“Philadelphia Fire laments the impossibility of attaining this ideal in late twentieth-century urban America.” Start with the investigation of escaped orphan from the fire, Cudjoe, the protagonist of the novel revealed a decayed city. The narrative of this book is highly fragmented, especially in Part II, Wildman merged Cudjoe and himself to one narrator. In Part III, Wildman even created a mysterious character, J.B, to represent all the people saw the degeneration/fire. Through this way, Wildman generalized the narrations of different people in different time, elaborating personal experience to a phenomenon of a community. The book sank in a sense of despair and confusion. From Cudjoe to Philadelphia, everyone, every group and every community was stuck between the ideology of dream city and complicated reality. Hovering around the crossroad of past and future, People rot in the dissatisfaction of the current situation yet find no way to revive. Why couldn’t people jump out of the dilemma? What repressed the revolution for better life over and over again? Is the decay of this city in the story irresistible? Throughout the analysis of specific events and narrations in the book, we could categorize the causes of the degeneration to two sections: The conflict between ideology and needs to sustain the reality, and distribution of authority. With the compromise of these undesired situation, the deterioration dissolved in the root of the city, causing the irresistible decay.
had to wear some old shoes that he had at home. Gold did not like this
Throughout the 16th century, as there was a demographic collapse of the indigenous population, there was now a new demand for slave labor in Latin America. In Brazil, the Portuguese needed a large workforce to cultivate sugar plantations. As a result, numerous slaves from Africa were imported to work on large plantation fields. In various plantations, rural slaves experienced harsh working and living conditions. Few slaves had a high life expectancy. Robert Edgar Conrad in “Children of God’s Fire,” shares some primary sources that dealt with the types of environments and conditions many slaves faced and encountered in Brazil. The sources also gave insight into the regulations and economics/business of the slave trade. Conrad states that rural Brazil was “a hell for blacks” (Conrad 54). Many slaves dealt with extremely harsh conditions just to keep the European market in Latin American growing and profitable. This paper will analyze how rural slaves lived and worked on Brazilian sugar plantations.
The Great Chicago Fire was one of the significant devastation that happened in the eighteenth century. Through this tragic event, hundreds of people died and thousands of buildings were completely destroyed in the fire. Before, the city was flourishing as more people traveled and decided to call Chicago their home. After the fire destroyed most of the surrounding area, people began blaming one another for the deaths of all the people. As time passed, Chicago slowly began to rebuild like never before. Although the city of Chicago continued to grow before the fire, after, the city boomed with the abundance of money and people. Moreover, because there was destruction, the people of Chicago, Illinois did not allow a fire to stop them from creating more opportunities for the future. The city has changed from the fire, but because of the help that was received, it was able to get rebuilt, and invite new individuals to explore the wondrous city of Chicago.
As the fireman, Guy Montag, from Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury changes his view on the world, his view on fire changes as well. Throughout the book he encounters many different people who each change him in different ways. Some people convince him that fire is great because of its destruction. It burns away the things that make people unhappy, and changes things. However, as his journey continues, he begins to see fire as an escape. By the end of the book, he realizes that fire does not just take and destroy, but it gives.
It is only once in a while a book comes along so great in its message, so frightening in its inferred meaning’s of fire as in Fahrenheit 451. Fire which is used as a symbol of chaos, destruction, and death can also lead to knowledge. Fire has 3 different meanings. Fire represents change which is shown through Montag’s symbolic change from using fire to burn knowledge into using fire to help him find knowledge; fire can represent knowledge as demonstrated through Faber, and fire can represent rebirth of knowledge as shown through the phoenix.
To build a fire is a short story written by Jack London. It is a story about an individual’s choice. The main character’s self-centeredness overcomes him, as he tries to survive the wintery weather in his travel in the Yukon Trail. He made a choice of ignoring the weather warnings, which evidenced danger in his journey. There were warnings like the absence of fellow travelers due to the cold season, but his egoism made him still embark on the journey alone, despite the warnings. The protagonist’s pride and arrogance leads to a regrettable outcome, as it leads to his downfall. The protagonist made the wrong choices because of his egotism, and arrogance and they led to his downfall. He defied nature due to his lack of logical judgment, and
The short story "To build a Fire" by Jack London, tells about the relationship between man and nature. The story takes place in the Yukon during one of the long night. The main character who is unnamed travels with a dog along a small trail to a mining camp. The man leaves against the advice of a local and after a short time realizes that he should have waited. The temperature is extremely cold because the mans spit freezes before it hits the ground. The main obstacle of his journey is the many covered springs that mean death to whoever falls into them. The man sends his dog in front of him to make sure that the trail is safe. Eventually the dog falls into one of the springs and gets his paws wet.
