In the present, many people focus on success in life while adjusting to modern society and its expectations, by using their contacts and friendships for personal benefit. In the past, friendship had a significant value in people’s lives; people met for dinner or social events, which consisted of spending more time with families and friends. Today, people favor spending their time alone, but avoid family events due to their lack of interest and insecurities about their social status. In the book The Gum Thief, insecurities are portrayed as a significant trait that causes the characters to lose their motivation towards success in life. The novel highlights that every individual has insecurities, which allows in experiencing the obstacles of life. According to The Toronto Star, “A terrific book….Coupland’s ear for dialogue is as sharp as his eye for social observation.” In the book The Gum Thief by Douglas Coupland, Coupland depicts three different scenarios in which his characters – Roger, Bethany, and Steve and Gloria from a novel in the book called “Glove Pond” – lack the ability to transition their lives from dreams to reality. Their lack of success makes them experiment with lifestyle choices while dealing with the significant effects of their difficult past, their motivation to explore the world, and the subsequent changes in their lives.
The first main character of the book The Gum Thief, Roger, is a middle-aged man who finished high school, has a son with his ex-wife Joan, and works at Staples, not pursuing his dreams of becoming an author. During his high school days, Roger did not put effort into studying, but spent his time partying and drinking. After he got married to Joan, they had a son who passed away a few years l...
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...to teach themselves to create their dreams into reality. The Daily Mail articulates that, “A tender and hopeful story that shows how, with friendship and the occasional little act of rebellion, there can still be laughter after tragedy.” This emphasizes the author’s observation on people’s belief of giving up because of their past experiences. Coupland incorporates his characters – Roger, Bethany, Steve and Gloria – within his book to illustrate that giving up in life has its consequences; ultimately, their lack of success makes them experience different opportunities while coping with their difficult past that impacts their future. As a result, their motivation to explore the world from a different view increases, causing ensuing changes towards their surrounding lifestyle.
Works Cited
Coupland, Douglas. The Gum Thief. Toronto: Random House Canada, 2007. Print.
Hope has the incredible ability to make or break someone. People are always told to make large goals in school and employment, and try to reach those ambitions no matter how far they are. Hope is the motivation behind accomplishing dreams, but it also has the ability to break people who have hoped for something so desperately, yet never came to fruition. Only determination and personal situations can persuade hope to fly or fall. A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly highlights this ambiguous hope we depend on through the use of symbolism, characterization, and inner conflict.
Some short stories are designed to teach lessons to the people who read them. They teach lessons about life, love, and growing up. People can learn lessons by reading short stories where the main characters discover something about life and about themselves. Also, the Characters and the way they use actions, words, or thoughts carry throughout the story can relate to many realistic personas as in Toni Cade Bambara 's short story “The Lesson.” Bambara’s narrative diversifies any reading list with some authors, who are not so familiar, where she presents a lesson to be learned with the story of young children growing up in
Dugard, Jaycee. A Stolen Life. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2011. ix - 268. Print.
Theme: Situations and surroundings can shatter the innocence of friendship, but more the identity of the individuals.
...arding their personal experience with loneliness. In the end, the novel comes to say that humans are most happy when they are able to confide in others for protection and advice.
Love, one of the biggest aspects of human nature, affects everyone in different ways. In the novel by Stephen Chbosky, “the Perks of Being a Wallflower,” the main character Charlie, negatively affected by his loving relationship with his aunt Helen, develops many social issues. The novel, a coming of age story about overcoming many obstacles as a teenager, follows the main character, Charlie, and the challenges he faces. Throughout the story, Charlie struggles with the loss of his beloved aunt. When he begins High school, he has a harder time than the typical teenager for many reasons. His close relationship with his beloved aunt is the source of his companionship issues, depression, and insecurities.
Hinton’s novel “The Outsiders”, demonstrates how having both internal and external expectations impact the way you live and how you act on a day-to-day basis. In the text, the Socs and Greasers are put into roles with specific limitations, which impacted their lives accordingly. These standards for each group come from ideas relating to maintaining reputations. This could range from being the poor kids with turbulent, misfortunate lives to the wealthy kids who got to live a life of opportunity. In summation, the Greasers and the Socs dealt with conflicts that were related to living up to the expectations placed on them by the society they lived in and what they anticipated from
“‘A guy goes nuts if he ain’t got nobody. Don’t make no difference who the guy is… I tell ya a guy gets too lonely an’ he gets sick,” (Steinbeck 73). In this statement, Crooks, a character in John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, divulges what effect loneliness can have on a human being. In the novel, the two main characters escape to a ranch where they must face the conflict that seems to follow them. Set in the 1930s during the Great Depression, Steinbeck brilliantly portrays the loneliness and suspicion that was common during the time. Much like in everyday life, we can see the way in which loneliness drives people to become isolated, crave companionship, and refuse to express emotion.
