A cranium-cracking shriek knocked me out of my reverie and my jaw jerked open reflexively as I staggered backward. Within seconds, I found myself trapped in a prison of multi-colored legs, my ears filled by a cacophony of wails, “tsk-tsks,” and angry reprimands. Confused, I glanced left and right for a viable escape route. Finding none, I plunked myself down on the floor in defeat. Downshifting into survival mode, I focused passively on the red-tipped finger wagging inches from my nose. To me, Sarah was exotic. With a solitary dimple hovering near the left corner of her mouth, the softest brown hair as springy as a slinky and chocolate-colored eyes to match, she looked like an exquisitely-drawn children’s-book character magically come to life. Of French and Turkish descent, Sarah was, indeed exotic, by the white-bread standards of my southern hometown. To Sarah, I was a pest. Younger, prone to “disruptive” mischief, and still struggling to ascend the left slope of a few developmental bell curves, I had nothing to offer a girl as elegant and picture-perfect as Sarah. Kenny did, though. Handsome, precocious, and possessing a more-than-ample abundance of confidence, Kenny was a force. How I longed, in my simple two-year-old way, to be as strong, as cool, and as funny as Kenny. Sadly, it was not to be. My pathetic fate was to serve as Kenny’s favorite prop for proving his fortitude to Sarah. Sweet, meek Maeve was the fourth leg of our figurative table. A spectacled white-blonde with pigeon toes, apparently muscle-free legs and a pot belly, Maeve was kind to all and friend to none, which, even then, I perceived as a fate more unfortunate than my own. In the hierarchy of daycare, Maeve and I were the serfs. We were the servants, the p... ... middle of paper ... ...the only weapon I had at my disposal: my teeth. The warm, slightly sweet flesh was shockingly soft, and I was transfixed. If not for the speed of my victim’s ear-splitting protest, I now fear that I could have drawn blood, not fully aware of how deep my incisors were plunging. Noise. Tears. Red fingernails. Mom legs everywhere. The immediate aftermath of my crime is a blur of quick impressions. But I remember with crystal clarity what happened the next day, and those that followed. That bite earned me the respect of my daycare peers. Do I regret biting Sarah? Being a relatively civilized and conscientious person, hurting others is not a means of retaliation to which I now typically resort. Yes, I am, and I was sorry. But the fallout of the incident provided me with a simple philosophy to live by in situations when I feel diminished or unfairly accused: Be fierce.
Kenny’s self changes happened from his school experiences, his and Byron’s relationship, and the vivid events that happened to him and his family in Birmingham, Alabama that he brought with them to Flint, Michigan. Kenny’s physical and emotional changes played a good and bad role that turned out good life experiences for him. But if it wasn’t for Byron’s self changes, he would have never been able to change Kenny for the better. In my opinion, Kenny has made the biggest self changes that not only impacted him, but the whole Watson
Further, throughout the book, Sadie and Bessie continuously reminds the reader of the strong influence family life had on their entire lives. Their father and mother were college educated and their father was the first black Episcopal priest and vice principal at St. Augustine Co...
what the reader once thought of Dorothea, a woman of dignity, into a naive child.
Janie's outlook on life stems from the system of beliefs that her grandmother, Nanny instills in her during life. These beliefs include how women should act in a society and in a marriage. Nanny and her daughter, Janie's mother, were both raped and left with bastard children, this experience is the catalyst for Nanny’s desire to see Janie be married of to a well-to-do gentleman. She desires to see Janie married off to a well to do gentleman because she wants to see that Janie is well cared for throughout her life.
Janie who continually finds her being defined by other people rather than by herself never feels loved, either by her parents or by anybody else. Her mother abandoned her shortly after giving birth to her. All she had was her grandmother, Nanny, who protected and looked after her when she was a child. But that was it. She was even unaware that she is black until, at age six, she saw a photograph of herself. Her Nanny who was enslaved most of her lifetime only told her that a woman can only be happy when she marries someone who can provide wealth, property, and security to his wife. Nanny knew nothing about love since she never experienced it. She regarded that matter as unnecessary for her as well as for Janie. And for that reason, when Janie was about to enter her womanhood in searching for that love, Nanny forced her to marry Mr. Logan Killicks, a much older man that can offer Janie the protection and security, plus a sixty-acre potato farm. Although Janie in her heart never approves what her Nanny forced her to do, she did it anyway. She convinced herself that by the time she became Mrs. Killick, she would get that love, which turned out to be wrong.
