ColdMountain - Charles Frazier - Characters : their development and impact. 1. Inman is left psychologically scarred by memories of war and the ghosts of his fellow soldiers who have died fighting. The war turned Inman into a very violent person, one who is brutal and holds little regard for human life as he resorts to violence a great deal through out his travels. His meeting with Sara results in violence when he kills the three Federals who stole her pig and trashed her house. Whilst being ashamed of the killings he is able to deal with having the following thoughts, "Inman decided to view what was before him in this context: next to the field in front of the sunken road at Fredericksburg or the accumulated mess at the bottom of the crater, this was nothing. At either place he had probably killed any number of men more satisfactory in all their attributes than this Eben. Nevertheless, he figured this might be a story he would never tell." (Page 306) As the war draws on he becomes disillusioned with the idea of patriotism and longs only to return home to Cold Mountain as he finds his surroundings to be vile compared to his homeland. 2. Swimmer, the Cherokee boy Inman met when he was sixteen, encourages him to explore the idea that the mountains are gateways to a world above heaven where a "celestial race" live as well as explaining about the nature of the soul. From this, Inman believes that the mountains are a link to happiness and well being, especially in the case of Cold Mountain. He told Inman that he thought Cold Mountain was the chief mountain of the world. "Inman asked how he knew that to be true, and Swimmer had swept his hand across the horizon to where ColdMountainstood and s... ... middle of paper ... ...y he could fix his sad live is if he cut all their throats when they were sleeping. For Junior the war had been a source of income for he sold deserters to the Home Guard for $5 each. Because of his choice to sell off Inman he dies as Inman then comes back for revenge and kills him by hitting him with his pistol. Teague Teague is the leader of a band of Home Guard. He is a violent and ruthless sadist who is mentioned by Swangers with fright and hatred, his execution of Pangle and other outliers in the novel show this. The war had let him do these terrible things without vengeance from the community as most of the men were out fighting the war. Teague may have joined the Home Guard as he was too scared to join in the actual war in case he had been injured or killed. His crimes do come back to get him though as when he confronts Inman, Inman kills him.
Drifters by Bruce Dawe This poem is about a family that’s always on the move, with no place to settle down for long, hence the poem was titled ‘Drifters’ to describe this family. ‘Drifters’ looks at the members of this family response to frequently change and how it has affected them. This poem is told in third person narration in a conversational tone. This gives the feeling as if someone who knows this family is telling the responder the situation of this family.
There are people existing among us with a special trait or characteristic that makes them stand out above the masses. They are “heroes” in a sense, who perform great acts of sacrifice and promote hope when it seems that the last drop of faith has evaporated from one’s soul. These individuals remind us of saints who walked before us, healing and caring for the sick and destitute when no other man dared. Author, Tracy Kidder (2004), brings to the forefront the noble deeds of a modern day saint, Paul Farmer, through his writing in Mountains Beyond Mountains. He illustrates how a single man can lead nations toward healing, even in the midst of war, turmoil, limited resources, or “mountains” of bureaucratic red tape. Although the book tells a story about Farmer’s life, academic achievements, and global contributions toward curing infectious diseases, the main theme, as illustrated by the book title, is that no matter what a person does, there is always more to be done. Beyond the hills and valleys of Farmer’s journey, Kidder (2004) provides scenes of leadership styles along the way. Is a leader born or is leadership learned? A review of Paul Farmer’s mission, through the eyes of the author, may provide insight to support both philosophies.
Sam Woods is a very important character in the novel In the Heat of the Night. He is a racist, and throughout the novel you will notice many changes in his attitude towards Negros.
In the beginning of the story the main character, Fever Crumb, is rational and reasonable. “Then there was her hair, or rather, lack of hair. The order was keen to hurry humankind into the future, and they believed that hair was unnecessary. Fever shaved her head every other morning.” (8). This quote shows how Fever is rational because she removes things from her life that have more to do with comfort and beauty, which she believes to be irrational, than have to do with usefulness. Fever has been sheltered from irrational things for most of her life so when she is thrust into the city of normal people she doesn't understand why they have or do irrational things. In the end of the book she doesn’t have the same disapproval of irrational things as she does in the beginning. “Fever touched her fuzzy scalp, and tried out a smile. “I’m planning to grow it out.”(324) This shows that Fever doesn’t mind irrational things anymore. Her shaved head was a symbol that she did not fall victim to comfort and beauty but now she is growing her hair back. Initially when Fever interacts with other people she is usually not shy and she will tell them if they are doing something irrational unless she can sense that it has a lot of meaning to them but by the end she no longer cares.
We turn back the clock as Welch draws on historical sources and Blackfeet cultural stories in order to explore the past of his ancestors. As a result, he provides a basis for a new understanding of the past and the forces that led to the deciding factor of the Plains Indian tribes. Although Fools Crow reflects the pressure to assimilate inflicted by the white colonizers on the Blackfeet tribes, it also portrays the influence of economic changes during this period. The prosperity created by the hide trade does not ultimately protect the tribe from massacre by the white soldiers. It does, however, effectively change the Blackfeet economy and women's place in their society. Thus, it sets the stage for the continued deterioration of their societal system. Although their economic value is decreased, women still represent an important cog in the economic structure. Indeed, women are central to the survival of the Blackfeet tribal community that Welch creates and in many ways this strength and centrality provide background for the strength of the women depicted in his more contemporary novels. Welch's examination of the past leads to a clearer understanding of the present Blackfeet world presented throughout his work.
