A person’s life may be considered a seed since he at first seems miniscule; unlikely he will become anything desirable. However, when tended to properly, that seed will evolve into an exquisite being. Each seed has its own time span to sprout, different times to which it will evolve into a marvelous being. Each individual eventually grows, breaking open its shell. In Ray Bradbury’s novel Something Wicked This Way Comes, Charles Halloway exhibits this idea perfectly. Throughout the book, Halloway displays his germination.
In seed form, Charles Halloway is battling a 24/7 internal brawl he is losing. It is him against his aging self, the old man he believes he is. Halloway glares into the mirror, seeing a fifty-four year old man with “moon-white hair” and a “winter apple face” glaring back. He gazes at his alluring wife, so youthful looking he believes others think she is his daughter. He observes his son, Will, playing with his best pal, Jim. He envies his youth and energy. Watching him jump, run, and play makes him feel old. Sometimes, even Will has to remind himself that Halloway is “not grandfather, not far-wandering, ancient uncle, as some might think, but… my father.” (14)
Charles Halloway, a passive inactive seed, chooses not to grow. He resists the urge to flourish, to change and become the greater man he unknowingly could be. This becomes evident when Halloway, employed as a janitor at the library, is staring out the window and spots the boys. The time is three in the morning, yet he does not call out to them to so he can walk home with them. “ “Jim!” called the old man. “Will!” But not aloud. The boys went away toward home. Charles Halloway looked out into the country.” (54)
When words are spo...
... middle of paper ...
...g into a complex flower, acknowledging its own strength. After a skirmish with the Dust Witch, he now knows her weakness. With knowledge that the carnival runs off of fear and pain, happiness is a robust attack action. After Halloway successfully attains Will from Dark’s control, he thinks pointedly to the Witch, telling her what the crescent moon really is— a smile, his smile. Halloway is confident, and shoots the rifle towards the Witch. To his, and the audience’s amazement, she falls to the floor, not getting up. In the end, Halloway outwits Mr. Dark and terminates the Witch.
Once a seed, a flower stands tall, beautiful and proud of what it is. Halloway has shown supreme character growth in this novel, showing that anyone can and eventually will overcome their fears and doubts. With time, care, and perseverance, even the most stubborn seed will blossom.
In the small southern town of Cold Sassy, Georgia, at the turn of the twentieth century, teenage boys had to grow up fast. They were not in any way sheltered from the daily activities of the town. This was especially true for fourteen year old Will Tweedy. Olive Ann Burns’ first, and only completed novel, Cold Sassy Tree, tells of young Will’s coming-of-age. His experiences with religion, progress, and death in Cold Sassy escorted him along the path to manhood.
After a decade of not seeing his mother and brother, Howard returns to his hometown in Mississippi. It is evident how thrilled he is. As the train approaches town, he begins “to feel curious little movements of the heart, like a lover as he nears his sweetheart” (par. 3). He expects this visit to be a marvelous and welcoming homecoming. His career and travel have kept his schedule extremely full, causing him to previously postpone this trip to visit his family. Although he does not immediately recognize his behavior in the past ten years as neglectful, there are many factors that make him aware of it. For instance, Mrs. McLane, Howard’s mother, has aged tremendously since he last saw her. She has “grown unable to write” (par. 72). Her declining health condition is an indicator of Howard’s inattentiveness to his family; he has not been present to see her become ill. His neglect strikes him harder when he sees “a gray –haired woman” that showed “sorrow, resignation, and a sort of dumb despair in her attitude” (par. 91). Clearly, she is growing old, and Howard feels guilty for not attending her needs for such a long time period: “his throat [aches] with remorse and pity” (par. 439). He has been too occupied with his “excited and pleasurable life” that he has “neglected her” (par. 92). Another indication of Howard’s neglect is the fact that his family no longer owns the farm and house where he grew up. They now reside in a poorly conditioned home:
Betty Smith’s A Tree Grows in Brooklyn presents the problems of a young girl coming of age, a time when she is faced with new challenges and must overcome obstacles. Throughout the book the protagonist, Francie Nolan discovers herself maturing as she struggles with loneliness, the loss of innocence and a life of poverty in a Brooklyn slum. This theme is evident in (1.) her love for books which she uses as companionship, (2.) her outlook on the world as she matures and finally, (3.) her realization that in order to succeed in life she must obtain an education and work hard to do it.
