Back … forth … back … forth … she sits in her creaky rocking chair pleasantly reminiscing about her lost childhood as she crochets a warm fuzzy quilt for her granddaughter. Out of nowhere her desire to finish the quilt before noon fades and she find her attention drifting towards the window and looking at a giant maple tree bejeweled in sparkling frost. The tree is old and withered, it has aged immensely; it is somewhat like the old woman … even the texture of the bark is likened to the wrinkles on her face and body. Beyond the bark there is a history of both painful wounds and happy memories, each and every one just as vivid as the next. It is astounding how this tree, such an ordinary and natural commodity can bring back so many fond and colorful memories. One of the lower branches of the tree appears to be mangled and frayed. She remembers it when it was in perfect condition, housing a handmade, wooden swing hanging from a brand new strand of coarse rope. Over the years the rope had turned from a brilliant golden-yellow to an almost brownish-amber.
She would come home each day and was always comforted by that same tree and that same swing, though she never understood why because to everyone else, it was just a tree, but to her, it was as comforting as a warm fuzzy blanket.
She remembered attending her first day of school when she was a young child. Everything was so unfamiliar to her; new faces, new voices, a whole new world she could then discover on her own, without her mother holding her hand. Unfortunately the fun she expected to have did not go as she could have hoped. It was a seldom occurrence for anyone to ask her to play with them. She spent most of the school day in seclusion quietly playing in the corner with an array of plastic blocks. At certain points she just wanted to cry or go back home to the warm, loving arms of her mother; that is where she felt safe and shielded from the evil of the world. Somehow, no matter how bad her day had gone, her mother could always make it all go away with a soft kiss to the cheek and a gentle pat on the bum. She would always pack a nutritious lunch for her to take to school. There was something about the way a mother makes a sandwich that makes it taste so much better than when you try to make it yourself, maybe it’s because it’s made w...
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...t year, the worst happened. She was diagnosed with cancer, the same kind her mother had died from just a few years back. The bad news hit her like a ton of bricks. Ingo attempted to ease her pain by taking her out and doing all sorts of fun activities, but she found herself getting even more depressed and frustrated every time they went out. To her, it was just a reminder of the bad news and what was yet to come. Her condition began to worsen each and every day. It was unbearable for the family to watch, and as painful as it was to do, they began to avoid her. Anytime they tried to comfort her, she would only snap at them, even though she knew they were only trying to help and had her best interests at heart.
Here she sits, rocking in her rocking chair, back … forth … back … forth … with her quilt nearly finished now. Her rocking chair creaks with each subtle movement and eventually the creaking diminishes to a faint sound and finally no sound at all. She had left the world in peace quicker than she had entered it but still much too soon. I guess it’s true what they say about your life flashing before your eyes just before you die.
Susie’s mother opened the door to let Molly, Susie’s babysitter, inside. Ten-month old Susie seemed happy to see Molly. Susie then observed her mother put her jacket on and Susie’s face turned from smiling to sad as she realized that her mother was going out. Molly had sat for Susie many times in the past month, and Susie had never reacted like this before. When Susie’s mother returned home, the sitter told her that Susie had cried until she knew that her mother had left and then they had a nice time playing with toys until she heard her mother’s key in the door. Then Susie began crying once again.
It was a spring afternoon in West Florida. Janie had spent most of the day under a blossoming pear tree in the back-yard. She had been spending every minute that she could steal from her chores under that tree for the last three days. That was to say, ever since the first tiny bloom had opened. It had called her to come and gaze on a mystery. From barren brown stems to glistening leaf-buds; from the leaf-buds to snowy virginity of bloom. It stirred her tremendously. How? Why? It was like a flute song forgotten in another existence and remembered again.
The story opens with the young boy playing while the tree "gives" to the boy her shade and branches. Later, when he is a bit older, she gives him her apples to sell. After that, when the boy is a young man, she gives him her wood so he can build a house. Then as an older man, he returns and she gives him her trunk so he can build a boat. The tree gladly gives to the boy every request and she is happy. However, her happiness does not last, and she is left sad and alone in between visits. Finally, when the boy is an elderly man, he returns to the tree. The tree is sad because she believes she has nothing left to give. How...
The world is an ever-revolving place. Where in the blink of an eye what was once considered trendy and interesting becomes obsolete in minutes. Fashion, publications, social media, entertainment, and celebrities are news one minute and cease to be acknowledged the next. Which is why when a cable television show, targeted at teenagers on a moderately popular network becomes the most watched television show on Tuesday nights, people have something to talk about. Pretty Little Liars, an ambitious show- for the network that once was solely dedicated to Christian shows such as 700 club- has quickly redefined the way that a show can measure its success. In an article published by Entertainment Weekly it clearly and effectively documents the show and also its rule bending success.
