Analysis Of Kari Strutt's Short Story 'Touching Bottom'

Everyday, people are forced to make choices. Some of those choices are fairly easy to make, and others are not. In the short story “The Life You Save May Be Your Own” by Flannery O’Connor, a man by the name of Tom T. Shiftlet stumbles across a farm where an old woman and her daughter, Lucynell Crater, reside. When the author first introduces the readers to Mr. Shiftlet, he is described as “a tramp and no one to be afraid of” (674). What starts as a man accidentally coming across the woman’s farm, becomes a story that follows Tom through his unrealized quest for love and acceptance. With the help of Ms. Crater and Lucynell, Tom learns that his choices have consequences. In “The Life You Save May Be Your Own”, O’Connor creates a world in

His mother treats him like a slave, giving him daily chores and unbelievably ruthless punishments. He has become inhuman to her as she refers to him as “It.” The only hope of survival relies on his dad, in God, or in a miracle. His story promotes the courageous human spirit and the determinate to survive.

As human beings evolve from infancy to elderly stages in life, times of struggle and hardship continually challenge their kin and personage; as life tests their mental fortitude and survival dexterity. In essays “My Father’s hands” by author Daisy Hernandez, and “Beginning Dialogues” by author Toi Derricotte, life and its whirl wind of ups and downs are expressed and exemplified. Both authors’ upbringings share various similarities on their evolutionary road trip through life. Struggling with hardship and abuse, how both authors’ dealt with their hardships, and how they ultimately survived/overcame these trying events, show similar correlations.

The author Joelle Charbonneau uses Symbolism in order to reveal what influence fear has on people’s decisions. Fear can cause people to change for better or for

This type of upbringing would lead one to believe that her life would not amount to anything and torn by the fact that she was not residing with her family. However, subconsciously, when she needed reassurance, her paternal mother’s words to her would always surface in her mind, “Sunshine, you’re my baby and I’m your only mother, but you must obey the one taking care of you but she is not your mama”.

Freedom lies in being bold. The independence us teenagers yearn for is not simply handed to us, but earned through the trust of our parents. Striving to be adults, we try to grow up too fast as our parents grow old and we often disregard their want for us to be great, and their need to shelter us from the good and the bad; but what isn’t understood at a young age is that we let go of them because they don’t let go of us. We may refuse to consider what our parents have to say and their stance on things, thus creating a barrier in the parent/child relationship, evident in “Saturday Climbing”. This story by W.D. Valgardson follows the journey of father and daughter as they attempt to bond over a cliff-climbing adventure in the mountains with a team of other people. It is evident early on in the story that there is tension between the two though father, Barry, has made an effort to repair the damaged relationship. The adventure not only helps the two heal, but causes Barry’s epiphany around the subject of trust. The realization comes from a number of flashbacks, and most importantly, the desire Moira has to take charge and lead the pitch.

Life is full of challenges. In the stories, “Breaking Through Uncertainty-Welcoming Adversity” and “Neighbours,” written by Jim McCormick and Lien Chao, the main characters illustrate benefits derived from taking risks. Even though both people in these texts undergo personal challenges, in “Neighbours” the character, Sally, receives greater benefits from taking risks than McCormick in “Breaking Through Uncertainty-Welcoming Adversity”.

After Chris’ mom left and Chris has to live on his own, he has been imagining his dad comes back. In “Lifeguard” by Barbara Scott, Chris is really independent and full of imagination. Imagination helps Chris to get rid of his stresses. Chris family lives in Calgary, his family had fell apart six years ago, since his dad ran away. Since then, his mom has works really hard to raise Chris and his brother.

Many say that events, good and bad, from childhood shape a person’s future. Things like the death of a loved one, domestic violence, expectations and economic struggles can surely mould one's true self. However, the gap between finding the person they want to become and the one to avoid becoming is controlled solely by the way one chooses to handle these things in life. This is directly connected to the novel, Crow Lake by Mary Lawson, in which the life of Kate Morrison and her three siblings is depicted. The children are faced with tragedy when both their parents are killed in a fatal car accident and they are left orphaned to fend for themselves. The novel perfectly embodies what it takes to get through extremely tough times and push in order

She feels that her life is at an all-time high. The young woman in the river represents how good life is before a male dominating figure enters a woman’s life (doctor), she is lively and happy with how things are going. The aunt also represents a woman who is naïve when it comes to dealing with men, she allowed the doctor take her beauty and liveliness out of her. The author wants us to see how when a man enters a woman's life how wrong things can go because of the dominating powers they

       As the tale begins we immediately can sympathize with the repressive plight of the protagonist.  Her romantic imagination is obvious as she describes the "hereditary estate" (Gilman, Wallpaper 170) or the "haunted house" (170) as she would like it to be.  She tells us of her husband, John, who "scoffs" (170) at her romantic sentiments and is "practical to the extreme" (170).  However, in a time

Events that take place in the past often inspire future events to take place. Every decision made leads to another decision in the future. A tragic event in the past can ultimately lead to a change in behavior. The central theme in “Stone Mattress” by Margaret Atwood is that past events directly correlate to current and future events, this is shown throughout the short story with Atwood’s use of irony, point of view, and characterization.

The tone of this story is one of fear, regret, and guilt. The story first leaves the reader with impression that it may be a recount of the life of a daughter who was lost due to neglect. Soon it is evident

Margaret Atwood creates a haunting and beautiful piece describing the experience a sad child goes through. She structures her poem by using five stanzas; two stanzas consisting of five lines, then one stanza with ten lines, and ending with two stanzas consisting of five lines. She uses simple yet powerful diction, tone, metaphors, similes, symbolism, and imagery to show the unknown speaker giving advice to a sad child. Her message/theme is sadness is a part of life and there are different ways to deal with it, but when death comes the thing that one is being sad about doesn’t matter.

In Joyce’s, “Eveline”, most of the story is situated in the mind of the main character, Eveline. Eveline is characterized as passive, easily-influenced, and indecisive. Joyce highlights Eveline’s indecisiveness as she struggles with her immediate predicament; should she leave her abusive father and disobey her duty as a daughter, or pursue a new life with her potential husband Frank, to be free? As she contemplates, readers are taken inside Eveline’s mind to discover factors from her past and present that contribute toward her final decision. While Joyce utilizes rich literary devices including symbolism and dramatic irony, Eveline’s final choice is based on what is repressed in her unconscious mind – her mother’s last words. Eveline’s mother’s last word “Derevuan Seraun” is the deciding factor in which why Eveline chooses stays home.