The Art of Racing in the Rain is, by far, the best book I have ever read. The story takes place in Seattle, Washington. It is told completely through a dog’s eyes. This special dog, Enzo, is adopted from a small farm in Washington when he is just a puppy. His view of life is interesting; Enzo only has gestures. He cannot communicate like humans can. Life is very humble and simple through the eyes of a dog.
Enzo’s beloved owner, Denny, is a very talented racecar driver and works at a high-end car garage. Halfway through Enzo’s life, Denny marries a woman named Eve. Denny and Eve have a child named Zoe. Just when life seems to be perfect, Enzo senses that there is something wrong with Eve. As it turns out, she has brain cancer. After six months, Eve passes away.
Eve’s passing is only the beginning for Denny. He is already in a custody battle for Zoe, with Eve’s parents. In addition to that, Denny is being charged for felony rape, a crime he did not commit; a misunderstanding.
After a rough year of court dates, the charges are dropped, and Denny receives full custody of Zoe. Right before Enzo’s tenth birthday, a car hits him, and his health is declining rapidly. The book ends with Enzo’s death, which really hits hard. Denny moves to Italy with Zoe, and takes a job test-driving Ferraris; this leads to Denny being a Formula One champion driver. Coincidently, at the very end of the book, Denny meets an aspiring racecar driver named Enzo.
The Art of Racing in the Rain includes characters and incidents that link to many different ethical theories. To begin with, Denny shows virtue and character ethics throughout the whole story. He supports his family through both triumph and defeat, from taking care of his family leading up to Eve’...
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...n be considered suffering. Many people exclude animals because they cannot speak or reason. Jeremy Bentham argues that animals can obviously suffer because they feel pain. Enzo, the dog narrating the book, feels endless pain and suffering. He feels just as much as humans do, if not more. When Enzo passes away in the end, it is obvious that he feels pain. Having the book be told through the eyes of a dog, even if it is fiction, really puts life in perspective.
The Art of Racing in the Rain was a fun book to read. It had me on the edge of my seat, and it made me feel understanding as a pet lover. The moral messages in this book had to be seen outside of the box. I would recommend this book both for its ethical value, and its unique kind of reading. Anyone, not just pet lovers, could benefit from reading this story. Its message strikes the heart; my new favorite book!
The poem above speaks volumes about the nature of man’s best friend. Dogs are not inherently bad, but are rather “a product of their environment”. The same principle applies to the world’s most misunderstood breed of dog. When you hear the phrase “pit bull”, what do you think? A savage beast, murdered out of cold blood?
In his debut novel entitled We the Animals, Justin Torres exposes a story centered around a dysfunctional family. One can argue that the novel consists of multiple small stories instead of one continuous story. The family consists of a mother, father, and their three young sons. Ranging from ages 7-10, Manny is the first-born, followed by Joel the middle child, and Mijo is the baby of the family. It is told from the point of view of the youngest son, whose name is not revealed until the ending of the novel. Readers find out that his name is Mijo during a touching scene between him and his father. Mijo recounts different experiences him and his brothers faced growing up in their home. Torres uses those experiences to depict how negligence
“The Rocking-Horse Winner” is a short story about a young boy, Paul, who has the supernatural ability to choose a winning race horse. It is not clear how the boy has this ability but he hears his mother’s voice echo in his mind saying that they are poor and so he sets out to change that. Paul takes on the stress of his mother’s greed. This short story relates to the obsession of wealth which what motivates the characters aside of neglect, faulty sense of value, opportunism and deceit. Paul believes that there is more money to be made and thus goes on a frenzy to win more, but consequently dies after falling off his rocking horse due to convulsions of a fever.
Ethan's death allows his parents to re-evaluate their lives. Macon realizes that he has no coped with the death of his son and he has turned to isolation for ...
Zora Neale Hurston is an influential writer, who has amused and entertained readers for decades, even after her time on Earth. Although her writing is pleasant to read simply for entertainment there also comes many great lessons to be learned in this novel. The universal lesson learned in Dust Tracks on a Road is conveyed using a simple choice of words.
