A Miracle To The Houseboat Analysis

"The Boat" by Alistair MacLeod is the story told from the perspective of university teacher looking back on his life. The narrator relates the first memories of his life until his father's death. The story focuses on the conflicting relation between the mother and the father, and their different perspectives on how their children should lead their lives. MacLeod uses features of setting to present the tension between tradition and freedom.

Suddenly, a man appears on shore stripping his clothes off and running into the water. The rescuer

The short story “The Boat” by Alistair MacLeod is narrated by a man who comes from a fishing family. His mother’s side of the family has forever lived and worked by the sea and continues this tradition. The narrator’s father always wanted to be an academic, but worked on the boat to support his family. Through this passage it is evident that the parents’ characters clash in many aspects of their lives and are in constant conflict. MacLeod demonstrates this through the use of repetition, the contrast in other unrelated ideas, and through information that is withheld.

“The Boat” by Nam Le, is a serious of short stories that while representing a number of different themes throughout each story, the central theme regards the complicated relationship between children and their parents, with each story examining this theme in different ways. The opening and closing stories, “Love and Honour and Pity and Pride and Compassion and Sacrifice”, and “The Boat”, not only develop the relationship between children and parents and how the child attempts to maintain this relationship; but also how they live their lives without their parents.

In the short story, “The Boat” by Alistair Macleod, symbolism is used to represent an abstract idea. The boat, being a major symbol of the story was the way of life for the family. As the story goes on, the boat starts to make the family feel confined giving them a choice to leave or stay with the boat. There were symbols that impacted the story that had connection towards the boat. Chain bracelets, the father’s clothes, the books that the father read are all symbols that tied to the boat. The father's chain bracelets and clothes represent the father feeling trapped as a fisherman since he never changes out of them. We find out more about the characters and their personal connection with the boat and the other symbols and what it means to them. The family starts to fall apart due to the kids learning about the father’s books leading to them moving away from home. Symbolism is used when one thing is meant to represent something else adding meaning and emotion to the story which is well represented throughout the story.

Daniel James Brown manages to awe and inspire readers in his book The Boys in the Boat, which describes the hardships a row crew from Washington underwent to make it to the 1936 Olympics. The story of the nine rowers on the Washington crew teaches lessons about inner confidence, trust, dedication, and the hope that can be found during even the most difficult times. I learned while reading that being the underdog doesn’t mean you’re destined to fail. Readers see that despite the hardships and many disadvantages the Washington crew faced, their dedication allowed them to beat the odds and inspire an entire nation.

Explain how the author uses details of sights and sounds to help you picture the setting in your mind as you read.

Alistair Macleod writes of a person who is unable to make a coherent decision of his career path due to the pressures placed on him by his parents in the story, "The Boat". Being the eldest child as well as coming from a family with a history of academic success, the pressures that I face often stem from high standards set in place by my parents with regards to my performance in school. In the story, it is evident that the narrator's father cares deeply about their children. This can be seen when the father says to his son, " 'That is no way to make a decision,' he said, 'and if you are satisfied I am not. It is best that you go back' “(188). He understands the situation that his son is in and wishes for what is he believes to be the best for him; to go to school instead of remaining in his hometown as a fisher. Similarly, I believe that the same case can be made for the source of the expectations set by my parents. Despite my father’s scholastic achievements, due to

The Jakob’s Ferry Stragglers is a bluegrass band that consist of five people who all play different instruments. Gary Antol is a very passionate guitarist, vocalist, and a mandolin player, he sang most of the songs, when did sing it was full of dignity and confidence. Libby Eddy is a very talented fiddler and vocalist, when she sang she sang with a very classic almost country sound with her thick accent and her powerful voice. Joe Dep is the banjo player and he play the banjo with strong enthusiasm. Ed Croft is a vocalist and a very talented bass player, he played bass in such an uplifting way. They are all from Pittsburgh Pennsylvania.

Sexuality and personal growth has and always will be a topic of conversation in real life and even in fiction short stories. The idea of sexuality has just recently not only became an open idea to discuss but one to also write and publish about. Both Alice Munro and John Updike both illustrate the idea of sexuality and personal growth in very different ways. “The Found Boat” by Alice Munro, deals with sexuality in an aggressive manner while “A&P” by John Updike, deals more with the idea of sexuality rather than sexuality itself. They also have very similar elements of fiction that include (but is not limited to) characters, theme and conflict. The characters relate in both

The 1900’s were a time for great transformations and growth within the theatrical community. Of all types of theater that were developed during that period, musical theater matured into a more respected and widely desired form of entertainment. Musical theater transformed from blackface minstrel shows with gag productions into pieces of reputable theater. One of the most influential productions in making that turn into sophistication is Showboat. Based on the novel by Edna Ferber Showboat was written by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II (Smith 627). Showboat was premiered in the Ziegfeld Theatre on December 27, 1927 (Smith 627). The 1926 novel chronicled the lives of a musical and racially

The idea of a miracle and its context depends on the definition in which it is used; the first definition of a miracle is a “transgression of the laws of nature” such as walking on water. This was used by Hume who stated that for a miracle to occur a law of nature must be broken, with this focus on laws of nature he aimed to show that it is irrational to believe in miracles because it is irrational to believe in a violation of any natural law, as by believing in this God becomes redundant. He puts forward the method of proportioning the belief to evidence – if you weigh up the miracle against another option what is more likely? That a miracle, a transgression of a law of nature, has occurred or

I think Miracle is a good name for Chad’s houseboat because, the houseboat they were offered was a the bottom of a muddy river. According to the text, in paragraph 12 sentence 5 it says, "It was a real mess," Chad remembers. "The most totally trashed thing you've seen in your life.". This tells us that the houseboat was trashed, and that is was a “Miracle” that they were able to get the boat up and running. Therefore, “Miracle” is a good name for the boat.

The 1984 novel The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros and the 2002 film Whale Rider by Niki Caro shed light on the stereotypical roles females are expected to fulfill in many different cultures. Esperanza comes from an immigrant Mexican family that resides in Chicago and is the typical minority family. Paikea, on the other hand, comes from a long line of Maori people and lives in Whangara, a small village in New Zealand. Even though the girls are separated by thousands of miles, they both are very similar and strive to be leaders in their communities, despite the discrimination they face for being young females.

Boats come in many different shapes and sizes. Though they can be fun toys, there is a lot that to consider when diving into the physics behind it. There many factors that need to be taken into consideration when building a boat, a few of the important ones are weight, rudders, the position of a rudder and the position in which a motor is placed. Each of these factors are what either make or break a boat.