Reader Review The Sword Swallower and A Chico Kid by Gary Robinson Sometimes the best way to find redemption in life is to redeem the life of someone else. Such is the basic theme of Gary Robinson's fine autobiographical novel, The Sword Swallower and A Chico Kid. Arranged in three sections, the novel follows the convergent paths of Duke Reynolds, circus performer and professional sword swallower, and Gary Robinson, a hard-drinking, drug-using, wayward college kid in Chico, CA. The first section, beginning in the late 1960's, introduces us to Reynolds, whose alcohol- and drug-infused lifestyle is presented in stark yet humorous fashion. After giving us a look at Reynold's life between circus gigs, we meet the other members of his circus family …show more content…
Despite a promising start as student body president in high school, Gary has been battling his personal demons since age 15, a battle that culminates in a raucous graduation speech which nets him a horrific beating. Gary later sums up this painful last day of high school with a quote from Burt Lancaster: "Sometimes I only succeed in beating myself to death." Anxious to escape an abusive homelife, Gary embarks on a life of drug- and alcohol-fueled escapades that climaxes with an impromptu orgy at a museum, resulting in the destruction of a prized woolly mammoth exhibit. Although declared innocent of any serious wrongdoing at his subsequent trial, it is this incident and the immediate aftermath that impels Gary to begin writing his demons away. A chance encounter at a café leads to a stint as a paid social worker at a homeless shelter, but his drinking soon puts an end to that, as well. Unemployed and broke at age 35, Gary wanders into a bar where he encounters a heavily-tattooed former circus worker named Duke Reynolds. Impressed by Reynolds' showmanship, Gary hesitantly introduces himself. A bond begins to form between the two men when Reynolds tells him: "You're right, you have no future. You are only promised today. Make sure you start living it
Booklist. 15 Apr. 2007: Biography in Context Web 4. May 2014 Paulsen, Gary. Guts: The True Stories behind Hatchet and the Brian Books.
Michael Patrick MacDonald lived a frightening life. To turn the book over and read the back cover, one might picture a decidedly idyllic existence. At times frightening, at times splendid, but always full of love. But to open this book is to open the door to Southie's ugly truth, to MacDonald's ugly truth, to take it in for all it's worth, to draw our own conclusions. One boy's hell is another boy's playground. Ma MacDonald is a palm tree in a hurricane, bending and swaying in the violent winds of Southie's interior, even as things are flying at her head, she crouches down to protect her children, to keep them out of harms way. We grew up watching Sesame Street, Reading Rainbow and Peanuts. Michael Patrick MacDonald grew up watching violence, sadness and death.
In the memoir, The Other Wes Moore, the author Wes Moore compares his life with another man's, whose name was also Wes Moore, and shows how shockingly similar they were. Particular coincidences are certainly strange, like the fact that both of their fathers were not around, both mothers cared about their child's well being, they both lived in the Bronx at one point in their childhoods, and the obvious one, their names are the same. Not only were their home lives similar but they also had similar social experiences, including being caught breaking the law; however, this book also illustrates, through these social experiences, the subtle differences in their lives as well.
In David Sheff’s book “Beautiful Boy” he utilizes descriptive diction, allusions to other works, and vivid imagery to recreate the experiences he’s gone through during his son’s addiction, times in recovery, and relapses.
Although, Chris McCandless may be seen as stupid and his ideals uncanny, he gave up everything to follow his heart he escaped the world that would have changed him, he wrote his own tale to feel free, and he left a conformist world to indulge in true happiness. How many people would just give up their lives, family, material goods, to escape into a world of perfect solitude and peace; not many and Chris was one of those that could and he became and inspiration. “The idea of free personality and the idea of life as sacrifice” (187).
Baldwin’s story presents the heart breaking portrayal of two brothers who have become disconnected through respective life choices. The narrator is the older brother who has grown past the depravity of his childhood poverty. The narrator’s profession as an algebra teacher reflects his need for a “black” and “white,” orderly outlook on life. The narrator believes he has escaped life’s sufferings until the death of his daughter and the troubling news about his brother being taken in for drug possession broadside him to the reality of life’s inevitable suffering. In contrast, his brother, Sonny has been unable to escape his childhood hardships and has ended up on the wrong side of the law. While their lives have taken ...
Pryor was born December 1, 1940 in Peoria, Illinois. In Peoria, he had a rough childhood living next door to a brothel ran by his grandmother and his mother even being a prostitute. Abandoned by his mother at the tender age of ten, he experienced an absence of a maternal figure growing up. His father, a WWII veteran, was a bartender and boxer who was an alcoholic and not necessarily a “fit father.” As a young teen, he was moved into his grandparents’ home, along with his other siblings. Throughout his life, Pryor was molested by a teenage neighbor and a Catholic priest. To escape this tyranny, he would spend his time in a local theater. In school, Pryor was noticed as a class clown. However at age fourteen, his clownery ways resulted in him being expelled from school. As a result of his consequences, Pry...