Many physical conditions of the race helped us understand Paulsen’s determination and love towards his dogs and how he developed personally through the race. The author illustrates his frightening moment of Happy canyon during the race. Since Paulsen wasn’t told anything specific information about Happy canyon, he was very unprepared for vertical drop down the cliff.
passing away. He begins to get scared of her at his first night at the
Winning isn’t always a piece of cake, sometimes it takes more than what one’s expected to do. People have to work very hard to achieve that goal. Abraham Okimasis is a man who thinks it would be a great idea to join a dog race. He has a wife, they will be celebrating their 21st anniversary. He is willing to do anything to win. Abraham shows a few signs of quitting throughout the excerpt but he doesn’t give up. In this excerpt, the author uses hyperbole and imagery to show how important it is for Okimasis to conquer the ride.
...inder of the cost of our lifestyle, for no one can live a totally cruelty free life. Cruelty will happen whether we wish it to or not—even people who abstain from animal sourced or tested foods and products will inevitably cause some cruelty by simply going about innocent daily life. For example, nearly any driver will eventually hit some animal no matter how hard they try to avoid it. The best one can do is make an honest effort to reduce his or her own impact on other creatures, whether that be by excluding animal products from their diet or seeking out foods from humane farms. Animal narratives are unique in their ability to allow the reader to experience these stories vicariously through the perspective of the animal, encouraging reflection and introspection on how humans treat others, and accordingly promoting empathy towards humankind’s fellow earthlings.
The dog they rescued is a particularly prominent topic, a vestige of the past civilizations. In defiance of the treacherous environment, the dog managed to survive, a feat that even Lisa, the most cold-blooded of the three main characters, could not help but be “impressed by” (Bacigalupi 61). Therefore, the dog is a symbol of hope for the reader, an animal that is in the extreme, completely out of its element, and yet capable of surviving. As a result, nature’s idea of itself is astoundingly resilient, keeping certain species alive as an attempt to return to the normal state of the world. Even after horrendous trauma the natural world is still capable of a stalwart attempt at reclaiming itself. Accordingly, it is never too late to start fixing the damages and help nature’s cause, before allowing it to escalate to such a degree where the oceans are black with pollution and there is no room left for the humans of today. Chen could not help but notice that the dog is different than them in more than just a physiological nature; “there’s something there” and it’s not a characteristic that either them or the bio-jobs are capable of (64). Subsequently, the dog has something that the evolved humans are missing, compassion. In consequence, the author portrays the idea that the dog
From youthfulness, to abusiveness, to persecution of the already downtrodden, horses in literature are able to reveal many things to us. They symbolize and give vitality, through their importance, love, and companionship; they show inner personality of their owners and the dreadful interpersonal reactions and relationships, and they even teach us things about history. Horses truly were not just important to the Russian population, but still remain important to us, through their use in literature.
In fall 2008 Ryan Didone was with four of his friends, when he hit a tree with his car. He died at the hospital as 15 years old. Captain Thomas Didone works at the police department, and he is Ryan’s father. He never thought he was those parents who would get a phone call like that. If it could happen to him, it could happen to anyone. Ryan’s father was with his son, the day he was born, and he unfortunately had to be with his son, the day he died, and he never wishes that to any parents. It was an inexperienced, and immature driver and to high speed at night with some other kids. He was going too fast. Ryan gave serious trauma for the rest of the community.
“The Swimmer” is an allegory that is narrated in third person point of view as someone who is observing Neddy’s journey. This enables the reader to discover the reactions of friends and neighbors as Neddy arrives at their homes while still revealing the shift of the round character’s own attitude and feelings as his journey through life continues. Cheever wisely tells the story from a perspective in which the reader can still be connected to Neddy from the beginning to the end of the story while learning how his actions have disappointed others and not just himself. It also uncovers the involvement of each character and their relationship with Neddy before and after his mid-life crisis. If this story was told from any other point of view then the reader would only be obtaining one sided, in a sense a close minded, version whereas with a third person point of view the reader is approached to the entire situation given all perspectives. It guides the reader from one meaningful piece to another on an even level without any bias impressions while the story is being delivered.
The Art of Racing In The Rain, written by Garth Stein, in my opinion, would make an excellent movie. A good film is able to play with someones emotions, they can make people think, laugh cry and or be surprised. The Art of Racing In The Rain would make for an excellent film because it is original, it pulls at the audiences emotions and has many valuable lessons.
The novella that I read for summer reading was Animal Farm. I chose to read this book because of great reviews from both adults and peers. It was written by George Orwell and was first published in 1975. Because Orwell was an adherent of socialism, Animal Farm is a satire showing the rise and fall of Soviet Communism through animals on a farm. The animals overthrow the unkind farmer, Mr. Jones and establish their own community and government that mirrors a communist society.