Andre Dubus III's House of Sand and Fog Essay

The story of House of Sand and Fog in the film is similar to the novel, but some of the novel’s nuances are lost in the film because of the director’s vision of the story and movie constraints. Even with that movies tries to stay very close to the novel. The novel and movie is about a Persian man, Mr. Behrani, and his family is forced to leave their home country due to political strife go America, and while in America they try to maintain their lifestyle that had been accustomed too. This leads them to use up almost all their money and man of the house has to save his family from poverty, and he invests a house that was stolen by the government. The original owner, Kathy, wants the house back, but which cause her to make a series of irrational decisions that lead to her and the Behranis downfall. Comparing the movie to the novel is hard because of something certain thing being change and cut to better suit the director’s vision and a visual medium.

In the 1999 novel Andre Dubus III the plot revolves around three characters Massoud Behrani, as an Iranian expatriate ex-military colonel following the Iranian Revolution. Behrani ends up working as garbage collector and a convenience store clerk since he had no any other professional experience except military. Kathy Nicolo, an emotionally unstable and former drug addict abandoned by her husband evicted from her home as a result of unpaid taxes. Then police Deputy Lester Burdon who is caught in between trying to help Kathy reclaim her house which was purchased by Massoud through auction. In the novel Dubus expounds in depth into the characters' nerves. One can see the characters

Throughout the novel “House of Sand and Fog” by Andre Dubus III, the recurring theme of alienation takes its toll on the lives of the two main characters: Kathy and Behrani. We see how the isolation of both characters not only has an effect on them, but also on the lives of others who matter most to them. Alienation is the act of being withdrawn or isolated from a life in which one is accustomed or should be accustomed to. The incidents of alienation demonstrated in the novel include, the relationship between each character and their families, Behrani and his family being forced out of their home country and living in America, and Kathy getting evicted from her family house. As we see these events occur throughout the book, we also learn that both characters will do whatever it takes to claim ownership of what they both call home. This drawn-out battle over a piece of property ends up putting Kathy along with Lester behind bars, and with Behrani losing his son in the process.

A third-person narration story is a separation or indirect involvement of a narrator with the action of a story, and this type of narration can influence the content and the theme of a story. A third-person storyteller can sometimes be all-seeing, also known as omniscient, or they can be limited meaning to adhere firmly to the viewpoint of a specific character or characters. Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” and Kurt Vonnegut Jr.’s “Harrison Bergeron” are two good examples of third-person point of view stories. These two stories give the authors the liberty to influence their content and theme across to readers using third-person narration without being biased.

In “House of Sand and Fog”, Dubus uses repetition to emphasize some of the characters’ notable traits. One example occurs when Massoud Behrani was advised by Torez (an Iranian friend) that he would be beaten up by the lazy Panamanian if Massoud commanded the man to do work, and Massoud responded by emphasizing his role as a powerful colonel, “‘I was a colonel, Mr.Torez. I was a colonel in the Imperial Air Force. Do you know this, Mr.Torez? I was a colonel’”

The research that I have conducted over this semester on the great dismal swamp maroon communities shows how significant the great dismal swamp was for escaped slaves. Each blog shows how unique the great dismal swamp is in terms of maroon communities around the world. The Primary and Secondary sources that were in the last two entries show why the swamp is perfect geographically and what purpose it served for those around it and within it. The Great Dismal Swamp Maroon Communities are historically unique in US History because they were such a prominent feature in events that happened in our country’s first 100 years.

The novel House of Sand and Fog, written by Andrew Dubus III, is a story about how society, events from the past and present situations can affect people’s persona, anima/animus, shadow and self which eventually influences their decisions about life. Dubus explores the conflict between two completely different people with opposite persona. Colonel Masoud Behrani, once a wealthy man in Iran, is now a struggling immigrant willing to bet everything he has to restore his family’s dignity. Kathy Nicolo is a troubled young woman whose house is all she has left, and who refuses to let her hard-won stability slip away from her. These two characters are drawn by their competing desires to the same small house and domed by their tragic inability to

Finally, the reader is introduced to the character around whom the story is centered, the accursed murderess, Mrs. Wright. She is depicted to be a person of great life and vitality in her younger years, yet her life as Mrs. Wright is portrayed as one of grim sameness, maintaining a humorless daily grind, devoid of life as one regards it in a normal social sense. Although it is clear to the reader that Mrs. Wright is indeed the culprit, she is portrayed sympathetically because of that very lack of normalcy in her daily routine. Where she was once a girl of fun and laughter, it is clear that over the years she has been forced into a reclusive shell by a marriage to a man who has been singularly oppressive. It is equally clear that she finally was brought to her personal breaking point, dealing with her situation in a manner that was at once final and yet inconclusive, depending on the outcome of the legal investigation. It is notable that regardless of the outcome, Mrs. Wright had finally realized a state of peace within herself, a state which had been denied her for the duration of her relationship with the deceased.

