Character Analysis Of That Was Then: This Is Now By S. E. Hilton

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’

The Thread that Runs So True is about the experiences of one man by the name of Jesse Stuart. He tells you of when he was an educator in rural Kentucky in the early 1900’s.

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.

“If you make a sound, I’ll stick this knife in you.” (62) In the novel Cue for Treason by Geoffrey Trease, it displays the determined, caring, and gallant adolescent Kit Kirkstone or Katherine Russell. Kit dresses up like a male to pursue a career in acting, some would say. However this young girl may be small but she has a strong voice.

Is competition allowed in a friendship? Or should two friends be just friends or just rivals. According to many studies, competition is healthy for a friendship. It allows for a group of friends to push each other and get better. But what if there was a friend who took the competition to heart and viewed the friendship more like a rivalry? In John Knowles, A Separate Peace, the protagonist, Gene Forrester, and his best friend, Finny, grow from a great friendship to a full out rivalry. Can a friendship be a rivalry?

The book True Notebooks by Mark Salzman highlights what our youth behind bars are going through while waiting for decisions on their lives to be made. Two interesting characters that stood out the most to me happened to be Mr. Mark Salzman because he embarked on an incredible journey of finding himself while helping others at the same time and Kevin Jackson who grew as a person throughout the book. Mr. Salzman’s character grew a lot from a man who was afraid of entering the steps of juvenile hall into a role model for the incarnated youth. While on the other hand, Kevin Jackson’s character grew from a shyboy to somebody who became very expressive of himself and appreciative of things around him. An article that helped me better understand Mr. Salzman’s charcter and Jackson’s was Synthesized Macsunlties by Victor Rios from our unit two reading due to the fact I was given an insight on Salzman’s and Jackson’s character traits.

The difference of bullying and being a bully, isn 't as simple as it appears to be. S.E. Hinton’s second novel titled, That was Then this is Now is a mature disciplined novel sharing the “Voice of the Youth” according to the New York Times and other raving reviews. The story follows Bryon and his friend Mark whom are “as close as brothers.” Things change in the two characters lives, Bryon is growing up and spending a lot of time with girls, thinking about seriously, who he want to be. Mark, on the other hand, has always lived for the thrill of life’s moments. The two start to divert from each other, while still holding onto the brotherly like love they still have—until Bryon finds

In Lorraine's Hansberry A Raisin In The Sun. Walter wants to make money to support his family. He wants money because he thinks it makes him a “man”. How ever when his money is stolen, Walter’s perceptions of manhood shifts from valuing wealth and power to valuing family and pride.

In this short story by Tim O’Brien, Lieutenant Jimmy cross leads a platoon of men in the Vietnam War. Unable to keep his thoughts from his unrequited love interested, Martha, Cross allowed his platoon to become lax in their duties and mentally removed from the war. The conflict arises when one of his men, Ted Lavender, is killed on a mission. The conflict is resolved when Lieutenant Cross abandons his youthful fantasy world for the reality of the war he is living in. Cross finds new purpose in the vigilant leadership of his men.

While Watchman and Raisin come from different backgrounds they are similar because they take place during the same time period that deals with gender roles and family. During this time in the 1950’s it was not usual for the women to stay home and the men be the head of the house. Although when times were rough family is always there for support.

Consequently, he recalled the way his family was split by social workers and a teacher who always watered down his dream of becoming a

In the play “A Raisin in the Sun” written by Lorraine Hansberry, she is able to take us to place to see what it was like for an African American family to survive in the mid-twentieth century. The play details how the main characters are going through an evolving social and economic position, as well as the evolving gender roles. Hansberry uses the characterization of Beneatha, Ruth, and Walter in order to show the expectations and assigned gender roles for the characters in the story. In short, Beneatha is depicted as a woman who is challenging gender norms and expectations upheld by her family, whereas Ruth is seen as an example of a submissive housewife fulfilling her expected duties. Using “A Raisin in the Sun,” as well as “Marxists

In A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, Walter Younger wants to be a “real man”. His dream is to become successful in business and make his family rich. However, when all his money is stolen, he becomes very pessimistic, abandoning the ideas of morality and dignity. At the end of the play, his son Travis inspires him to value his family’s pride over materialism. Over the course of the play, Walter’s view of manhood changes from someone wealthy and successful to a person who has pride and believes in human dignity.

This scholarly article released by The English Journal and written by Donna Neumann, examines the roles of each character in the novel. To begin her article, Neumann briefly summarizes the plot of the novel, describing the tensions built between the white and Japanese citizens of Amity Harbor. Afterward, she analyzes each character individually, first comparing Carl Jr. to his father, and then describing contrasting Ishmael and his father. While examining Kabuo, Neumann describes him as, “A mysterious mixture of pride and humility, of strength and inscrutability.”

In A Raisin in the Sun, by Lorraine Hansberry, the Younger family is trying to achieve the American Dream, which is “the ideals of freedom, equality, and opportunity traditionally held to be available to every American”(cite dictionary.com). The Youngers are a black family living in a poor part of Chicago. They inherit ten thousand dollars because Mama’s husband died. Mama is the matriarch of the Younger family. Each family member has their own idea about how to use this money to fulfill their dreams, and the play uses the decisions of the family members and other characters to show the reader that people’s actions are not always motivated by what they appear to be. Mama wants to use the money to buy a house in a white neighborhood, because she thinks it is a better environment for her family than their current living conditions and will benefit her family. Although there are a number of people in A Raisin in the Sun who appear too want to help the Younger family, Mama shows through her decision to buy the house that she is the only person that is looking out for the best interests of her family.