Abuela Invents The Zero Quotes

Abuela Invents the Zero is an excellent example of life experiences shaping values. The whole story starts out with Constancia not liking her grandmother only because she is old and unfamiliar with the new environment that she is in. Even in the airport she says that she would walk far behind them so that no one would think that she is with them. She continues for the entire time that her grandmother is visiting avoiding her as much as possible. Then when Constancia must take her grandmother to church bad things happen. Constancia once again avoids all eye contact with anyone else in a hope that she will go unrecognized while she helps her old grandmother stumble through the church. Then when constancia doesn't notice she looks up to find her grandmother lost up front in the middle of the church

The second struggle in Bruno 's and Shmuel’s friendship is their need to overcome their differences in the family background. One day, Bruno decided to talk about how they came to be in Auschwitz. When Shmuel starts talking about how he got here.He said that, “The train was horrible," said Shmuel. There were too many of us in the carriages for one thing. And there was no air to breathe.” “That 's because you all crowded onto one train,”said Bruno.... “When we came here, there was another one on the other side of the platform, but no one seemed to see it. That was the one we got.” (129-130). When Bruno talks about

It is portrayed most commonly within Bruno and Shmuel's friendship. Towards the end of the book Bruno begins to realise that the fence is separating them both for a reason, however this doesn't stop them from being friends. This shows that they would go through anything, including suffering, to be friends. The following quote shows how strong their friendship is at the end of the book, "Despite the mayhem that followed, Bruno found that he was still holding Shmuel's hand in his own and nothing in the world would have persuaded him to let go." (Page 213). Another display of friendship amidst suffering is demonstrated by Bruno's parents. At the beginning of the book their relationship is loving and healthy. Towards the end of the book, Bruno's mother discovers how the soldiers are treating the Jews. She becomes appalled and disliking of her husband, as he supports it and is not doing anything to stop it. Bruno's parents' relationship begins to fall apart and his mother eventually decides to move back to Berlin. This is a negative example of friendship amidst suffering as the relationship goes downhill. This shows how easy it is for suffering to build or tear apart a

In the three stories “Eveline”, “A Rose for Emily”, and “Desiree’s Baby” three single women go about love in three different ways. Their struggles for love are similar; the decisions they made you will not believe. One thing you can say about all the women is their poor love lives. With their fathers in their way, the women find it hard to find love. Love is a four letter word that everyone wants, but some never get to experience the happiness. While Eveline, Miss Emily, and Desiree have controlling fathers, they want love; one walked away from her happiness, one kills for it, and another kills herself.

Gretel’s depressing thoughts give the feeling that her family, especially Hansel, have abandoned her. When she goes to her brother for support he is not there to help her. “No one remembers. Even you, my brother, summer afternoons you look at me as though you meant to leave, as though it never happened” Gretel says (Gluck 13-16). Maybe not physically, but mentally and emotionally, Gretel feels that her brother isn’t there for her because he doesn’t feel haunted by the incident with the witch like she does. Gretel is overwhelmed and caught up in this whirlwind of emotions where “she feels as though the events that occurred in those woods are weighing down on her and as though she never really got out of that hell at all” (Bufka). Her loneliness truly comes out when Hansel seems to want to leave the house and leave the incident in the past to move on while she is desperate for his help.

At the beginning of the book “The Boy in Striped Pajamas” Bruno is faced with hardship as his father is assigned a new job at a new place forcing him and his family to move, with that making him leave his three friends; Karl, Daniel, and Martin (Page 7 “Say goodbye to Karl and Daniel and Martin?” he continued his voice coming dangerously close to shouting, which was not allowed indoors. “But they’re my three best friends for life!”) This change dramatically changed Bruno’s attitude making

The author is able to build a mood throughout the story by using the narrative technique of tone. It changes from the beginning to the end of the story. In the beginning of the story, Bruno is sad and angry that he is leaving behind his three best friends. He is arguing with his mom about it. “Say goodbye to Karl and Daniel and Martin? He continued, his voice coming dangerously close to shouting.” (pg. 7) This demonstrates how mad and angry Bruno is about moving. By the tone that Bruno is using when talking to his mother, it shows that he doesn’t want to leave them behind. This builds a mood for the story and makes the reader feel sorry for Bruno. In the middle of the story, after Bruno and Shmuel have become great friends, Bruno finds Shmuel inside his house polishing the glasses. Shmuel

Throughout the book Bruno's idea of his friendship with his sister changed, the protagonist also recreated his friendship with the “The Hopeless Case” - pg 21. In the beginning of the novel he is cruel and optimistic about his sister's life worthiness. This is portrayed on page 21 -

Love between two genders is one of the most common themes in writing. In literature, love is often praised, appreciated and cherished. Another common theme in writing is the looming specter of inequality between men and women, which has been strongly depicted throughout history and is still worryingly present in the world today. It is extremely interesting to realize that though love is treasured and valued, in most cases, it takes both genders to create love, and those genders are often separated by inequality. Both these themes coincide well together; the clash of love and gender inequality is interestingly captivating. In John Updikes A&P and Ernest Hemingway’s Hills Like White Elephants, both stories send a conclusive message to the reader that equality between both sexes in love and attraction is almost impossible; one gender will always be more powerful than the other.

In the story “ Two Kinds” Amy Tan presents the theme ¨Be grateful for what you have when you have it because nothing is forever¨ through the main characters Ni kan and her mother and also through foreshadowing. Tan takes the reader through a story of a girl and her mother as they both individually learn a good life lesson.

Friendship is a basic human need, especially for nine year old boys living their childhood. For Bruno who is lonely, bored out of his mind and could not find friends his age to play with and Shmuel a Jewish boy entrapped in a brutal concentration camp, their friendship is one of the only things that can spark a little happiness and lighten up their spirit. The boys meet in the least possible place – the periphery of Auschwitz concentration camp, where one is imprisoned and the other is the son of the Nazi commandant in charge. Although they are meant to see each other as enemies as a Jew and Nazi, there is no hatred between Bruno and Shmuel. They simply see each other as another kid to talk to out of the loneliness of Auschwitz. As the book

Throughout the novel, Bruno misinterprets what is going on in the world and this family. One of the

Because she too is alone at Auschwitz she replaces her friends and companions with dolls, therefore leaving Bruno with no one but himself and in need in company. “I’m going back to my room to arrange my dolls” (pg 38). It is his family’s detachment that leads him to create new bonds with Shmuel, a Jew from the other side of the fence, which in turn leads to a horrific ending. This ending captures the reader because of the intensity and power in how it is written. If John Boyne had narrated the story in any other way, the effect would not have been quite so horrific and potent. This along with the main concern of the book captures the reader’s attention, encouraging them to read on.

A major change for Bruno was when they moved from Berlin to Auschwitz. Bruno was outgoing, adventurous and had many friends. After they moved, he became lonely, sad and a little resentful to his parents. He and Gretel were home schooled and he wasn’t allow to go outside anymore. He had no idea of what was going on in the concentration camp or his surrounding and didn’t understand why he couldn’t play with the kids he saw in the camp. After he met Shmuel things started to feel a little more normal for him but unaware that his life will end very soon.

Bruno, initially, has ignorance about everything going on in his life. For example, his dissatisfaction with leaving Berlin is demonstrated in many parts of the story. He is shown to the reader as being innocent, immature, and unable to give things a chance. On many occasions, Bruno complains about moving to “Out-With” (Auschwitz). He continually complains before even giving himself a chance to experience it. He was whining and being stubborn. To illustrate, in the novel, the author says, “Nothing, thought Bruno, not even the insects, would ever choose to stay at Out-With.