“The Boy Who Bled” is a short story by the author, Evan Hunter. The story contains a lengthy exposition that clearly states the setting, the main protagonist, the main antagonist and the plot. The setting is in a dark alleyway, back in time while gangs like the Royals existed in the city. In the exposition, it is stated that the main protagonist Andy-is bleeding to death. The exposition also states that Andy was taken by the rival gang: Guardians and stabbed in an alleyway. This foreshadows the ending for the short story and also sets a mood of sparse apathy and drama to go along with the story.
The inciting incident in “The Boy Who Bled” occurs when Andy was stabbed. The main protagonist Andy is a member of the gang Royals. By being in this gang, they rival against the Guardians. As Andy was leaving the jump to get a pack of cigarettes only a block away, members from the Guardians decided to stab him right under the ribcage, yanking down the knife to create a large tear in his abdomen. Andy is then left in the alley way, bleeding to death but does not realize that he is dying. He only hopes that he will be found and brought to help. Afterwards, in the rising action, Andy encounters four people that had the opportunity to aid him, however, did not.
The climax of “The Boy Who Bled” occurs right after Laura leaves him to go find a cop. What occurs next is symbolic. Andy realizes that he is dying and after having reoccurring thoughts about being a Royal. With his remaining strength, shrugs off his jacket a foot away from his body before passing away. As Laura returns with a cop, the cop is ready to investigate his death that is, until he sees his Royals jacket a foot away. The cop now only disregards Andy as a Royal, without much c...
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...ruggles to accept the fact that he is dying and who exactly is Andy. Andy has reoccurring thoughts about his importance to the gang, and the gangs importance to him. Thus, creating Andy a dynamic character. By the resolution, Andy finally identifies with himself and realizes he would rather be known as Andy, than a Royal. By removing his jacket, it symbolically represents that Andy would like to be known as an individual, not a Royal.
I rate “The Boy Who Bled” 5 out of 5 Royals. I gave this story this perfect rating because I believed that this story was easy to identify and relate to because of my age. This story is about self-identity and regret as Andy didn’t have the chance to be himself, since he gave up his identity for another at such a young age. I can relate to this, and thus making it so easily for me to read the story because of the emotions it gives me.
After the traumatic event, the Brennans are continuously mistreated, causing them to feel they are “no longer wanted” (Burke, pg 1). After feeling ostracised by the township, the alienated Brennan family are driven to leave the town of Mumbilli at 4:30am. With hardly any peer support, Tom begins to lose his sense of security, resulting in his transformation into an unconfident teen who is afraid of public opinion. It is no wonder that Tom is unable to move on in his new town as he is being held back in fear of revealing his past. Burke tactfully illustrates Tom’s emotional kaleidoscope through phrases such as “I felt the knot snap” and “my guts landing at my feet” (Burke, pg 172) when reflecting on the accident. On the contrary, with encouragement from family members, Tom begins to step out of his comfort zone and face the future that is to
Anti-Semitism is the hatred and discrimination of those with a Jewish heritage. It is generally connected to the Holocaust, but the book by Helmut Walser Smith, The Butcher’s Tale shows the rise of anti-Semitism from a grassroots effect. Smith uses newspapers, court orders, and written accounts to write the history and growth of anti-Semitism in a small German town. The book focuses on how anti-Semitism was spread by fear mongering, the conflict between classes, and also the role of the government.
Oscar’s mother states that she found him bleeding on the bathroom. Oscar states that he did not try to kill himself. Oscar’ mother admits that he had seen a psychiatrist in the past due to his self-mutilating behavior. Upon assessment the nurse notices multiple scars from previous cuttings from his wrist up to the elbows. Oscar has two new lacerations that need repair. Oscar admits that he cut himself. He says that he feels pleasure and relaxation when he does it. Oscar state that he did not want to cut himself so deep. He says that everything is a misunderstanding.
