Without change, something sleeps inside us, and seldom awakens. The sleeper must awaken (Frank Herbert, 1965). Bruce Chatwin's On the Black Hill, is a work of great dramatic intensity. Without change, something sleeps inside us, and seldom awakens. The sleeper must awaken" (Frank Herbert, 1965). Bruce Chatwin's On the Black Hill, is 'a work of great dramatic intensity'. The novel spans the majority of the twentieth century, a period of immense social, economic and political change, and clearly chronicles the conflict between modernisation and tradition that occurs during this period. Throughout the closely intertwined lives of Lewis and Benjamin Jones, this conflict is apparent, and a sense of the immensity of the changes which are taking place is conveyed. It is difficult to judge whether Chatwin endorses the traditional or modernising aspects of the world he presents in On the Black Hill. However, while evaluating Chatwin's stance on the subject of change, we must keep in mind that the twins live their life blocked off from the world, virtually unchanged, and as a result, something is always missing in their lives. Something inside them is always 'asleep' and they, especially Lewis, feel an emptiness to their life. In order to evaluate whether the novel is written in the interests of endorsing either modernisation or tradition, we must examine the degree to which Lewis and Benjamin's refusal to progress with the rest of the world affects their lives, as well as the various changes in social distinctions, gender discrimination, social practices and even technology that take place throughout the period that the novel spans. One of the most important social changes that occurred in the novel is the w... ... middle of paper ... ...ther than endorsing tradition or modernisation specifically, the novel On the Black Hill simply endorses change. Bruce Chatwin's message to the reader is conveyed through the lives of the twins, that 'without change, something sleeps inside us', and that in order to experience life fully, we must progress as the world around us progresses. However, although he approves of changes such as the dissipation of social and gender discrimination, Bruce Chatwin does not appear to support all forms of modernisation, and is sceptical about changing social practices and values, as well as society's violent solutions (such as war) to conflicts. The novel On the Black Hill teaches the reader that although we should not be trapped in the constraints of tradition as Lewis and Benjamin Jones were, we must be careful about the changes we make as well as their consequences.
Black Hearts was about the 2005-2006 deployment of the 101st‘s second brigade‘s 1-502nd (First Strike) to Iraq. The book more specifically honed in on Bravo Company and their first platoon’s decent into complete madness throughout the deployment. The 1-502nd and its commander Lt Col Kunk, was tasked with the mission of getting control of and hold the land in-between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers. Kunk was a particularly difficult man to get along with. He would explode and go on a tirade over just about anything, big or small. This caused serious problems at meetings when he only wanted things his way and would personally attack his commanders who he thought he could not trust. This area had been recently dubbed as the “Triangle of death”. The cities that were in this area were Yusufiyah, Mahmudiyah, Lutufiyah, and notably a thermal power plant that was never finished that housed many insurgents almost like a FOB. Bravo Company was sent to take care of a particularly nasty part of the Battalion’s AO; The north-western-side that encompassed Yusufiyah and the unfinished thermal power plant. Upon arrival to Iraq and to their AO, Bravo Company was to take over the duties of the 48th infantry brigade who was there before them. After riding around with the 48th Brigade to learn how things were being run, Bravo Company started to realize how scared the 48th were to even leave the wire. Any patrols that needed to be done were done in a Humvee that just raced around the area and got back to the FOB ASAP. Once they fully took over their AO from the 48th they started on building up fortifications and doing patrols of the area. One road in particular, Route Sportster, had been giving patrols and Humvees trouble since it was always laden...
Blacky’s friendship with Dumby Red causes Blacky to stop making racist jokes and comments. Throughout the novel Gwynne drives the reader to reject the racist values, attitudes and beliefs of Blacky’s community, as seen in his portrayal of racist ideas in the town, the marginalisation of the Nunga community, Blacky’s emerging ideology and how it influences and empowers him to respond to the death of Dumby.
In John Knowles’ A Separate Peace, characters Gene and Phineas begin their journeys to adulthood in a war-torn environment. The dynamic formed between a world full of struggle and the crucial age of development in high school proves to be an excellent setting to examine the abilities of both Gene and Phineas to “come of age.” Being a Bildungsroman, the theme of coping with war and death is highlighted via the imagery that surrounds both Gene’s epiphany moment at the marble stairs, and its introduction at the beginning of the novel. Additionally, Knowles employs a flashback to set a nostalgic and somewhat reflective mood, which further extends this meaning. In Knowles’ “coming of age” novel A Separate Peace, the use of imagery surrounding the marble stairs, and a reminiscent flashback aid Gene discovers that war and death can never be understood.
Eric Rauchway’s Murdering McKinley: The Making of Theodore Roosevelt’s America is an examination of the events, social conditions and dramatic political changes taking place in America immediately prior to and during the birth of the 20th century that led to the assassination of William McKinley and the rise of progressivism. It is furthermore an investigation of the motives behind the assassination, and an analysis of the events leading up to what made possible “Roosevelt’s America,” arguably the first recognizably modern period in American history from a 21st century perspective: the progressive era.
