Alan Saxon is the lead protagonist of the Alan Saxon series of novels written by Keith Miles under the pseudonym Edward Marston. The series debuted with Bullet Hole a critically acclaimed novel that was published in 2002 and went on to become a critically acclaimed title, launching one of the most popular crime fiction series. Alan Saxon is a professional golfer championship golf who has won many championships and is passionate about the game. When the series starts he has several golf championships under his belt and has just hit a rich vein of form going into one of the most important golf tournaments of his career, the British Open Championship. Being the consummate professional that he is he has been preparing for a long time for this …show more content…
Alan just hit rock bottom after one of the most horrible of times where his golf career floundered, his girlfriend threatens to leave him, he is harassed by an ex and his bank is hounding him to pay back a loan. As such the offer to leave the dreary and bleak English Winter and go play at the Golden Haze Golf Club in the US comes at the perfect time. However he soon finds himself embroiled in an intriguing web of vicious violence as his friend gets murdered with himself the lead suspect. He has to find the killer in the midst of police badgering, betrayal, and beatings or end up in prison for a murder he did not commit. It is a novel full of breathless suspense, humor, and clever plotting interspersed with golf lingo that is a delight right from the first page to the …show more content…
But Sydney is the city where he had spent his honeymoon with his wife and brings a bad taste to his mouth especially now that his wife is getting married and has denied him visitation rights to their daughter. But that is the least of his troubles as he soon gets invited by Diane Oxley the wife of his benefactor to become her caddy. What should have been a lazy afternoon on the green turns bad when his charge is abducted resulting in a nightmare of sexual obsession, financial intrigue, murder, betrayal, violence and environmental politics. He can only get back his sanity by playing in the Skins Game where the golf club can help him stave off deepening heartache and extreme
The novel Fifth Business by Robertson Davies does away with the stigma that Canadian literature is dull and boring. A master of his art, Davies creates a cast of vivid characters and skillfully weaves them into a story about love, guilt, myth and redemption. With the effective use of first-person narrative, Fifth Business is written as a fictional memoir of the character Dunstable Ramsey, who grows up in the small town of Deptford in Ontario, Canada. As a boy, Dunstable was unmistakably very intelligent, gifted with an uncanny ability to read others. He was raised in a Scottish household by strict Presbyterian parents, who into him hammered several religious canons and tenets. Thus, Dunstan understood the importance of respect and moral responsibility from a young age. There would seem to be no reason for such an exemplary youth, gifted with an intelligence exceeding of his small-town upbringing, to not go onto to lead a happy, satisfying life. Yet there is a single incident in Dustan’s boyhood that would define the rest his life. While in a quarrel with his friend and rival, Percy Boyd Staunton, Dustan evades a snowball in which Boyd had hidden a stone. The snowball misses Dunstan and strikes the pregnant wife of the town’s Baptist minister, Mary Dempster, causing her to give birth prematurely and subsequently slip into madness. This marks the beginning of Dustan Ramsey’s lifelong involvement with Mary Dempster, and the beginning of his lifelong struggle with guilt. As he is faced with the outcomes of his actions, Dustan’s core values are called into question. Throughout Fifth Business, Dunstan fails to understand both his true values and true self, which develops as a cons...
Ford, Jamie. Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet: A Novel. New York: Ballantine, 2009. Print.
Academic colleagues like, David Greenburg, would have been exasperated, part from envy of McCullough’s ability in not only story telling but to sell and he would object to the approach of this book. The colleagues would tear at the lack of compelling rationale for an overused topic, as well as the scene setting, and meager analysis.
Killing Mr. Griffin is a story, which captures the reader’s attention by developing themes. It’s suspenseful; it includes topics from love and friendship to guilt and murder. Susan McConnell had a slow life, but at a sudden moment, she gets hit by a social wave and is caught in a wave of peer pressure, manipulation, psychopaths and a battle of her conscience. The moral lesson that has been shown inside the book is being careful for what you wish for. The grass might seem greener on the other side but is it actually? People don’t always seem how they appear to be either good or bad (Mr. Griffin, Mark Kinney.)
In Richard Connell’s “The Most Dangerous Game”, he uses several literary devices to keep the reader interested. During Rainsfords journey to and through the island of General Zaroff he partakes in an adventurous journey filled with mystery, suspense, and dilemma. These devices are used to keep the reader interested throughout the story.
Roger, Bethany, and Steve and Gloria make decisions based on their beliefs for survival, but ultimately, they learn to teach themselves to create their dreams into reality. The Daily Mail articulates that, “A tender and hopeful story that shows how, with friendship and the occasional little act of rebellion, there can still be laughter after tragedy.” This emphasizes the author’s observation on people’s belief in giving up because of their past experiences. Coupland incorporates his characters – Roger, Bethany, Steve and Gloria – within his book to illustrate that giving up in life has its consequences; ultimately, their lack of success makes them experience different opportunities while coping with their difficult past that impacts their future. As a result, their motivation to explore the world from a different perspective increases, causing ensuing changes towards their surrounding lifestyle.
