Change is inevitable. We all change. The changes made from childhood to adulthood are countless. Even as adults, some people drastically change from year to year. Some change for the better, and some change for the worse. While working as a Land Girl, there is no question that The Lost Garden's Gwen Davis changed for the better. From the beginning of her journey to Mosel until the end of the story, Gwen steps away from what is familiar to her, and while doing so, changes the view of herself and displays courage; she also changes her view of other people and learns how to connect with them, finding a belonging in the world. As she departs from the comfortable world in which she is familiar with, Gwen Davis steps into an unknown, unfamiliar world. Previously, Gwen had been alone working at the Royal Horicultural Society for many years and was used to being by herself. She thinks after feeling uncomfortable around others at Mosel, "I liked my job at the Royal Horticulural Society because I had such autonomy. It was just me and the parsnips...But I was left alone there. I did not have to fuss with people, only parsnips," (26). She says that she enjoyed her job because she was alone, but she longed for someone to talk to and longed for acceptance; longed for love. As she leaves the familiar streets that she has grown to love, she also leaves behind her unidentified longing for more in life and begins her journey into seeing herself as capable and fulfills that longing. Being alone all those years has contributed to Gwen's pessimistic views of herself. As she sits in a carriage on her way to Mosel, Gwen thinks, "This is all I have--a carriage full of strangers, a landscape disarmingly lush and unfamiliar, memories that bring no comfort," (11). Not having a companion or company to talk to can only build one's thoughts of themselves negatively. Because Gwen only has her own discouraging thoughts, she makes herself believe that she wants to be alone and she is not good enough to have a companion. When she is with Jane she says that she is not worthy of Jane's attention. Gwen also does not describe herself as an attractive person. She consistently refers to herself as "plain" or "unattractive." Gwen's mother helped contributed to Gwen's poor opinion of herself. Gwen thinks, "My mother was beautiful.
People change everyday, whether it is from good to bad or for the better. People often say to themselves, maybe, if I didn't do “blank” this wouldn't have happened. However, the reality is, it happened, and there is no way to change that. Why go around throwing maybe’s around if you cannot change it? Authors purposefully make readers ask those questions. Authors love to create complex characters, characters that go through change. In Ellen Hopkins’ book, Crank, is the perfect example. Ellen Hopkins writes from her own daughter's perspective, Kristina, on how “the monster” changed her own life and her family's life.
The Changeable nature of life affects us all somehow. Whether it be moving to a new city, having children, or losing people that we love, it can affect people in many different ways. For example, in the novel, the main character Taylor Greer changes her name from Marietta and moves...
As the narrator begins his description of Miss Giles, he says, “Lillian always had a knack with babies and could put even the most difficult ones down for a nap within minutes” (118). When the narrator shares that Miss Giles’ favorite child is the “ugliest, fussiest baby ever born” (119), the narrator shows the readers Miss Giles’ goodwill and kindly feelings toward the baby, Julian Cash, that everyone else rejects or scorns, and thus displays her resilience to conform to societal norms or be weathered by the judgment of others. Miss Giles, years later, agrees to care for two unknown children, even though Social Services has deemed her too old to be on their official registry of foster families. The willingness of Miss Giles to take on care for the two children, Keith and the baby, exemplifies her unwavering altruism in childcare. Upon the arrival of Keith and the baby, Miss Giles refrains from complaint or doubt, and “goes to make up a crib and a cot with clean sheets” (119). Miss Giles never asks questions or hesitates when faced with taking care of children, she simply performs the job. Miss Giles is tough, and able to overcome the problems of the difficultly of childcare in her age and her hearing problem that she faces. As the narrator continues to introduce Miss Giles to the readers, the narrator observes that, “a long time ago, Lillian was in love with Charles Verity’s great-grandson, but he went to New York and married a rich girl, and Lillian stayed put” (119). Miss Giles does not dwell on the departure of the love of her life across the United States, but instead, channels her loss of love for a spouse into love for taking care of orphaned or foster children. Finally, Miss Giles is resilient in her response to the urgent situation with which she faces when left with the infant, nearly dead body of Julian Cash. When Miss Giles
One of the biggest challenges Francie faces while growing up is loneliness. As a young child living in a Brooklyn slum, Francie has no friends her age. The other children either find her too quiet or shun her for being different because of her extensive vocabulary. Betty Smith describes how most of Francie's childhood days are spent: "in the warm summer days the lonesome child sat on her stoop and pretended disdain for the group of children playing on the sidewalk. Francie played with her imaginary companions and made believe they were better than real children. But all the while her heart beat in rhythm to the poignant sadness of the song the children sang while walking around in a ring with hands joined." (106). Francie is lonely, and longs to be included. As Francie matures, she begins to experience a different kind of loneliness. Betty Smith portrays her feelings as she observes her neighborhood: "spring came early that year and the sweet warm nights made her restless. She walked up and down the streets and through the park. And wherever she went, she saw a boy and a girl together, walking arm-in-arm, sitting on a park bench with their arms around each other, standing closely and in silence in a vestibule. Everyone in the world but Francie had a sweetheart or a friend she seemed to be the only lonely one in Brooklyn without a friend." (403). Loneliness is a constant challenge for Francie but it is through her loneliness that she finds a new companion in her books. Francie reads as an alternative for her lack of friends and companions. It is through her love of reading that Francie develops her extensive, sophisticated vocabulary. Her books lead her into maturity and help her learn to be independent and overcome her many hardships.
