In Neil Gaiman’s fantasy novel, “Coraline,” the story takes place in a rather boring/simplistic time in which a young girl named Coraline, is always in seek of a new/better adventure. Coraline is explores her gray world and eventually comes across another world in which she finds her “other mother” who seems to portray Coraline’s view of the “perfect” lifestyle. The main idea of this text is selfishness, however the complex lesson that the story develops is how selfishness teaches us that we should self-reflect on selfish behavior and fix our actions so therefore we can avoid negative outcomes later. Selfishness can blind us from appreciating the important parts of life. In the start of the story, we can see how Coraline constantly is showing selfishness and doesn’t take any initiative in appreciating …show more content…
As the story comes to a close, we see how Coraline begins to learn from mistakes and changes as a character. In the scene on pages 140-141 in which Coraline is finally reunited with her family, Coraline is finally learning from her mistakes; she finally realizes how her actions affect others. Also, on page 160, Coraline is shown taking initiative in watching her neighbor’s shows. “‘You must come up and watch them…’” and “‘I would like that very much,’ said Coraline.” During this, the original ideas of appreciation and care are coming back in the story, but in a different way. At first, Coraline wasn’t very appreciative of her life, however after facing consequences for selfishness, she is taking what she has and showing compassion and appreciation for it. Through this we can see that the original theme has sprouted into multiple directions such as: self-reflection and regret. This now shows a new and final theme idea that after being selfish, people should take a moment and reflect on their behavior and if they take action in fixing that behavior, there will always be a positive outcome in the
Human nature is filled with curiosity, imagination, the desire to learn, and constant change. Jeannette Walls, the author of The Glass Castle, has a childhood filled with all of the above, but it is constantly disrupted by greed, drugs, and fear. This memoir takes the reader on a journey through the mind of a maturing girl, who learns to despise the people who she has always loved the most. Always short on cash and food, Jeannette’s dysfunctional family consisting of father, Rex, mother, Rose Mary, brother, Brian, and sisters, Lori and Maureen, is constantly moving from one location to another. Although a humorous tone is used throughout the whole novel, one can observe the difficulty that encompasses the physical challenge
The theme of this novel is to look at the good you do in life and how it carries over after your death. The moral of the book is; "People can make changes in their lives whenever they really want to, even right up to the end."
...g the perfect life should seem unrealistic to anyone evaluating the goal from an objective perspective; however the circumstances of the characters in the presented literary works exaggerate the expectations of everyday society. Each work focuses on portraying a flaw inherent in human nature from a different angle and ultimately, the characters’ quests for perfection demonstrate that the flaws permeating human nature are inescapable, prophesying failure for all those who seek to embody perfection.
Jeannette’s parents did a good job in helping their daughter believe in herself. For example, one night Jeannette thought she heard a monster was under her bed, but instead of telling her there was no monster, her father grabbed a weapon and went looking for the monster. He called it “Demon Hunting”. He told Jeannette that demon like to scare people but in the face to face combat (Walls 36-37). This helped Jeannette face her fear and build up her confidence. Because her father did not make Jeannette felt bad about herself, she believed that she could do anything. Jeannette’s can-do-attitude, which assisted her became a correspondent, encouraged her to try anything she wanted to do. Another example, from the article “Self-esteem for children”, the article points out the importance of building children 's self-esteem. Self-esteem means people feel good about themselves and have the confidence to try or do anything they want. The article also says that people with healthy self-esteem are more likely to develop their interests and contribute to their own community. (“Self-esteem for
Other cases, self desire may occur for treating one’s self with respect and love. Through an exchange of information, two people may learn and grow to love about themselves. Nonetheless, parents are the ones who show their children how to love. In the absense of a parental figure, many children will face a sudden change in their life style. Children of all ages will learn from their teachers, their peers, and their influences from media. In Jeannette Wall’s The Glass Castle, children will change through different influences in their lives, as seen in the novel, “I hesitated. “Sometimes, I think, it’s neither.” (256). Jeannette grew up knowing that her parents weren’t the best examples. Although her dad illustrated his love for her through various actions. She finds that it was hard to talk about her parents in public. The fact that her parents are living in the streets while she is spending her money on school was gruesome. Her bond with her parents became worse and worse which aided Jeannette into becoming a promising
Both “Button, Button” by Richard Matheson and “Popular Mechanics” by Raymond Carver portray that a person with selfishness is only hurting themselves. In “Button, Button”, Norma and Arthur, an average couple living in New York, recieve a button on their doorstep. They are eventually told that if they press the button, they will receive $50,000 with only one catch, someone they did not know would die. Arthur completely disregarded this and would not even consider pressing the button, while Norma kept considering it because she wanted the money. Norma’s selfishness stems from the unhappiness she has with her current living situation, and makes her become impulsive, lose her morals, and ruin the relationship she had with Arthur. “Popular Mechanics”
a tale that is part story and part commentary on how humans interact and think and self-
... my own selfishness and self concern. Often, I feel that society forgets the meaning behind their jobs or other duties, and focuses more on the rewarding outcome of it all, even though it is not fully guaranteed. In addition, I disliked, however, the title of the book itself and the length of the novel. I felt that the title did not have a significant relevance to the story, due to the fact that the title sounds like a church nun. It was confusing to me, and made it seem completely colorless and boring, even though the story proves otherwise, to me. I also found that the length of the book, consisting of 400 pages, was too long. However, the wait was worth it. Overall, I would definitely recommend this book to anyone because it is a “reality-check”, type of book. I was definitely intrigued and pleased with Dreiser’s style of writing and his meanings behind the text.
