I chose “The Assistant” by Robert Walser because the title caught my attention on the book list. It was published in 1908 but translated from German in 2007 by Susan Bernofsky. I seemed to guess that this book would be about inventions and the like. Innovation captivates my interest and I feel as if I am on a journey with the characters as they expand their own horizons. The novel takes place in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Joseph Marti, the “assistant,” spends most of the story living with the Tobler family about an hour outside of the capital. Although the exact name of the capital is unknown, many believe it to be Zurich, Switzerland. The author’s message in “The Assistant” is to enjoy the virtues of love. It may also be seen as the book’s theme; love is present throughout the novel. Joseph Marti experiences many instances of love, whether it’s romantic or familial love. Marti seems to be in love with an old friend Klara but ends up finding a relationship with the inventor’s wife. Although romantic love is ever-present, Joseph Marti rejoices in the familial love he experiences with the Tobler family. Through Joseph’s experiences, the author truly sends a message out to his audience to value love and compassion. Joseph Marti, as mentioned earlier, is the main character of the novel, as the title is …show more content…
However, the main cause of the story is the theme of love. Twenty-four year old Joseph Marti enjoys the comforts of the Tobler family and the work as an assistant. Although he soon finds out that he is not being paid and the Tobler family is falling into financial ruin, he sticks with them through the hardships. As Carl Tobler ruins his life with more and more debt, we observe the impact it has on the members of the Tobler household and Joseph Marti. First published in German, the novel describes the story of Joseph Marti as “The
Two of the places where the story takes place are in Shalev and Star Valley, 18 years after a nuclear holocaust. Shalev is the main city of the four cities. It’s where Eric, his family,
In the first chapter of the book we are introduced to one of the main
This novel takes place in Holcomb, Kansas. The Clutters live in the area, on River Valley Farm. It is very clear from the introduction of the book that they are going to be murdered. The story threads between this family and Perry Smith and Dick Hickock. The Clutters go on about their daily activities, having no idea what is to come. Dick and Perry slowly make their way towards the Clutter farm, with an evil plan to carry out. As they make their way to the farm, the duo make stops for supplies. Perry is shown to have came for parole, but not finding an old friend, he agrees to work with Dick. Capote goes back and forth between characters, with no correlation, only to who is the most important at any given time during the case. Dick and Perry eventually arrive at the Clutter home.
Mersault, the narrator and protagonist, is The Stranger. He has cut himself off from the world. As he narrates the novel is divided into two parts. In part 1 he deals with everyday affairs except for two important events. At the beginning of the novel his mother has died. He is struggling to make ends meet, therefore he sent his mother to a nursing home in Marengo. This has brought criticism from the community. At the funeral he does not feel the grief as is expected nor is he concerned with the formalities of mourning. The next day Mersault starts an affair with Marie, who at one time been a typist in his office. They have a wonderful time eating, swimming, watching movies and making love. People, i.e. society is aghast that he has not observed what is considered a proper mourning period for his mother.
One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey is an inspiring story of patients in a mental ward overcoming its oppressive nature with the help of a new arrival named Randle McMurphy. As Randle exposes the corrupt nature of the ward through manipulation and rebellion, medicated and conformed patients as well as myself begin to question the legitimacy of mental illness and the necessity of ward practices.
The novel is set in the 1930's in St. Petersburg, a fictitious place supposedly reminiscent of the town of Hannibal, Missouri the place where Mark Twain grew up. It follows the events in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, also of the same author.
He is the narrator of the book. The story is told from his perspective (I-perspective).
However, the reader must always keep in mind the time at which this piece was written and how these relationships exemplify the realities of personal relationships during this time era. Her relationship with John is dominated by him and is almost like she is the child. Without anyone to speak to about her true feelings and stresses, she writes, another thing she must hide from John and Jennie. The reader feels a sense of fear from the narrator, “there comes John, and I must put this away,—he hates to have me write a word” (Gilman 78). Yet another sign of how he does not want his wife thinking for herself and doing what she pleases. When learning about the author and her background, her feminist side shows in this piece through examples like these. The true dark sides of marriage, the loneliness, and the female role of always being superior are portrayed perfectly in this short
In this book there were several characters, but only a few had significant roles. I
Tom Joad is an ex-convict that was only into his own self-interest and lived by a mantra of live your life day by day and not concerned with the future, to becoming a man who thinks about the future and someone with morals and an obligation to help others. Ma Joad is a typical woman of the early 1900’s whose main role was a mother only with a role of caring and nurturing. Later in the novel, she becomes an important figure for the family and is responsible for making decisions in keeping the family together and emphasizes the importance of unity. Another important transition in the book is the family starting off as a single close knit unit to depending on other families to survive. This common interest and struggle bonded the community of individual families to a single one. Steinbeck wrote this novel very well, by having great character dynamics and development that displays the characters strengths and also their
protagonist throughout the book as well. Even earlier in the chapter, a reference to Edgar
Backroads begins with Harley being questioned by the police for a crime that the reader knows not of. He delves into the story that has brought him up to this point, beginning from a year after his mother shot his father. The events in the course of this are breath taking.
The book is in first person told through the eyes of Nicholas Urfe in the 1940's. Although Mr. Conchis is Nicholas's friend, he is also an antagonist. You find later in the book that he has been playing tricks on Ni...
The story takes place in the outskirts of London. Almost the entire story takes place in the family’s luxurious five-floor house, although it starts out with the main character
Victor Hugo once said, “The greatest happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved; loved for ourselves, or rather, loved in spite of ourselves.” Whether in Shakespeare’s tragic play about lovers doomed by fate, Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare’s sonnet describing love, “Sonnet 116”, or O. Henry’s age old The Gift of the Magi, love motivates the characters and authors to make decisions that have a weighty impact on their lives. Throughout these works of literature, authors use love’s power to drive the plot forward to create good events within the characters’ lives. Love is a force for good because it makes people willing to forgive each other, it brings the best out of people in bad situations, and it