The short story The Gift has many layers with in itself on different topics. The topics of discrimination, feminism, friendship, tradition, and power all can be seen in this story. Many literary devices can be seen in the story also. Such as: theme, metaphor, tone and symbol. This story unlike most as that I couldn't predict what was going to happen that made the girls leave the school. Just as it says in the beginning paragraph "No one expected Merceditas Cáceres, on the day Carlotta Rodriguez was expelled from the Sacred Heart, to hang her silk sash from the doorknob, drop her medal of the Congregation of the Angels in the alms box, and walk out through the schools' portico arm in arm with her friend, head held high and without deigning once to look back, with that gesture of paramount disdain so commonplace in those of her social class." (Ferré) Just like no one in the story would have expected the main characters to do this, during the story I could not figure out why they would have done it.
This story is about the friendship of too girls from very different families. Carlotta is a darker skinned girl whose family is "new money". She wants to go to Scared Heart Academy for her high school education. Scared Heart does not let in girls of her skin tone. The school has been financially struggling and Carlotta's father donates money to the school, which in turn get her accepted in to the school. Since she is new money she was not "locked up" in her home her whole life. She knows the town and tells her friend Merceditas all about the way things are there. The other girl, Merceditas come from a very wealthy family who has been this way for gene...
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...tions of the first paragraph. The setup of the story definitely builds of tension because the entire time you are learning about the personalities of theses girls and the way there school is run. You learn all about them and all you want to know is why. Wanting to know why the girls walked out of school keeps you reading the entire story and makes the huge scene at the end even more meaningful.
In conclusion I think The Gift is a very well written powerful story about friendship, sacrifice, feminism, strength, compassion, and doing the right thing. The mango is a wonderful symbol for the story and what took place. There would be no story with out it. The way the author wrote it keeps you reading and interested yet builds tension at the same time. Merceditas and Carlotta have an amazing, pure friendship that makes this story what it is.
Could you imagine what your home life would be like if you and your parents didn’t agree on anything? There would be constant fighting and tension would be everywhere. This is the case of two young girls in the stories “Confetti Girl” and “Tortilla Sun”. The narrators in these stories are the young girls, and they don’t agree with their parent on very important topics in these stories. Because the narrator and their parent don’t have the same point of view in these stories, tension builds up. In, “Confetti Girl”, the narrator disagrees with her father and questions how much he cares about her and in “Tortilla Girl”, the narrator questions if her mother was taking her into account of her new plans. Tension is shown to be caused in the
This novel is a story of a Chicano family. Sofi, her husband Domingo together with their four daughters – Esperanza, Fe, Caridad, and Loca live in the little town of Tome, New Mexico. The story focuses on the struggles of Sofi, the death of her daughters and the problems of their town. Sofi endures all the hardships and problems that come her way. Her marriage is deteriorating; her daughters are dying one by one. But, she endures it all and comes out stronger and more enlightened than ever. Sofi is a woman that never gives up no matter how poorly life treats her. The author- Ana Castillo mixes religion, super natural occurrences, sex, laughter and heartbreak in this novel. The novel is tragic, with no happy ending but at the same time funny and inspiring. It is full of the victory of the human spirit. The names of Sofi’s first three daughters denote the three major Christian ideals (Hope, Faith and Charity).
The story began when La Vaughn was just fifteen. La Vaughn described her school life and her two best friends, Myrtle and Annie. Myrtle and Annie had been her friends all throughout her childhood, but now, it seemed that the three friends were drifting apart as their common interests changed. Both Myrtle and Annie had become very involved in a religious youth group that La Vaughn had no interest in joining. La Vaughn felt that the leaders in the religious ...
The story begins with Titas birth prematurely when Mama Elena was chopping onions. Tita grows up with Nacha the most dominant figure in her life, and follows Mama Elenas routine of cooking, cleaning and sewing. At every incident she can, Mama Elena criticizes Tita and even beats her if she tries to speak up. One day Tita tells her mother that Pedro wants to come and ask for her hand, but according to the family tradition she cannot marry because she is the youngest daughter. Mama Elena tells Pedro he can marry Rosaura- one of her older daughters, and Pedro agrees to the arrangement just to be closer to his true love- Tita.
