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the wars by timothy findley essays
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Reaching Understanding through Non-Verbal Communication in Timothy Findley’s “War” and “About Effie”
The two stories “War” and “About Effie” from Timothy Findley’s Dinner Along the Amazon are both told by the same child narrator, Neil. In each of the stories Neil attempts to make sense of a mystery of the adult world. In “War” Neil tries to understand the adult world of war, and explain why it seems that his father has betrayed him, and in “About Effie” Neil tries to understand the mystery of Effie’s strange need to wait for a man in a thunderstorm. Neil reaches an understanding of each of these mysteries in a similar way: through observation of non-verbal clues from adults. However, Neil’s own attempts to communicate non-verbally through his behaviour are unsuccessful. Taken as a whole, these two stories show how very important non-verbal communication is in child-adult relationships.
In “About Effie” Neil’s most significant impression of Effie is created when she looks at him. Neil tells how when he first meets the new maid, she looks at him with such meaning that it scares him: “. . .the way you’ll know her is this: she’ll look at you as if she thought you were someone she was waiting for, and it will probably scare you. It did me” (82). Neil describes the first time he meets Effie in terms of the way they look at each other, saying “The first time I saw her, she saw me first” (82). Neil is shocked by this new maid, not only because she gives him such a profound look, but also because she bursts into tears upon seeing him.
Neil tries to make sense of why Effie would become so emotional upon seeing him, and tries to discover more about this mysterious person for whom she is waiting...
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...her captures both Neil’s naivete at the time and the sadness of his father’s war obligation. Through looking at this photograph Neil realizes and accepts that the incident was truly not his father’s fault. The non-verbal image contained in the photograph provides the key to Neil’s understanding.
In “War” Neil’s attempts to communicate non-verbally through his behaviour are ineffective. However, in both stories Neil reaches understanding through powers of observation, even when the adults are unable to communicate through words. In reaching understanding, Neil takes a step towards adulthood himself. Through the process of looking at Effie’s smiles and looking at his father’s wounded face in the photograph, Neil is able to decode the mystery of their actions.
Works Cited
Findley, Timothy. Dinner Along the Amazon. Toronto: Penguin Books, 1996.
In “To Kill a Mockingbird,” the author shows that Calpurnia and Miss Caroline play a big part in Scout’s early education. Calpurnia and Miss Caroline both differ in their methods and aim. Calpurnia is an African American maid for the Finch family. She had more education then most people and she is like a mother towards Scout. Scout never liked Calpurnia very much because Calpurnia always complained about her behavior. Calpurnia aim and method of teaching is to be disciplined and humble. Calpurnia wants Scout to know the right and the wrong. For example, when Walter Cunningham was comes over for dinner, he drowns all of his meal in syrup, and Scout was angry. However, Calpurnia called her to the kitchen and said, “He ain’t company, Cal, he’s just a Cunningham-” “Hush your mouth! Don’t matter who they are, anybody sets foot in this house’s yo‘ comp’ny, and don’t you let me catch you remarkin’ on their ways like you was so high and mighty!”
Throughout all those years as the kids were growing up, Calpurnia has shown and given an immense amount of love and support towards the children, just as a mother or a motherly figure should. Atticus sees her as a faithful member of the family, and he refused of letting her go when Aunt Alexandra suggested firing her. In addition, Atticus trusts Calpurnia with the children; he trusts that she will look after them and cook them food when he is not able to. Calpurnia and Scout have grown closer as Scout grew up because often times Jem would exclude her. For instance, when Jem became close to his teenage years, he would act out often and tell Scout what to do. Scout burst into tears after one argument where Jem told her that she ought to start acting more like a girl. As a result, she fled to Calpurnia, where she offered to keep Scout company whenever she needed: “...so you just come right on in the kitchen when you feel lonesome” (131). Also, Scout stated how Calpurnia seemed glad when she appeared in the kitchen. This shows how Calpurnia is always loving and supportive when Scout needs a shoulder to cry on, and how Calpurnia cheers Scout up when she’s not having the best of days. Besides from making Scout and Jem meals everyday, Calpurnia demonstrates exceptional mothering towards Scout on a daily
Careful He Might Hear You, by Sumner Locke Elliot, is a complicated novel, revolving around the story of a six year old boy named PS and his search for personal identity amidst the conflicts of his closest relatives. The narration of these conflicts, as well as the history behind their origins, forms the basis of the novel, and while the different types of relationships between the characters are not the main focus of the novel, the author links them with each of the characters’ sense of identity and their personal desires. Careful He Might Hear You is a book about people finding their true identities, and the truth or imbalance of the relationships that result from this. Through comparison and contrast, Sumner Locke Elliot highlights the flaws in each of the relationships presented, and the ramifications these have on the individuals involved; their present lives and their probable futures.
In a restaurant, picture a young boy enjoying breakfast with his mother. Then suddenly, the child’s gesture expresses how his life was good until “a man started changing it all” (285). This passage reflects how writer, Dagoberto Gilb, in his short story, “Uncle Rock,” sets a tone of displeasure in Erick’s character as he writes a story about the emotions of a child while experiencing his mother’s attempt to find a suitable husband who can provide for her, and who can become a father to him. Erick’s quiet demeanor serves to emphasis how children may express their feelings of disapproval. By communicating through his silence or gestures, Erick shows his disapproval towards the men in a relationship with his mother as he experiences them.
