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Westward expansion in the late 1800s
Westward expansion in the late 1800s
Westward expansion in the late 1800s
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In the book, Black Storm Comin’ by Diane Lee Wilson, twelve years old, Colton Wescott trek west with his family through dangerous trails that can lead to death. They were on a wagon train heading to California when Colton’s father accidentally shot him and galloped away, leaving Colton wounded and hurt. Colton has to provide for his family while moving west towards California when his father abandons them. In order for him to be able to provide for them, he must join the Pony Express, which delivers mail through rough and dangerous trails through the Sierra Nevada Mountains. In this book, it authenticates how life is a game, everyone is just on different levels. One example is the goal Colton wishes to attain, to convey a liberal paper (a paper that expresses that the slave is free from its master) that his mother wants him to commit to her sister. Another instance is when Colton is given the golden coins as an apology for slaughter Colton’s oxen. In gain, another example is when he joins the Pony Express.
An example that demonstrates how life is a game, is the goal Colton wants to...
A lighthouse’s piercing beam of light shines over the murky land, providing respite—albeit brief—from the harsh battering of the neighboring terrain. Trouble, by Gary D. Schmidt, wraps this picture eloquently in the form of a compelling and captivating contemporary fiction book. Trouble primarily centers around a boy named Henry Smith, who never really understood the formidable potential of the omnipotent entity Trouble in his safe and idyllic life. Henry had always fallen into the dark shadow of his brother, Franklin, as a result of Franklin’s physical prowess. “…especially since he could never hope to match the records that Franklin—Franklin Smith, O Franklin Smith, the great lord of us all, Franklin Smith—had put up on the wooden Athletic Records panels for his rugby play.” (7). Henry’s brother, however, was extremely arrogant, and put his brother down at every chance he got, which causes Trouble to appear. “‘You do that climb, you have guts…you don't have any guts.’ Franklin punched his arm. Too hard. Then he laughed and walked away.” (38). Although the word “Trouble” usually brings to mind pictures of kids attempting to pull their parents’ hair out, it strikes the Smith family in a very different way: with the death of their Franklin due to being run over by Chay Chouan, a Cambodian immigrant. The family is utterly devastated with Trouble’s unforeseen arrival. “And his father hadn't shaved—which was, Henry thought, the first time that had ever happened.” (11). Having been promised to be taken to Mount Katahdin, the tallest mountain in Maine, right before Franklin had died, Henry takes the news the worst. His thoughts completely revolve around Katahdin, and how he would hike it at any cost, if just to...
Encountering struggles in life defines one’s character and speaks volumes about their strength, ambition, and flexibility. Through struggles, sacrifice, and tragedy, Junior in The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie, adapts to survive difficult situations and faces his problems head-on. As he makes life changing decisions, adapts to an unfamiliar culture, and finds himself amongst misery and heartbreak, Junior demonstrates resilience to overcome adversity and struggles.
The story of two men growing up in the same neighborhood with similar backgrounds with the same name and eerily similar circumstances that leads and ultimately has each character ending up in very different places in life. Taking completely different paths to their futures is the setting of this story “The Other Wes Moore”. The way a person is shaped and guided in their developmental years does undoubtedly play a huge role in the type of person they will become in life. The author Wes does a good job of allowing you the ability to read this story and the circumstances surrounding the character his mother joy played such an important role in his success, while comparing the roll of Mary the other Wes’s mother. Both boys grew up with strong, hardworking black women in their lives and yet it still allowed for two completely different journeys. I think the lack of fathers and having not so good male role models was also a contributing factor.
