Essay
Heroes are sometimes the most ordinary of people. They are often shown as mighty leaders saving the world, yet sometimes, they come from the most unexpected people in the most unexpected places. In Linda Holeman’s novel Search for the Moon King’s Daughter, the protagonist comes in the form of a responsible fifteen year old Victorian girl, Emmaline. Emmaline lives with her mother and brother Tommy in a poor section of Tibbing where she works as a seamstress for her aunt to in order to provide for her family. When her mother sells Tommy to the sweeps in London, Emmaline embarks on a daring journey for her brother and against all odds, manages to save him from his new reality. Emmaline is not one of the typical cliche heroes but it is in
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Emmaline shows her ability to observe and learn from previous experiences when approaching sweeps on the street, “ Emmaline stepped in front of him, holding out a raisin tart. She’d learned that food was the only way to get close to a climbing boy.” Being older and stronger than the sweeps, Emmaline could have grabbed the climbing boys and forced the answer out of them. Had she not talked to the sweeps, she would not have found out about Tommy’s location, yet in conversing with them, she ran the thin line of being noticed by older sweeps, the prodders, and being reported to the master sweep. Had the Master sweep been Tommy’s, he could have moved streets or prevented Emmaline from finding her brother. Not only does Emmaline use her smarts looking for Tommy, she also makes use of it at the Thorn House. When Master Thorn discovers that Emmaline can read, “ I know you can read, and I’d like to hear you today.’ “ he forms a special bond with Emmaline. If Emmaline hadn’t been able to read, it would have been much harder to from her unique bond with Master Thorn and consequently it would be considerably more difficult to support Tommy and herself after fleeing from Brandy Jack. Knowing Master Eugene does not like his servants being able to read, Emmaline could have easily been thrown out to the streets by him. Had Master Eugene done that, Emmaline, being exposed to the life of a beggar, would have never …show more content…
Emmaline’s courage lets her face against even the most dangerous and frightening people and situations. Her intelligence, ability to observe and to learn gains her useful hints to Tommy and supports her even after running away from Brandy Jack. Emmaline’s spirited determination pulls her through tough and harsh conditions during her search. It is these traits that set Emmaline apart from other heros, making her the one of the most legendary
...inds love along the way. She makes rash decisions in bad situations, faces the truth that she has been avoiding, and finds her place in the world. While her journey takes some unexpected twists, Lily learns to make the best of what she has, and go for what she wants. She learns to move on from the past, and make a brighter future. But most importantly, Lily learns to accept that life is unpredictable and that by doing her best Lily is living life the way she wants to.
Strength is a human trait that can be lost and given up to hopelessness just as easily as it was gained. Giovanna Sienna fought through unimaginable struggles her whole life, but her unwavering strength guided her through her life. Giovanna Costa Pontillo Siena from Laurie Fabian’s book Elizabeth Street is portrayed as the stories strongest person. Her determination to get her beloved daughter, Angelina, back and her lack of fear of the kidnappers who blackmailed her for money, reinforce the conception that Giovanna’s tenacity was unable to be matched. She had connections to powerful people in powerful positions, which help her gain a foothold on getting through to the kidnappers. Her love for her family, primarily her daughter, kept her constantly searching for her daughter and any way to get
Catharine Maria Sedgewick’s heroine and title character of Hope Leslie does not convey the expected behaviors of a woman living in 17th century Puritan society. Hope Leslie is not a passive young woman that relies on the Bible for all advice and guidance. She does not stay quiet if something is on her mind. She refuses to allow the innocent to receive persecution for the wrong reasons. Hope is assertive, aggressive, courageous, bold, and quite outspoken. The characteristics that she portrays are atypical to those portrayed by 17th century women. Instead, Hope’s attitude and behavior more closely resemble that of a female from the 21st century living in an era not meant for her.
Emerson, David. "Innocence as a Super-power: Little Girls on the Hero's Journey." Literature Resource Center. Gale, n.d. Web.
At the age of ten, most children are dependent on their parents for everything in their lives needing a great deal of attention and care. However, Ellen, the main character and protagonist of the novel Ellen Foster, exemplifies a substantial amount of independence and mature, rational thought as a ten-year-old girl. The recent death of her mother sends her on a quest for the ideal family, or anywhere her father, who had shown apathy to both she and her fragile mother, was not. Kaye Gibbons’ use of simple diction, unmarked dialogue, and a unique story structure in her first novel, Ellen Foster, allows the reader to explore the emotions and thoughts of this heroic, ten-year-old girl modeled after Gibbons’ own experiences as a young girl.
Frankel, Valerie Estelle. From Girl to Goddess: The Heroine's Journey through Myth and Legend. Jefferson, NC: McFarland &, 2010. Print.