In “OTSB” however, the opposite is formed, with a dangerous environment. “Initiation” has a safe location, with no large risk of physical harm. Millicent lives in an average town, nothing being special or harmful about it except for the sorority in the high school. There is no description of any danger in the town in which “Initiation” is placed in, giving no reason to assume any type of violence. “OTSB” has a gang infested setting where it is very dangerous and violence is deemed as normal. The tension is caused by the gang rivalry and hatred. Andy knows that “the knife had not been plunged in hatred of Andy. The knife hated only the purple jacket.” The fact that Andy gets stabbed is enough evidence in the first place to see that the setting of “OTSB” is dangerous, but how the stabber did it without even knowing the victim, Andy, further proves it. Andy thinks to himself “I can’t be dying, not from a little street rumble, not from just getting cut. Guys get cut all the time in rumbles.” This shows how Andy thinks of street fights as just an everyday occurrence in his hometown. Although the conflict is similar in the stories, the differences in the settings are what cause the hugely different conclusions. Because of all the fighting and mayhem in “OTSB” Andy ends up being stabbed and dies. In “Initiation” there is no likely outcome in which Millicent would end up either dead or physically
As the young boy gets older, his life begin to deteriorate. In the beginning 5- year-old boy is a normal child but earns his own money so he can enjoy his childhood activities. He plays on the hockey team and creates his own baseball and cricket team. He organizes games against other parts of town. While the other boys in the community played with slingshots and haunted neighbour’s windows, porch flowers pots, and the lights that shone near harm any animals and were considered as good mannered. As the boy gets older he begins to get into trouble by stealing and drinking, he dropped out of school even though he was topper of his class, after he spend a few days with a “better off families” during his hockey trip. But now he was stealing almost anything he could get his hands on and sell it to second hand shops and was continually getting caught. Towards the end of the story he becomes an alcoholic, and briefly reconnects with his childhood friends, before being killed in a car
Conclusion: The author Evan Hunter, of the story, “On The Sidewalk Bleeding” successfully demonstrates the theme of Coming of Age as he shifted his main character from an adolescent, idealistic view of the world to a more mature and realistic view. The character matured from making ignorant and selfish decisions to a more knowledgeable and selfless decisions. Andy came of age from a boy to a man, as he lay on the street bleeding to death. All in all these newly developed characteristics all prove the genre of coming of
Wolff’s sombre memoir This Boy’s Life explores and challenges the relationship between a mother and son, displaced and forced to flee during the turbulent post-war America. Chased by power-hungry and controlling partners while seeking freedom and a change in “fortune”, Rosemary and Toby soon discover that not all is as easy as it seems. Despite many hardships, whether they may be being abandoned by Toby’s father, refusal to punish Toby or a dangerous but promising potential husband Rosemary shows true determination in finding them a happy future highlighting the unbreakable bond the two share.
The Jack Roller A Delinquent Boy’s Own Story by Clifford Shaw tells the story of a Polish immigrant named Stanley who only know misery and sorrow. Throughout the book, Stanley talks about his life and the crimes that he committed as a youth. When he was just four years old his mother passed away, leaving his father to take care of three children. After his mother’s death, his father became an alcoholic and remarried. His new wife was a woman who had seven children of her own. He married her just so he would have someone to take care of his own children. They did not have a proper living arraignment; in fact, twelve people were stuck sharing four rooms in a basement. Stanley’s father did not provide any love for his children, but he did give
Two noisy youngsters, each with unruly black hair, sucking lollypops run past Kenneth and into Helena—igniting a surge of pain down her side. The children mutter an untranslatable “sorry” before continuing off to look at the sets of fake blood to Helena’s direct left.
Bad blood is a book that was written James H. Jones who is an associate professor of History. The book narrates on how the government through the department of Public Health service (PHS) authorized and financed a program that did not protect human values and rights. The Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment which was conducted between 1932 and 1972 where four hundred illiterate and semi-illiterate black sharecroppers in Alabama recently diagnosed with syphilis were sampled for an experiment that was funded by the U.S Health Service to prove that the effect of untreated syphilis are different in blacks as opposed to whites. The blacks in Macon County, Alabama were turned into laboratory animals without their knowledge and the purpose of the experiment
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"The Boy in the Striped Pajamas" explores the beauty of a child's innocence in a time of war:
A Child Called It is a book written by Dave Pelzer. Dave writes this book as an abused child who went through horrific experience. In the first part, he writes how he was horribly beaten, and even forced to swallow his own vomit, ammonia, and even soap. Dave writes about the horrors children go through when abused. A Child Called It is an unforgettable account of an abused child who was brutally beaten, burned, starved, and tortured with an unstable alcoholic mother. A child Called It is an incredible emotional story where the author describes how he endured unthinkable suffering and abuse from his own mother who hated him for no reason. Dave provides a detailed account of the neglect and abuse as well as the emotions, struggles, and the pain he had to cope with in order to survive. Later on Dave was able to be freed from his hateful mother and the hell of life he was living in.
Quick to react, one girl steps forward from the crowd and takes control of the situation. Preventing Al from further injury by grabbing both sides of his head, the brave young senior moves with the seizing boy, fighting to hold him steady. She does not cry nor do anything but instruct a teacher to “YES, call an ambulance.” Al thrashes, not breathing, upon the white speckled linoleum.