Ajax: A Narrative Fiction

"Are you okay?" He questioned,his voice was filled with compassion towards me and I smiled from where I lay.

"If it isn't too much trouble," Veronica replied, leaning on the column of the bed and trying to stand up. She straightened up to her full height, but realized that she was still weak and needed to lie down. However, the desire to return to the hotel was stronger than her and, showing stubbornness, Veronica made a few steps. But the body failed her treacherously and she began to fall backwards. The Italian managed to catch Veronica, but not seeing a small stool under his feet, he stumbled over it and also started falling back. The girl grabbed at the man, as at a fragile straw that was breaking before her eyes.

Ben walked over to the girl and touched her shoulder. “Hi, im Ben. What’s your name?” The girl turned around and looked Ben in the eyes.

Investigative Writing The use of foreshadowing and tone in Shirley Jackson’s The Lottery effectively establishes the suspense and a sense of dread in the story. The writer holds back on the revelation of what is happening for so long yet there are subtle uses of foreshadowing to prepare the reader. When the characters assemble in the town square for “the lottery”, it creates suspense as a lottery is usually a positive event. The first example of foreshadowing is when the boys begin to stuff their pockets with stones, at that point in the story – there is no explanation for this yet by the end of the story, this event turns the ending into a realization rather than a surprise.

The men outside of the cell started to laugh at him. He looked utterly pathetic at the moment. He continued to shake as he looked up at her. She let go of him walking towards the cell door. The man opened it up, letting her out. Isaac watched as the cell door was being closed. He lied down on the floor, continuing to cry. He couldn’t believe the things that were happening to him. The slums were more messed up than what he was led to believe.

“Yes, I suppose so. I am sorry for having told you this. I hope you won’t hold it against me. I only wanted to help.”

Malessica continued holding onto him, struggling to walk. Almost falling over again, Isaac lifted Malessica up in a cradling position. Though she was a bit nervous, she wrapped her arms around his neck. Looking at each other momentarily, their faces reddened a bit. Turning their heads the other way for a few seconds. Isaac couldn't even believe he was able to

Isaac lead the way towards the screaming children he somehow heard over the storm. I could see once we got close enough that there were two elementary students, I’d say grade five, buried underneath about a foot of rubble. We marched toward them and got on either side of the large piece of rubble hefting it up with great force, for me at least, Isaac lifted it like nothing. He must work out. Together we carried the injured students to the basement and got them proper medical treatment. They had only minor injuries luckily.

“Thank you so much for the help.” Sebastian said “I’m glad I came to you.”

“I’m fine,” she answered breathlessly. “I’m sorry to worry you. I just kept running until I couldn’t run anymore.”

For a play titled Ajax, the exposition serves as a curious contrast to the rest of the story. By introducing the tragedy in media res with Athena and Odysseus, Sophocles skips past the fuss of the armor debacle and instead delves straight into the aftermath of the event. Athena, who knows of Ajax’s deadly intentions, chooses to redirect his violence towards the innocent livestock. Seeing that this act was Ajax’s definitive moment, not including it in the play raises the question, what role does Athena play in setting the course of the story? It is generally thought Athena is callous and cruel and that she is punishing Ajax for his attempt upon the chieftains, but there is hardly anything in the play to justify such assumptions. I will argue Athena’s spell over Ajax is an act of salvation rather than an act of punishment and through this intervention Ajax attains honor after death with his proper burial. This not only provides insight into Athena’s behavior but also brings the play to a full circle with the reintegration of Odysseus as an instrument of Athena’s intentions.

The sight of his hands was replaced by the image of Adaliah, lying in a pool of her own blood. Blood that originated from the hole in her head. Her eyes were still open and staring at him.

She cocked her head and smiled politely. "Don't mention it. Just remember you two can get past this."

Maria stared at her reflection in the mirror. Her hair was a mess, along with her clothes. She felt disgusting. There were bruises and marks on her neck, turned purple and faded. Her cheeks and thighs were red and scratched. Her scalp burned from her hair being pulled, and her bottom lip was swollen and bleeding. Opening the bathroom door and looking around, she checked to see if James was asleep. Maria was relieved to find that he was, in fact, passed out on the couch and snoring. She quietly made her way to the back door. Unlocking it, she stepped outside and closed the door. From then, she ran. Landing on her left ankle left a sharp pain in her foot, probably from twisting it earlier trying to esca-

“Thank you so much,” a voice boomed. “I didn’t have to do anything, you just came to me. I feel so appreciated,”