The struggle to be accepted in a prosperous community. In this short story, "The Strangers That Came to Town" by Ambrose Flack, is about a new family in town experiencing first hand the meaning of unacceptance, discrimination, and prejudice. The Duvitch family are immigrants from Europe, and the first different nationality to come to town and live on Syringa Street. Mr. and Mrs. Duvitch, their children, and a dog. They are a struggling poor family trying to learn their new way of life in America, while mostly keeping to themselves. "Syringa Street seemed to be a friendly street, but from the start the Duvitches were marked people" (382). The Duvitch family are judged by their physical appearance, as well as where they come from. The people in town already have an opinion and their minds made up to isolate and treat the family as outsiders that don't fit in. Judging a person does not define who they are, it defines who you are. In fact, living in society is …show more content…
Across the street from the Duvitch family, lived Andy and Tom. One hot day in the summer, their father decided to take them to Durston's Pond for some camping, swimming, and fishing fun. While there, they ran into Mr. Duvitch and his boys. Tom and Andy ignored the boys like everyone else in town, but their father happily greeted Mr. Duvitch, shook his hand, and conversed with him. This delighted Mr. Duvitch as he felt acknowledged. As the men parted ways, Mr. Duvitch and his boys walked over to another fishing spot out of sight. While Andy and Tom's father took a nap, they stopped to get towels and soap. As they headed back to the water, they noticed the oaken tub filled with all of the fish Mr. Duvitch and the boys caught for the day. "Tom and I, our glances meeting over the big cake of soap in my hand, were similarly and wickedly tempted" (384). With oppressive behavior, and no consideration, they dropped it in the
Bruce H. Mann’s Neighbors and Strangers: Law and Community in Early Connecticut, covers 160 years of Connecticut history starting with early colonization to the period of the French and Indian War. The book explores the evolution of economic practices, by using records of debt litigation in the colony. Connecticut transformed from isolated townships to overlapping and interdependent trade networks. The shifting demographics of the towns and the expansion of trade caused the nature of exchange to evolve to meet the new demands. Neighbors and Strangers is a detailed overview of the economic growth and social change during the early years of New England.
Flannery O'Conner has again provided her audience a carefully woven tale with fascinating and intricate characters. "The Displaced Person" introduces the reader to some interesting characters who experience major life changes in front of the reader's eyes. The reader ventures into the minds of two of the more complex characters in "The Displaced Person," Mrs. McIntyre and Mrs. Shortley, and discovers an unwillingness to adapt to change. Furthermore, the intricate details of their characters are revealed throughout the story. Through these details, the reader can see that both Mrs. McIntyre and Mrs. Shortley suffer from a lack of spiritual dimension that hinders them as they face some of life's harsher realities. Mrs. McIntyre struggles throughout the story, most notably during the tragic conclusion. Her lack of spiritual dimension is revealed slowly until we ultimately see how her life is devastated because of it. Mrs. Shortley, on the other hand, seems to have it all figured out spiritually -- or at least she believes that she does. It is only in the last few minutes of her life that she realizes all she has convinced herself of is wrong.
Along the river, Jim and Huck run across two scam artists who claim to be a runaway King and Duke. Their raft is overtaken by these two men who force Huck and Jim into their dangerous, yet comical scams. Their last scam proves t be too much of Huck. The King and Duke claim to be the brothers of a quite wealth, but conveniently deceased man. Because of their acclamation, the two men are guaranteed a large inheritance. However, when Huck falls for the beautiful heart and kindness of one of the dead man's nieces he can't imagine stealing the money form her. Huck tells the niece the whole story, and admits who the "brothers" really are. The King and Duke are eventually discovered by the town to be impersonators, and are tarred and feathered.
In Ordinary People by Judith Guest, Guest takes an extraordinary family and makes them seem ordinary. By using the title, Ordinary People, Guest tricks the reader into questioning outrageous situations with a sense of normalcy. She makes the situations appear to be a typical part of life. But the irony of the title is that because of the obstacles the Jarrett family, has had to face, they are no longer ordinary people. They are extraordinary. Guest goes to great lengths to make everything in her novel appear to be ordinary. The book opens on an ordinary day and the family lives in a typical, ordinary neighborhood but if the audience looks close enough, they will find that the Jarrett family is not ordinary at all.
Steinbeck’s novel strongly depicts the substantial amount of difficulty and discrimination faced by many innocent families that were merely trying to find ways to earn a living
... what the town saw as amenable. As he says, "Disapprobation hurt me, I found-- even that of people whom I did not admire." (174). Jim hides behind the shadow of his dream, never fearless enough to accomplish his own goals. As Antonia faces the world with a dauntless face, Jim shrinks back at its hand. And as she cherishes her own family, Jim settles for his. He may be accepted by society but he'll never reach his own expectations.