As the sweltering, hot sun signified the start of a scorching afternoon, a young boy lay in the fields harvesting vegetables for another family. He had been enslaved to perform chores around the house for the family, and was only given very few privileges. While his stomach throbbed with pangs of hunger, he continued cooking meals for them. After the family indulged in the cozy heat from the fireplace, he was the one to clean the ashes. Despite his whole body feeling sore from all the rigorous work he completed, the young boy had been left alone to suffer. As months passed by, he desired independence. He wanted to cook his own food, make his own fire, harvest his own plants and earn money. The lad soon discovered that he needed faith and courage to break away from his restricted environment. When put in a suppressive situation, every person has the aspiration to escape the injustice. This is what Harrison Bergeron and Sanger Rainsford do to liberate themselves from the external forces that govern their lives. Harrison, the main character of “Harrison Bergeron” written by Kurt Vonnegut, is a strong, fourteen year old boy whose talents have been concealed by the government. Growing up in an environment where equality has restricted people’s thinking, Harrison endeavors to change society’s views. Rainsford, the main character of “The Most Dangerous Game” written by Richard Connell, is a skilled hunter who believes that animals were made to be hunted; he has no sympathy for them. Stranded on island with a killer chasing him, he learns to make rational choices. While both Harrison and Ranisford are courageous characters, Rainsford’s prudence enables him to overpower his enemy, whereas Harrison’s impulsive nature results in him being ...
The clear definition of a hero is often open to interpretation and has never been clearly defined. In the translation of the epic poem Beowulf by Seamus Heaney, it is often debated whether the main character Beowulf is actually a hero or not. Beowulf displays hero-like characteristics through his bravery, loyalty, brute strength, confidence and protective nature. He is a crystal clear example of an Anglo-Saxon hero in his time period. In the present day he should be considered a hero as well. He displays heroism through his fights with Grendel, Grendel’s mother and the dragon while managing to protect his people and eventually sacrifice himself.
The hero stands as an archetype of who we should be and who we wish to be. However, the hero has inherent flaws which we do not wish to strive towards. In literature, these flaws are not used as examples of what we should be but rather as examples of what not to be. This is especially dominant in the Greek hero. While the Greek hero follows his fate, making serious mistakes and having a fairly simple life, the Anglo-Saxon "super" hero tries, and may succeed, to change his fate, while dealing with a fairly complex life. The Greek hero is strong and mighty while his wit and intelligence are highly valued. In the Greek tragedy, the hero struggles to avoid many flaws. Among these flaws are ambition, foolishness, stubbornness, and hubris-the excessive component of pride. He must overcome his predestined fate-a task which is impossible. From the beginning of the tale, it is already clear that the hero will ultimately fail with the only way out being death. In Oedipus, the hero is already confronted with a load of information about his family and gouges his eyes out. At this point, when he tries to outwit his fate he has already lost and is sentenced to death.
In ‘Paul’s Case’ Paul has created a fantasy world in which he becomes entranced, even to the point of lying to classmates about the tales of grandeur and close friendships that he had made with the members of the stock company. This fantasy falls apart around him as “the principle went to Paul’s father, and Paul was taken out of school and put to work. The manager at Carnegie Hall was told to get another usher in his stead; the doorkeeper at the theater was warned not to admit him to the house” (Cather 8). The fantasy fell apart further when the stories he had told his classmates reached the ears of the women of the stock company, who unlike their lavish descriptions from Paul were actually hardworking women supporting their families. Unable to cope with the reality of working for Denny & Carson, he stole the money he was supposed to deposit in the bank to live the life of luxury in New York. Only a person who felt backed into a corner would attempt something so unsound. After his eight days in paradise, he is again backed into a corner by the reality of his middle class upbringing, and the dwindling time he has before his father reaches New York to find him. The final way out for Paul is his suicide, for which an explanation would be “In the end, he fails to find his security, for it was his grandiose “picture making mechanism” that made his life so deardful.” (Saari). With all the securities of his fantasy life finally gone, his mental instability fully comes to light as he jumps in front of the train to end his
There has only been one hero in Anglo-Saxon history, only one man can meet every requirement one needs to be classified as hero. Only one man's honor, loyalty, courage, generosity, and wisdom, fits the true definition of a hero. That man is Beowulf. With these leading traits, Beowulf's rise to heroism was not just by chance. He filled each of the five characteristics perfectly, as if it was his destiny to be admired.
Beowulf shows physical strength in the story by defeating Grendel. In line 219 of Grendel’s mother, it tells how Beowulf killed her. “…cut it through, broke bones and all.” His strength is also told in line 213 of how he “lifted the sword that was so massive that no ordinary man could lift.” Beowulf’s determination, or his will to win, was throughout the story, even up until his death. A quote that describes this is, “…he cut the beast in half, slit it apart. It fell…”(line 185). He shows courage along with his cousin, Wiglaf, when they defeat the fire dragon. In line 189 it says, “…their courage had killed it, two noble cousins had joined in the dragon’s death.”
Green drags the reader right into the text from the very beginning, and very skilfully keeps the reader engaged to the end of the introduction. With varied techniques to convey his message, Green is able to summarize the novel and grab attention in the few opening pages.
In the beginning of the novel, the protagonist is portrayed as lost and confused, with little direction or drive to be
“The Dream of the Rood” is a prime example of Christian influence upon Anglo-Saxon heroism. It is a religious short story that recounts the crucifixion of Christ communicated from Christ’s rood to an unnamed visionary. The crucifixion of Christ is depicted as the ultimate act of heroism. However, it is via Anglo-Saxon tradition that Christian ideology manages to influence the definition and imagery of Anglo-Saxon heroism. In “The Dream of the Rood” Christ is an Anglo-Saxon hero. An Anglo-Saxon hero is valiant, strong or mighty and not frightened when in the face of death. An Anglo-Saxon hero can also be a savior to his people. In “The Dream of the Rood” Christ is valiant, strong and not frightened when confronted by death. Christ is also a savior. These topics represent Christianity’s influence on Anglo-Saxon heroism. Through symbolism, Christian principles influence Anglo-Saxon heroism and therefore ecclesiastics were able to manipulate Anglo-Saxons into believing that to be gallant is to be Christian. “The Dream of the Rood” is a paradigm for Christian influence upon Anglo-Saxon heroism.