A parent may want to understand their child and connect to them, but they may not know how to do it. In Li-Young Lee’s poem “A Story”, the literary devices point of view, metaphors, and the structure of the poem are used to portray the complex relationship of the father and child and their inability to be able to connect with one another despite their wishes to do so.
Whitney, C. S. & Hirsch, G. (2011). Helping Gifted Children Soar. A Practical Guide for
Ellen lived a different life in Europe therefore Newland had this sort of fear in his words when he said "it is more real to me here than if I went up" it's like he's implying that there is something not letting him go upstairs and meet her. A huge force that is holding him back from meeting her and that's love.
With this in mind, Brenda cleverly obuses Neil’s open mindedness in formulating a scenario to enable a source of faith and new level of relation to develope among themselves. Once brought into action, she uncovers the other side to her integrity. Respectively, Neil shows benevolence to that part of her that seems to understand him deep inside, “There among the disarrangement and dirt I had the strange experience of seeing us, both of us, placed among disarrangement and dirt: we looked like a young couple who just had moved into a new apartment; we had suddenly taken stock of our furniture, finances, and future [...] ” (68) However since she has grown accustomed into a new rank of social status, and away from “the disarrangement and dirt” of Newark, she has become more attracted to life she occupies anon in Short Hills. This knowledge disillusions her that wealth advantages come with power, and that power is her responsibility. She through her selfish and noble heart feels the need to improve Neil, because it’s her past for a reason. Meanwhile, he interprets “the strange experience of seeing us” as a gateway into a compromise of “furniture, finances, and future” in their relationship. In this case, Brenda is unable to welcome the real and raw elements of Neil, distorts the possibility for them to experience love for one another. Thus, the misinterpretation and
What prompts his aggression, again, is the conflicts Neil has with himself. Of course, one of the key examples of Neil’s aggression is his violence towards his father. Neil’s father came to the Curries house and began looking for Neil. Neil was running towards the loft “but first [he] had to ward off [his] father … so [he] threw a stone” (131) Neil is fighting off his father here as he does not want to face him and discuss his aggression. Timothy Findley is implying that the protagonist is feeling aggressive due to his internal struggle with himself about feeling ignored and unloved. Furthermore, Neil’s sense of mistreatment leads him to be unresponsive and just violent and aggressive. When Neil’s dad finally approaches him he asks, “Neil aren’t you going to explain why you’re angry? [Neil] thought for a minute and then [he] didn’t answer him after all… [Neil’s dad] looked worried” (132). The audience can infer that Neil resorts to aggression and violence rather than talking because he feels that no one listens to him and no one cares about him, this again, connecting back to Findley’s original theme about internal struggles. Thus, the characteristics of aggression in Neil displays the truths about people struggling with internal issues and
On the base level, the title represents exactly what it sounds like—the death of a Willy, a salesman. Peculiarly, Miller never tells the readers what exactly Willy sells. Nonetheless, we can infer that Willy basically sells “himself”; after all, while part of being a salesman is having a dream, another aspect that is often neglected is the need for a salesman able to sell himself or herself. In that sense, the title becomes “Death of ‘Himself’,” the literal death of Willy. If we go a layer deeper, we can use this idea to contrast the sense of real versus ideal outcomes. We know that Willy “realized that selling was the greatest career” (Miller 81) when he met Dave Singleman. In spite of wanting to be a salesman for ...
Lovecky, D. V. (1995). Highly Gifted Children and Peer Relationships. Counseling and Guidance Newsletter. Retrieved March 10, 2003, from http://print.ditd.org/floater=74.html.
Mary Doe looks to her peers to determine her ability, she thinks that she has put in her best but is still unable to succeed. Mary Doe may have allowed her imagination to run wild, imagining the only the worst response that could come from her classmates. This could have caused great distress, thus choosing to react to her fear of scoring a lower grade than her classmate, with a “flee-response” (Tan, OS, et al., 2011). The psychological provocation could bring about a feeling of despondency that counters her efforts. This could explain w...
Before a person can ever be a commercial airline pilot they must fill some qualifications. A person’s eyesight must either be 20/20, or it has to be able to be corrected to a 20/20 vision. They must also have a clean background, which includes: a good driving record, clean drug tests, a good credit history, and no felonies. A person must also be 18 years old to even get a pilot’s license, but commercial airline pilots do not get that position without having a lot of experience. A college degree is needed to become a pilot, but an aviation degree is not needed. To be a pilot a person will need to attend a flight school, but this is not the same as going to college. There is a lot of room to grow in the commercial airline industry. There has been a large surge in the industry that has led to a need for more pilots, and that surge is projected to keep increasing. There is a need for new pilots since many older pilots are now starting to retire, and travel is increasing in the U.S. and to Asia.
Lets think about a job that allows you to soar through the air like an eagle, without a care in the world, the job of a pilot is an amazing job that provides you with three things freedom, fully using your sight, and control.
The Nigerian novelist Wole Soyinka's memoir, Aké, is a story told through the eyes of a child. Many incidents and the dialogues within these incidents are written in a tone which is suggestive of the innocence and actions which would only be performed by someone in a child-like state of mind. Soyinka's masterful use of this tone, and the primary use of first person in story telling combine to form a realistic childhood picture.