In the short story “Brownies,” author ZZ Packer uses the narrator, Laurel, to explore the tensions that exist between belonging to a community and maintaining individuality. While away at camp with her brownie troop, she finds herself torn between achieving group inclusion and sustaining her own individualism. Although the events of the short story occur at Camp Crescendo, Packer is able to expand (and parallel) this struggle for identity beyond the camp’s walls and into the racially segregated society that both the girls and their families come from. Packer is exploring how an individual’s inherent need for group inclusion consequently fuels segregation and prejudice against those outside the group across various social and societal stratums.
The article and the professor offer two differing views about the sources of stranger sounds called Quakers detected by the Russian submarines in the North Atlantic and Arctic oceans. While, the author lists the possible theories behind those sounds, the professor raises the doubts and refutes each of the theory being stated in the passage.
Sally Engle Merry’s “Urban Danger: Life in a Neighborhood of Strangers” explores the urban danger associated with living in a neighborhood with “strangers.” The ethnographic study centralizes around a multiethnic housing project in a neighborhood with high crime; Dover Square Project. She emphasizes the relevance of social groups and the impact it maintains in promoting the idea of danger in urbanities. Merry focuses her attention on the impression the residents’ have, which is “that they live in a world of dangerous and unpredictable strangers” and the contrasting reality. Throughout the article, she clarifies this misconception and explores how the boundaries between the ethnic groups promote anonymity, which then in response fosters opportunities for
The author illustrates the struggle of an average black male during his daily routine through many personal stories and relatable anecdotes. Through the actions of mentally discriminating against foreign races in America, we see in the writing, it makes them feel they are lower than everyone else. One example of this is when the proprietor got her dog as a precautionary action when he entered a jewelry store to just take a look , “She stood, the dog extended toward me, silent to my questions, her eyes nearly bulging out of her head.” The man was repetitively rejected when he questioned the dog, who wouldn’t feel less of themselves. We pity him because he was blatantly getting unconsciously discriminated by a precautionary store owner. Another example of this was when a different black male was mistaken as the killer, of a story he was working on, “ Police hauled him from his car at gunpoint and but for his press credentials would probably have tried to book him.” This man was being accused of someone he never was and was being treated with a gun. We pity him because he was abruptly hauled from his vehicle, handled as a criminal, and being discriminated at all the same
Cather regards a sensitive, caring family which can bring positive influences in communities as a success. Rosicky is sensitive enough to know that Polly, a city girl, does not get used to life in a country, and is caring enough to offer the Rudolphs the car but washes dishes himself. Washing dishes does not fit in the expected role of men in families, but Rosicky does it because he cares about his families’ feelings and wants to help Polly get over a hard time. His sincerity is also why he can look into Polly’s face “with his peculiar, knowing, indulgent smile without a shadow of reproach in it” (Cather, 689). Furthermore, the Rosickys show kindness to the community. When Doctor Ed went to the Rosickys’ house for breakfast, Mary “threw back her head and spoke out as if she were announcing him to the whole prairie,” (Cather, 681) and claimed that she would never let a doctor go without serving him breakfast. As Doctor Ed reflected, “people as generous and warm-hearted and affectionate as the Rosickys never got ahead much” (Cather, 682). Moreover, Cather illustrates that the occupation of lands helps shape the Rosickys’ attitude toward life. Rosicky thinks land can support people, and his kids do not “have to do with dishonest and cruel people” (Cather, 695) in cities, so that the Rosickys pay more attention to building a friendly community and standing on their
Clavers found it a bit harder to befriend her neighbors in Michigan. Being from Boston, the Clavers family were used to a specific way of living that opposed that of the western frontier. Not only did Mrs. Cavers have pre made assumptions of westerners, but her neighbors have also believed that because the Clavers family were from eastern civilization that they thought of themselves too good for the simple frontier life. On one occasion Mrs. Clavers found herself immensely ill and unable to care for the rest of her family who was also beginning to fall of illness. She expected her neighbors to come and help relieve her of some household duties but they never came. She wrote that “my neighbors showed but little sympathy on the occasion. They had imbibed the idea that we held ourselves above them, and chose to take it for granted, that we did not need their aid,” (175). Instead of her neighbors Mrs. Clavers relied on the service of a nurse who aided the family in household duties and nursed them back to
Judging people without truly knowing them is human nature; therefore, not knowing a person’s background leads people to misunderstandings. In the novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, two migrant farmers named Lennie and George travel around from farm to farm in California looking for work during the Great Depression. While at a new farm, they meet new people, and they hear defining characteristics about other people around the farm. None of the other workers truly know other people’s past, and don’t know why some people on the farm act the way they do. Through the characters of Curley’s wife and Crooks, Steinbeck illustrates that misperceptions about people affect the way society treats them.
The two texts ' Visitor ' and ' The adventure of the Speckled Band '
Silence- Short Story “Aghhahahhhah!” screaming, Jade sprinted towards the exit door, she tried to push it open; but it wouldn’t obey her. Jade started to run around the library. She was petrified, scared as well as alone. The thing—or whatever it was gaining on her.