In the short story “Skipper”, Aldan Nowlan introduces the protagonist, Skipper. Skipper’s mother Ethel yearns for a better life for her and her son outside of their mining community. In the short story “As Birds Bring Forth the Sun”, Alistair MacLeod introduces a young dog named cù mòr glas. Cù mòr glas is saved by a family man who lives by the sea. Aldan Nowlan’s “Skipper” and Alistair Macleod’s “As Birds Bring Forth the Sun” appear to have little in common, but both stories show the same series of events that lead to Skipper and cù mòr glas inflicting unintentional pain on their loved ones.
Skipper and cù mòr glas are abandoned emotionally and physically and are both in need of love and affection. Skipper is abandoned by his father emotionally and physically. He craves attention from his father Rupert, but Rupert merely “lounge[s] about the kitchen” after work and leaves Skipper alone for the most part (Nowlan 17). Rupert also calls Skipper a “brat” and on numerous occasions beats him with a strap (Nowlan 18). It is his mother Ethel that he looks to for love, affection and guidance and to whom he listens too. Cù mòr glas is abandoned by her previous owner when she is still a puppy. Left outside of the “family’s gate in a small handmade box”, the vulnerable cù mòr glas is in need of a home to ensure her survival at such a young age (MacLeod 568). The Man takes responsibility for cù mòr glas and provides her with the love and attention she needs.
The care-givers in both stories, Ethel and the Man, go out of their way to care for and provide opportunities that are appreciated by Skipper and cù mòr glas. Ethel takes time to promote Skipper to dream of his future away from the mining village, while her husband makes it clear t...
... middle of paper ...
... he was “mauled and mangled” and dying (MacLeod 570). Even though cù mòr glas did not intend for the Man to be harmed, he died.
It is very clear that although the plots in the two stories have little in common; the underlying series of events are similar. In both stories there is an abandoned character, Skipper and cù mòr glas, that is rescued. Skipper and cù mòr glas are taken care of by their rescuer and given a potential second chance. In the end, Skipper and cù mòr glas unintentionally harm their rescuers either physically or emotionally; however their rescuers are both in pain. Even though “Skipper” is about a young boy growing up and “As Birds Bring Forth the Sun” is about a families heritage starting off with an animal attack, it is evident that the two characters, Skipper and cù mòr glas, live the same series of events in their own respective lives.
Here are the flashbacks and foreshadowing. One of the similarities is they both had to do with animals and their parents telling them something. The other is that they have flashbacks of animals. Those are the similarities with flashbacks and foreshadowing.
In Craig Lesley’s novel The Sky Fisherman, he illustrates the full desire of direction and the constant flow of life. A boy experiences a chain of life changing series of events that cause him to mature faster than a boy should. Death is an obstacle that can break down any man, a crucial role in the circle of life. It’s something that builds up your past and no direction for your future. No matter how hard life got, Culver fought through the pain and came out as a different person. Physical pain gives experience, emotional pain makes men.
The story describes the protagonist who is coming of age as torn between the two worlds which he loves equally, represented by his mother and his father. He is now mature and is reflecting on his life and the difficulty of his childhood as a fisherman. Despite becoming a university professor and achieving his father’s dream, he feels lonely and regretful since, “No one waits at the base of the stairs and no boat rides restlessly in the waters of the pier” (MacLeod 261). Like his father, the narrator thinks about what his life could have been like if he had chosen another path. Now, with the wisdom and experience that comes from aging and the passing of time, he is trying to make sense of his own life and accept that he could not please everyone. The turmoil in his mind makes the narrator say, “I wished that the two things I loved so dearly did not exclude each other in a manner that was so blunt and too clear” (MacLeod 273). Once a decision is made, it is sometimes better to leave the past and focus on the present and future. The memories of the narrator’s family, the boat and the rural community in which he spent the beginning of his life made the narrator the person who he is today, but it is just a part of him, and should not consume his present.
different time of period and different region, but yet both stories shared similar endings and
The two passages from The Firefly Hunt and Red Cranes include many similarities although they are presented differently. The two narratives are The Firefly Hunt by Jun’ihiro Tanizaki and Red Cranes by Jacey Choy. Choy and Tanizaki took different approaches
A father can play many roles throughout a child’s life: a caregiver, friend, supporter, coach, protector, provider, companion, and so much more. In many situations, a father takes part in a very active position when it comes to being a positive role model who contributes to the overall well-being of the child. Such is the case for the father in the poem “Those Winter Sundays” by Robert Hayden. In this poem, readers are shown the discreet ways in which a father can love his child. On the other hand, there are also many unfortunate situations where the fathers of children are absent, or fail to treat the children with the love and respect that they undoubtedly deserve. In the contrasting poem “Like Riding a Bicycle” by George Bilgere, readers are shown how a son who was mistreated by his drunken father is affected by their past relationship many years later. Although both of these poems have fairly similar themes and literary techniques, they each focus on contradicting situations based on the various roles a father can play in a child’s life.
