Prince Lir

In the story “Not Human Beings”, by Etgar Keret, Shmulik Stein is portrayed as, “the bleeding heart” throughout much of the story. In the beginning of the story, Stein’s character seems to be petulant. When his commander Davidoff, is distracted by the Border Police Officer, taking him away from their game of backgammon, he makes a sarcastic threat about volunteering to go with the personnel officer if Davidoff doesn’t “shoot the fucking dice.” (752) Soon after Stein finds himself selected to spend a week with the Border Police. The first day he spends with them riding around in jeeps, one of the fellow officer’s in a nearby jeep purposely runs over an Arab that was walking down the road, Stein seems to be perplexed about the thoughtless act

Authors in many instances use the main elements in the story such as setting and narrative to prove a point in the story. For example, writers often use characters, their actions, and their interaction with other characters to support or prove a theme. In the short story “Our Thirteenth Summer”, Barry Callaghan effectively uses characters to develop the theme that childhood is fragile and easily influenced. One of the ways that Callaghan makes effective use of characters to develop the theme is by describing the tension between Bobbie and his parents. This usage of characters supports the theme because Bobbie’s childhood is no longer free to do what he wishes, but has to bow down to his parents’

Will-power and determination plays a major role when it comes to people accomplishing goals and performing the tasks they are given. When a person possesses these two qualities they are motivated, focused, will not give up easily, determined along with many other things. The word determination is defined as, “the act of coming to a decision or of fixing or settling a purpose.” Will-power is, “the strength or will to carry out one’s decisions, wishes, or plans.” In the short story A Worn Path by Eudora Welty, the main character Phoenix carried out the meaning of these two words throughout the whole story. She had experienced many road blocks during her journey, but she did not let them stop her from reaching

Everyone has to mature someday Anita, main character of the book, knows that she, too, must as well, before it’s too late. With the SIM invading along with the dictator, El Jefe, looming over her family, just how fast can she do so? Anita is a twelve-year old girl living in the Dominican Republic during the 1960’s. In the book, Before We Were Free by Julia Alvarez, her family is secretly opposing the government and their dictator, El Jefe (Rafael Leónidas Trujillo Molina), so they can someday become a free nation. Over time, in the novel, Anita does grow up, but her change is gradual. Maturing and dealing with trauma is hard for her, just like would be for anyone.

Jimmy knows too well the agonies of abandonment. First, when his mother, Cecilia, ran away with Richard to pursue a better lifestyle. Then, due to his father’s, Damacio Baca, alcoholisms and violent behavior; he also had to leave Jimmy behind. In spite of the drawbacks from abandonment to being a maximum security prisoner in Arizona State Prison, Jimmy preserver’s the darkness of prison by overcoming his illiteracy. However Cecilia and Damacio is not as fortunate as their child; Cecilia is shot by Richard after confronting him for a divorce and Damacio chokes to death after he is released from the detox center(Baca 263). Therefore the most significant event in this section of the memoir, A Place to Stand by Jimmy Santiago Baca is the death of Jimmy’s parents.

Randy Pausch. Who is he? What does he stand for? The day he gave the last lecture... His last lecture he only had months to live. He packed a lot of lessons into his lecture. The claims he gave that stood out were to be optimistic, to be determined, and to take risks.

I was pleased to have attended a lecture cosponsored by the Ethics Center, the Fresno State office of the president, the Fresno Bee and Valley PBS. The lecture began with Dr. Castro recognizing a few leaders on campus, including a past Fresno State president, Dr. John D. Welty and campus volunteer Mary Castro. Dr. Castro then mentioned a few things about Mr. Brooks stating that he is a columnist for the New York Times and an analyst for the PBS “News Hour” and NPR’s “All Things Considered.” Dr. Brooks also teaches at Yale University, one the finest university in the country. Dr. Castro continued by saying that he learned that Mr. Brooks office hours are from 9am to 1pm and how “cool” it sounded to him. I was surprised how many people attended the event. I was fortunate to find a seat. David Brooks mentioned how he has some remote roots in the Central Valley because his father grew in Chowchilla, CA but Mr. Brooks grew in New York.