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.
A pearl is conventionally associated with wealth and prosperity. Like a philosopher’s stone, the pearl is believed to convert sorrows into happiness. Kino, a decent pearl diver and his wife, Juana, along with their son, Coyotito, are a poverty-stricken family until they discover “the greatest pearl in the world.” (p19) With hopes and dreams for themselves and their son’s future, Kino and Juana perceive this pearl to be a resolution for all of their troubles. After finding “the Pearl of the World,” (p22) Kino is plagued with vexation. His greed soon overcomes his benevolence and good intentions. The joint rapacity of Kino and other people precipitates misfortune and violence around him and eventually leads to Coyotito's death. The Pearl highlights
In I Am The Messenger by Markus Zusak, the main character Ed is a nineteen-year-old cab driver in Australia who has never amounted to anything. One day, while with his three best friends, an event occurs that forever changes his life. While in a bank, they are held up at gunpoint. Ed ends up stopping the criminal and saving the day. Days later, as the bank robber’s trial is ending, he tells Ed that he is “a dead man… [And to] [r]emember it every day when [he] look[s] in the mirror” (Zusak 38). This overlooked statement by the reader comes back in the end of the novel to reveal an important message that “everyone can live beyond what they’re capable of” (535). Before attending the trial though, Ed begins to receive playing cards with addresses, names, times, and movie titles on them that require him to complete tasks, which challenge him in more ways than he could ever imagine. In the short story “Good People” by David Foster Wallace, the two characters, Lane and Sheri, are faced with a situation that changes their lives as well; Sheri is pregnant with Lane’s baby. Even though Lane’s and Sheri’s situation is a little different than that of Ed’s, they relate greatly as all the characters are forced to make decisions that can alter the rest of their lives. In the novel, morality is used to accomplish self-discovery and growth of Ed’s personality by pushing his boundaries, and in the short story “Good People” by David Foster Wallace, morality is used to accomplish growth and the realization of consequences of one’s actions by placing the young couple in a faith questioning situation no adolescent wants to face.
“In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I've been turning over in my mind ever since. ‘Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone,’ he told me, ‘just remember that all the people in this world haven't had the advantages that you've had’” (Fitzgerald 5). Nick was the nonjudgemental narrator of the book, The Great Gatsby. Without Nick Gatsby’s true inner self would have never been revealed. Gatsby lied his way into his fame in fortune and lied into Daisy’s heart. In Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, Gatsby isn't as great as he seems; his obsessive traits and fabricated past seem to tell a different story.
The loss of innocence is an occurrence that happens in every life, and it is so easily taken. A traumatic moment is often the thief of innocence, leaving the victim scarred from the experience. Events like these are often the process of paving the road into adulthood, and aid in the metamorphosis of a child to an adult. In “My Father’s Noose” by Grace Talusan, “Dothead” by Amit Majmudar, and The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls, each of the characters do not understand the concept of negligent personages. Once the protagonist knows that society is not composed of perfect people, their character and personality changes, as it forces them to take a look at their own morals. This prepares the protagonist for the lives
In life some people suffer devastating failures because of the actions that they make. The book The Pearl by John Steinbeck is about a pearl diver named Kino finds the pearl of the world and thinks it is the best thing that ever happened to him. He is blinded by the power and wealth of the pearl and it leads to bad things happening. At the end of the book his son dies and then he realises how bad the pearl is a throws it into the ocean. Hillary Clinton is a political figure that has been the first lady, the secretary of state, and almost the president of the United states of America. She is clouded by the power to be the president so she makes decisions that she lader regrets. Both Kino and Hillary Clinton suffer devastating failures Because of their motivation to have power clouds their judgement resulting in negative consequences.
Having inherited the myth of ugliness and unworthiness, the characters throughout the story, with the exception of the MacTeer family, will not only allow this to happen, but will instill this in their children to be passed on to the next generation. Beauty precedes love, the grownups seem to say, and only a few possess beauty, so they remain unloved and unworthy. Throughout the novel, the convictions of sons and daughters are the same as their fathers and mothers. Their failures and accomplishments are transferred to their children and to future generations.