It’s a universally know truth that death is certain and people cannot live forever. In the story The River Styx Runs Upstream, the author Dan Simmons predicts and interprets the way our lives would be different if that fact was altered. Simmons’s story describes the way the society and people would function if people were brought back from the dead. The title of the story is ironic since rivers run downstream and not upstream and it’s also not coincidental that the river Styx is a river which according to Greek mythology separates our world from the underworld. The story is narrated by a young boy whose mother dies and is brought back to life. Looking at the events in his life and examining his attitude and others towards resurrected people the understanding of the dead is acknowledged. There are many beneficial and detrimental effects of bringing people back to life, but the people who bring back the dead ones fail to recognize the unpleasant effects their actions will have on their family.
The narrator of the story, one of the younger brothers is satisfied with the fact that his mother is living again and is brought back to life. However what he fails to realize because he is so young that his mother and his family will never be the same again. His mother will never be the same mother the boy remembers before she was dead. When they first bring her in, she is not what they boy remembers, “...her face was flushed and healthy, almost sunburned. Her skin wasn't cold. It was just different." The resurrected can never fully recover and must be under constant supervision. The father was told that would happen, he was told to think of it as a “stroke”, but he failed to realize that the stoke isn’t temporary and it won’t be nurse back ...
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...ir peers, no one will speak to them in school and the kids make fun of them. The two boys are then forced to transfer to private schools where no one makes fun of them, but kids still don’t make the effort to befriend them. The boys are shunned from their social circle and are forced to just play together all the time. Both the boys have trouble falling asleep, and the older boy, Simon, always has the same reoccurring nightmare about his mother “grinning at him, not smiling, but grinning real wide... her teeth... filed down to points." It get so emotionally frustrating for the boys to be around her that Simon convinces the younger brother to run away with him so they no longer have to be in her presence. After the father learns that the boys tried to run away her tries to take a family vacation where Simon, who is so distraught by the resurrection commits suicide.
Tom and Billy are used to living the upper-class life which includes their parents working almost all the time and the au pair being their closest “relative” at home. This creates a kind of alienated relationship between the parents and the kids. The family communicates every day but they all live separate lives.
Some Boys is told in alternating voices, the voices of Grace and Ian. They are both forced to spend some time coming in to the empty school to clean out lockers as punishment for various bad behavior.
...e on her part. Throughout the story, the Mother is portrayed as the dominant figure, which resembled the amount of say that the father and children had on matters. Together, the Father, James, and David strived to maintain equality by helping with the chickens and taking care of Scott; however, despite the effort that they had put in, the Mother refused to be persuaded that Scott was of any value and therefore she felt that selling him would be most beneficial. The Mother’s persona is unsympathetic as she lacks respect and a heart towards her family members. Since the Mother never showed equality, her character had unraveled into the creation of a negative atmosphere in which her family is now cemented in. For the Father, David and James, it is only now the memories of Scott that will hold their bond together.
In conclusion, this was an awesome story. The above questions were the catalyst to the real truth that would make the brother to that little girl free at last. His son was determined to break the cycle and remedy this generational condition, although the means by which he used were terrible. But, he would get through to his father. He shed light in the dark place by first beating his father into sobriety, so that he could think clearly. He then helped his father to open up to the discussion concerning the secret he had held on to for so long. Then, he also convinced his father to burn the “Shawl” of his deceased sister. And finally, his father realized what the true story was. A story that would in turn loose the tie that bound them all together with generational sorrows.
Each boy gets nurtured and find outs what is it that they want in life eventually finding it one way or another.
Every time the family comes to a confrontation someone retreats to the past and reflects on life as it was back then, not dealing with life as it is for them today. Tom, assuming the macho role of the man of the house, babies and shelters Laura from the outside world. His mother reminds him that he is to feel a responsibility for his sister. He carries this burden throughout the play. His mother knows if it were not for his sisters needs he would have been long gone. Laura must pickup on some of this, she is so sensitive she must sense Toms feeling of being trapped. Tom dreams of going away to learn of the world, Laura is aware of this and she is frightened of what may become of them if he were to leave.