In the short story “To Build a Fire” by Jack London, the protagonist foremost values his pride, which leads to his demise. The story starts off with the protagonist taking a detour in the Yukon so that he could survey the trees in the area (he was doing this so that he could send logs down the river to the gold prospecting camp, where he would sell the wood to the prospectors for money). But, the protagonist’s pride blinds him from what could have and should have done to ensure his survival in the Yukon. About halfway through his journey, he accidentally breaks through the ice on the spring and his foot falls into the water. At the temperatures mentioned in the story (seventy below zero), if he did not dry himself properly, it could lead to serious frostbite and/or death. So, he was forced to build a fire, and the “fire was a success. He was safe. He remembered the advice of the old timer on Sulphur Creek, and smiled. The old-timer had been very serious in laying down that no man must travel alone in the Klondike after fifty below. Well, here he was; he had had an accident: he was alone; and he had saved himself. Those old-timers were rather womanish” (London 8). The man keeps feeding the fire and gets ready to take his (frozen and potentially dangerous) footwear off, and feels content and a sense of satisfaction of disproving the old-timers. But, just as it seemed to be that the fire was stable and strong, snow that was on the branches of the spruce tree he was under fell
In Fahrenheit 451 ,written by Ray Bradbury, the motif of fire, sparks an interest in the reader which pulls them into the life of Guy Montag. In the daily life of Montag, Bradbury portrays the importance of fire in the censored society. From Montag's standpoint the reader gains a clear perspective of the symbolism and importance of fire. Throughout the story fire is used to represent a different emotion or characteristic. At the start of the book fire symbolizes destruction; towards the middle of the book fire is used to represent change and discovering ones identity; and finally at the conclusion of the story fire symbolizes renewal and rebirth.
Memoirs of war often reflect the positive or negative experiences endured throughout battle. Considered by many to be one of the best memoirs of World War I, Hervey Allen’s “Toward the Flame”, recalls his own experiences of battle. His recollection of events shows that he had a negative image of war and that there was nothing glorious about it. What started out looking like a man’s greatest adventure turned into a shell-shocking reality that war is actually horrible and trying. Allen’s experiences with consistent hunger, mustard gas, and artillery shellings led to his disillusionment with war, and left him with a permanent hatred of battle.
In the stories To Build a Fire and A Worn Path, Jack London and Eudora Welty tell the stories of two protagonists going on arduous journeys during the winter. Phoenix Jackson, the protagonist of A Worn Path, is an elderly lady hardened by the trials of life as a black woman living in the Southern United States, prior to the Civil Rights Era. She is surprisingly limber, resilient, and healthy for her age and has assumed the responsibility of caring for her sick seven- year- old grandson. She diligently provides him with the medicine necessary to treat him for the ingestion of lye. The young man, the protagonist in To Build a Fire, is a young northerner who is responsible for himself and his dog. He is besieged by the petulance of youth and ignores the advice of his elders, depending instead on youthful bravado to guide his decisions. Ultimately, on these two journeys of survival, both protagonists will depend on their life experiences to guide them through. The young man will be guided by his limited life experiences while Phoenix will depend on her wealth of knowledge to choose her path to survival.
In the short video “Death by Fire” we learn of the story of Todd Willingham. We are presented with facts about a fire, which killed Willingham’s three children, which ultimately sent him to his death. The case begins in the small town of Corsicana, Texas. On December 13, 1991 Todd Willingham’s home was ablaze and his children were trapped inside. Neighbors say they witnessed Willingham outside, on the front porch screaming for his children and screaming for help. As the fire raged, firefighters arrived on the scene and were able to pull one of the children out of the home. Unfortunately all of the children died due to injuries they sustained in the fire. While the fire raged in the house Todd’s wife Stacy was out Christmas shopping and was unharmed. The attitude of Todd after the fire began to raise question with those who were close to him and also with investigators. The night after the fire, a local bar had a benefit to raise money for Todd’s family to help pay for the costs they would soon face. Many say that Todd became too involved with the festivities and seemed like he did not care his kids had just died. They say that Todd was bragging about how money would begin to roll in because people would feel bad for him. Having seen these things, investigators immediately labeled Todd as their prime suspect.
Ilan Stavans says that Juan Rulfo’s book, The Plain in Flames, is best represented by the phrase realismo crudo. Stavans defines this phrase as “a type of realism interested in the rawness of life”, meaning that he characterizes Rulfo’s writing as an unfiltered view into the lives of the average Mexican (Stavans, xi). By writing in this style, Rulfo is able to provide “an image—instead of just a description—of our landscape” as stated by Octavio Paz (xv). To create this image, Rulfo broke his story writing the process down into three separate steps. As paraphrased by Ilan Stavans, the first step “is to create a character”, the second step “is to place him in an environment where he might move around” and the third step “is to discover how the character expresses himself” (xiii). Rulfo was able to repeatedly crafted stories that were filled with high levels of realismo crudo by using that special three-step process. By creating his protagonist, crafting an environment for said protagonist, and allowing the character to express themselves within this environment, Rulfo crafted a three-tier image of post-revolutionary life in Mexico that has never been seen before.
Fields of Fire by James Webb is a historical novel first published in 1978 that takes place in the year 1969 during the Vietnam War. Although there are many characters that are significant to the story, the novel focuses mainly on three marines who find themselves in a platoon with each other; Robert E. Lee Hodges, “Snake,” and Will “Senator” Goodrich. Webb gives the reader a great, detailed background of each of these characters through a combination of both direct and indirect characterization. As the novel progresses, major events that occur include battle and violence, loss and coping, and learning. The themes that naturally
Out of the Flames by Lawrence and Nancy Goldstone is a nonfiction read that highlights the journey of Michael Servetus and how he impacts the world around him. Religion is a powerful weapon used by the Church in the Early Modern Period, but only a few have the will to defy the power of it. Important figures such as Martin Luther and Michael Servetus, step out of the dark to take up the Reformation against the Church. Both use the power of books to defy the Church’s power, which books are a powerful tool used in the sixteenth century.