Sarah’s Key, though depressing, and hard to read is still an prodigious book. While the new historicist criticism applies more to Sarah’s parts of the story, as it occurred in the past, this eventually leads to a more feminist type of appeal. Tatiana de Rosnay talks about her inspiration
This description creates a conflicting idea of her, on one hand there is this fascinating, beautiful and innocent woman, yet on the other hand there is this figure with gothic qualities and frightening “wild” eyes referring to nature. This is comparable to Catherine, “A wild, wick slip she was—but she had the bonniest eye, the sweetest smile, and the lightest foot in the parish.” (Chapter V, page42)
With a heart-full of advice and wisdom, Dinah maturates from a simple- minded young girl to a valiant independent individual. “For a moment I weighed the idea of keeping my secret and remaining a girl, the thought passes quickly. I could only be what I was. And that was a woman” (170). This act of puberty is not only her initiation into womanhood but the red tent as well. She is no longer just an observer of stories, she is one of them, part of their community now. On account of this event, Dinah’s sensuality begins to blossom and she is able to conceive the notion of true love.
Even with the pain of bearing children, raising them, doing household and even farm chores, their efforts have never been truly appreciated. Mrs. Wright was “…real sweet and pretty, but kind of timid—and fluttery…” as Mrs. Hale, her neighbor, describes her (22). This would all soon change after her wedding day. With Mr. Wright’s insipid character and lack of patience of any joyous sound, Mrs. Wright’s spirit dwindled to nothing. It seems she spent hours at a time focusing on her quilts, preserves, and caring for the only life there was in the house, her canary. Even when Mr. Hale offered to get a party telephone, Mr. Wright responded, “…folks talk too much anyway…”(5). This silence he preferred also applied to his spouse. There were no hugs given out much less a smile. He failed to give her even the most minimal sing of appreciation much less the emotional warmth she hungered for.
”(3) Marie, Jeannette’s mother, completely refuses to take care of her own children. She doesn’t care for her children as any mother should. Any child, even at the age of three, should not be making hotdogs in a hot oven. This act shows how much independence her father has instilled in her.
Marie, who is a product of an abusive family, is influenced by her past, as she perceives the relationship between Callie and her son, Bo. Saunders writes, describing Marie’s childhood experiences, “At least she’d [Marie] never locked on of them [her children] in a closet while entertaining a literal gravedigger in the parlor” (174). Marie’s mother did not embody the traditional traits of a maternal fig...
The narrator has two daughters, Dee and Maggie. Dee was this cute girl who was super intelligent and sophisticated. She often saw herself as being above her mother and sister and would often make them feel stupid and bad about themselves. "She used to read to us without pity, forcing words, lies, other folks' habits, whole lives upon us two, sitting trapped and ignorant underneath her voice". She shows that Dee enjoyed making her mother and younger sister feel dumb about themselves because it made her feel superior. Her whole life Dee detested her family and where she came from and couldn’t wait to get away. But, still her mother worked her booty off to provide her with high education and a good life. Dee goes away to college and when she returns she is a completely different person, suddenly interested in her family; photographing them upon arrival. With her guest, new "Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo", invades her mothers house taking everything in like it’s a cute display for her. Finally, when Wangero (Dee) demands that her mother give her some quilts, her mum can not take anymore. She tells Dee that Maggie, not her, will be receiving the quilts and she snaps. "I did something I never had done before: hugged Maggie to me, then dragged her on into the room, snatched the quilts out of Miss Wangero's hands, and dumped them into Maggie's lap. Maggie just sat
Her lionhearted clothes reflected her valiant and strong attitude. However – Elisa Allen hid her true feelings. She was deceitful in interpersonal communication. Her tongue spilled bittersweet black smut like that of industrialized coal engines. However – it was compassionate, her concern and subtle behavior. A girl screaming to escape maiden life, but only knew it was disrupt order. “Her face was eager and mature and handsome; even her work with the scissors was over-eager, over-powerful. “The chrysanthemum stems seemed too small and easy for her energy.” Verily, she had the heart of a lion and the appearance of a virgin.
Author Alice Walker, displays the importance of personal identity and the significance of one’s heritage. These subjects are being addressed through the characterization of each character. In the story “Everyday Use”, the mother shows how their daughters are in completely two different worlds. One of her daughter, Maggie, is shy and jealous of her sister Dee and thought her sister had it easy with her life. She is the type that would stay around with her mother and be excluded from the outside world. Dee on the other hand, grew to be more outgoing and exposed to the real, modern world. The story shows how the two girls from different views of life co-exist and have a relationship with each other in the family. Maggie had always felt that Mama, her mother, showed more love and care to Dee over her. It is until the end of the story where we find out Mama cares more about Maggie through the quilt her mother gave to her. Showing that even though Dee is successful and have a more modern life, Maggie herself is just as successful in her own way through her love for her traditions and old w...
Aubery Tanqueray, a self-made man, is a Widower at the age of Forty two with a beautiful teenage daughter, Ellean whom he seems very protective over. His deceased wife, the first Mrs. Tanqueray was "an iceberg," stiff, and assertive, alive as well as dead (13). She had ironically died of a fever "the only warmth, I believe, that ever came to that woman's body" (14). Now alone because his daughter is away at a nunnery he's found someone that can add a little life to his elite, high class existence; a little someone, we learn, that has a past that doesn't quite fit in with the rest of his friends.