A Nail The Kingdom

The steam from the kettle had condensed on the cold window and was running down the glass in tear-like trickles. Outside in the orchard the man from the smudge company was refilling the posts with oil. The greasy smell from last night’s burning was still in the air. Mr. Delahanty gazed out at the bleak darkening orange grove; Mrs. Delahanty watched her husband eat, nibbling up to the edges of the toast, then staking the crusts about his tea cup in a neat fence-like arrangement.

The child seems to address the reader and says, “You tell me it’s too early to be looking back, but that is because you have forgotten the perfect simplicity of being one and the beautiful complexity introduced by two” (76). The child goes on to list more magnificent experiences he had as a younger child. With these lines Collins masterfully predicts what the reader must be feeling. The reader is doubtful at first that this boy is old enough to be thinking about this, but as the stanza carries on they begin to realize he has a point. Collins reminds the reader of possible memories they have and proves that what this child is feeling is valid. The boy goes on to proclaim, “It is time to say goodbye to my imaginary friends, time to turn the first big number. Collins suggests that an active and free roaming imagination must be let go as one grows older. Again he targets the readers past experiences and reminds them that growing up can be a really sad thing. The reader is also reminded of the fun childhood they lost. It is clear to see that adults who have forgotten their past are the targeted audience as the poem reminds them of old times and causes them to remember lost memories of growing

The friends of the narrator, however, do not hide in the imaginary world of childhood and are maturing into adolescents. Sally, “ screamed if she got her stockings muddy,” felt they were too old to “ the games” (paragraph 9). Sally stayed by the curb and talked to the boys (paragraph 10).

Nonetheless, doing so will not change the perceptions that other individuals who are familiar with them possess. An individual cannot wholly abandon their heritage. Their identity will remain the same in their loved ones eyes, despite the tenacious effort put in towards changing it. This is first demonstrated when the narrator realizes that “[your] uncle [will] still call you Roy Boy”. Regardless of his desire to create a new identity, he understands that those that are familiar with him will never abolish their perceptions. Furthermore, those in his town will act the same way towards him and their lives will not change because he decided to achieve his dreams. The “pheasants sun themselves beside the tracks” whether he returns or not, their lives will not be affected and he will not have an impact on their perception of him. Their attitudes will not change because they were once acquainted with his past identity in which he is so utterly ashamed of, and are unaware of this new one which he is proud of. Additionally, when he realizes that “corn grow so high that if you [stand] in the field you’d disappear”. This elucidates that he understands that his new dreams will not impact anything in any way. Everything will remain the way it was when he leaves. The only aspect that will change is his altered perception of himself. The boy understands the insignificance and normality of his identity that would be created if he decided to pursue his aspirations. Aspects of the past that were once in an individual’s life will not alter, only the individual’s perception of themselves will change. Their newfound identity and goals will not impact those that were once familiar with them. No matter how much effort is put in towards creating a new identity and leaving the past, it can never truly be forgotten because people cannot

Hart – one of the gray-haired men who like to say "Now there's a boy" – gave him a guest card to the Sherry Island Golf Club for a week-end. So he signed his name one day on the register, and that afternoon played golf in a foursome with Mr. Hart and Mr. Sandwood and Mr. T.A. Hedrick. He did not consider it necessary to remark that he had once carried Mr. Hart's bag over this same links, and that he knew every trap and gully with his eyes shut – but he found himself glancing at the four caddies who trailed them, trying to catch a gleam or gesture that would remind him of himself, that would lessen the gap which lay between his present and his past.” In the end, Dexter used his astuteness to make something of himself; however, in doing so, he regressed who he truly was. That is how he dealt with his nostalgia, by suppressing it.

Alice has now passed through her by trail by fire, and she feels like an adult from the way others treat her as an individual. She declares “I am somebody: but her real maturation is not from how others respond to her, but from wise reflections on what it means to survivors the troubled times of adolescence.

As the family learned more and more about Lynn and her deafness, the reader can see that they began to accept it. The changes all came slowly, the more that they learned about the disability that Lynn had. The reader can see that at first they did not

“At dusk, we approached a bend where hand-painted signs advertising auto repairs and coal deliveries had been nailed to trees along the roadside. We rounded the bend and found ourselves in a

p. 82). Therefore, the adult narrator’s ability to comment and reflect on his child-self effectively emphasizes the naïve and vulnerable nature of youth, and contributes to the mood of foreboding and suspense throughout the novel, ‘now I was over confident. I expected things to go my way’ (Chapter 1. p. 28).

We start out at a Caroline Helstone, who was 18 years old and go backwards. At 18, our lives are “a marvelous fiction; delightful sometimes and sad sometimes; almost always unreal.” If talking about an average 18 year old, the emotions are described pretty accurate. Then as it talks about one stage back in life, “our world is heroic; its inhabitant’s half-divine

This screenplay follows the protagonist Alice Howland, who is a professor of linguistics at Columbia University. Alice Howland is later diagnosed with Early Onset Alzheimer’s Disease, which turns her world completely upside down; especially given her career and ambitious nature. She becomes unable to perform normal everyday activities, and struggles with the loss of her independence. Alice’s husband, John, who is a physician, attempts to act as a guide for her through this time, but it ultimately puts a strain on their relationship. John’s job offer to move to Boston does not help matters either, and it quickly becomes the last straw for the two of them. He soon moves to New York to take the job after Alice’s memory starts to decay at a faster rate. John and Alice have 3 children, Lydia, Anna, and Tom as well as a son-in-law, Charlie. They are introduced at the beginning of the screenplay, as they all gather to celebrate Alice’s 50th birthday at a restaurant. This is also the time in which the audience notices her decline in normal conversation as she is unable to follow smoothly. Alice could be considered the catalytic hero of this screenplay, and the disease being the antagonist. Alice wants to hold on to as much of her memory that she can, and slow the regression by writing down everything. By Act 3, Alice loses her ability to do activities that she had been doing for many years; such as going out for her morning run without getting lost, remembering words, phrases, and

In the New York Times articles, “The price of the nice nails,” and “Perfect nails, Poisoned workers” by Nir the NYtimes journalist (2015) describes how the manicurists of NYC are being exploited by their employers, underpaid and bear ethnic prejudice due to lack of legal investigation. The manicurists are subject to work in poor health and safety conditions meanwhile the owner enjoys the luxuries of profitable sums by wage exploitations. The average cost to do manicure is roughly $10.50. Therefore, the workers are underpaid and are always under tremendous pressure to complete the task quickly. In addition to that ethnic discrimination plays the vital toxic role where certain race dictates the fate of the others. The law enforcement has done the bare minimum to investigate the nail salons and the employers are rarely prosecuted for labor violations.

However, in this instance the reader see’s the grandfather making progress when he buries all the “things [he] wasn’t able to tell him. Letters” (322.) This displays him attempting to let go of the past. With that being said he is much elder and lived almost all of his life grieving Anna’s death. The author continues to show what grief over death can cause a person to do.

So the next day the woodcutter’s wife hid some of the food to make it look as if they only had enough food for the next 3 days. When dusk fell the family got ready for bed. The wife had decided night was the best time to discuss her idea with her

It was a warm March afternoon. I lay curled up on the couch completely engrossed in the works of Oscar Wilde. Suddenly a red rubber ball landed on my lap. I looked up to see the nine year old mischief maker grinning at me. The sun rays played on his dark haired body. The streaks of yellow seemed as though someone had sprinkled gold all over him. He wetted his nose and stared at me intensely. His piercing dark coffee colored eyes could make anyone feel uncomfortable. Marshal, the brilliant German Shepherd was trying to hypnotize me.