“Let Them Talk!” written by Wayne E. Wright is an article that focuses on the idea of promoting English Language Learners (ELL) oral-language skills in the classroom instruction time to improve their literacy and academic achievement. Too often are an ELL’s speaking and listening skills overlooked and not given enough attention to, even though it is one of the most important parts of communication. Wright encourages teachers working with ELL students to allow time for the student to adjust, not to pressure them into their language development, respect their various stages, bring them into whole class and small group discussions, correct simple language errors in speaking that impeded comprehension, and have them interact and communicate in the classroom for meaningful purposes.
In the book “The Boys of Winter” by Wayne Coffey, shows the struggle of picking the twenty men to go to Lake Placid to play in the 1980 Olympics and compete for the gold medal. Throughout this book Wayne Coffey talks about three many points. The draft and training, the importance of the semi-final game, and the celebration of the gold medal by the support the team got when they got home.
“Blood Brothers” by Willy Russell Blood Brothers seems to have been set in the 1970s/80s around Liverpool. There is a lot about striking and major redundancies in it. Also about people moving "out of Liverpool" into the "country" ( Skelmersdale ), in order to provide better housing and better prospects for everyone. The social climate of the working class appears to highlight the differences between working and middle classes.
Wintergirls is a book related to eating disorders. The author’s purpose of writing this book is to inform readers what a person with an eating disorder. It depicts the inner and outer conflicts that characters like Lia and Cassie face with disorder. It all began with a competition between two characters of who can be the skinniest. Cassie dies in the attempt of winning the game. Lia, the main character in this novel, always keeps track of her food consumption. For example, one breakfast morning, Lia said she didn’t want “a muffin (410),…orange (75),…toast (87),…waffles (180)” (Anderson 5). Lia constantly keeps track of the calories she eats. Unlike Cassie who follows the path of bulimia, Lia inhibits herself from eating, therefore not getting the proper nutrients. This allows the readers to know how a person with a disorder like Lia can restrain herself from eating foods that we’re used to eating in our regular lives. Her ultimate goal frequently change, getting lower and lower each time. Lia strives for a “five hundred calories a day” (Anderson 189). Her constant change of goals allows the readers to know the struggles a girl with such a mindset may feel.
“Sonny’s Blues” revolves around the narrator as he learns who his drug-hooked, piano-playing baby brother, Sonny, really is. The author, James Baldwin, paints views on racism, misery and art and suffering in this story. His written canvas portrays a dark and continual scene pertaining to each topic. As the story unfolds, similarities in each generation can be observed. The two African American brothers share a life similar to that of their father and his brother. The father’s brother had a thirst for music, and they both travelled the treacherous road of night clubs, drinking and partying before his brother was hit and killed by a car full of white boys. Plagued, the father carried this pain of the loss of his brother and bitterness towards the whites to his grave. “Till the day he died he weren’t sure but that every white man he saw was the man that killed his brother.”(346) Watching the same problems transcend onto the narrator’s baby brother, Sonny, the reader feels his despair when he tries to relate the same scenarios his father had, to his brother. “All that hatred down there”, he said “all that hatred and misery and love. It’s a wonder it doesn’t blow the avenue apart.”(355) He’s trying to relate to his brother that even though some try to cover their misery with doing what others deem as “right,” others just cover it with a different mask. “But nobody just takes it.” Sonny cried, “That’s what I’m telling you! Everybody tries not to. You’re just hung up on the way some people try—it’s not your way!”(355) The narrator had dealt with his own miseries of knowing his father’s plight, his Brother Sonny’s imprisonment and the loss of his own child. Sonny tried to give an understanding of what music was for him throughout thei...
The poem America by Claude McKay is on its surface a poem combining what America should be and what this country stands for, with what it actually is, and the attitude it projects amongst the people. Mckay uses the form of poetry to express how he, as a Jamaican immigrant, feels about America. He characterizes the bittersweet relationship between striving for the American dream, and being denied that dream due to racism. While the America we are meant to see is a beautiful land of opportunity, McKay see’s as an ugly, flawed, system that crushes the hopes and dreams of the African-American people.
The climax of the story is when Miles is shot by the Bonewoman. The reader comes to realize that Miles’ choice to live life on the safe side was a mistake:
There are many ways in which we can view the history of the American West. One view is the popular story of Cowboys and Indians. It is a grand story filled with adventure, excitement and gold. Another perspective is one of the Native Plains Indians and the rich histories that spanned thousands of years before white discovery and settlement. Elliot West’s book, Contested Plains: Indians, Goldseekers and the Rush to Colorado, offers a view into both of these worlds. West shows how the histories of both nations intertwine, relate and clash all while dealing with complex geological and environmental challenges. West argues that an understanding of the settling of the Great Plains must come from a deeper understanding, a more thorough knowledge of what came before the white settlers; “I came to believe that the dramatic, amusing, appalling, wondrous, despicable and heroic years of the mid-nineteenth century have to be seen to some degree in the context of the 120 centuries before them” .
Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson The novel Snow Falling on Cedars, written by David Guterson, revolves around the.. around a racially charged court case involving an innocent Japanese man accused of the murder of a German fisherman. The author explores the human traditions of war and social division and the inevitability of decay, suffering and death, using the murder trial of Kabuo. Miyamoto as a focal point. Guterson investigates the way in which personal ethics can transcend the conspiring effects of ‘fate’.
“Wild Geese” is very different from many poems written. Oliver’s personal life, the free form of the poem along with the first line, “You do not have to be good,” and the imagery of nature contributes to Oliver’s intent to convince the audience that to be part of the world, a person does not need to aspire to civilization’s standards.