There are many ways in which we can view the history of the American West. One view is the popular story of Cowboys and Indians. It is a grand story filled with adventure, excitement and gold. Another perspective is one of the Native Plains Indians and the rich histories that spanned thousands of years before white discovery and settlement. Elliot West’s book, Contested Plains: Indians, Goldseekers and the Rush to Colorado, offers a view into both of these worlds. West shows how the histories of both nations intertwine, relate and clash all while dealing with complex geological and environmental challenges. West argues that an understanding of the settling of the Great Plains must come from a deeper understanding, a more thorough knowledge of what came before the white settlers; “I came to believe that the dramatic, amusing, appalling, wondrous, despicable and heroic years of the mid-nineteenth century have to be seen to some degree in the context of the 120 centuries before them” .
film as well as similar to 'Stand By Me' We simply used our own ideas
What is/are the social problem(s) that the author is discussing in this book? Why did it/they develop?
reflects upon the theme of the novel. As it highlights the fact that if people in the society
There is plenty of opportunity for interpretation in Carter’s writing, particularly in her book ‘The Bloody Chamber’ which is commonly considered to be her masterwork, brimming with intertextualities and ambiguities. Some may find her work to be excessively violent or savage, perhaps even alienating. Yet others may have found this no-holds-barred approach to be exhilarating and refreshing in comparison to other authors of her time. In her re-writing of Perrault and Beaumont’s classic tales, Carter proposes a reading of several well-known stories with intent to unveil through a feminist perspective the ideological content they present. “The Bloody Chamber” is her take on the tale of Bluebeard; “The Werewolf” is her variation of the tale of Little Red Riding Hood; and “The Snow Child” is a very brief but equally powerful story based on the tale of Snow White. Whilst some may find her writing to be ‘grossly repellent’ and most certainly did at the time of its original publication, it remains clear that there are numerous aspects of intertextuality within her writing which delve beyond the face value of her work, that there is much latent content within every story in the collection.
Sonny’s Blues is a short story written by James Baldwin. The story is written in the first person singular narrative style and it begins with the narrator who reads in the newspaper on his way to work about his younger brother Sonny, who has been caught in a heroine bust and jailed. The narrator becomes very disappointed in his brother that he does not write to him for a while but after his daughter Gracie, succumbs to polio, that is when he remembers his brother and writes a letter to him. The two brothers maintain contact through the letters till Sonny is released from jail. After his release, Sonny moves in with his brother and his family. During a family dinner, they flash back about their parents. The narrator describes their father as a drunk who died when sonny was fifteen. He liked his privacy just like sonny but they never used to get along. Sonny was a withdrawn and a quiet type while their father feigned to be big, loud-talking and tough. The narrator recalls the last time he saw their mother alive was before he left for war. He remembered his mother telling him to take care of his brother. The story talks of Sonny’s life in Harlem and how he tried to escape the stereotype of the community’s traditional social view. He tries to venture into jazz music which the narrator does not find suitable for him. Sonny gets lured into drugs in the attempt of escaping the darkness in his life and finds himself in jail. The narrator tries to help and understand his brother. When Sonny invites the narrator to Greenwich Village to watch him perform, the narrator is uncertain but accepts the invitation. As Sonny plays the piano, the narrator feels the magic in the music and can see how his brother’s emotions come alive and he is able to...
The book Lives on the Boundary, written by Mike Rose, provides great insight to what the new teaching professional may anticipate in the classroom. This book may be used to inform a teacher’s philosophy and may render the teacher more effective. Lives on the Boundary is a first person account composed of eight chapters each of which treat a different obstacle faced by Mike Rose in his years as a student and as an educator. More specifically in chapters one through five Mike Rose focuses on his own personal struggles and achievements as a student. Ultimately the aim is to highlight the underpreparedness of some of today’s learners.
In “The Allegory of the Cave,” Plato describes the cave as very dark with chained people inside and a wall where they can only see shadow illusions, which they believe is reality. Outside the cave, there is “light” and “truth.” One chained person is released into the “light,” which is uncomfortable at first, because of how bright the “light” or “truth” is however, once he adjusts, he realizes the outer world is the “truth” or reality and the cave is a shadow of reality. He pities the ones in the cave, still lost in the darkness yet, when he tries to make them see reality, their ignorance overpowers them and they kill the enlightened one out of fear and confusion. This is the kind of society, full of puppet-handlers, the narrator Sylvia in “The Lesson” dwells in and the author, Toni Cade Bambara, depicts Sylvia as being freed from the chains of ignorant society. Bambara’s released prisoner, Miss Moore, is the one to free Sylvia and the other chained prisoners and exposes them to the “light,” which is the unequal distribution of wealth and the “truth,” which is educating youth on economic inequality so the freed prisoners can learn to change their society’s shadow of reality.
Guerin, Wilfred L., Earle Labor, Lee Morgan, Jeanne C. Reesman, and John R. Willingham. A Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999. 125-156.
Many people have life changing revelations in their lives, but very few people are as young as Jared when he realizes what he does about his life. Ron Rash wrote the short story, "The Ascent," about a young boy's journey that brought him to have a significant revelation about his life. In the story, Rash uses a naive narrator, foreshadowing, and imagery to show the setting of the story that led to Jared's revelation about his life.
The language is also used to emphasize the feelings and emotions of Callum and Sephy. The use of descriptive writing is employed by Blackman to give the reader insight into the effects and emotions of racism. “I was talking like my mouth was full of stones – and sharp jagged ones at that.” The book is full of descriptive writing and figurative language with use of similes and metaphors to explore the feelings of Callum and Sephy. The way in which Blackman uses these language techniques influences the reader to especially pity the white race and the way they are treated in the book. Blackman has created her own world to resemble our own op...