'A Dash of Magic' by Kathryn Littlewood

Accused witches were forced to admit to various practices believed to be witchcraft. Details from the French Court of Rieux and the insanity that ensued are jaw dropping by today’s standards. Suzanne Gaudry’s judgement confession was no different, being forced and tortured into confessions including having given herself to the devil, renouncement of God, lent and Baptism. Moreover, Gaudry was also forced to confess that she had cohabited with the devil as well received the devil’s mark on her shoulder and being at dances. Of note however, the judgement confession seems to acknowledge Gaudry having technically only confessed to having had killed by poison, Philip Coine’s horse. Nevertheless, Gaudry’s confession was made

At some point in their life, every person has been told to “walk in somebody else’s shoes” because they need to be aware of the struggles that other people face, but it is often tough for people to understand things outside of the scope of their own practical knowledge. In her memoir, Lucky, Alice Sebold suffers from this same problem. Throughout the course of her narrative, Sebold thinks of her experience as something that is accessible to be understood by outsiders; in addition to this, Sebold paints her reactions and experiences as a model that she can apply to other victims of sexual assault. Even though Sebold’s story is one of strength in the face of horrible occurrences, her lack of acknowledgement in regards the ways in which other people’s consciousness and coping mechanisms differ from her own makes it far more difficult to sympathize with her than it should be considering the content of her memoir. Evidence of her closed world understanding can be seen from the beginning of the memoir, when she reports her sexual assault to the police (Sebold, 3), later in the narrative, when other people react to her experiences and related feelings (Sebold 146), and finally, and perhaps most significantly, when her close friend Lila undergoes a sexual assault (Sebold 220).

As Peter S Beagle says, “You ever want to see real witchcraft, you watch people protecting their comfort, their beliefs.” This quote is saying if you want to truly understand someone, learn about what they believe in. It all began in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. The accusations toward people who were thought to be witches was on the rise. These would not be the kind of witches a person would think about in today 's world, but women and men who were put on trial for witchcraft hysteria, which in turn caused mass hysteria. Based on the excerpts from Carol Karlsen and Laurie Winn Carlson, there are two main theories about the Salem Witchcraft Hysteria. One theory about the “witches” was crafted and explained by Carol Karlsen. She believed

The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan follows multiple Chinese-American women who struggle with their self-identity and creating a balance between American and Chinese culture. Because of their immigration and many hardships in life, many of the women feel like they cannot truly tell who they are anymore, and throughout the novel these women are portrayed as ghosts. Ghosts are used to symbolize these women because they share many parallels including being only a remnant of who they once were, or who they could be. Ying-ying St. Clair is one of the women, who has a daughter named Lena St. Clair, she has had a troubled past in China, which has made her lose her fighting spirit, and her spirit in general. Ying-ying is fully aware of her loss of spirit and is embarrassed because she considers ghosts to be shameful and weak, and wants to save her daughter, Lena, from her fate.

The question that we aimed to answer as a class was: what do women want? The class focused on themes such as desire, family, community safety, and even more, but I feel that the theme that really appeared in all of the books and films that we studies was the idea of meaningful work. This is one of the most important things that women want, or that anyone wants, because it is doing something on a daily basis that means something to you and means something to somebody else.

I, personally, loved the author's writing, although I did not really understand why she structured the book like so. With each chapter changing different perspectives and stories, it was kind of hard to remember which chapter went with another considering the chapters where out of order. With each story, I was a little annoyed that they just suddenly ended at the end of the chapter. It made me want to read more and more trying to find the next chapter that went with that person's story. It was also kind of difficult to connect the stories. Other than that, she did a marvelous job grabbing my attention. I loved the analogies that she included in the stories. For example, on page 216- 217, one of the mothers told her daughter about a turtle that eats her tears and then creates birds that laugh

In the works The Glass Castle, a memoir written by Jeanette Walls; it is profoundly evident that young Jeanette lived through an abnormal childhood. Parents Rex and Rosemary Walls psychological self-hatred and selfishness, has created a false illusion of a healthy childhood for their daughter Jeanette Walls. As they manifest detrimental influences through her childhood, Jeanette takes control, resulting in an adult who perceivers through harsh obstacles; coming out stronger in the end. Although her entire surroundings and lifestyle seem to be a toxic catastrophe as a child, the most notable examples of harmful conditions are her father’s uncontrollable drunkenness and desire to steal from his children, her mother’s greed and disregard towards

A property, is the right word for a woman who lived in the early 19th century, a property is what you were and who you were in the book Kindred, by Octavia E. Butler, talks about the issues and the oppression that many enslaved men and women faced in the early 19th century. In this story, Dana, the protagonist, travels back to the Antebellum South because she is connected with her ancestor, Rufus Welyin. Every time Rufus tends to get hurt, she traveled to the early 19th Century to help him. Dana experiences; first-hand how enslaved men and women were treated and how they were stripped of their basic human rights. Although enslaved men and women faced adversity: They were treated like animals, taken away from families, and whipped, but enslaved women endured more brutalized acts. For instance, Alice Greenwood, a freed slave in the book was bought, raped repeatedly, and had her kids taken away.

