James Bryce a famous British writer once said, “The worth of a book is to be measured by what you can carry away from it.” This semester we read two books, one being Totally Joe and Mick Harte Was Here. Totally Joe was about a boy named Joe who was asked by his teacher to write an alphabiography about his life from A to Z. After the book is done he realizes it is very personal because he admits that he is gay in the book, so he begs the teacher not to have him read it. His whole life Joe was always different from the rest of boys his age he enjoyed playing dress-up and playing with girl toys. The book is about how Joe deals with all the bullying, his first boyfriend, and family while he comes out as being gay. Joe shows that is completely okay to be different and to be true to who you are. The book Mick Harte Was Here has kind of a different story than Totally Joe. Mick Harte Was Here was about a young boy name Mick who died in a bicycle accident. The story is told from the perspective of his sister Phoebe after Mick’s death. The story talks about feeling and events that happened after Mick’s death, while the family is healing. The book talks about loss and shows it is ok to mourn the death of someone you lost. Both books have different storylines, but overall both books talk about a hardship that children might be facing in the world today.
In the book Totally Joe there are many hardships that Joe faces throughout the book. One being he is discovering that he is Gay. He has to try to come out to his parents, while dealing with bullying at school. For some students they might be struggling with their sexuality and can easily relate to Joe. I think the author is trying to show in the book that it is ok to be different ...
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...ool for parents to help learn about bicycle safety and could be a wake-up call for them if their child is not riding safely. This book does a very good job of educating on bicycle safety, while also talking about the realities that students might be facing or have to face in the
Totally Joe and Mick Harte was here were two different stories with different themes and characters. Both books focused on some sort of hardship that children might face in their everyday life or may be facing in the future. The books are overall very relatable to the younger readers and even the older readers. The authors are definitely trying to expose the readers to this problem and help people who are going through the same thing. While different stories both of them talk about the hardships and no matter what the age everyone can relate and truly take something from these books.
“A book may be compared to the life of your neighbor. If it be good, it cannot last too long; if bad, you cannot get rid of it too early.” - Henry Brooke. This quote mimics Mark Aiello’s poem, comparing the first chapter of a book to someone’s childhood, or first chapter of life. Also like the quote, his poem explains how the first chapter of a book is very pleasurable, but it does not last long until the disturbing plot comes into play. Mark Aiello’s poem, “Chapter One”, is very literally about the first chapter of a novel. Furthermore, Aiello’s use of figurative language allows the reader to interpret the poem in numerous ways beyond the main idea. While analyzing the poem, the reader is permitted to compare the first chapter of a book to
In this memoir, James gives the reader a view into his and his mother's past, and how truly similar they were. Throughout his life, he showed the reader that there were monumental events that impacted his life forever, even if he
ey say that a book is a man’s best friend. It not only can change your personality but also leaves you with many experiences after each reading. I believe it is like a soul of human’s body without which anyone can exist. In everyday life we sometimes try to imitate our book’s heroes and even act like them in similar situations. Writers which depict daily problems, matters that touch us all and provide suggestions to overcome them will always win people’s spurs. One of such writers is in my opinion William Kennedy. There is something attractive in his books that make readers follow him till the last page. Now we are going to learn his book Billy Phelan’s greatest game and try somehow to analyze it.
After hearing a brief description of the story you might think that there aren’t many good things about they story. However, this is false, there are many good things in this book that makes it a good read. First being that it is a very intriguing book. This is good for teenage readers because often times they don’t willingly want to read, and this story will force the teenage or any reader to continue the book and continue reading the series. Secondly, this is a “good” book because it has a good balance of violence. This is a good thing because it provides readers with an exciting read. We hear and even see violence in our everyday life and I believe that it is something teenagers should be exposed to. This book gives children an insig...
The critics who perceived this book's central theme to be teen-age angst miss the deep underlying theme of grief and bereavement. Ambrosio asks the question, "Is silence for a writer tantamount to suicide? Why does the wr...
The conflict between Joe and Hannah initially arises when Joe tells is mom for the first time that he is gay. Joe's mother is Mormon and Joe himself is born and raised Mormon. The religious prohibits homosexuality and this, Hannah is in shock when Joe tells her what is going on. It is even more shocking due to the fact that Joe is presumably happily married to Harper, also a Mormon. During This discussion with his mother, Joe tries to point the finger at his father who Joe claims didn't love him enough and might have "caused" his homosexuality. Hannah can not seem to deal with the situation and delves into extreme denial. She hangs up the phone thinking the conversation came from Joe just being drunk.
