Atlee Carr
Professor Penwell
English 1102
31 August2016
Appalachia Scenery In the story, Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver, we read of unique area in the Appalachian Mountains that is practically submerged with butterflies. By today’s standards, Appalachia is considered a minority. The individuals in this region are looked down upon by cultural, social, and economic standards. However, in the story, the main character contradicts this stereotype. Dellarobia Turnbow is a wife and mother to two children. Her position in society is not very high, however, she realizes this, which makes the reader appreciate her modesty. While reading, one can see how Dellarobia acknowledges the elegance in the mountains. She did not ignore this artistic view. Subtlety, she shared her finding with her family and friends.
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The Great Smoky Mountains are one of a kind mountains. I was on the top of one of mountains; the view was breathtaking and was an amazing to see. I relate to Dellarobia’s awe from the mountains and countryside. Appalachia is a mainly rural area, with distinct people and landforms. There is diversity in this area. In some places, technology thrives. In others however, are lacking up to date technology. From one perspective, this is understandable. Every town is different and may not have every object the next town has. These places are isolated from industrial cities; many jobs in this area include farming, coal mining, and lumbering. However, looking at this from another angle, this is unfair to the areas without up to date technology. These areas could be in poverty and may not be able to afford everything new. This novel gives us an example of this with the Turnbow family and their
In Larry Lankton’s text, “Beyond the Boundaries” we gradually enter an unknown world that is frightening yet filled with immense beauty for miles. Due to the copper mining industry, a gradual increase of working class men and their families start to migrate to the unknown world with unsteady emotion, yet hope for a prosperous new life. In “Beyond the Boundaries”, Lankton takes us on a journey on how the “world below” transformed the upper peninsula into a functional and accepted new part of the world.
While some may say that the Upper Midwest has various discouraging characteristics, Debra describes her passion and endless love for the upper Midwest plains, although some may not see her perspective of the Upper Midwest as she sees it. Debra persuades her audience by using juxtapose by describing how the upper Midwest has much more resources that can’t be found anywhere else. As well she uses analogy and tone to show how other people think of her land as a wasteful plain where no even agriculture could be grown because of how horrible it is. She describes both positions so the reader can listen to both the good reviews of the land and as well the bad ones.
Through the use of various devices, such as imagery and simile, Marquart keeps on adding description to the upper Midwest. During the author’s first sentence, both imagery and simile can be found. The imagery being used appeals to the sense of sight. “… you’ll encounter a road so lonely, treeless, and devoid of rises and curves…”. The author uses imagery to make the reader imagine the road as if the reader was there.
The tone and choice of words change as Marquart recounts the history of North Dakota. While the first half of the passage used words such as “lonely” and “treeless”, the latter half used more optimistic imagery of the land such as “neatness” and “perfect confluence” (49). This more lighthearted and positive imagery shows that although North Dakota seems dull and unexciting, she still possesses admiration for her home. The imagery is used to describe the origins and history of North Dakota which suggests Marquart has appreciation for the regions origins. It also shows how Marquart believes times have changed and so has North Dakota. Although it was once a place that was deemed uninhabitable, she chooses to highlight its positive attributes, which suggest she admires its transformation despite its flaws. Marquart characterizes the region as a place that she has appreciation for and is much more remarkable than its appearance
“Flying,” by Alice Miller tells the story of woman reminiscing on the time that her cousin taught her how to fly when they were kids. It begins with the main character, Allie, flying in the air with her cousin, Mack, when she was six years old. Allie has many questions and Mack tells her that all boys can fly and instructs her to not tell anyone that she knows this secret. He also tells her not to ever try to fly without him and compares this secret to the myth about Prometheus giving the God’s fire to man and being punished for it. As the years went by, Allie wonders if she would ever fly again and even doubts if the memory was real. She becomes a wife and a mother to two sons and a daughter but still wonders if flying is possible. One night, she decides to test her memory and tries to fly out of her backyard. She slowly ascends just as she did when she was young but even higher. Over the next few days, her urge to fly again grows. One night, she sneaks into her children’s room and picks up her daughter to take her outside and show her how to fly. The story ends with Allie telling her daughter to promise not to tell the boys what she is about to experience and excitement building in Allie for her daughter. The central idea of this story is the pursuit of satisfaction never ends.
On his way he saw many things he was confused about. When Trout passed through West Virginia in the truck he noticed the destroyed land. He wondered what they did, then the truck driver tells him. “The surface of the state had been demolished by men and machinery and explosives in order to make it yield up its coal”(Breakfast 123). The beautiful land of West Virginia had been demolished by heavy machinery for the wrong purposes.
Appalachia may be the most misconceived region in the United States. To many Americans, Appalachia has been thought of as a poverty stricken, backwards, violent region, and to some it still is perceived as such. Often it has been labeled with titles such as hillbilly, redneck, moonshiner, and feudists. Appalachia?s residents are seen as lazy, non-trusting, drunk, illiterate, and in need of a savior to pull them out of the darkness into the light. This research paper will seek to challenge the myth of a violent Appalachia by describing documented proof that violence in Appalachia is not, as most thought, a product of its geographical location, or because its people are isolated. Violence in Appalachia was, just as in other areas of America, a result of tensions and frustration that was deep seeded in the fabric of all American society.
