“Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go. - T.S. Eliot, one of the major 20th century poets, publisher and essayer. In the novel Tangerine by Edward Bloor, the protagonist, Paul Fisher was greatly impacted by Luis’ younger brother, Tino Cruz. After moving from Houston, Texas to Tangerine, Florida, Paul’s conflict with his older brother Erik escalates. At the same time, Paul was having difficulty fitting in at school. Tino, a friend, made choices that led to Paul Fisher becoming more brave. First, Tino’s choice to attack Erik was one of the major events that prompted Paul’s change. After Tino was struck across the face by Erik earlier in the book, Tino brings up the event again at the Lake Windsor High
Paul’s parents prove to be threshold guardians when they favor Paul’s brother Erik, and hide how Paul really lost his eyesight. To start, Paul once, accused his father of favoring Erik, and Paul’s dad just makes an excuse for himself by telling Paul,”All I can say, in my own defense is that this was a critical season for Erik. College
Mordecai Richler’s The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz certainly provides a stark contrast to F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. While Fitzgerald epitomizes descriptive writing techniques, Richler is far more reserved and subtle in terms of description when juxtaposed. However, both writers are able to successfully reveal the precarious journey of, essentially, the same character. Richler’s Duddy Kravitz and Fitzgerald’s Jay Gatsby, exemplifies the accomplishments that result from pursuing a dream. Kravitz obediently follows his grandfather’s advice: “A man without land is nobody” (Richler, 49.) Meanwhile, Gatsby follows his heart and pursues Daisy Buchanans’ unrequited love. While there are parallactic views on whether each character’s actions are inspiring or denouncing, the similarities between the two are blatantly obvious. The psychological structure of Kravitz essentially parallels that of Gatsby because both rise to prominence from meager existence, both attempt to conceal their inauspicious past, both pursue their goals through questionable means, and both base their entire existence on a dream which ultimately proves to be their downfall.
Gary Paulsen born May 17, 1939 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Pendergast) was the third child of Oscar Paulsen who was an army officer and Eunice Paulsen (Pendergast). Paulsen would live nine years before he met his father for the first time as his father was in the army and spent a lot of time away from home during World War II (Pendergast). His father was an alcoholic and he got into many heated arguments with his father during his childhood but no child abuse has been reflected in his literature (Trelease). On the other hand Paulsen’s mother worked in munitions factories during much of his childhood which made Paulsen stay with his aunt or grandma often (Trelease). In Paulsen’s novel Harris and Me th...
Many people oppose society due to the surroundings that they face and the obstacles that they encounter. Set in the bleak winter landscape of New England, Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton is the story of a poor, lonely man, his wife Zeena, and her cousin Mattie Silver. Ethan the protagonist in this novel, faces many challenges and fights to be with the one he really loves. Frome was trapped from the beginning ever since Mattie Silver came to live with him and his wife. He soon came to fall in love with her, and out of love with his own wife. He was basically trapped in the instances of his life, society’s affect on the relationship, love, poverty, illness, disability, and life.
His parents lied to Paul his whole life. They said, “ We wanted to find a way to keep you from always hating your brother.” Erik is a bully and blind to appropriate social behavior. Erik thinks he has discretion over everyone else. He is a star kicker for the High School football team, and hopes to play in college and then professional ball. He jokes about a football teammate being killed by lightning. Erik tells Arthur, his ball holder and sidekick goon, to punch Tino’s big brother Luis, and hits him on the head with a “blackjack” club. Luis then dies of an aneurysm about a week later. Erik is blind to how his actions affect others. He is not able to take accountability for what he does to other people. He is not accountable for the harm he has caused Paul, Luis, or anyone else. If he is good at football he acts like he can be an exception to the rules of
Taylor, Peter. The Collected Stories of Peter Taylor. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1969.
In three dynamic pieces of literature, the desperate yet hopeful characters gallantly endure the struggles of achieving their dreams as they experience the pain of desolation and the life-fulfilling happiness of a friendly companion. Through hostile resentment, the intense repulsion created by generations of territorial disputes tears apart two vengeful foes, Ulrich and Georg, in Saki’s captivating tale. Whereas in Remarque’s gory war novel, the pure terror of battle brutally slaughters the once innocent minds of soldiers as they undergo changes in their heart and soul within themselves. Although impervious to the influence of the reclusive residents tied to the ranch, as they quest for their shared aspirations, George and Lennie forge an invincible friendship in Steinbeck’s calamitous novelette.
Have you ever been in a situation where you have almost met your goal, but something in the way is preventing you from fully accomplishing it? Jay Gatsby, one of the protagonists in the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, loses the love of his life, Daisy, due to years of separation and is trying to win her back. Daisy’s husband, Tom, however, won’t let her go that easy. Gatsby fights his way to get back the lover he waits so many years for. Preceding Gatsby’s risky quest, his main goal in life is to obtain a great wealth in order to impress the beautiful Daisy. He only thinks about Daisy and their life together. He will do anything to be reunited, no matter the consequences. Jay’s shadow side is revealed and anima is present throughout his journey. Gatsby appears to be an altruistic, benevolent, stately young man. Upon close scrutiny, it’s unveiled that he is malicious and selfish because he wants Daisy for himself and he is wiling to ruin a family for her. But, his anima shows how caring, romantic, and vulnerable he really is through his devotion and passion for Daisy. Gatsby is unsuccessful in completing a traditional hero’s journey, but he does create his own unique version of the archetype. In this unorthodox interpretation, Gatsby learns the repercussions of wanting what you can’t have and dishonesty throughout the course of his battle for his lover.