A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines takes place in 1940’s, a time period of segregation. This was a time when blacks were often at fault for a crime they did not commit, such as what transpired in this book. A man named Jefferson was convicted of a crime he did not commit and was insulted during court. Now his family, friends, and even Jefferson himself were trying to prove the white community wrong about their beliefs that a black man is unequal and lacks dignity against Jefferson and the black community. Not only is Jefferson going through a period of suffering on death row, but others, like Grant Wiggins and Miss Emma, are also facing their struggles and they will try to prove others wrong and redeem themselves through knowledge,

“Everyone in society should be a role model, not only for their own self-respect, but for respect from others.” ~ Barry Bonds. In this world bad situations occur frequently and it takes a good strong person to handle them in a mature way. Dealing with them this way not only shows that the person has self-control, but also makes them a good role model for people to look up to. In the book The Chosen, Chaim Potok uses Mr. Galanter to express his opinions of a good role model. Acting as a baseball coach and gym teacher, young boys look to him for guidance and motivation every day. Having this kind of position causes stress at times, and requires him to stay calm and level headed. Throughout this book, Mr. Galanter

Twyla and Roberta are two very different people, but bond in very similar ways. They become friends very suddenly, not because of how old they are, but because both have a mother. Twyla's mom is a dancer, and Roberta's mother is too sick to raise her. They later meet in their twenties in a not so settling way. Twyla had been bussing tables while Roberta had been living large about to meet Jimi Hendrix. Twyla was embarrassed at her long past friend and was ashamed to show herself. Five years later they meet at a grocery store where they both have kids and are settled down. They decided to go vet coffee where it starts off both are different races so they take opposite sides of the debate.  Roberta accuses Twyla of abusing one of the girls at the orphanage. Twyla only remembers sitting and watching the girl get abused by other girls, and Roberta's memories start to come back to her. This holds their relationship together for the next five years when

A Lesson Before Dying A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines tells the story of a black man, Jefferson, with unequal rights, being accused of killing a white man. Although, the accusation was far from being right, he is a black man, and blacks were treated unfairly. Throughout the journey of the trial, Jefferson and Grant became very close, and they both learned a lot from each other and the trial. Grant learns the lesson of being a man, because he develops feelings, and becomes humble.

Rivalry can be playful and good natured, but it isn’t always this way. Rivalry and competition can help individuals grow as a person, and help them to develop into mature adults. Competition can be a motivator to do better. It can also lead to vast destruction, and severed friendships. Rivalry in this case is unhealthy, the overall outcome of the story proves this. Finny and Gene didn’t really have a ‘healthy’ rivalry or competition. Their relationship wasn’t healthy, and it eventually leads to the death of Finny. In “A Separate Piece” by John Knowles the rivalry between two friends turns unhealthy very quickly. The competition and rivalry between the two friends is destructive, it destroys their friendship,

The Vietnam War was a perplexing, unjustified conflict where both historians and the media over-generalized service members’ experiences. They constantly failed to speak for all people with firsthand combat experience and focused solely on the male’s perspective. Lynda Van Devanter, a former member of the U.S. Army Nurse Corps (ANC) and Vietnam veteran was the first woman who educated America on the female’s position during the Vietnam War and systematically destroyed the stereotype of an undamaged, inessential Vietnam nurse. Contrary to popular belief, the Vietnam War distorted the mentality of both men and women who served overseas, according to Devanter. Historians and the media, rather than acknowledging the Vietnam Nurses’ distinct perspective as a key element of the morally ambiguous altercation, they focused solely on male veteran experiences and failed to accurately portray the war. By changing the subject of Vietnam War stories through her forthright memoir, Home Before Morning, Devanter wrote about the fallacious stereotypes nurses

In the story “The Lesson” by Toni Cade Bambara, the characters Sylvia, Sugar, and Mercedes are different in their personalities, behavior, and the way they decide to handle the lesson taught by Mrs. Moore, but alike by all living in poverty and having a positive elder as Mrs. Moore, to teach them the lesson.

An advocacy activity I observed this following weekend was at an off-Broadway play performed at Second Stage Theater in New York City. The play, Notes from the Field is written and performed by Anna Deavere Smith. In this performance, she gives her viewers a look into the past history of our country as well as some recent major headlining news that took part in our society. She re-enacts the behaviors of some characters but gives the viewers a different perspective then what the media portrays it to be. In the play, Anna shows some tragedies that took place in schools, and prisons systems. She shows the division of ethnic groups and how the civil rights actions have still failed even in today’s communities.