Character Analysis: Undine Spragg and Elmer Moffat

Christopher Reeve once said, "A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles." (“Christopher Reeve.”) The quote is remarkable. The strong and mighty Superman spoke it himself…but nowhere in the quote does it say that a hero must be strong and mighty like Superman was. This quote can apply to anybody, evident by its use of the word “ordinary”. Throughout the semester, I had the opportunity to develop an opinion on what I would consider a ‘strong female character.’ Eventually, one teenage female came to mind. Her name is Callie and she appears on the popular television series, The Fosters. Even though many may say that Callie is an irrational teenager because of her choices,

Both Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter and Edith Wharton’s Ethan Frome provide an insight into the moral ideas that have shaped New England. One major theme of The Scarlet Letter that helps to portray this is the theme of Puritanism. The religious nature of the morality shaped the society’s reaction to Hester’s affair. A major theme of Ethan Frome that helps to portray this is the theme of duty and morality vs. desire. Ethan feels he has a moral duty to remain with his wife, Zeena, even though he truly desires to run away with Mattie. The ideas of morality presented in The Scarlet Letter and Ethan Frome are similar in that they both portray adultery as greatly immoral; however, they differ in the reason behind these ideas of morality.

Through Wes Moore’s The Other Wes Moore, the author tells the story of himself and another man with the same name and a strikingly similar upbringing. In chapter 6 it is revealed that the parental and authority figures in both their lives greatly affected and shaped who they became. By comparing and contrasting the tough choices they made, complications they face at home and at school, and their new authoritative positions, the author uses the two Wes Moore’s lives in Chapter 6 to appeal to pathos, allowing the reader to feel a connection with each character and develop an understanding of both Moore’s accomplishments and hardships.

“The Other Wes Moore” is a book written by Wes Moore. This story is based on him and another boy who grew up with the same name, Wes Moore. In this book he explains both his and the other Wes Moore’s childhood. Both of them had a similar childhood and experienced some of the same things. They both grew up without fathers, got involved in drugs, violence, and lived in poverty. Despite having the same circumstances one Wes Moore went to military school and turned his whole life around while the other ended up in prison for the rest of his life. Was this because of fate or was one Wes Moore more determined than the other? Neither. We all have the free will

The main idea in West Moore's novel, “The Other Wes Moore” is about the different paths that people take, despite going through similar events. Author Wes Moore founded a homogeneous circumstance between himself and the Other Wes Moore, who was in prison for convicted criminals. The Other Wes Moore and Author Wes Moore both experienced a tough childhood. They both grew up in downtown Baltimore and was raised by single mother. Succumbed to their curiosity, they both got involved with drugs; however, individually, they ended up taking different roads towards their future. Author Wes Moore became a successful business leader and juxtaposed to Other Wes Moore, he was sentenced to life in prison for robbery. The novel is presented to us that tragedies

Being a troubled young man from the slums of Baltimore, the other Wes Moore grew and lived in what was around him. When you grow up in the negativity surrounding you, the average person will become a product of their environment or surroundings. Trouble and habit become all you know and once you’re indulged in that kind of lifestyle it becomes harder and harder to stray away from it. The other Wes’ life ended up negatively because of the poor decisions he made as well as the negative environment he grew up in.

“I love you, and I am proud of you, And, Wes, it’s time to stop running,” (96). In The Other Wes Moore the author shares how he became so successful, and for that, he owes his mother. His mother, Joy, was the most important role model in his life.

Novelist Edith Wharton wrote her defining work, 1905's the House of Mirth, on a subject she knew all too well: the style-over-substance realm of New York's upper-crust society during the Gilded Age. Having been raised in this "fashionable" society, Wharton knew both its intricacies and cruelties firsthand. The triumphant rise and tragic fall of protagonist Lily Bart demonstrate both the "sunshine and shadow" of the Gilded Age. The House of Mirth not only exposes the reality of how "the other half live," but also satirizes and condemns their elitist existence.