Joe only cares for himself from the beginning of the play. He doesn’t admit or show others that he is a true homosexual. Not only because of the society still don’t widely accept a homosexual at that time, it is also because of his religion. If Joe decides to be a homosexual, then Mormons consider him is a serious sin person. Therefore, Joe starts to save himself in a nominal marriage with Harper. He treats this relationship as a friendship, because there is no husband in the world will call his wife “Buddy”. Joe doesn’t have an attention to Harper. Even though he knows she is suffering some kind of drug problem, but he still doesn’t care and find out the reason behind the issue. In addition, Harper never receives any sexual gratification from Joe. That makes Harper feels rejected, and she starts to question herself whether she is unattractive than other women or she is an enemy of Joe. “I’m the enemy. That’s easy. That doesn’t change. You think you’re the only one who hates sex; I do; I hate it with you” (Kushner 43) In spite of that isn’t Harper’s fault; Joe doesn’t feel her is attractive, because Joe is ...
In the 1950’s, young Jack Wolff struggles to find himself and his place in society as he and his mother travel across the country; running away from hostile situations, towards the hope of a better life. Tobias Wolff graces readers with his unforgettable memoir of boyhood, This Boy’s Life and gives insight into what goes into writing a good book. As one turns the pages of the novel they discover with every passing chapter that Wolff is a gifted author who has the unique, inane ability to tell a compelling story that leaves readers with something that they can hold onto forever. Although there are no set criteria for what distinguishes a good book from any other, This Boy’s Life fulfills many requirements for what makes a book great. The book has relatable characters that a reader is able to empathize with, it challenges and evolves the point of view of a reader, and it leaves the reader hoping for a sequel so that they do not have to leave the story behind.
This is an odd little book, but a very important one nonetheless. The story it tells is something like an extended parablethe style is plain, the characters are nearly stick figures, the story itself is contrived. And yet ... and yet, the story is powerful, distressing, even heartbreaking because the historical trend it describes is powerful, distressing, even heartbreaking.
Norton, D. E., & Norton. S. (2011). Through The Eyes Of a Child. An Introduction To Children’s Literature. Boston, MA, 02116: Eight-Edition Pearson Education
...s and John Green have used the literary techniques of setting, narrative perspective and minor characters in their novels to create awareness around how ordinary people are capable of extraordinary courage, effort and self-sacrifice. They have achieved this by using a setting that explores the difficulties that the characters face throughout the novel. Narrative perspective illustrates to the readers just how relatable and ordinary these characters are, and yet they perform astonishing acts of audacity. The technique of using minor characters also reveals the feats of courage that regular people make, so that it is clearer for the reader to understand the personality of each character. Sparks and Green have both done an insightful job of raising awareness to the acts of bravery the characters demonstrated which resulted in two incredible and heart-warming novels.
Altogether, this is a book to be read thoughtfully and more than once. It is about an unusually sensitive and intelligent boy; but, then, are not all boys unusual and worthy of understanding? If they are bewildered at the complexity of modern life, unsure of themselves, shocked by the spectacle of perversity and evil around them - are not adults equally shocked by the knowledge that even children cannot escape this contact and awareness? & nbsp;
As a writer, the success of most authors’ comes from their power to convert common thoughts or knowledge into something which can enlighten the reader. An author thrives on being unique and imaginative. With this originality comes differentiation, when one compares two authors who have used the same literary device in their writings, this becomes apparent. J.D Salinger’s writings involve an enormous amount of childhood concepts and loss of innocence. Mark Twain is also known for his use of innocence in his novels, specifically The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Although the concept behind innocence is basically the same with both authors, each author applies his own interpretat...
In “I Was a Skinny Tomboy Kid” and “Bad Boy” they both have one central idea, that being different is difficult, but both express this in very different ways. Both authors share stories from them being different. The authors share experiences on how they struggled to fit in and how it was a difficult time.
I. Teaching anyone to ride a bike is a most memorable experience, but having them obey the rules and regulations when riding is one of peoples first exposures to obeying the law. Cycling is a great way to exercise as well as a convenient mode of transportation. But before you start riding you should take a few minutes to consider some important safety precautions.