19 Minutes Character Analysis

Our actions and interactions with others and society are what define us. Society’s perception of an individual may contrast with that individual’s perception of self. Our actions and interactions with others create certain stigmas which may not change despite progression and change an individual has undergone. But however at the end of the day we are our own creators and we chose who we interact with.

Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult is a novel based on a school shooting in the small town of Sterling, but focuses more importantly on the feelings of the main characters, Peter Houghton and Josie Cormier, who experience insecurities and social acceptance, or lack of.

Jimmy knows too well the agonies of abandonment. First, when his mother, Cecilia, ran away with Richard to pursue a better lifestyle. Then, due to his father’s, Damacio Baca, alcoholisms and violent behavior; he also had to leave Jimmy behind. In spite of the drawbacks from abandonment to being a maximum security prisoner in Arizona State Prison, Jimmy preserver’s the darkness of prison by overcoming his illiteracy. However Cecilia and Damacio is not as fortunate as their child; Cecilia is shot by Richard after confronting him for a divorce and Damacio chokes to death after he is released from the detox center(Baca 263). Therefore the most significant event in this section of the memoir, A Place to Stand by Jimmy Santiago Baca is the death of Jimmy’s parents.

My essay will be on how one character is dynamic throughout Okay For Now. Gary D. Schmidt is the author of Okay For Now. He tells a thrilling story about a young boy whose life changes very fast and it affects all of his family. The character analysis is on Doug Swieteck. This essay will be showing how Doug hates his life at first ,but then changes his mind throughout the book.

Ishmael Beah was an ordinary twelve year old boy from Sierra Leone, until one night changed his entire life. The author of A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy soldier is Ishmael Beah himself because he wanted to portray is life journey for readers to understand what life is like for children fighting to live their lives during warfare.

Violet Duran being a protagonist of the novel “Feed” by M.T Anderson stood out the most. To me she wasn't just some girl, she was different. Titus was drawn to her and from the minute he and his friends started talking to her at the moon, they noticed she wasn't like them. Violet had her feed implanted in her brain when she was seven years old due to her parent’s financial situation. She is also home schooled by her father who is a professor who teaches the dead language.

Spending time in jail can really change a man. In the novel A Lesson Before Dying by award-winning author Ernest J Gaines, the story is about a young man with a challenge of a lifetime. Grant one of the main characters is given a task of changing a man. The novel takes place in Bayonne Louisiana, where the Civil Rights Act has not yet taken place. Segregation was still an issue at this time, and many of the characters throughout the novel face segregation head-on.

Throughout the story A Long Way Gone, many people helped Ishmael and his friends during his journey, rehabilitation center, when he lived with his uncle, and when he escaped to New York. Out of all the people who helped Ishmael, the person who sticks out is Ester. Ester is important to Ishmael for many reasons such as teaching him to trust, love, and to forgive himself, while being a hero to others.

In the book, A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines, Grant Wiggins is a hero of discrimination because at first, he didn’t really care whether or not Jefferson died but after spending time with him, he started to care. In the beginning of the book, Grant was selected by Jefferson’s godmother, Miss Emma to make Jefferson realize that he isn’t a hog. “I want the teacher talk to my boy for me.' He looked over her head at me, standing back by the door. I was too educated for Henri Pichot; he had no use for at all anymore. But just as Miss. Emma had given so much of herself to that family, so had my aunt. So Henri Pichot, who cared nothing in the world

In the bildungsroman, A Long Way Gone, Ishmael recalls a childhood parable Pa Sesay told when listening to a mother tell her kid a story in Conakry’s Sierra Leonean embassy. The tale tells about a hunter about to shoot a monkey but the ape articulates that if he shoots, his father will die, and if he does not shoot, his father will die. Ishmael reflects upon the parable’s unanswerable question and finally reaches a solution at age seven. Clearly, Ishmael possesses the critical thinking skills to develop a proper solution to this dilemma that truly reflects his morals. The vanquishing of the monkey compares to the solution to Sierra Leone’s internal issues such as ending war and child soldiers, illustrating a metaphor.

"We get pulled out of our comfort zone to help shed our lukewarm nature, eventually trusting God in all of our circumstances"~Taryn Barnes

Violet Duran being a protagonist of the novel “Feed” by M.T Anderson stood out the most. To me she wasn't just some girl, she was different. titus was drawn to her and from the minute him and his friends started talking to her at the moon, they noticed she wasn't like them. Violet had her feed implanted in her brain when she was seven years old due to her parent’s financial situation. She is also home schooled by her father who is a professor who teaches the dead language. Both her parents didn't have the feed and were even hesitated about getting it for Violet. Until Violets father figured it was necessary for his daughter due to the generation she was going to grow up in and because of the job interview. He stated “Then one day, when

Subject 12-M sounds much more like a science fiction character than a refugee fleeing Communist Hungary, but do not let that fool you into thinking his recollection of Hungary is fantasy. This individual has displayed a great disdain towards Communism, especially between the years of 1944 and 1945. Just a juvenile during these years, Subject 12-M found himself within the Soviet Union’s sprawling territory following the conclusion of World War II. With the annexation of Hungary into the Soviet Union came the arrival of the Russian soldiers into the country. On their way through Hungary, establishing Leninist Communism, the soldiers spared no sympathy in raping, looting, and plundering just about everything they could get their hands on.

In the novel Catch Me If You Can by Frank William Abagnale, Frank is a well defined static character. Even though he faces different challenges throughout the novel, he remains the same a the end of the story as he was in the beginning. Being said this, he still continued to run away from his problems and did cons. He is a confident individual who ran away from home at a young age to find a life for himself. Frank is a smart, young and charismatic boy. During his early teen years, his parents started to go through a divorce, which left him torn between whom to choose to stay with. After learning about the divorce that was about to take place, Frank decides to runaway. Frank states, “One June morning of 1964, I woke up and knew it was time to go.

The conflict Peter was struggling with himself was impossible to conquer without support from others, and Peter never truly had the support he needed to thrive. Peter was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of chronic victimization. Peter had a foggy ending, which made it seem like the bullying would never stop, so he figured he was the one who had to stop