room, the reader then realizes that Rebecca has left and could be anywhere. She could re-enter the house anytime, even if the doors and windows were locked, she could pick them, hence, "…a picklock lay on the floor…"
This story has a different impact on readers now than when it was first published because readers in 1855 were easier to scare
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.
“The Charmer” by Budge Wilson is a short story about a Canadian family that finds misfortune and conflict within their lives. Conflict being the predominant theme which directly affects all the participants in the family. The story is written in third person and narrated from the young girl Winifred’s point of view. Budge Wilson uses Zack’s smothered childhood, charming personality and irresponsible behaviour to create emotional conflict between members of the family.
The climax of the story is when Miles is shot by the Bonewoman. The reader comes to realize that Miles’ choice to live life on the safe side was a mistake:
I read the book Soldier X by Don L. Wulffson that takes place during the world war II period. The main character of the book is a 16 year old German boy named Erik Brandt. Although Erik lives in Germany he is also half Russian and speaks Russian very well. Erik does not want to be a part of Hilters Nazi army during world war II but he is forced to fight on the side of the Nazis. During one battle of the war is he forced under a tank during a large scale battle with the Russians. He has no choice but to change clothes and gear with the Russian soldier and be now becomes part of the Russian army. He spends some time in the Russian army and then he gets wounded. He gets send to a Russian hospital and meets a nurse named Tamara. He falls in love with her but then one day the hospital is bombed and he has to escape with her and out of Russia. The story comes to an end with Erik and Tamara escaping Europe and making to over the Atlantic ocean to the United States to have kids and live the rest of there lives.
In the book “The Mad Among Us-A History of the Care of American’s Mentally Ill,” the author Gerald Grob, tells a very detailed accounting of how our mental health system in the United States has struggled to understand and treat the mentally ill population. It covers the many different approaches that leaders in the field of mental health at the time used but reading it was like trying to read a food label. It is regurgitated in a manner that while all of the facts are there, it lacks any sense humanity. While this may be more of a comment on the author or the style of the author, it also is telling of the method in which much of the policy and practice has come to be. It is hard to put together without some sense of a story to support the action.
1. Define 'satire' and provide one example of personal or social satire that yoou have encountered. You may use any source for your example:TV, media, news editorials, movies, comedy, etc.
A true war story blurs the line between fact and fiction, where it is neither true nor false at the same time. What is true and what is not depends on how much you believe it to be. In the chapter “How to Tell a True War Story” from the novel “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien, the author provides various definitions to how the validity of a war story can be judged. The entire chapter is a collection of definitions that describe the various truths to what a true war story is. Unlike O’Brien, who is a novelist and storyteller, David Finkel, the author of “The Good Soldiers”, is a journalist whose job is to report the facts. Yet in the selection that we read, chapter nine, Finkel uses the convention of storytelling, which relies heavily on the stories the combat troops tell each other or him personally. Finkel attempts to give an unbiased view of the Iraq war through the stories of the soldiers but in doing so, Finkel forfeits the use of his own experiences and his own opinions. From O’Brien’s views on what a true war story is combined with my own definitions, I believe that Finkel provides a certain truth to his war stories but not the entire truth.
In "Our Secret" by Susan Griffin, the essay uses fragments throughout the essay to symbolize all the topics and people that are involved. The fragments in the essay tie together insides and outsides, human nature, everything affected by past, secrets, cause and effect, and development with the content. These subjects and the fragments are also similar with her life stories and her interviewees that all go together. The author also uses her own memories mixed in with what she heard from the interviewees. Her recollection of her memory is not fully told, but with missing parts and added feelings. Her interviewee's words are told to her and brought to the paper with added information. She tells throughout the book about these recollections.
Most of us do not think twice about the foods we pick up from the supermarket. Many Americans have a preconceived belief that the food being sold to us is safe, and withholds the highest standard of quality. Certainly, compared to many places in the world, this is true. But is the United States sincerely trying to carry out these standards, or have we begun to see a reverse in the health and safety of our food- and more explicitly in our meat? Jonathan Foer, author of “Eating Animals” argues for reform within the food industry- not only for the humane treatment of animals but moreover for our own health. Although Foer exposes the ills within the food industries in order to persuade readers to change their diets for the better, his “vegetarianism or die” assessment may be too extreme for most Americans. The true ills do not start with the meat, but with industrialized production of it through methods practiced by factory farming.