The concept of reincarnation is present through countless forms in media and cultures around the world. Defined as the idea that the soul is reborn in a different body or form after death, reincarnation can simply be a belief or even used as a coping mechanism in the face of death. In David Mitchell’s Cloud Atlas and Darren Aronofsky’s The Fountain, they explore reincarnation and how a person’s disposition towards death influences their actions and attitudes in specific ways, whether it be fear, acceptance or denial. Split between six different timelines and characters, Cloud Atlas follows their lives and how they all connect together. The Fountain, however, explores the life of a scientist across three centuries and his desire to save his wife. Although Cloud Atlas and The Fountain share
A meeting is called and the boys come up with some new ideas and talk about problems. Meanwhile jack wanders off and enjoys the peace and quiet. Soon the boys get into a rhythm of everyday life.
The children’s transition is marked by a rivalry, one that surfaces early on in the story and is portrayed through delightful banter and retorts. The children’s bantering relieves some stress created by the unknown tiny steps they are taking in establishing a new type of relationship with their father in the absence of their mother. At no time do the children’s harmless antics towards one another escalate as indicated by critic Tara Baker when she explains that their arguments become deeper than the usual childish bickering. Baker seems to believe the children’s digs into one another are being fueled by difficult situations they have had to deal with lately (170).
Jeannette and her siblings were left without a proper education due to the fact of their parents' weird way living. The Walls children were always moving from place to place because of Rex and Rosemary. Parent interaction in their children's educational learning has a big effect in the ending. If a parent is involved, asks about their child's schoolwork, how their day was, etc., the child will do better in school because their parent actually cares. On the other hand, if a parent rarely shows interest in their child's school studies, the child may believe that they do not have to try hard in their studies because the parent will no...
In both the film and the book This Boy’s Life Tobias Wolff is surrounded by bad role models and terrible father figures. Wolff and his mother are constantly looking for the complete family life and find themselves in a series of bad situations on their quest. In the book Toby’s relationship with his mother Rosemary is illustrated in a clear and deeper manner but the movie just didn’t seem to focus on it enough. This paper will evaluate the portrayal of Toby’s relationship with his mother and the men in their lives as told in the memoir and the film.
...parents were much more successful in the working world encouraged him to complete many daily activities such as choir and piano lessons. His parents engaged him in conversations that promoted reasoning and negotiation and they showed interest in his daily life. Harold’s mother joked around with the children, simply asking them questions about television, but never engaged them in conversations that drew them out. She wasn’t aware of Harold’s education habits and was oblivious to his dropping grades because of his missing assignments. Instead of telling one of the children to seek help for a bullying problem she told them to simply beat up the child that was bothering them until they stopped. Alex’s parents on the other hand were very involved in his schooling and in turn he scored very well in his classes. Like Lareau suspected, growing up
By using symbolism to develop the story, Golding shows his readers that the island is a place of evil and changes the boys from civil to savage. The end of Golding’s story shows the order and organization on the island dying along with Piggy and Simon, causing chaos and destruction to Ralph and the others. Even after many years, Golding’s book still holds the same message, the human nature is the same in everyone and chaos and destruction can be caused by this human nature even in the most peaceful
With the son’s fear amongst the possibility of death being near McCarthy focuses deeply in the father’s frustration as well. “If only my heart were stone” are words McCarthy uses this as a way illustrate the emotional worries the characters had. ( McCarthy pg.11). Overall, the journey of isolation affected the boy just as the man both outward and innerly. The boys’ journey through the road made him weak and without a chance of any hope. McCarthy states, “Ever is a long time. But the boy knew what he knew. That ever is no time at all” (McCarthy pg. 28). The years of journey had got the best of both, where they no longer had much expectation for
...hut the child out of their lives. Rather than dealing with the mistake or misfortune as a parent should do and stand by their child’s side, both parents ran away and tried to hide from the problem. The feelings of each character were completely forgotten and lost. Each were treated as some sort of object that could be thrown away and replaced. And ultimately, the outcomes in their lives reflected their poor parenting. The choices they made unfortunately came from the lack of skills they were taught when they were young and impressionable. Neither character knows what it is like to be a part of a loving family because they were both used as objects for money or fame. Sadly, the lack of parenting led to the demise of each and we are reminded, from over a hundred years ago as well as today, that successful parenting today will lead to successful adults for the future.