An Ember in the Ashes, written by Sabaa Tahir, is the first book in an up and coming dystopian series that follows the lives of two unlikely heroes who live in a cruel Empirical world. Laia is a simple lower class girl who loses what little family she has after her grandparents are killed and her brother is arrested. Elias is the finest student in a school that is training its students to become lethal killers, though he does not wish to take the same path as his comrades. Fate forces them together in an epic tale of bravery, betrayal and love that will change the face of the Empire forever. To carry out this tale, Tahir uses a mix of dualism and man versing his own inner demons to show how freedom comes when you take it, for both the soldier and the slave. …show more content…
Every chapter the author switches between the two, emphasizing their jointed personalities. How they react to each other is also changed by the circumstances they find themselves in. When they first meet, Elias is wearing the mask that marks him as a soldier and, as such, Laia instinctively distrusts him (128). Later they meet when Elias’s mask is off and Laia, not recognizing him without it, naturally trusts him (264-270). Meanwhile, from Elias’s point of view, Laia is a servant with a horrible master and is in need of help (129).However, he later finds out that she is a resistance spy who is determined to find her brother (440). Meanwhile they worth shine out as embers in the society made of ashes. Laia discovers that the resistance is crumbling from within and its leader is telling lies and making sacrifices (403). Elias shines out even more as he refuses to be the ruthless murderer that his society demands that he should be
War. Author Michael Shaara does an excellent job of showing the bravery and valor of
The Armenian genocide ruins Vahan Kenderian’s picture-perfect life. Vahan is the son of the richest Armenian in Turkey and before the war begins, he always has food in his belly and a roof over his head in the book Forgotten Fire by Adam Bagdasarian. Life is absolutely quintessential for Vahan, until the war starts in 1915, when he endures many deaths of his family, losses of his friends, and frightening experiences in a short amount of time. He is a prisoner of war early in the book and is starved for days. As he goes through life, he is very unlucky and experiences other deaths, not just the deaths of his family. Vahan ultimately becomes the man his family would want him to be.
Looking towards the second protagonist, Andy can also be a good role model for young boys. Even though the events that lead Andy into the war are not admirable he does show great attributes during the war. Andy is a young man of courage, maturity, mate ship and just like Henry, integrity and honesty. When faced with danger Andy is quick to quite literally step up to the mark. In combat, the soldiers were hastily called to ‘man the fire step’. Andy showing bravery and courage was the first to volunteer himself, manning the fire step all through the night. It is through these sole actions the reader gets a taste of Henry and Andy’s personalities, highlighting the minor messages in this book such as honor, mate ship and responsibility. If we were to look at the boy’s love lives, we would see the more prevailing message of relationships. Henry and Andy both face hardships in their romantic lives. With Henry in a struggling, unhappy relationship with his girlfriend (Marcelle), Henry finds himself more attracted to his friend’s girlfriend (Janine). When his friend (Trot) is killed off the most un-fascinating and foreseeable way possible, it leaves Henry in a sticky situation. Through all this, Henry can stay true to his moral code just like a real Aussie. On the other side, Andy also gets himself into a sticky situation when he regrettably impregnates a girl (Frances-Jane) while in another relationship (Cecelia). However, Andy does not abandon Frances but instead turns to her and his unborn baby for comfort in his time of darkness and despair. He shows integrity and honesty by choosing to tell Cecelia the truth. In the time of Andy’s story this was an orthodox thing to do. The author accentuates the belief through that even if society tells you it’s the wrong thing to do it is sometimes best to stick to your morals. The actions of these young men are a good influence to the social,
Judging a book by its cover is like judging a person by the words that describe him or her. Some of them are accurate, but the physical being of a person can tell you a story untold. In Frank McCourt’s memoir Angela’s Ashes, the reader witnesses what the description of a single character can do to the voice of a piece. Frank’s use of pathos and characterization when it came to Angela, his mother, spoke volumes in his memoir, but when applied to the big screen, her character was amplified. It was then the reader realized that Angela’s true effect and purpose in Frank’s life was to be his main influence.