In the same manner, Tommy is self-aware that his tantrums set him apart from other kids. Because of this, “negative [effects] ensue” causing him to hit Kathy, but only governs him to the point where he is able to embody humanity: the ability to learn from one’s mistakes. Tommy’s relationship with Kathy is further intensified when both come back from Kingsfield and Tommy states that Kathy fails to understand what it means to be a donor. Despite the disagreement, Kathy states that, “[She is] sorry [she] blew up at [Tommy] earlier. [She]’ll talk to them. [She]’ll try and see to it [Tommy] gets someone really good” (Ishiguro 259). Kathy reflects on her inability to control fate and recognizes that she cared for Tommy when nobody would. In addition, Kathy still deeply cares for Tommy, yet she is conscious of how distressed she will be if she continues to care for a loved one that is about to pass. Not to mention, she acknowledges that her strength is to be a carer and understands that although Tommy perceives her as the best carer, it is ultimately best to save that energy to also take care of

Elia Kazan’s film Gentleman’s Agreement, a story by Laura Z. Hobson, portrays the tale of a journalist, Phil Schuyler Green, who had recently relocated to New York City from California with his family to work for a popular magazine and write a series on anti-Semitism in the U.S. after WWII. Before fully committing to the series Phil meets Kathy Lacey, the niece of the publisher and the brains behind the idea of the series. The two immediately began dating. Though Green struggled with the idea of working on such a controversial series, he finally commits to the idea after having to explain what anti-Semitism was to his son, Tommy. After a long ordeal, he understands he must approach the series not with statistics, but by humanizing the situation

As the final scenes of the story begin to unfold, the reader is left open to interpretation. The reader gets ever so close to revealing the relationship between Changez and his guest; however, Hamid concludes the novel leaving behind a trail of frustration and ambiguity. This not only gives the reader the task of constructing the conclusion to however he or she sees fit, but also to understand the human connection that is apparent between these two people. The ending is foreshadowed through symbols and characters throughout the course of the novel.

Taking place in the future, Watney first expresses to the reading audience his frustration and the situation he is enduring. The first page tells the reader different segments of Watney's characterization. Watney begins to reveal to the reading audience the events leading up to his

She wanted to be a role model for her children and at the same time, she wanted to become friend with them. Helen valued education, and she wanted Julie to go to college and have a successful life. However, after she found out that Julie had secretly being together with Tod, the poor, unambitious man. She was disappointed, betrayed, sad. Julie moved out of Helen’s home. Later, when Helen found out that Julie and her husband Tod had nowhere to live, she let them move in with her. She is a permissive parent, yet, she cares about her children, provides them as much support as she can. Helen stayed calm when Gary told her he wanted to live with his dad for a while. I can see her heart was bleeding when she heard her son’s words. She gave Gary his father’s phone number anyway, and Gary talked to his dad over the phone and figured out the cruel fact that his dad didn’t care for them anymore. Helen wanted to comfort Gary but he refused to talk. I felt Helen’s guilt and desperation at that moment. After she broke into Gary’s room and found out that Gary was carrying the bag that contains pornography, she immediately asked Tod’s help to talk to Gary. She had a chance to talk to Tod and had learned that Tod came from a broken family. She had a better idea of who Tod was and his help to Gary gained Helen’s respect. Helen supported Tod and helped her daughter Julie overcame the tough situation in marriage. Helen

Each chapter of this novel is written in the third person limited point of view of various characters. In this volume, there are eight main character that tell their stories.

After Tommy's death Kathy daydreams "I have closed my eyes and imagined this was the spot where everything I'd ever lost since my childhood had washed up, and I was now standing here in front of it, and if I waited long enough, a tiny figure would appear on the horizon across the field and gradually get larger until I'd see it was Tommy, and he'd wave, and maybe even call. The fantasy never got beyond that- I didn't let it" Kathy from the grief of losing her lover and with her personal experience of absences of hope and dreams create a barrier. Ishiguro's creates this barrier to reveal how Kathy is very authentic and has human wants and needs even though is a clone used for her organs to cure others. She tries to restrain herself from daydreaming but she lives in her past memories. This is due to her acceptance of not thinking about the lack of time her and Tommy had hoped for. Furthermore, it reduces her fear of death and incapability to confront her path of life, so she decides to take comfort in her childhood and find