Center stage in Kaye Gibbons’ inspiring bildungsroman, Ellen Foster, is the spunky heroine Ellen Foster. At the start of the novel, Ellen is a fiery nine-year old girl. Her whole life, especially the three years depicted in Ellen Foster, Ellen is exposed to death, neglect, hunger and emotional and physical abuse. Despite the atrocities surrounding her, Ellen asks for nothing more than to find a “new mama” to love her. She avoids facing the harsh reality of strangers and her own family’s cruelty towards her by using different forms of escapism. Thrice Ellen is exposed to death (Gibbons 27). Each time, Ellen has a conversation with a magician to cope with the trauma (Gibbons 22-145). Many times Ellen’s actions and words cause it to be difficult to tell that she is still a child. However, in order to distract herself, Ellen will play meaningful games (Gibbons 26). These games become a fulcrum for Ellen’s inner child to express itself. Frequently, Ellen will lapse into a daydream (Gibbons 67). Usually, these daydreams are meant to protect herself from the harsh reality around her. Ellen Foster’s unique use of escapism resounds as the theme of Kaye Gibbon’s Ellen Foster.
Heroes come from all sorts of places: movies, books, and even everyday life. Jen, a Gelfling, is a hero from the movie The Dark Crystal. Jen's story is one of prophecy, the never ending fight between good and evil, and love. This composition shall trace Jen's quest as well as evaluate his success in that quest, his individual self, and finally he shall be compared to one of the Greek heroes.
Emerson, David. “Innocence as a super-power: little girls on the hero’s journey.” Mythlore 28.1-2 (2009): 13lt. Literature resource center.web.17oct.2013
...e relationship with men, as nothing but tools she can sharpen and destroy, lives through lust and an uncanny ability to blend into any social class makes her unique. Her character is proven as an unreliable narrator as she exaggerates parts of the story and tries to explain that she is in fact not guilty of being a mistress, but a person caught in a crossfire between two others.
Emma, a novel by Jane Austen, is the story of a young woman, Emma, who is rich, stubborn, conniving, and occupies her time meddling into others' business. There are several recurring themes throughout the novel; the ideas of marriage, social class, women's confinement, and the power of imagination to blind the one from the truth, which all become delineated and reach a climax during the trip to Box Hill. The scene at Box Hill exposes many underlying emotions that have been built up throughout the novel, and sets the stage for the events that conclude it.
By definition, a heroine is a woman who would typically encompass the qualities of nobility, courage, independence and strength. Nineteenth century English women would have struggled to accomplish any of these particular acts of heroism within their social environment as ultimately, their roles within civilisation saw them becoming a good wives and mothers and before that, obliging and caring daughters. Within this ubiquitous discourse of separate spheres, Kathryn Gleadle suggests that women were encouraged to see themselves as relative creatures', whose path in life was to nurture the family and to provide unstinting support for the head of the household' In this respect, the nineteenth century British woman conforming to this path' would prove to be the heroine of that time as a free-spirited independent individual would have been cast aside as socially unacceptable. Essentially, although it would appear that many women wished to lead active, working lives and so make an important contribution, either to their families or to social welfare, the woman's position [was] to preside over a loving home whilst men were to brave the vicissitude and demands of public and business life' Novelists Thomas Hardy and Emily Brontë present us with two strong and independent females Tess Durbeyfield and Catherine Earnshaw. These women are far from the idealistic view of nineteenth century females; Tess, intelligent and strikingly attractive, strives to uphold the values expected of her but outside forces beyond her control determine her fate. Catherine on the other hand begins her life free-spirited, rebellious and of a wild nature. However, her inner desire craves social ambition which, in turn, shows her slowly representing culture and civilisation.
In Jane Austen’s social class and coming of age novel, Emma, the relationships between irony, insight and education are based upon the premise of the character of Emma Woodhouse herself. The persona of Emma is portrayed through her ironic and naive tone as she is perceived as a character that seems to know everything, which brings out the comedic disparities of ironies within the narrative. Emma is seen as a little fish in a larger pond, a subject of manipulating people in order to reflect her own perceptions and judgments. Her education is her moral recognition to love outside her own sheltered fancies and her understandings of her society as a whole.
Emma Woodhouse is the title character of the book. For Emma, Jane Austen took a heroine whom, she remarked, `no one but myself will much like' `And', as one of her ablest critics has said, `many a rash reader, and some who are not rash, have been shut out on the threshold of Emma's Comedy by a dislike of Emma herself.' Emma is a beautiful, wealthy, well-educated young woman who was born and raised in the upper-class society. But also the negative aspects of her character are exposed, she is spoiled, conceited, domineering, wilful, snobbish, and, at times, unfeeling. She lives with her father at Hartfield, their upper-class home. She is the youngest of two daughters, but her mother died long ago and her sister has already been married. She has been the mistress of Hartfield for some time. Emma has led a rather privileg...
A person can be a hero for saving the life of one or of millions. Heroes are not only real people, but they are also fantasy figures. Children are extremely interested with legendary and fantasy figures because they take on such tasks as: difficult journeys, challenges with dragons, discovering lost treasure, and changing the nature of the world through their singular acts of courage and selflessness. They also endure much resistance, hardship, and danger. Often the hero learns valuable lessons about survival and self-reliance. Not only do heroes teach valuable lessons they give a child a sense of belonging. To a child, a hero is an invincible person who will change the world.