After Duddy graduates from school, he is lead further astray by his peers in his apprenticeship. The McGill boys whom Duddy works with at Rubin’s Hotel teach him to be ruthless by playing pranks on the young boy. Irwin, without much conscience himself, not only makes life miserable for Duddy, but also enlists his girlfriend Linda to cheat Duddy at his roulette game. Losing his entire summer savings, Duddy realizes the truth about Linda and says to her, "I thought you went out with me because you liked me. Boy, was I ever a sucker." (94) While working in Uncle Benjy’s dress factory, Thérèse encourages Duddy to follow Adèle into the washroom, thus getting the young girl into trouble. This sets in motion the part of Duddy’s apprenticeship that deals with women. Mr. Friar is right when he says Duddy is "callow…he hasn’t the first notion of how to treat a woman." (163) Yvette is crippled in that she is submissive like many of Duddy’s peers. She suffers verbal abuse from Duddy such as "you little fool" (98) and knows that he is using her to buy land, as he is underage. When Yvette mentions romance, Duddy laughs, "I don’t get it. Imagine guys getting married and tying themselves down to one single broad for a whole lifetime when there’s just so much

Natalie Sterling, a seventeen year old senior at Ross Academy had just won class president and beat her opponent Mike Domski. Mike was the kind of guy that Natalie and her best friend Autumn tried to stay away from. The girls at Ross Academy were known as demeaning and “boy crazy.” One day, during the pep rally a bunch of freshman dressed in trampy clothing and started to dance inappropriately. The leader’s name was Spencer a girl Natalie used to babysit for. The flirty freshman called themselves “Prostitutes” or Ross Academy prostitutes. Not only was Natalie embarrassed and angry by Spencers action but, she was disappointed. When the principal and Ms. Bee the student council head were talking to the girls punishments Natalie barged in. Natalie explained how she wanted to have a lock-in for all the girls in trouble and any others from school who wanted to come, about feminism and women's rights. Ms. Bee and Natalie agreed that it would be a good idea for

Because of Wharton's slight deviation from naturalistic conventions, a literary debate exists among critics as to the validity of viewing The House of Mirth as a novel which embodies

Francis Scott Fitzgerald and Edith Wharton authored novels that take place in America around the beginning of the nineteenth century. In both This Side of Paradise and The House of Mirth, the authors paint the protagonists as imprisoned. This is a criticism of the society that they live in and is represented in the authors’ use of imagery, characterization, and the motif of social standing.

Edith Wharton's The House of Mirth creates a subtle, ironic, and superbly crafted picture of the social operation of turn-of-the-century New York. In her harsh expression of community, she succeeds in portraying a world of calculation operating under the pretenses of politeness. The characters become competitors in the highly complex game of social positioning with an amorphous body of socially formed laws. Through her presentation of Lily Barton's ongoing struggles to "recover her footing-each time on a slightly lower level" in this game of skill, Wharton forces her audience to question this social order (272). Lily's fate gives way to a satirical commentary on how a social order governed by convention, sanctions, beliefs, and

In “The Journey to the West,” the monk was accompanied by Pigsy, the Sha Monk, the Handsome Monkey King, and the horse. Each of these supporting characters possess a certain magical ability that assisted the monk on his journey, additionally they had their own flaws. This contrasts the monk, which has no magical ability and was devoted buddhism. The strengths, weaknesses, and backgrounds of these supporting characters encapsulate the idea of buddhism throughout the novel, and by including them and Xuanzang the book is able to summarize the idea of buddhism.

Throughout Derek Landy’s book “Skulduggery Pleasant: Scepter of the Ancients”, there are many conflicts presented which affect the main characters in many ways. The majority of the main conflicts in the book are external. For example; the primary conflict of “Skulduggery Pleasant: Scepter of the Ancients” concerns Nefarian Serpine’s plan to retrieve the Scepter of the Ancients and to use the Scepter to bring the Faceless Ones back and to eradicate mankind. Serpine’s intents and actions are outside of the control of Valkyrie Cain, the main character. Valkyrie Cain, however, did succeed in dealing with the conflicts presented to her as, at the end of the book, we find Serpine dead and the Scepter out of commission. Nevertheless, Valkyrie owes