Nothing. Nothing whatsoever. Nothingness. The ill fitting flowered curtains, thin and frayed, danced sadly in the wind as the old man slipped in and out of his vacant dreams. His wrinkled, grey expression remained inert and morose. Time goes by and his sizeable feet land on the ground and pace the carpeted floor without excitement or purpose. His toes guided him towards the stiff, upright chair similar to its electric variety. From where he sat he could see a narrow strip of the tussocky land outside. Legs running in and out of view. A dog. A child's bicycle. Litter blowing aimlessly over coarse grass. This at least distracted him from the thin floral curtains. His limbs bent and ached into a sitting position. Slow fingers gripped ordinary shoes. Shoes that didn't attract attention. Layer upon layer of starchy cotton engulfed his sagging skin like a body bag. Ringless fingers that declared to an uninterested world that he was alone, dropped onto the brass door handle, which took him into a happy, mocking world. "Why Mr Bleaney, on time as usual! Why do I ask! What can I get ya lovey? The usual? Okay porridge no sugar, tea no sugar? Ya don't need it, you're sweet enough aint ya! Attempted conversation was Mrs Valentine's speciality. Her over made face and pink and green frock glared at the old man. "Please" he repeated monotonously. He stared at the brownish wallpaper as if hypnotised until his landlady brought his bland breakfast to him. He ate his meal in a habitual manner and at exactly 8:34am, he left for his place of work. Time passed him by, gurgling babies, squealing children, grinning teenagers, giggling married couples, s... ... middle of paper ... ...staring back at me through the window. Looking closer I wasn't taken aback when I found the old man to be myself. I was Mr Bleaney. I had let my children and wife slip away from me. Since losing my family, a bed-sit existence was all I knew. I was stuck in a dead-end job; I wasn't good enough to succeed as a writer, or as anything. My pride had cost me everything I ever loved. The four yellowing walls were moving, moving closer, the room was spinning; I could hear Mr Bleaney laughing. He was laughing at me. Who was I to criticise him he bellowed. I began to feel very warm. The room was silent apart from the slow tick of Mr Bleaney's clock. A slow, deliberate sound that put one's teeth on edge as a copious reminder that my life had slipped away. That life is short and has passed. The room was aflame. This was my Hell.
Ethan Canin’s “The Palace Thief” is a short story about a teacher who overestimates his importance in the life of his students and in the world, but eventually realizes this through a series of life changing events. The narrator, Mr. Hundert, is an egocentric individual who seems to always have the best interest of his students in mind, when in reality most of his decisions are made to further his career and better his reputation. In “The Palace Thief,” Ethan Canin explores how a person’s ego can affect their decisions and relationships with other people.
Herndon high school marching band also known as "Pride of Herndon" was selected as the only band to take part in the 2013 Pearl Harbor memorial parade in Hawaii. After participating in the parade, the band was awarded grand champion title for their performance. The high school band received recognition by congress for their partaking as the only band to represent the state and their grand champion title in.
Pride and Dignity in A Raisin in the Sun "A Raisin in the Sun" by Lorraine Hansberry follows a black family's struggle to see their dreams through to fruition. These dreams, and the struggles necessary to attain them, are the focus of the play. As the play begins a husband, Walter, and wife, Ruth, are seen having a fight over Walter's dream to become a'mover and shaker' in the business world by using an insurance check as a down payment on a business venture. Walter tells his wife that, "I'm trying to talk to you 'bout myself and all you can say is eat them eggs and go to work", which is the first sign of Walter's recurring feelings that if someone in the family would just listen to him and put forth their trust his dreams would come to fruition. Following this argument, Walter goes off to his job as a chauffeur, which is the job he so longs to be done away with because he would rather "be Mr. Arnold[his employer] than be his chauffeur".
Vanity and pride are two factors that have always been affecting our society, and been a driving force for people’s decisions and actions. So when we set the scene in nineteenth century France, what is the result? When Mathilde complained about her lack of a nice dress and her husband asked for her limit, she hesitated to make sure she would have a nice dress for the ball without being rejected. “She reflected several seconds, making her calculations and wondering also what sum she could ask without drawing on herself an immediate refusal and a frightened exclamation from the economical clerk” (de Maupassant 23). Mathilde is willing to put their finances and physical well-being in jeopardy at the hands of her prideful desires. After realizing
What's big, cheap, Scottish and depressing? Scotland. This is one of the many jokes that Scots make about themselves. The Scots have a massive history that goes back to the 1500’s and even earlier that have shaped modern day Scots and how we look at them. From the start of the Clan Wars, to the fight that Bonnie Prince Charlie brought.Scottish history has affected how Scots act like and different among others. Scots have reputation for being blood thirsty, cheap, bagpipe playing and kilt wearing people. Many patterns of behavior can be traced back to a root cause in history. Common Scottish behaviors were shaped by major events in Scottish history.