The world today is very deceptive and phony. J.D. Salinger’s well known novels, The Catcher in the Rye and Franny and Zooey attack this fake and superficial society which is evident through the lives, ideas, actions, and words expressed by the characters in these literary pieces. The transition from childhood, through adolescence and into adulthood is inevitable. The protagonist of The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield goes through this stage and finds himself in a crisis. He alienates himself from everyone who is around him and tries his best not to grow up. Holden often dwells upon his childhood and the life he had with his family. Franny in Franny and Zooey has already passed this stage but finds it difficult to live in a world where everyone she is surrounded by is only concerned with outward appearances. In these worlds, both characters, Holden and Franny, reveal their struggle of growing up and trying to live as an adult in a world full of deception and shallow-minded people who only care about appearances.
Candy, an aging swamper and former ranch worker, is a character that experiences the heartbreak of becoming lonely. Many can attest to having an extremely good friend that they lose whether it be because of work, personal reasons, and in Candy’s case death. When occurrences like Candy’s incident transpire one can feel as if the world is crumbling all around them. A gaping hole is left in Candy’s heart after his dog was shot, and regret is present because he did not do it himself. Candy loses the only friend he has, and his disability and age hinders his chances of gaining new friends. Loneliness can envelope an individual and make their logic warped and more susceptible to the idea of utopia and serenity. This can be seen in people today especially in teenagers who are willing to please others in exchange for friendship and similar concepts which mostly ends in bullying and broken hearts. In this circumstance Candy is willing to believe i...
“Frank Sinatra’s Gum”, a memoir by Kelly Simon, tells the story of searching for herself against the peer pressure at the junior high age. Self-identification and individuality is dramatized prior, during, and after Simon meets the famous Frank Sinatra. As society is trying to shape her life, she is fighting back by keeping her mind open to gain her locus of identity.
This story had no fluff. It had no happy ending. It was in no way uplifting. It was a book about hopelessness, and how tragic life can be. None of the characters find happiness. No one is rescued from their misery. What makes this book powerful is that sometimes that is the way life is. Sometimes there is no happy ending, and sometimes there is no hope. It would be nice if that were not true, but it is. And this book shows the gritty side of life, the sad reality. Sometimes things do not work out the way we would like them to, and sometimes there is nothing we can do about it. As depressing as this may be as a theme, it is important to realize that it is true. While optimism is usually admirable, too much may be ignorant. Hopelessness exists. It can certainly be seen in real life, and it can certainly be seen in this book.
Atwood’s “Happy Endings” retells the same characters stories several times over, never deviating from clichéd gender roles while detailing the pursuit of love and life and a happy ending in the middle class. The predictability of each story and the actions each character carries out in response to specific events is an outline for how most of us carry on with our lives. We’re all looking for the house, the dog, the kids, the white picket fence, and we’d all like to die happy.
When you are born people are there to take care of you, love you, and guide you through life. As you grow up and life changes, you must take charge of your own life and not become so dependent on others. Throughout the course of life a person will encounter many changes, whether good or bad. In 'A&P';, 'The Secret Lion';, and 'A Rose for Emily';, the main characters in the stories are Sammy, the boys, and Miss Emily who face changes during their lives. All of these characters are in need of change. Because of their need for change, their lives will become much better. They are filled with wonder and awe about the world around them. No matter what type of person, everyone will encounter changes. It is part of the natural process. A person is encouraged to make these changes for the good. Sammy, the boys, and Miss Emily all encounter changes in their lives that fulfill their need to become something different.
Relationships are a vital component in one's everyday life. Moreover, in Bay Leaves and Cinnamon Sticks by Thelma B. Thomas, Millie, the main character in the book, has faced multiple obstacles dealing with relationships. Thelma uses a unique method of combining relationships with three different appeal schemes, Ethos, Pathos, and Logos. In fact, there are three major types of connections recycled throughout the book; which include, Romantic relationships, friendships, and family relationships. Furthermore, her relationships have steered her life in different directions since she was nine years old, and without them she definitely would not be the hardworking, determined, selfless woman she is today.