Evan King Mrs. Madis English 12-2 14 January 2015 Making Something Out Of Nothing Making the most out of life is hard, especially life as a poor child in Ireland would have kept most people from reaching their goals in life but not for Frank McCourt, did not play into the stereotypes of many poor Irish people of that time. In the Memoir Angela’s Ashes written by Frank McCourt Frank has to persevere through much adversity in his not so desirable life as a poor Irish boy with a drunk for a father who could not provide for Frank and his family. Frank must get a job at a young age in order to bring in the money that his father Malachy drinks away, when he finally has money and moves to America, and when he eventually becomes a teacher even with all of his bad experiences as a child in school.
Firstly, the motif of fire is portrayed during times of trauma due to the fact that in the beginning of the story, it starts with a baby name Effia being “born of the fire” (ebook 2). Effia’s mother Maame sets a fire that
The title of this book is Angela’s Ashes. The title doesn’t make a lot of sense because the story about Angela’s cremation and her lost ashes is found in part two of the book. However, ashes do appear in the book in relation to Angela. An example of this would be the ashes from Angela’s Woodbine cigarettes. And another example would be Angela sitting next to the ashes from the fireplace during hard times.
First and formost, Frank McCourt's, "Angela's Ashes" ,shows the development of poverty and perseverance through the mian characters struggles of starvation. For example, the main character shows perseverance through him needing to become the "caretaker" of the family from such a young age. "Grandma
...s inner self. What is seen as a relationship amongst these two young men is now torn apart by the transformation of Henry caused from his witnesses during warfare.
In addition to appearance, the two women have extremely different relationships with Ethan. In order to portray each woman’s relationship with Ethan, the author uses the motif of silence.
The valley of ashes is “a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens; where ashes take the forms of houses and chimneys and rising smoke and, finally, with a transcendent efforts, or men who move dimly and already crumbling through the powdery air” (23). Here, The Valley of Ashes is regarded as complete destitution and hopelessness. The people known as the lower class do not wish to live in the valley of ashes. This is why people, like Myrtle try to do anything to get away from it but instead it becomes unachievable for them.
From start to finish, one could see how much Mariam values Laila, Aziza, and their friendship. The first example is when Mariam vows to help Laila while they are in the hospital for Laila’s unborn child: “I’ll get you seen, Laila jo. I promise” (287). This simple promise is a deep portrayal of Mariam’s desire to help Laila find a doctor and deliver her baby. Additionally, one can see Mariam’s love for Laila when she protects her from Rasheed’s grip of death, “‘Rasheed.’ He looked up. Mariam swung. She hit him across the temple. The blow knocked him off Laila” (348). Rasheed was going to kill Laila, but Mariam steps in and knocks him off of her with a shovel to save her life. Mariam forms a tight-knit bond with Laila, and when Hosseini includes their relationship, one can see how Mariam values Laila enough to kill another man. The author also describes their relationship after Mariam and Laila discuss plans for leaving: “When they do, they’ll find you as guilty as me. Tariq too. I won’t have the two of you living on the run like fugitives.” … “Laila crawled to her and again put her head on Mariam’s lap. She remembered all the afternoons they’d spent together, braiding each other’s hair, Mariam listening patiently to her random thoughts and ordinary stories with an air of gratitude, with the expression of a person to whom a unique and coveted privilege had been extended” (358). The love Mariam has for
An Acquaintance with Darkness by Ann Rinaldi is about Emily Bransby, a 14-year old girl living in Washington DC at the time that President Lincoln was assassinated, when slaves we're being freed and people were all going crazy from all of the new changes going on. Her mother has just died and her best friend's mother is jailed for taking a part in Lincoln's murder. Because her father is also dead, Emily is forced to live with her mother's hated brother, Uncle Valentine, who is a doctor with a secret. Emily has to decide how much she's willing to risk for her uncle. An Acquaintance with Darkness was a good (yet sometimes boring) book, well written with a good twist in the end.
This is an odd little book, but a very important one nonetheless. The story it tells is something like an extended parablethe style is plain, the characters are nearly stick figures, the story itself is contrived. And yet ... and yet, the story is powerful, distressing, even heartbreaking because the historical trend it describes is powerful, distressing, even heartbreaking.
From the child in Omelas to a slaving factory worker, those who struggle from oppression have channeled their worth and refuse to remain pushed to the side and neglected.