In the novel “The Catcher in the Rye”, Holden is deals with one of the largest obstacles one would ever face in one’s lifetime. He must deal with the concept of development and the idea that he’s growing up, that he’s no longer a child and must accept maturity. This internal struggle is evident in multiple aspects of this novel, particularly highlighted when Holden visits the museum and the carousel at the conclusion of the novel.
In J.D. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye, the main character Holden Caufield believes that innocence is corrupted by society. He exposes his self-inflicted emotional struggles as he is reminiscing the past. For Holden, teenage adolescence is a complicated time for him, his teenage mentality in allows him to transition from the teenage era to the reality of an adult in the real world. As he is struggling to find his own meaning of life, he cares less about others and worries about how he can be a hero not only to himself but also to the innocent youth. As Holden is grasping the idea of growing up, he sets his priorities of where he belongs and how to establish it. As he talks about how ‘phony’ the outside world is, he has specific recollections that signify importance to his life and he uses these time and time again because these memories are ones that he wont ever let go of. The death of his younger brother Allie has had a major impact on him emotionally and mentally. The freedom of the ducks in Central Park symbolize his ‘get away’ from reality into his own world. His ideology of letting kids grow up and breaking the chain loose to discover for themselves portrays the carrousel and the gold ring. These are three major moments that will be explored to understand the life of Holden Caufield and his significant personal encounters as he transitions from adolescence into manhood.
People rebel for a cause. In the book “The Catcher in the Rye” , the protagonist, Holden Caulfield is living in a school called Pencey Prep. Holden is failing all of his classes except English, and he often curses and smokes cigarettes in his dorm. One of Holden’s main problems in life is the death of his brother Allie. Allie, who died of leukemia 3 years prior to the events of the book, was the only person who deeply understood Holden. When Allie died, Holden broke all of the windows in his garage while breaking his own hand. Holden even states that he tried to break his family’s station wagon, but his hand was broken. This event shows that Holden really cared about Allie and that his death had a huge impact on his life. The death of Allie created a fear for Holden, Holden became afraid of change. Holden himself stated that Allie was very mature for his age and very smart in the quote “He was two years younger than I was, but he was about fifty times as intelligent.” (p. 21). The way Holden sees change is the more you grow, the closer to death you find yourself. In the poem “Novel” by Arthur Rimbaud, the narrator talks about drinking and walking around. The narrator is having fun and is in tune with the environment. A quote that supports this is “At times the air is so scented that we close our eyes,” Other lines in the stanza also support this idea. In the next section, the narrator talks about his/her surroundings and how he feels. He is interrupted by a sudden kiss and starts to tremble like a small insect. In the next section, the narrator starts to talk to himself in his mind. The narrator uses the word ‘you’ not to the reader, but to himself to think about the things he is seeing, for example the attractive girl. The narrat...
Caramelo has been quite an interesting novel. It describes a Hispanic family to the tee. Sandra Cisneros chose her title perfectly for this book. Life’s hardships and possibilities are explored throughout this fascinating novel.
In ‘Paul’s Case’ Paul has created a fantasy world in which he becomes entranced, even to the point of lying to classmates about the tales of grandeur and close friendships that he had made with the members of the stock company. This fantasy falls apart around him as “the principle went to Paul’s father, and Paul was taken out of school and put to work. The manager at Carnegie Hall was told to get another usher in his stead; the doorkeeper at the theater was warned not to admit him to the house” (Cather 8). The fantasy fell apart further when the stories he had told his classmates reached the ears of the women of the stock company, who unlike their lavish descriptions from Paul were actually hardworking women supporting their families. Unable to cope with the reality of working for Denny & Carson, he stole the money he was supposed to deposit in the bank to live the life of luxury in New York. Only a person who felt backed into a corner would attempt something so unsound. After his eight days in paradise, he is again backed into a corner by the reality of his middle class upbringing, and the dwindling time he has before his father reaches New York to find him. The final way out for Paul is his suicide, for which an explanation would be “In the end, he fails to find his security, for it was his grandiose “picture making mechanism” that made his life so deardful.” (Saari). With all the securities of his fantasy life finally gone, his mental instability fully comes to light as he jumps in front of the train to end his
Tristram Shandy begins the narration of his life by rewinding to the moment of his conception, which his mother disrupted with a question: “Pray, my dear, have you not forgot to wind up the clock?” (Sterne 6). In this introduction, Tristram ironically reveals the main anxiety of the family: that time will, metaphorically, stop for them. Just as Tristram traces his misfortunes to his nearly derailed conception, the rest of the Shandys suffer from fear that their family legacy will not continue, especially considering that their one surviving son, Tristram, has squandered his prime years for potential courtship and fatherhood on meticulously recording the events of his childhood. The cornerstones of the novel, including Tristram’s conception, his Uncle Toby’s groin injury in the war, Tristram’s brother’s death, and Tristram’s accidental circumcision all reveal literal and metaphorical castration anxieties that are deeply tied to the family’s thinning bloodline. Laurence Sterne’s Tristram Shandy documents the fear of thinning legacy and declining
It is said in the story The Treasure of Lemon Brown. That everyone has a treasure. I oppose this claim because not everyone actually has a treasure. I believe that not everyone actually has something that they value. I know some people might disagree with my allegation and say everyone has a treasure. You can say anything you want but I don’t agree with this. I don’t agree at all.