She is worried that the unstoppable persona she has presented to her children will be demolished if they find those letters. This is further proven in the short story when she scorns her daughter, Cornelia, for “thinking she was dumb, deaf, and blind” (454) after she overhears Cornelia telling her husband that Granny Weatherall was acting like a child and they would have to humor her for the time being. She is already beginning to live out her nightmare. Cornelia, Granny’s least favorite child, pities and tries to humor her. It is only logical for someone with as much pride as Granny to try to control the situation. To elaborate, Granny Weatherall is also a control freak. She beats every threat that comes her way into silence and throws it to the farthest corners of her mind. For example, when faced with the thought of her demise, she rationalizes, “thank God there was always a little margin over for peace: then a person could spread out the plan of life and tuck in the edges orderly” (453). Though on her deathbed, she assumes she cannot die because she is not prepared for death. Metaphorically, she is telling God that she is in control of her fate. Therefore, she believes she
First of all, imperialism improved the lives of the colonized people by aiding economic growth. The imperial powers prompted industrialization in the colonies, which is the development of advanced technology, leading to modernization in the colony. This is the change to a more modern, a more advanced country with new technology and better standards of living. These improvements then led to an increase in self-sufficiency, being able to maintain the colony’s economy by itself. In addition, industrialism
As a world’s most populous country, China, is experiencing breakneck growth in the process of industrialization and urbanization, with a roughly rate of 10 percent on GDP each year for the last three decades (World Bank). Now it is choking on something which is not only suffocating the lifeline of this country, but also shrinking those GDP for decades. That is the smog, the other Chinese landmark you can see from space through NASA satellite picture besides the Great Wall. Obviously, smog cannot be ignored anymore, especially in 2013, when smog “blackened Chinese cities with appalling frequency, closed airport and roads, and sent children to hospitals with pollution – filled lungs”(Wong). Smog is also the main contributor
...e tragic celebration of young, forbidden love told by William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet, has been tailored for many motion picture adaptations. The most famous of these adaptations are Franco Zeffirelli’s version and Baz Lurhmann’s film produced in 1996. These two films applied Shakespeare’s most well-known work as a basis for their motion pictures. Both films had similarities, but the differences were much more apparent. Ever since William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet has been debuted, it has and forever will be an artistic influence for playwrights, directors, and other artists.
She recalls her father picking her up from her first varsity cheer game. His eyes were filled with tears and misery. The whole car ride to her house was filled with silence and despair. Walking in her house, it appeared everyone was trying to act as if everything was okay but, she knew something was wrong. Everyone was staring at her with sorrow and her heart began to beat rapidly. She began to sit down at the kitchen table and her mother said, "We need
After I found my favorite oak tree, I sat Indian-style and leaned back on it's rough, yet comfortable trunks. I glanced at the cover page and wondered how this book could possibly impact my life. Slowly cracking the book open, I began reading. “Once there was a tree….and she loved a little boy...” the words flowed in my head “...[but] time went by/And the boy grew older/And the tree was often alone.” Great, another love story. I sighed heavily and continued reading. Page after page, I was eventually hooked and found myself lost in reading.
In order to complete an analysis of a television show through six basic theoretical approaches, I chose to use the pilot episode of Gossip Girl due to its strong representation of class differences. In this episode, the interesting characters of the Upper East Side are introduced and viewers begin to get a sense of the lifestyles that they live. From the elite, to the middle class, issues and attitudes are established. All of the main characters attend an established private high school and seem to backstab each other as a form of entertainment. The main issues of this first episode are Serena sleeping with her best friend’s boyfriend, Lower class Dan’s infatuation with the upper class Serena, and Chuck being an overall bad person and predator
Air pollution has become a very huge problem in China. It poses an undeniable threat to the Chinese public health.
The New Imperialism during the 19th century throughout Africa and Asia was an influential prompt to the rise of colonialism and powerful European empires. Consisting of raw materials, markets for European business, and provided resources made the African and Asian colonies extremely ingenious for European empires. However, as the 20th century emerged, imperialism suddenly faded and became a sentiment of the past. Surely even one of the most influential empires at a certain point in time – Britain, gradually came at ease with dropping its imperial rule over some colonies. Likewise, following gory and extensive battles, a parallel approach was taken by France. Nevertheless, the utmost spark to the 20th century decolonization was primarily spurred by Europe’s economic condition, the altercation of superiority thought by Europeans, as well as the worldwide expansion of nationalism.
The familiar smell of soft cookies and homemade cooking are common thoughts when people think about their grandma's house. Great feasts and family gatherings play a part in everyone's grandmother's home. But when I really think about my grandma's house only one word comes to my mind: fun.
It started as a normal Monday morning; Emily crawled out of bed attempting not to wake her mother. She grabbed the tethered clothing that she had worn the day previously and began to dress. Every move she made seemed to echo the floor with creaks from the wood. She walked into the kitchen as if walking on red hot ash to make her mother coffee trying to avoid the usual routine beatings. Emily rushed out the door as she heard rustling coming from her mother’s room. She walked to the bus stop noticing the old, deteriorating houses with trash in the yards.