Wes (the author) has a family who wants to see him succeed. Although Wes didn’t know his father for long, the two memories he had of him and the endless stories his mother would share with him, helped guide him through the right path. His mother, made one of the biggest effects in Wes’s life when she decided to send him to military story, after seeing he was going down the wrong path. Perhaps, the other Wes’s mother tried her best to make sure he grew up to be a good person, but unfortunately Wes never listen. His brother, Tony was a drug dealer who wish he could go back in time and make the right decisions and he wanted Wes to be different than him. He didn’t want his brother to end up like him and even after he tried everything to keep Wes away from drugs, nothing worked and he gave up. As you can see, both families are very different, Wes (the author) has a family who wants him to have a bright future. Most importantly, a family who responds fast because right after his mother saw him falling down the wrong hill she didn’t hesitate to do something about it. The other Wes isn’t as lucky, as I believe since his mother already had so much pressure over keeping her job and her son Tony being involved in drugs. Same thing with Tony, he was so caught up in his own business that no one payed so much attention to
Individuals are prone to fear regardless of whether it relates to something as minute as choosing between clothes, or it can be something life altering, such as making a bold decision to leave home in search of a better life. In the memoir, “The Iron Road”, Al Purdy describes his fear as it relates to his future in his younger days. Al Purdy describes his life when he was just a seventeen year old boy wanting to leave home in search of a Job. He was quick in his decision to leave his parents, rather judicially so in terms of his confidence to climb aboard a train without the consent of his parents. The reader can feel sympathetic for a teen who is unaware of the potential hardships of life, when
At first glance, the readers have preconceived ideas that the story’s theme is one of a positive nature. One anticipates that there will be a character with good fortune; however, once reading it only becomes evident in the middle of the story. Readers begin to understand that he person who has the misfortune, the colored paper, is stoned to death in front of the whole community. This is evident when it states, “It had a black spot on it, the black spot Mr. Summers had made the night before…there was a stir in the crowd” (Jackson 249). This quote emphasis’s the negative connotation related to the black dot, which makes readers aware of the detriments related. Its relevance leads readers to understanding the development of the drama. Within the Hutchinson’s family, the mother, Tessie Hutchinson, is the victim to the lottery that
Facing hardships, problems, or obstacles shouldn’t discourage one from completing their task or job. Many of authors usually put their characters through tough complications to show the reader that no matter what happens; anyone could pull through. In the short story, “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connel, the main character Mr. Rainsford gets stranded on an eerie island with a bad reputation. He meets General Zaroff and gets thrown into a huge hunting game, where his life is on the line. In the end, he wins the game and will continue to hunt animals, but not people, as the general once did. He will continue to hunt because one, hunting means everything to him. Two, he will not continue the general’s crazy ways, and resort back to the legal and non-dangerous to other humans sport. Third, he feels powerful when he becomes the hunter and not the hunted. Giving up hunting would be like giving up his life, so just because of a minor block he had to overcome, he will not give up hunting.
Later the narrator is an educated young man in his teens. He's followed his grandfathers' words and it results in him being obedient to the views of the white men. The narrator is invited to recite a speech at a local town gathering which included politicians and town leaders. The narrator is forced to compete in a battle royal. He had to box blindfolded, get electrified by a rug filled with fake brass coins, and humiliated when it was time for him to give his speech. The problem with the boys understanding of the grandfather's ideology is that he doesn't know where his limit is. It almost seems as if he would go through anything the white men put in his way but even after that, the men tell him to correct himself when he even mentions social equality. The narrator is rewarded for his obedience with a scholarship, but the true value of the scholarship is questioned in a dream where the scholarship paper read, "To Whom It May Concern Keep This Nigger-Boy Running.
Richard Wright’s “Big Boy Leaves Home” addresses several issues through its main character and eventual (though reluctant) hero Big Boy. Through allusions to survival and primal instincts, Wright confronts everything from escaping racism and the transportation (both literal and figurative) Big Boy needs to do so, as well as the multiple sacrifices of Bobo. Big Boy’s escape symbolizes both his departure from his home life and his childhood. Big Boy, unlike his friends, does not have a true name. This namelessness drives his journey, and Big Boy is constantly singled out in one way or another. The moniker ‘Big Boy’ is a contradiction—is he a large boy or is he a grown man?—and drives all of Big Boy’s actions. Throughout the story he hinges between childhood and adulthood, and his actions vary depending on which side he falls on at that exact moment.