Activism, culture and value have always had a tremendous influence in society. When it comes to the Appalachian region of the United States, people tend to see our culture and values differently. The individuals of the Appalachian region have been stereotyped for far too long, people forget that West Virginia has played a huge role in building this country. Our coal miners have put their lives in danger time and time again, some losing them, for worker’s rights. The Battle of Blair Mountain was the largest labor rebellion in the history of the United States. This was the foundation of the movement for eight hour work days and minimum wages. The novel Storming Heaven by Denise Giardina is a fictionalized tale of the conflict that took place in these coal fields of West Virginia. The novel brings to light the stereotypes, race and religion of the Appalachian people.
A small town in Kentucky nestled along the Appalachian mountains, long forgotten by the outside world. The town people only have each other to rely on and will take anything to forget where they are and how horrible their conditions are. In the video, Hidden America Children Of The Mountain, the main point was to bring awareness to the situation that the people who live in the Appalachian Mountains are being faced with. A half million people are living in poverty in the mountains. Even the football star of the town lives in his truck because of his family’s poverty. When Americans hear about poverty, they think of it as far away and as something that will not affect them, they do not think about it being in their own back yard. In reality,
Flight behavior is an interesting read because it combines science and a story. There is a nice balance of the two where you do not feel like you are just reading a textbook. By combining the science and story in her book she gives the scientific aspect while also giving you characters that you can hang on to and imagine being in their shoes. It is different than how most biologists write because most of the time they do not include a story in their writing. I think that by being a biologist it impacts her writing because she uses scientific terms that are not just terms in a textbook setting. She uses terms that are more advance and it is almost like the author Barbara Kingsolver expects people to have background knowledge on the subject rather than just reading the book to learn the knowledge. It is also interesting because it seems as if she goes deeper than most writers do when it comes to explaining the nature and the scientific aspects in the story.
Berry’s mention of the farmer and an understanding of his farm is a constant theme in this essay. Agriculture, a distribution of products born from the earth and its entrance into our bodies as nourishment, describes an interdependence. The development of highways, industry, and daily routine of work and obligation, has caused a romanticization of wilderness. High mountain tops and deep forests are sold as “scenic.” Berry reminds the reader that wilderness had once bred communities and civilization, and that by direct use of the land, we are taught to respect and surrender to it. But by invention of skyscrapers, airplanes, we are able to sit higher than these mountain tops and this is his first representation of disconnect from Creation. Mechanical invention leads one to parallel themselves with godliness, magnifying self worth and a sense of significance. What is misunderstood is that through this magnification, because there is no control or limit, we “raise higher the cloud of megadeath.” Our significance is not proved by the weight of our material wealth, rather
The rolling hills, golden with long rows of crops ready to be harvested, all cut by a winding white gravel road. On either side of the land, there are rusty wire fences marking who owns what, and red barns speckle the land. Dust kicks up by passing cars, and tractors, moving from place to place. Pootsville, the name is not on any map, but for the few families that have lived here for generations know the name. It is the area between three small towns, the nearest store is five miles away and all your neighbors are half a mile or more away. Everyone knows everything about each other; it doesn’t matter if you are five miles from them you are still part of the family.
In Thomas Cole’s Essay on American Scenery, the reader is able to appreciate Cole’s predilection and love for the American scenery. It is his belief this scenery is superior to the European scenery, since the latter’s “primitive features of scenery have long since been destroyed or modified … to accommodate the tastes and necessities of a dense population.” However, Cole presents his audience with a gloomy prophecy about America’s future, which he believes will be the same as Europe’s. Still, while acknowledging that industrialization could eventually take over many natural regions, Cole is hopeful that nature will remain victorious, since it will still be predominant. Because of this, he advises the American people to take advantage of
The arrival of the six children wearing wrinkled clothes and half shut eyes ironically revived the empty ranch and brought life back into each and every crevice. The rusty gates creaked as they swung open, revealing the world of tall grass and herds of cattle hidden deep in the hills of Nevada. Two cars, filled to capacity, rolled up the dusty, dirt road leaving behind all sense of civilization. They arrived at night. Thousands of white lights illuminated the sky normally blanketed by the bright streets back home. The air smelled and felt fresh. The eerie quiet hid the sleeping animals, but because of the grinding gravel and anxious screams of joy, the children’s noise bounced between the mountain sides and awoke the farm. Both cars parked in front of the white picket fence lining the house and duffle bags dumped out the back of the SUV’s filled with sweaters, toiletries, pants, blankets and pretty much anything else they could fit. The strong, stocky fathers slung the bags over their shoulders and brought them inside, turned on the lights, and the outside world was forgotten as they admired the inside of their home for the week.
The airplane ride out to the village displayed beautiful sights. Just imagine looking out the window of the plane; your only view is the mountain tops which your eyes are level with. It feels as though you could just stretch your arms out and touch the lush foliage of the mountains. Vibrant greenery from head to toe, speckled with accents of pinks and yellows from the wide array of flowers that were growing an abundance. Finally, we could see the little village that consisted of several small huts made of wood with grass roofs. There was a longer hut that was