Tension is defined as “pleasurable excitement and anticipation regarding an outcome, such as the ending of a mystery novel”(reference.com). In Hamlin Garland’s story, “Up the Coolly” and Sherwood Anderson’s story “The Departure”, both authors portray the tension at a subtle amount throughout the story. In Sherwood Anderson’s short story is about a man makes a life changing decisions which causes the past to fulfil his brain and make him realize that all his memories were made in Ohio. Now that he has made the decision moved to New York, the people who surround him give him advice and get him ready for what the city holds for him. In the same way, “Up the Coolly” provides a dark and depressing vibe that is expressed off the main character Howard
2. In paragraph form and with reference to the story, discuss the role of fear in creating suspense.
Since the beginning of time, social class and race have been paramount in society. Back in the time of caveman, roles and traditions were passed down based on gender. The man was responsible for protection and collecting food while women were responsible for cooking and keeping house. That belief has traversed time and slowly changes with each era. But throughout history, men and women have lived with preconceived notions of their duties to their families. These notions have been passed down generations and have affected how people live within their society. In the novel “Like Water for Chocolate”, social class is revered in the story of the De la Garza family. As we see through the personal journey of Tita, the main character, these distinctions are evident.
As a teen, Rayona is in a confusing period of life. The gradual breakdown of her family life places an addition burden on her conscience. Without others for support, Rayona must find a way to handle her hardships. At first, she attempts to avoid these obstacles in her life, by lying, and by not voicing her opinions. Though when confronting them, she learns to feel better about herself and to understand others.
As the girls grew up in their respective locations of the world, whether Puerto Rico or New York City, they faced the trauma of change, culture clash, ethnic identity, and their parental influence.
The story follows three girls- Jeanette, the oldest in the pack, Claudette, the narrator and middle child, and the youngest, Mirabella- as they go through the various stages of becoming civilized people. Each girl is an example of the different reactions to being placed in an unfamiliar environment and retrained. Jeanette adapts quickly, becoming the first in the pack to assimilate to the new way of life. She accepts her education and rejects her previous life with few relapses. Claudette understands the education being presented to her but resists adapting fully, her hatred turning into apathy as she quietly accepts her fate. Mirabella either does not comprehend her education, or fully ignores it, as she continually breaks the rules and boundaries set around her, eventually resulting in her removal from the school.
Theme: Situations and surroundings can shatter the innocence of friendship, but more the identity of the individuals.
The narrator does not hesitate to show how much Honoria and Charlie care for each other. Though Honoria was just a little girl, growing up without a father is still harsh. Still her love for Charlie is unconditional, and questions about the past are not brought up. Their strong relationship is alm...
In “The Fortune Teller,” the author, Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis, uses symbolism to prove to one that an affair is not worth a person’s life. He uses the letter to symbolize hate between Villela and Camillo regarding the affair. This very ambiguous letter has terrified Camillo and put an end to his life. The letter enhances the theme of the short story by showing the anger and hate that Villela now had for Camillo. This hate is a focal point in the short story that leads to ending the affair along with Camillo and Rita’s life. Ultimately, the affair caused a large amount of tension between the three. However, the author was successful in grabbing the reader’s attention with the letter as the turning point of the short story.
A dystopian society is what all nations are hopeful to find. In the film, The Giver by Lois Lowry, it seems to be what was achieved. This film brings heaps of critical thought with symbolism and imagery thrown at the audience like there’s no tomorrow. Although the society looks perfect, it is actually quite pessimistic and scornful. Right off the bat, the main character, Jonas captures the audience’s interest with his wit and charm. The audience knows right away that something is different about him. In the film adaptation of The Giver by Lois Lowry directed by Phillip Noyce, the symbolism and imagery including the red apple, color and the triangle proves to be some of the most important elements to the story.
They went through so much nobody couldn’t even image how much pain they went through. Some went through famine, drought, disease and through family lose. Everyone can help these Children by giving just a shoebox of joy to get their mind off the lost of their family, that could help them so much. That is the way the book by Franklin Graham is called “A Story of Simple Gift.” It tells about how much a difference it could make just by a shoebox. These children wait all year to see if they are going to get a shoebox. I believe that America can help more than what we are doing now.