What is human nature? How does William Golding use it in such a simple story of English boys to precisely illustrate how truly destructive humans can be? Golding was in World War Two, he saw how destructive humans can be, and how a normal person can go from a civilized human beign into savages. In Lord of the Flies, William Golding uses the theme of human nature to show how easily society can collapse, and how self-destructive human nature is. Throughout the story Golding conveys a theme of how twisted and sick human nature can lead us to be. Many different parts of human nature can all lead to the collapse of society. Some of the aspects of human nature Golding plugged into the book are; destruction, demoralization, hysteria and panic. These emotions all attribute to the collapse of society. Golding includes character, conflict, and as well as symbolism to portray that men are inherently evil.
Gary Paulsen has lived an exciting life, from traveling with a carnival to joining the Army at seventeen to surviving two plane crashes and multiple moose attacks. In this paper I will go over how all of his life experiences affected how he wrote his book Hatchet and the rest of the Brian Saga.
The Magician’s Nephew is the genesis of Narnia. It all starts with a curious but cowardly Professor and two kids who want to find out what the Professor is doing so secretly in his lab. When they get there, the Professor tells the kids that he has found a way to travel between worlds and tricks them into trying his invention. Catastrophes and wondrous adventures follow.
This book was written in 1st person from the perspective of Tex McCormick to allow the reader to see the challenges and predicaments that he faces from his point of view and see his thoughts and reactions to the situations he endures. This can, though, sometimes show a more naive side to him, in some instances - when he jumped the creek at the gravel pits (70 - 73); placed the lure in his pocket (84 - 88); glued caps on the typewriters (144 - 152). This can influence the readers to sometimes feel empathetic towards him, and other times feel annoyed at how naive he can be. Furthermore, though this idea has proved beneficial to S.E. Hinton’s idea of the story, in some cases it has also hindered her idea and placed more emphasis on his ignorance and foolishness.
In the novel The Englishman’s Boy by Guy Vanderhaeghe is a very intriguing story. The author was creative in terms of the novel being written in a frame within a frame within a frame; meaning that he tells three different stories in one novel. One story being the perspective of the people who stole the horses during the Cypress Hills Massacre, another being the people trying to find the horses and the people who stole them, and one where a filmmaker is trying to find the story of the massacre from a guy named Shorty McAdoo. The writer of the novel exemplifies skilled writing in the setting, character development, and imagery.
While it is impossible to completely ascertain any author’s direct purpose without a direct statement, Claude Brown likely chose to use the word ‘manchild’ because of the tough nature of his childhood. From the age of five, he had been spending his time with children who were not just older than he, but rougher too. Additionally, as with Itzok Isaac Granich, who wrote Jews Without Money, the environment where Claude Brown was raised was incredibly volatile and unmistakably adult. “Although none of my sidekicks was over twelve years of age, we didn’t think of ourselves as kids. The other kids my age were thought of as kids by me. I felt that since I knew
Christopher McCandless’ stubborn personality causes him to leave a loving home in order to start a new beginning as “ Alexander Supertramp, master of his own destiny”(Krakauer 23). He refuses to further educate himself with a law degree, instead taking a journey into the wild, leaving behind his mother, father and caring sister. Chris grew up as an intelligent individual excelling in almost everything he did. His parents supported him and often encouraged him in his endeavors. Unfortunately, and for clear reasons, Chris did not reciprocate his parents’ love, instead he creates an illusion of normality, causing his parents to believe that everything was fine, while he slowly drifted away from them both physically and emotionally. Chris “let them think they were right”, so they would begin to think that he was beginning to see “their side of things”, when in truth, he was merely waiting for the right time to completely “ knock them out of [h...
The story begins with the narrator’s brother, Sonny, being arrested for using heroin. When the narrator discovers what has happened to his brother, he slowly starts to relive his past. Up to this point, the narrator had completely cut his brother and his childhood from his life. He disapproves of the past and does everything in his power to get rid of it. The narrator had become an algebra teacher and had a family who he moved to get away from the bad influences on the street. As a result, it is shown in the story that he has worked hard to maintain a good “clean” life for his family and himself. Readers can see that he has lived a good life, but at the toll of denying where he came from and even his own brother. For years, his constant aim for success had been successful. However, as the story progressed everything he knew started to fall apart.