This novel tells the story of a sixteen-year-old named Blake. One day, when Blake went to Six Flags with his two friends, Maggie (with whom Blake is in love with) and her boyfriend, Russ, and his brother, Quinn, Blake received an invitation to a carnival from a strange, gorgeous girl, Cassandra. Blake thought that the idea of going to the carnival is stupid, until he realized his brother stole the invitation. Blake convinced his two friends to tag along with him, so they could go find Quinn. As the characters entered the carnival, they learned that they have to survive seven deadly rides by dawn.
In the essay “Everything Now” Signs of Life in the USA: Readings on Popular Culture for Writers, author Steve McKevitt blames our unhappiness on having everything we need and want, given to us now. While his writing is compelling, he changes his main point as his conclusion doesn’t match his introduction. He uses “want versus need” (145) as a main point, but doesn’t agree what needs or wants are, and uses a psychological theory that is criticized for being simplistic and incomplete. McKevitt’s use of humor later in the essay doesn’t fit with the subject of the article and comes across almost satirical. Ultimately, this essay is ineffective because the author’s main point is inconsistent and poorly conveyed.
"When a trout rising to a fly gets hooked on a line and finds himself unable to swim about freely, he begins with a fight which results in struggles and splashes and sometimes an escape. Often, of course, the situation is too tough for him."
In Pouliuli, a novel written by Albert Wendt, Faleasa Osovae awakens to find the life he’s been living all along is a mere façade. Pouliuli invites readers into the Samoan community of Malaelua, which is turned topsy-turvy when Faleasa misleads his aiga and community by acting maniacal. Albert Wendt ties a famous Malaelua saga about a mythological hero named Pili to Faleasa Osovae’s life. In the myth as well as in Faleasa’s story, they both had the same goal, which was to live the rest of their life “free”. To accomplish this goal, they both had to accomplish three tasks. Pilis’ tasks were to eat a mountain of fish which the giant’s had caught that day, to race the giants down a river, and make himself disappear. Faleasas’ tasks were to destroy Filemoni, Make Moaula the new leader, and remove Sau and Vaelupa as council leader. Of course they couldn’t have done these tasks alone so both of them enlisted help from friends. Pili enlisted the help of Tausamitele, Lelemalosi, and Pouliuli. Faleasa enlisted the help of his long time friend Laaumatua and his son Moaula. Finally to get the freedom they so wished for they had to complete one last task. In Pili’s case it was to divide his kingdom among his children while Faleasa had to remove Malaga as congress of the village. In the end, they both end up with nothing. Both ending up in the darkness of Pouliuli.
It is a serious and quiet event. She sees the boys as "short men" gathering in the living room, not as children having fun. The children seem subdued to us, with "hands in pockets". It is almost as if they are waiting, as the readers are, for something of importance to take place.... ... middle of paper ...
In the story "The Open Boat," by Stephen Crane, Crane uses many literary techniques to convey the stories overall theme. The story is centered on four men: a cook, a correspondent, Billie, an oiler who is the only character named in the story, and a captain. They are stranded in a lifeboat in stormy seas just off the coast of Florida, just after their ship has sunk. Although they can eventually see the shore, the waves are so big that it is too dangerous to try to take the boat in to land. Instead, the men are forced to take the boat further out to sea, where the waves are not quite as big and dangerous. They spend the night in the lifeboat and take turns rowing and then resting. In the morning, the men are weak and exhausted. The captain decides that they must try to take the lifeboat as close to shore as possible and then be ready to swim when the surf inevitably turns the boat over and throws the men into the cold sea. As they get closer to land a big wave comes and all the men are thrown into the sea. The lifeboat turns over and the four men must swim into shore. There are rescuers waiting on shore who help the men out of the water. Strangely, as the cook, captain and correspondent reach the shore safely and are helped out of the water, they discover that, somehow, the oiler has drowned after being smashed in the surf by a huge wave. (255-270) “The Open Boat’s” main theme deals with a character’s seemingly insignificant life struggle against nature’s indifference. Crane expresses this theme through a suspenseful tone, creative point of view, and a mix of irony.