James Patterson’s Witch and Wizard is a fictional story published on October 13, 2008. It is the first book in the Witch and Wizard series, and one of over 60 books written by Patterson. I chose this book because I have read a few of the Patterson’s other works, and the cover and title caught my attention.

The Bling Ring, written by Nancy Jo Sales is a true story that uses interviews, court records and news stories to explain the events that occurred in 2008 and 2009 in Calabasas, California. The book analyzed the teens before their crime began, talked about their individual burglaries, and eventually explained how the gang of teenagers and young adults finally got caught. These upper middle class young adults and teenagers burglarized many of the Hollywood elite’s vacant homes. Some might say that they did it carelessly. These young adults felt little to no fear of being caught and would often even brag about their accomplishments to their peers. Eventually, this bragging ended up being their demise. At a social event, another partygoer

The story of “ St. Lucy’s Home for Girls” by Karen Russell introduced a girl named Claudette and followed her through her life during school. The author wrote about her learning how to be civilized. She talks about Claudette’s transformation from her old culture to her new culture. The transformation is put into five stages. The stages represent emotions that Claudette and the other girls would feel during these courses.

New England became a new start for the people of Europe who had crossed the Atlantic Ocean. Opportunities blossomed everywhere one looked; whether it was new items of trade or the entire land itself, waiting to be discovered. However, as people began to settle into their new home, one thing was certain: the social orders of Europe had traveled with them. Women were meant to stay home and men were meant to work. Women had little involvement in the choices made for their well being, and were required to follow all orders from the dominant male population. Just as people began to migrate to America, witchcraft was still a major fear amongst the people of England, and women were a primary target for these accusations. It was simply the way life was for these New Englanders, and nobody found the inspiration to end this awful oppression. As the colonies began to break away from Britain, however, few key women stepped up and took matters into their own hands. Authors Alfred Young and Carol Karlsen dive readers into the early and later times of New England. Karlsen allows us to understand the dynamics of witchcraft in the mid-to-late 1600’s and how women were so easily accused of such acts. During this time period, women were very much under the radar and any wrongdoings could be detrimental for their reputation and ultimately their lives. Young, on the other hand, takes the reader forward in time to the revolution and how a particular woman fought for her people in battle. By

The main characters, both good and evil, are well-fleshed out. Robert is the typical hero: he is always doing the honorable thing and fighting the enemy to save the princess - even if it means dying in the process. Simmonne is sweet and honest; however, at times I felt that the author depicted her as a weak female in a world dominated by men. Oul’sor, Robert’s worthy enemy, is blinded by

Claire Standish or “the princess” portrays the stereotypical popular teenage girl in The Breakfast Club. She is in detention with everyone else because she decided to skip class and go shopping, which also plays into the stereotypical teen girl image. It can also be assumed that she is spoiled and rich since her father tried to get her out of detention but failed, and she mentions to the group that her parents only use her to get back at the other one. She brings a fancy lunch of sushi while the other teens either have nothing or the standard lunch one’s parents might pack for them. There are a couple of times in the movie that she brings up her social standing and could even be considered as looking down on those who are not as popular as her. Even closer towards the end of the movie she informs the others that if they were to say hello to her in the hallway in front of her friends, she would have no choice but to ignore them. By the end of the movie, she has opened up to everyone else about her fears of letting her peers down and has formed a close relationship with Bender.

The Demon’s Parchment, by Jeri Westerson, follows private investigator Crispin Guest and his apprentice Jack as they investigate a series of mysterious murders in 1350s England. The historical setting of the book references the Medieval Period of Europe, a dark age filled with superstition, disease, and political overturn. Westerson’s setting incorporates elements of religion and politics, offering a view of Medieval England from Guest’s perspective; the narrative also does a thorough job accurately describing the breadth and depth of the Christian-Jewish hostility of the era, as well as portraying the enormous role of the English Church in everyday life.