“The Boat”, narrated by a Mid-western university professor, Alistar MacLeod, is a short story concerning a family and their different perspectives on freedom vs. tradition. The mother pushes the son to embrace more of a traditional lifestyle by taking over the fathers fishing business, while on the other hand the father pushes the son to live more autonomously in an unconstrained manner. “The Boat” focuses on the father and how his personality influences the son’s choice on how to live and how to make decisions that will ultimately affect his life. In Alistair MacLeod’s, “The Boat”, MacLeod suggest that although dreams and desires give people purpose, the nobility of accepting a life of discontentment out weighs the selfishness of following ones own true desires. In the story, the father is obligated to provide for his family as well as to continue the fishing tradition that was inherited from his own father. The mother emphasizes the boat and it’s significance when she consistently asked the father “ How did things go in the boat today” since tradition was paramount to the mother. H...
James Moloney's coming-of-age novel, A Bridge to Wiseman's Cove, illustrates the life of an adolescent boy called Carl Matt. Through the characters of Carl, Harley and Maddy, Moloney demonstrates how every human being needs love and acceptance. Carl and Harley experience similar things because they are brothers and have both received very little or no love, whereas Maddy gained love from her family though she didn’t realise, and so went elsewhere to find love.
The lantern and the snow are both bright and shiny, showing that they carry some hope, but the skipper’s eyes are emotionless, spiritless, and dead. There are no lingering emotions in the skipper’s eyes; no sadness, no remorse, not even any more confidence. Unlike the daughter who still has “salt tears in her eyes” (line 82), showing that she dies painfully and with a heavy heart, the skipper has no emotion mentioned. The author’s description of the skipper’s eyes finalizes how he felt nothing towards what he had brought his daughter into. This connects back to Longfellow’s message as it depicts how overconfidence can destroy a person without control. Judging by how the skipper felt no emotion in his final moments, he wasn’t aware of what was going on around him. The skipper still wasn’t aware that he destroyed himself; it happened uncontrollably. Longfellow also uses imagery to describe how the fisherman saw the daughter’s hair. It was like “brown sea-weed/ On the billows fall and rise” (lines 83-84). Readers feel sympathy and pity for the daughter whose body is helplessly being swung around by the waves. An innocent and loving being is destroyed because of the skipper’s
Alistair Macleod’s “The Boat” is a tale of sacrifice, and of silent struggle. A parent’s sacrifice not only of their hopes and dreams, but of their life. The struggle of a marriage which sees two polar opposites raising a family during an era of reimagining. A husband embodying change and hope, while making great sacrifice; a wife gripped in fear of the unknown and battling with the idea of losing everything she has ever had. The passage cited above strongly presents these themes through its content
Both authors use figurative language to help develop sensory details. In the poem It states, “And I sunned it with my smiles, And with soft deceitful wiles.” As the author explains how the character is feeling, the reader can create a specific image in there head based on the details that is given throughout the poem. Specifically this piece of evidence shows the narrator growing more angry and having more rage. In the short story ” it states, “We are below the river's bed. The drops of moisture trickle among bones.” From this piece of text evidence the reader can sense the cold dark emotion that is trying to be formed. Also this excerpt shows the conflict that is about to become and the revenge that is about to take place. By the story and the poem using sensory details, they both share many comparisons.
Even though we believe there are so many happy things around us, these things are heartbreaking. The poems “Tips from My Father” by Carol Ann Davis, “Not Waving but Drowning” by Stevie Smith, and “The Fish” by Elizabeth Bishop convey the sorrow of growing up, of sorrowful pretending, and even of life itself. The poem “Tips from My Father” depicts an episode of the life of a father and his son. The pain from the childhood, the betraying of a lover, countless secrets are settling during the period of life, which can absolutely not be shared and understood by others.
...ce, although both writings are interesting in their own ways, the most interesting aspect of both writings together is that they both have a similar plot and theme. It is rare that two
The story of a sea rescue is portrayed as “heroic” and “an outstanding contribution to search and rescue” (Margaret, Linley). While off duty, a local officer assisted a boy back to shore after having been caught in a rip tide. His actions were valiant, as were the boy’s father, who died while trying to save his son.
The biggest similarity between the two stories is the notion of moral decline; the beings start off as peaceful things that don’t need homes, food or anything. As time goes on they need those things and more. After a while they start stealing from each other and eventually hurt each other.