After reading the novel Ender’s Game there are many surprises and themes. The main theme is life is a game; Bonzo, Ender and, Peter best prove that with many reasons like: cheating, patience, and enemies. Those supporting points mentioned above contribute to the theme of life is a game because it deals with traits of a game. Some games take patience, some you fight enemies and when the game is difficult people result in cheating.
In life, multiple factors work together to influence the choices one makes, and these choices affect both one’s present and their future. In a narrative about two boys who share the same identity, their two seperate lives are compared to one another by the differences of their futures. Choice versus Fate is a theme in The Other Wes Moore that is developed throughout the plot to display how the two forces work together and against each other in the two characters’ lives, and to also emphasize the reality that at times, one’s fate is already pre-destined and the choices that one makes may not be impactful enough to change their destiny.
Cowboys, Indians, gunfights, cattle, stealing, prostitutes, alcohol, deserts, plains, and horses: Where can all these be found? Only in the Wild West. The days when the West was once the newest frontier have been preserved forever due to the many novels and movies written about them. The stories from the west are full of action, packed with battles between cowboys and Indians, and adventures of tracking down pistoleros (bandits, gunman). They are also full of drama, cowboys who have fallen in love with prostitutes, finding long-lost loved ones, and the pains of growing up in hopes of being a cowboy. All of this action can be found in one Western novel, Lonesome Dove, by Larry McMurtry. One theme, however, stands out from the rest of them. The theme of growing up and maturing is a predominant theme in the book Lonesome Dove. Newt, the young stable hand, is finally maturing and is looking to his leaders, Augustus 'Gus' McCrae, Captain Woodrow F. Call, and other assorted cow hands such as Dish Bogget, Joshua Deets, and Jake Spoon for advice and tips in life. After being born to a prostitute mother, who died, Newt was raised by the Hat Creek Outfit. This outfit is like the Bad News Bears. It is a ragtag group serving no real purpose other than to steal horses from Mexican bandits and then sell them to travelers who happen to stop by the desolate town of Lonesome Dove. This is a very harsh environment for Newt to grow up in. Newt is constantly looking for a companion and friend, and at the very least someone to talk to. He talks to Deets, the only one in the company who seems to enjoy his company. Call is too shy, abrupt, and ashamed to get into long discussions with Newt. Gus certainly do...
In the Novel The Road, by Cormac McCarthy, survival becomes the biggest quest to life. The novel is set to be as a scene of isolation and banishment from people and places. The author uses the hidden woods as a set of isolation for the characters, in which creates the suspense of traveling to an unspecified destination near the shore. Cormac McCarthy creates a novel on the depth of an imaginative journey, which leads to a road of intensity and despair. The journey to move forward in an apocalyptic world transforms both of the main characters father and son tremendously as time progress. In particular, the boys’ isolation takes him from hope to torment, making him become fearful and imaginative. The images indicate that McCarthy’s post apocalyptic novel relies on images, particular verbal choices, and truthful evidence to how isolation affected the son emotionally and physically.
Friedrich Wilhelm August Froebel was born on April 21, 1782 in Oberweissbach, Germany, a small village in the Thuringian Forest. His father was a Lutheran Protestant minister who had a large congregation and little time for five sons and his mother died when he was nine months old making his childhood rather traumatic and depressing. These distressing childhood experiences shaped him into the teacher he would one day become. His upbringing was facilitated by his older brothers and the servants that ran his father’s household but lacked a feminine presence that Froebel desperately desired. This unfulfilled need of a mothers influence and love would create the foundation on which Froebel would build his idea and create a special early childhood environment, Kindergarten.
Anderson makes effective use of fantasy to teach a moral lesson. He builds up the story in such a way that the reader does not care for the validity of the incidents. The moral lesson is that the proud and the disobedient must suffer.