Our first introduction to these competing sets of values begins when we meet Sylvia. She is a young girl from a crowded manufacturing town who has recently come to stay with her grandmother on a farm. We see Sylvia's move from the industrial world to a rural one as a beneficial change for the girl, especially from the passage, "Everybody said that it was a good change for a little maid who had tried to grow for eight years in a crowded manufacturing town, but, as for Sylvia herself, it seemed as if she never had been alive at the all before she came to live at the farm"(133). The new values that are central to Sylvia's feelings of life are her opportunities to plays games with the cow. Most visibly, Sylvia becomes so alive in the rural world that she begins to think compassionately about her neighbor's geraniums (133). We begin to see that Sylvia values are strikingly different from the industrial and materialistic notions of controlling nature. Additionally, Sylvia is alive in nature because she learns to respect the natural forces of this l...
The misfortunes Jane was given early in life didn’t alter her passionate thinking. As a child she ...
The lives of men and women are portrayed definitively in this novel. The setting of the story is in southern Georgia in the 1960’s, a time when women were expected to fit a certain role in society. When she was younger she would rather be playing ...
The Secret Garden is a film based on Frances Hodgson Burnett's classic children's book bearing the same title. This movie is about a young girl who is literally shipped off to her uncle's English castle after her parents are killed in an earthquake. The main character, Mary, is played by Kate Maberly. She is tossed into a world where sunlight and cheerful discourse seem as rare as the attention she receives from the sour-pussed housekeeper Medlock, played by Maggie Smith. She helps her crippled cousin to see past his hypochondria and into the wonders of a long forgotten garden hidden beyond the confines of Misselthwaite Manor. While one critic dislikes the slight deviations from the book, another is content to relish in the imagery and scenery of The Secret Garden.
Now that they have overcome each challenge by persevering, their lives change for the better. Now having easy access to clean water, Nya and the rest of the village will prosper. Nya’s village will now be able to evolve as a village from having clean water. Now that Salva’s life has changed, he is able to change the lives of others by building wells in their village. In fact, Salva was able to change the life of Nya and her village. Linda Sue Park hopes that readers will take away that change can be for good or
Jane spends her first 10 years of her life at Gateshead Hall, a lavish mansion. She lived with her Aunt, Mrs Reed, and three cousins, Eliza, Georgina and John. During her time in the mansion she wouldn't dare argue with the mistress, and fulfilled every duty. Jane is deprived of love, joy and acceptance. She is very much unwanted and isolated.
The works of Hieronymus Bosch seem to have captivated the public ever since he began his work in the late 15th century. He was the first artist to leave a significant collection of original drawings, which indicates that even his concept sketches were sought after and protected even in his own time. Across the centuries, the central focus of every study, whether or not they admit it or are even aware of it, is the attempt to find a hidden key that can unlock the secrets of his work. But Bosch is as poetic as he is secretive, so the content and the hidden meanings cannot be so easily and neatly sorted out. Out of all of Bosch’s known works, the most mysterious and fascinating is the triptych now known as The Garden of Earthly Delights. The painting is interesting not only because its subject is so bizarre, but also because it is so familiar: Biblical themes expressed in a completely original way without much of the familiar iconography of his time. (Belting: p.7)
...hat she is capable of more than she herself knows and that there is still a big future for her and the village. Stacey is the beacon of her town that shows potential for change and the bridge that symbolizes the separation between these two places. Stacey crosses this bridge daily and in that ending, a lot is unsaid about what could happen. Stacey was a challenging character to explore, because her identity continues to confuse her, and in her discoveries, the reader begins to understand her slowly and why it is she struggles so much and her frustrations. In return, the readers can almost understand her pain because of it and the journey she had to take which didn’t lead to achieving her dreams because of the separation that the village and town focused so much on.
She stands beneath the streetlight and waits for the theatre to open its doors. She looks toward the ground, knowing her unworthy position in her culture, and waits for a person to understand her circumstances, to see her not as the prostitute but as the woman who needs money, love, passion, or excitement to replace the emptiness that led her to first begin her walk on these streets.
While there may be some debate as to whether the Argentinian Jorge Luis Borges was technically a Magical Realist, some may feel that his works definitely do have some of the characteristics of what is considered Magical Realistic literature. Among his various types of works are poetry, essays, fantasies, and short fictions. Often referred to in essays that discuss the history and theory of Magical Realism, "The Garden of Forking Paths" is probably Borges' most popular short story. Published in 1964 in a collection of Borges works entitled Labyrinths: Selected Stories & Other Writings, his short story "The Garden of Forking Paths" appears to have several of the elements of Magical Realism.
Time is one of the basic components of life that one does not often stop to dwell upon. Each second marks a transition in an individual’s life, but it is rare for someone to consider the true magic of this small measure of history. In Tom’s Midnight Garden, Philippa Pearce examines the concept of time in a truly unique manner as she tells the story of a child who comes to terms with time in an extraordinary manner. As Pearce crafts this beautiful yet simply written novel, she intertwines both a moving plot and universal ideas in order to reveal more than meets the eye in terms of the power of time. The novel revolves around a young boy by the name of Tom Long who, in an adverse situation is shipped away from his home to live with his childless Uncle and Aunt for the summer. While Tom is disgruntled by the notion, he comes to adjust his views when he discovers a magical garden that opens his eyes to new experiences and feelings. With the discovery of this mysterious world in the garden, Tom is forced to decipher the power of time, companionship, and imagination and through this journey, he evolves from the childish, inconsiderate young boy he once was into one with a more mature and sensitive outlook on his own life and the world as a whole.