Values: An Analysis of Plainsong Kent Haruf's novel Plainsong, is a collection of characters and their struggles with an event or events that leave their life changed forever. Using the ideal of values, the reader can discern numerous instances of this ideal and how it impacts the characters and their stories. Analyzing the character of Victoria Rubideaux, the idea of values can be seen in her eviction from her home, her rescue by Maggie Jones, and her new home with the McPherons. Additionally, her search for her unborn child's father also speaks to this theme. Victoria is a high school junior, who has just ended a summer romance with Dwayne, a fellow student that left her for his life in Denver, Colorado. As her narrative begins, she is …show more content…
Victoria's mother, clearly set in the values of her generation, evicts Victoria and disowns her for her actions and her secrecy. This is very common for this generation of teenage mothers and their parents' reactions to them. Michelle Chino, a professor of Psychology, notes this specific reaction in her interview reflections. Upon talking to teen mothers she found that many teen mothers met stiff opposition to their pregnancy from their mothers. Much like Victoria's mother, and her doctor, the teenage mothers interviewed for her research experiences experienced shunning for their own mothers, "In spite of disappointment, shock and disapproval expressed by some of their mothers" (Chino 11). The mothers of these teens reacted very similarly to Victoria's mother, which is indicative of the societal norms and values, as well as expectations for the next …show more content…
The characters in his novel all coexist in a familial state, as characters displaced or abandoned find family in unlikely sources in their community. "Haruf's beautifully spare prose is the perfect vehicle for describing the poignancy of their lives, particularly the relationship of Victoria and the McPherson brothers with whom she goes to live. The sharing of these fractured lives in meaningful new family relationships after the old relationships are broken is the heart of this novel" (LaHood). Clearly values are a driving force for the novel as numerous different character's in Victoria's life, break up her family, and through this destruction a new family is born. Values of right and wrong, family values, expectation for the youth, are all clearly present in this novel. It is to the betterment of the reader that we analyze Victoria's life and the surrounding characters' impact on it, so as to draw comparisons to our lives and
Gary’s House, Debra Oswald, features the story of an Aussie couple facing the reality of adversity. Oswald has represented common beliefs and representations through the four protagonists mainly focusing on Gary and Dave. Many beliefs and values in the book symbolize the dominant stereotypes of an average Australian. Oswald explores the concept of an Aussie battler and how it perpetuates and challenges the common stereotype of Australians.
The diverse alternation of point of views also provides the story an effective way to reach out to readers and be felt. The characterisation is effectively done and applied as Sam, Grace, and the other supporting characters play individual, crucial roles in the course of the story. All the elements of a typical young adult novel, consisting of a gap-filled relationship between children and parents, emotion-driven teenagers, and a unique conflict that makes the book distinct from fellow novels, combined with the dangerous consequences of the challenges the couple encounter, make the book different from all other of the same genre. The plot unfolds slowly giving readers enough time to adjust and anticipate the heavy conflict when it arises. It has gotten us so hooked but the only thing we could possibly dislike about it was the slow pace of plot. The anticipation was too much to handle and we were practically buzzing and bouncing to know how the story turns out as we read. It builds the anticipation, excitement, thrill, sadness, grief, loss, and longing in such an effective way to entice and hook readers further into the world of Sam and
“I looked anxiously. I didn’t see anybody… I’d keep my head up and my eyes open-`You got a smoke to spare?’” (Walters 3) In Shattered, Eric Walters hauls the reader through the life of Ian, the protagonist who experiences the joy of helping others. Throughout the white pine award novel, Ian is continually helping people around him realize that their life isn’t perfect and they ought to alter it somewhat. Furthermore, the author carefully compares the significance of family and how importance they are to everyone’s life. Right through the book, Eric Walters demonstrates the theme of compassion through the use of Ian helping Jack overcome his drinking problems, showing Berta the value of patriot and always there for the less fortunate.
The novel Silver Sparrow by Tayari Jones is the story of two families with the same father, a bigamist. Chaurisse and her mother Laverne, James Witherspoon 's first wife, have no idea the other family exists. Dana and her mother are part of his secret life, playing second fiddle to the family they share their father/husband with. The novel presents a wide variety of instances where intersections between gender, race, or class influence a character’s life. This novel shows how the identity of people change through the course of life and how it affects their interaction with other people in life. Dana is the daughter of James Witherspoon and Gwendolyn. However,
absence of parental guidance in the novel and in which she explores the individual’s search for
Much success has come from the novel due to its highly relatable nature and has made others’ lives easier to make sense of. The novel’s importance is that it is there to describe the rough period where one changes from a child to an adult, and accomplishes this through the blunt nature of Holden Caulfield, his lack of understanding of adults, and his dissatisfaction of life in general.