In the novel "Something Wicked This Way Comes" by Ray Bradbury, Will is described, characterized by his behavior, and be his shift in attitude. This is shown through "bright, clear as drop of summer rain" (Bradbury, 6). Bradbury describes him this way to show that he has a positive and uncomplicated view on life. He does this by explaining that Will was the first one to answer lightening rod salesman right away instead of waiting and examining whether or not Will and Jim should talk to him. His behavior is characterized through "Will? Know what you are? A darn old dimwit Episcopal Baptist!" (29). This characterizes his behavior as always being the one who follows Jim and acts like Jim's conscience to keep him out of trouble. Bradbury does
Betty Smith’s novel A Tree Grows In Brooklyn is a tale of poignant family relationships and childhood and also of grim privation. The story revolves around the protagonist of the story, young Francie Nolan. She is an imaginative, endearing 11-year-old girl growing up in 1912, in Brooklyn, New York. The entire story revolves around Francie and the Nolan family, including her brother Neelie, her mother Katie and her father Johnny. An ensemble of high relief characters aids and abets them in their journey through this story of sometimes bleak survival and everlasting hope. As we find out, the struggle for survival is primarily focused against the antagonist of this story, the hard-grinding poverty afflicting Francie, the Nolan’s and Brooklyn itself. The hope in the novel is shown symbolically in the “The “Tree of Heaven””. A symbol used throughout the novel to show hope, perseverance and to highlight other key points.
In Something Wicked This Way Comes, Ray Bradbury illustrates the power of happiness to change one’s mental state and ultimately; life. He does so by creating troubled and aging characters who alter their self-fulfillment simply by smiling. He also includes scenarios where the only way to survive is by refusing to show weakness. The happiness in this novel prevails the evil and negativity surrounding the characters by filling their hearts with warmth and their mouths with smiles.
Russell Baker, the author of Growing Up, grew up in Morrisville and the surrounding areas amongst his family (Baker, p. 36). In 1925, Baker’s mother and father, Betty and Benny, moved to a yellow farmhouse about one hundred yards from the home of his grandmother, Ida Rebecca. Baker’s family revolved around Ida, allowing all of them to be a part of Russell’s life in some shape or form (Baker, p. 42-4). During his infancy, both his mother and grandmother had a part in raising him. Through each of their distinct ideas on how to raise a child, Baker got the best of both worlds. Betty enforced safety and responsibility, providing Russell with a sturdy foundation to beco...
Mr.Raymond is seen as an outcast because even though he came from an old and rich family, he still decides to socialize with the black community. Mr.Raymond alway drinks from his sack because people would say, “Dolphus Raymond’s in the clutches of whiskey—that’s why he won’t change his ways. He can’t help himself,...
together. While this may seem like a paradox, it is proved time and again throughout the
The movie Forrest Gump, based on Winston Groom’s novel, is set during the 1950s in Greenbow, Alabama. Historical events serve as backdrops for the story of a man who has no other desire than to be positive and live the best life he can. We first meet Forrest when he is sitting alone at a bus stop when another woman comes and sits down next to him. Without any hesitation, Forrest begins to tell her his story, one that will undoubtedly give us insight into to what shaped his personality. Here he says an iconic line that demonstrates that he is ready for anything. He explains that “[his] momma always said: ‘life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.” In this paper, I aim to use Erickson’s eight stages of development, Bowlby’s adult
Planting a wicked seed will grow onto become a tree and as the growth progresses, so does the
... age of Gene Forrester. Because Finny causes Gene to grow up, we are able to realize that one must grow up to move on in life. In that process of growing up, several people impact your life. This novel shows us how our identity is basically created by those who are present in our lives; however we must not measure our abilities against another person (Overview: A Separate Peace 2). We are shown how the impact of one person can make a great difference. The goodness in people is what one should always take away from a relationship. This is shown in the relationship between Gene and Finny. The experiences Finny gives Gene cause him to grow up and become a better person because of them.
Has there ever been a time in your life where the challenges you were facing seemed too impossible to conquer? Many have felt that way, but have pushed through and overcame. In the book, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, a little girl named Francie grows up during a difficult time in New York. The young girl lives in a poor neighborhood with her family. She learns that anything can happen if you put your mind to it. The author, Betty Smith, taught her readers to push through any obstacle in life, through the books conflicts, setting and research.
...ived by Tom as being real in this dream world, and who acts as she would have before the demon destroyed everything but Tom, but who does not exist. A "real" person has their own senses and perception, their own thoughts, yet the evil demon destroyed everything except for Tom and replaced it with illusion. All that exists in the world is Tom, Tom's perceptions, and the evil demon. Although Tom's perceptions perceive everything as it was in the real world, it is clear that all of the perceptions are illusions. What is meant by flowers or by Milly is not just Tom's perceptions of these things, but rather the thing itself, which if possessing senses should be able to perceive the things around it, which Milly is unable to do as "she" does not exist, merely Tom's perception of her. Thus Bouwsma falls short of his goal of impeaching Descartes' use of the evil demon.
The narrator wrestles with conflicting feelings of responsibility to the old man and feelings of ridding his life of the man's "Evil Eye" (34). Although afflicted with overriding fear and derangement, the narrator still acts with quasi-allegiance toward the old man; however, his kindness may stem more from protecting himself from suspicion of watching the old man every night than from genuine compassion for the old man.