Wonders of the West, a novel by Kate Braverman, describes a mother and child interaction as they sit and watch Hollywood Playhouse. The child is the narrator and in this scene is describing a past interaction between the mother and the narrator : “I am much younger.”, (24) which leads to the conclusion that that in the interaction the narrator is younger. This scene the narrator describes how they are sitting, even going into detailing about the mother’s eye color. The child plays some sort of question game, but the mother however does not seem too thrilled about the game, more interested in the television show, the “glass of brown liquid that burns when you taste it,” (24) and her smoking. “I wish you’d outgrow that game already” (27) says the mother, the child then explains to us, the readers, “Once I begin the question game, it is impossible for me to stop. It’s like a spell. I keep asking questions until I get banished, until my mother sends me away.” (27) In the story the mother changes her identity, or at least her name, whenever it suits her or whenever she is finished with the previous name. As we read we learn the mother’s given name is Ruth Ann, but she declares “Ruth isn’t right anymore.” (25) Then it is added “the people who gave her that name are accidents.” (25) Which indicates that the mother is the superior of the story, believing that she is above all. The mother tests out several names; Rita, Rhea, Rachel, and Rebecca, they are all deemed unacceptable. Her current name, before she decides to throw it away, is Ruby, which as we read, “lasts half a year before my mother decided it was tinny and déclassé.” (25)
Though very little happens in the plot as we read, a lot of descriptions and information is given out th...
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...should be remembered that the whole chapter is narrated in the first-person by the child, in a flashback. The metaphor is accordingly child's point of view, in words that the mother had spoken. Given that the mother seems willing to abandon the child, to banish the child because of a question game, this metaphor perhaps expresses the child's knowledge that so easily the universe could collapse with a name, that the mother could so easily leave the child behind, leave behind those that bind her to the universe. This desire is hardly unique to this metaphor. It is consistent with the information the narrator installs, for instance, how “those that gave her the name were accidents”, if the mother could so easily write off her own parents, what would make a child so different.
Works Cited
Braverman, Kate. Wonders of the West. New York: Fawcett Columbine, 1993. Print.
are what keep us interested in the plot of a book. The ongoing battle between a
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.
within the fact that this book has no immediate plot. It is more of a
Home of the Brave by Katherine Applegate is the story of an African boy, Kek, who loses his father and a brother and flees, leaving his mother to secure his safety. Kek, now in Minnesota, is faced with difficulties of adapting to a new life and of finding his lost mother. He believes that his mother still lives and would soon join him in the new found family. Kek is taken from the airport by a caregiver who takes him to live with his aunt. It is here that Kek meets all that amazed him compared to his home in Sudan, Africa. Home of the brave shows conflicts that Kek faces. He is caught between two worlds, Africa and America. He feels guilty leaving behind his people to live in a distant land especially his mother, who he left in the midst of an attack.
successful in doing this as it does not give away too much of the plot
The tone is set in this chapter as Krakauer uses words to create an atmosphere of worry, fear, and happiness in McCandless’s mind. “The bush is an unforgiving place, however, that cares nothing for hope or longing”(4). McCandless is on the path of death, which creates worry and fear for the young boy. “He was determined. Real gung ho. The word that comes to mind is excited,” (6). Alex is very excited and care free, which Krakauer used to his advantage in making the tone of Alex’s mind happy. The author creates tones to make the reader feel the moment as if the readers were sitting there themselves. Krakauer uses dialogue and setting to create the mixed tones of this chapter. As one can see from the quotes and scenery the author uses tones that are blunt and are to the point to make the reader feel as though the emotions are their own. Krakauer uses plenty of figurative language in this chapter. He uses figurative language to support his ideas,to express the surroundings, and tone around the character. To start the chapter he uses a simile describing the landscape of the area, “…sprawls across the flats like a rumpled blanket on an unmade bed,” (9). This statement is used to make reader sense the area and set the mood for the chapter. The use of figurative language in this chapter is to make a visual representation in the readers mind. “It’s satellites surrender to the low Kantishna plain” (9).
Beryl Markham’s West with the Night is a collection of anecdotes surrounding her early life growing up as a white girl in British imperialist Africa, leading up to and through her flight across the Atlantic Ocean from East to West, which made her the first woman to do so successfully. Throughout this memoir, Markham exhibits an ache for discovery, travel, and challenge. She never stays in one place for very long and cannot bear the boredom of a stagnant lifestyle. One of the most iconic statements that Beryl Markham makes in West with the Night is:
As we progress though the novel, we a introduced to a variety of characters in the story like Rachel Turner
Into the Wild, written by Jon Krakauer, is the story of a young man named Christopher Johnson McCandless who ventured off to Alaska and tried to survive in the wild. McCandless grew up in Annandale, Virginia where he attended school and made very good grades, rarely bringing home anything below an A. His father, Walt worked for NASA for a little while, before starting his own business with Chris’s mother, Billie, out of their own home. They worked hard and for long hours to get the business up and running and it finally paid off. The McCandless family was wealthy, but had many emotional problems. After graduating from Emory University in 1990, Chris McCandless donated twenty-four thousand dollars from his savings account to charity, changed his name to Alexander Supertramp, and then disappeared. This book tells the story of his life and travels. Some critics say that Chris McCandless was a very admirable person. He was a brave man that followed his dreams. However, given all of his flaws, attitudes, and actions, he is un-admirable. McCandless walked into the wild very unprepared and stubborn. He also treated his family poorly as well as anyone who got emotionally close to him. Chris was additionally too impressionable in a way that he admired authors along with the books they wrote, and tried to imitate them. He was very rebellious in his actions as well, and did not try to change the world or help others.
When Wells was writing The War Of The Worlds, there was a huge rush in
The story only provides explanation and exposition to the reader if and when it becomes relevant to the story
The narrator’s mother’s role in“No Name Women” and “White Tigers”is to serve as a protector. However, in “No Name Woman” the mother wants to protect the narrator from shame and in “White Tigers” the mother wants to protect the narrator from being inferior to men. In “No Name Woman”, the narrator’s mother is very fearful of society and being humiliated. Therefore, the mother tells the narrator about her (narrator) aunt who was humiliated by the village people because she (aunt) had a child out of wedlock. Also, the mother tells the narrator about how her (narrator) aunt committed suicide because of the shame. The narrator’s mother says, “‘Don’t let your father know what I told you. He denies her. Now that you have started to menstruate, what happened to her could happen to you.
that the novel is a log of events and a tale of what might be in the
scenes to the story which is crucial, since all his readers already know the general idea
Historically, compared to men, women were underprivileged and inferior in society. In A Room of One’s Own, the narrator explains, “Here then was I (call me Mary Beton, Mary Seton, Mary Carmichael or by any name you please - it is not a matter of any importance)”(Woolf 340). The action of providing a name is an identifier for a person. The narrator may be inferring that women have a hard time establishing themselves a personal identity. The anonymous narrator is