...these were important points made in this book. All of these things were illustrated by Torey and Sheila. They were very close friends and had a relationship that was similar to that of a mother and daughter. They loved each other for their personality and the things they did. Torey cared for Sheila so much that she did everything she could to help her out. Sheila was grateful for this and I think that's about caring.
The lack of support and affection protagonists, Sula Peace and Nel Wright, causes them to construct their lives on their own without a motherly figure. Toni Morrison’s novel, Sula, displays the development of Sula and Nel through childhood into adulthood. Before Sula and Nel enter the story, Morrison describes the history of the Peace and Wright family. The Peace family live abnormally to their town of Medallion, Ohio. Whereas the Wrights have a conventional life style, living up to society’s expectations.The importance of a healthy mother-daughter relationship is shown through the interactions of Eva and Hannah Peace, Hannah and Sula, and between Helene Wright and Nel. When Sula and Nel become friends they realize the improper parenting they
In John Connolly’s novel, The Book of Lost Things, he writes, “for in every adult there dwells the child that was, and in every child there lies the adult that will be”. Does one’s childhood truly have an effect on the person one someday becomes? In Jeannette Walls’ memoir The Glass Castle and Khaled Hosseini’s novel The Kite Runner, this question is tackled through the recounting of Jeannette and Amir’s childhoods from the perspectives of their older, more developed selves. In the novels, an emphasis is placed on the dynamics of the relationships Jeannette and Amir have with their fathers while growing up, and the effects that these relations have on the people they each become. The environment to which they are both exposed as children is also described, and proves to have an influence on the characteristics of Jeannette and Amir’s adult personalities. Finally, through the journeys of other people in Jeannette and Amir’s lives, it is demonstrated that the sustainment of traumatic experiences as a child also has a large influence on the development of one’s character while become an adult. Therefore, through the analysis of the effects of these factors on various characters’ development, it is proven that the experiences and realities that one endures as a child ultimately shape one’s identity in the future.
This book teaches the importance of self-expression and independence. If we did not have these necessities, then life would be like those in this novel. Empty, redundant, and fearful of what is going on. The quotes above show how different life can be without our basic freedoms. This novel was very interesting and it shows, no matter how dismal a situation is, there is always a way out if you never give up, even if you have to do it alone.
... with an uptight boyfriend, a mother who wants her to be perfect, and a job at the library that she despises. “In their minds {library co-workers}, I didn’t belong there” (44). “{Jason’s email} ‘I’m concerned that you’re not putting your full attention into the job’” (47). As the book goes on, Macy opens up, and starts working at Wish Catering all of the sudden. Also, her new friendship with Wes deepens gradually, and the process is expressed with adventures and stories that make you want to read on. At the very end of the novel, during the falling action, Macy gets over her grief and has a new perspective on what truly being happy and living your life is, shown here: “Forever was just so many different things. It was always changing, it was what everything was really all about” (374). The author, Sarah Dessen, provides closure and ties the novel into real life.
...common in human beings, and the demonstrations that have been considered in this term paper are not the only examples that live in the novel that call up the difficulty of considering with change. believe about Holden lowering out of yet another school, Holden departing Pencey Prep and, for a while, dwelling life in the cold streets of New York town all by his lonesome. The book ends abruptly, and gathering condemnation of it is not rare. It's an odd cliffhanger, not because of the way it's in writing, but because of a individual desire to glimpse what Holden finishes up doing with his life. Perhaps, as he augments up, he'll learn to contend better through change. Imagine the death of Phoebe, decisively an event that would be similar to Allie's tragic demise. if an older Holden would reply the identical as did a junior one, is a inquiry still searching for an answer.
In this book review I represent and analyze the three themes I found the most significant in the novel.
Adolescence is the point in a person’s life that plays a vital role in the formation of the man or woman they are to become. Not every journey or experience is the same, but every girl and boy has to go through it to officially be ushered into the adult world. For a young lady, the most important thing in her journey to womanhood is her mother. The mother plays the role in guiding her daughter through her adolescent experiences in a healthy way. She is able to use her experiences to teach her daughter but also allow her daughter to learn from her own mistakes and make her experience her own. In the novel Carrie written by Stephen King and the television series Gilmore Girls created by Amy Sherman-Palladino, there are two examples of mother/daughter relationships and the effects the mothers had on their daughter’s transitions through adolescence into adulthood. The two relationships differ because of maternal and community support, maternal guidance and teachings to the daughter on how to be a woman, parenting styles, and honesty about the mistakes the mother’s made. The relationships are similar because both girls are in high school,
...les, states, “Up until now, older first-time mothers have been offered little guidance in resolving this clash of needs and were left feeling guilty, confused, and privately ashamed”. I am from a late pregnancy, and I feel my mother does not understand me. I think she is from another generation, and she always compares my actions with hers when she was in my age. Pregnancy has its own perfect age and women should be aware of that.