Pride has been a heavily associated trait with the human race since the existence of time as if it is fused in the blood of the populations. Although not all individuals suffer from pride, it's effects can be commonly seen in a vast majority of individuals. Both Percy Shelley, author of "Ozymandias," and Dahlia Ravikovitch, author of "Pride," explore the effects of pride in relation to an individual's success or legacy. Percy Shelley wrote during the early 1800’s as a primary poet of the English Romanticism Movement. Dahlia Ravikovitch, an Israeli Poet, wrote primarily during the mid-1940s, however, “Pride” is special because it did not reflect her usual patterns. Through the use of literary techniques and tone, both authors present their poem with the intent to communicate that pride ultimately results in ruin.
While Pride’s main focus is to show class conflict during the miners’ strike of ’84 as well as solidarity between LGSM (Lesbian and Gays Support the Miners) and the Welsh mining community, the issues of women’s rights is also a causal theme running within the film. Within this essay will be a critical analysis of the events which take place from different feminist perspectives as well as the relation to the way in which women’s rights are portrayed and addressed by the members of the LGSM community and other characters along with a reflection of women’s rights during the time period.
What is the role of shame in the lives of these soldiers? Does it drive them to acts of heroism or stupidity? Or both? What is the relationship between shame and courage, according to O’Brien?
In Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, Mr. Darcy went from being the most despised to the most desired man by having rare traits; he listened to women and later was not afraid to change some of his characteristics, all while still keeping the main principles of his character.
My pride fell with my fortunes says William Shakespeare while explaining in one of his plays that the character was too prideful and lost everything he worked for. In the poem “Ozymandias” written by Percy Bysshe Shelley the poem explains a statue in the middle of the desert that has broken and no one sees it anymore. The statue was of a very prideful ruler who thought he was very powerful and mighty. The king thought he was better than any other king. The head that sits next to the two legs shows a frown which shows the emotions of the king and how serious he was. In comparison, The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas is about a young man named Edmond Dantes, who was a sailor that was sent to jail because he got a letter from Napoleon
People look at you like you’re the one to blame. They see your tattered sneakers and tangled, greasy hair, and they think they know you. But how could they? You amble down the sidewalk, keep your head down, your eyes averted. You don’t want any trouble. People are quick to assume that's what you're looking for. Your lips are chapped and your face is dirty. You cannot remember the last time you brushed your teeth, let alone took a shower. The thought makes you laugh almost as much as the thought of your old bedroom walls, the shadows cast by the ceiling fan as you stared up from your bed. You had to leave home. It was taken from you. The adults in your life shifted as you grew older, or perhaps you just grew aware. They took pills or tipped glasses or screamed at you for no particular reason. They kicked you out when you got pregnant, when you got mouthy, when you weren't all they wanted you to be. They got sadistic. They crossed unspeakable lines. You had to leave home. You are barely more than a child. At least, you were before. Now, you are homeless.
My life was fine until I was taken from my home in Africa. They took my whole family, including me, on a boat, to America. Speaking of family, my owners are selling me, moving me to a new home, and I will probably never see the again. It’s normal, you know. My mom, dad, everybody said this would happen. It’s a cruel world.
It had come to the attention of my family that I had some sort of psychological problem and something had to be done. I was always labeled as a shy and quiet kid, and like my family I had thought nothing more of my behavior. However, now it had become something more obvious. I had told my parents the kinds of problems I was having. Basically I didn't want to talk to anyone or to be anywhere near anyone I didn't know. I didn't really want to leave my house for any reason for fear that I might have to talk to someone. I was so critical and scrutinizing in relation to myself that I couldn't even enter into a conversation. Everyone seems to have a part of themselves that lends itself to thoughts of pessimism and failure, but mine was something that was in the forefront of my mind at all times. Something telling me that everything I did was a failure, and that anything I ever did would not succeed. Through discussion with my family it was decided that I should move out of my parents house to a place where I could find treatment and get a job. I was to reside with my sister Lisa, her partner Brynn, and their Saint Bernard in Greensboro.
What a joy when parents see their children accomplishing something they worked really hard. It is natural to say, “I am very proud of you!”, and we know the feeling when someone says it to us. The words “I am proud of you” imply that parents, relatives or friends recognize and approve the child’s achievement and success. When those words are expressed with a sincere feeling of love and joy showing appreciation for someone’s hard work and achievement, they are positive and have an encouraging effect. The danger and negative side of it, is when pride goes beyond congratulating words and is nurtured in children’s heart by making them feel superior. This kind of pride is referred to Hubristic, which comes from the Greek word hubris, meaning extreme pride or arrogance, and were related to actions that shamed and humiliated the victim for the pleasure or gratification of the abuser.
My life was in a tailspin. I was having a hard time trying to fin...