The book I am reading right now addresses broader social issues with statements as" [o]ne thing I do know is that it makes me wonder if I have “problems at home” but it seems to me that a lot of other people have it a lot worse" (Chbosky 5) and "[y]ou know ... a lot of kids at school hate their parents. Some of them got hit. And some of them got caught in the middle of wrong lives. Some of them were trophies for their parents to show the neighbors like ribbons or gold stars. And some of them just wanted to drink in peace. For me personally, as much as I don’t understand my mom and dad and as much as I feel sorry or both of them sometimes, I can’t help but love them very much" (Chbosky 13). These social issues are addressed in the narrator's
The first passage reveals the parallel suffering occurring in the lives of different members of the family, which emphasizes the echoes between the sufferings of the father and the narrator. The narrator’s father’s despair over having watched
Parenting played a big role in shaping the two boys lives. Having a parental mentor is important because they assist and guide children to take the right decisions about their lives. The author had his two parents at the beginning of his life. Also, the author’s parents, especially his mother, tried to raise him in an effective way wanting him to know the right from wrong at an early age. “No mommy loves you, like I love you, she just wants you to do the right thing” (Moore 11). This quote was a live example of the author’s life with his parents. It reflected the different ways his parents used to teach him “the right thing.” Though his mother was upset from his action toward his sister, his father
¨Parents act so strong for us, that we often forget just how fragile they are.¨ As we grow we often find ourselves not spending as much of our free time with our parents as we had when we could barely speak a sentence without having bad grammar. This maturing state is something all of us experience. We become more interactive with sports, friends, relationships, and we forget who gave us this wonderful life. In the following stories of ¨ The Passage¨, ¨Through the Tunnel¨ , and ¨American History¨ the author utilizes dialogue to indicate the disconnection from their parents in the journey to adulthood.
Conflict was used effectively in the short story to reveal the theme of the story. The boy has an internal conflict about which parent to stay with, and because his father left, he seemed to have favored him. He wanted him back so badly that every night, he watches him on the six o’clock news while wearing his old jackets. He was blinded by his father’s sudden departure that he forgot about what is really important. Additionally, another development in the short story’s conflict has been used effectively to reveal the theme. When the boy went to Macdonald’s to see his father’s true colors, he thought: “I finished my drink quickly, thankful that he had to be back in the studio for the news.” By the time he saw his dad for the first time in a while, he knew he was not the man he thought he was. At that moment, he also realized that he lost sight of what he had all this time: His mother’s unconditional love. If it wasn’t for the characterization of
Society’s Impact on Our Lives In the books Under The Never Sky, by Veronica Rossi, and Margot, by Jillian Cantor, society has a huge impact on the lives of the main characters: Margie, Aria, and Perry. These books are very different, however, they have one similarity: society’s impact on the characters changes their lives drastically. In Under the Never Sky, Aria and Perry are forced to become allies in order to fight their society and government that has treated them horrible in very different ways.
“Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin and “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman are two stories that reveal the consequences of individual suffering. These consequences include estranging relationships, bitter behavior, and even illness, addiction, or death. Throughout each of these stories, Sonny and John’s wife, known as the narrator of “The Yellow Wallpaper”, continue to suffer due to John’s and Sonny’s brother’s, known as the narrator of “Sonny’s Blues”, failure to meet obligations and familial compassion. Neither the narrator in “Sonny’s Blues” nor the husband, John, in “The Yellow Wallpaper” serve as the villains of the stories, however, I believe we are able to see how both their inabilities to effectively
When Kevin sees his father almost dying, he begins to think of the fatherless children in the world. He extends grace towards fathers in general by thinking how important a role they play in a child’s life, regardless of the mistakes that they might make. After thinking about fathers in general, he then thinks about his own father and as Bailey puts it, “ The caring-the carefulness-which was the belief in holding on to something worth preserving and passing on. Love. Kevin felt the tide of emotion that had been at its lowest ebb flowing back into him again. He looked to his Dad”. (259-260). Instead of remaining angry at his Dad for previous conflicts or for accidentally shooting his brother, Kevin extends grace to his Dad when he chooses instead to think and remember about all the love and caring his father has ever shown him. When he begins to feel that love for his father, his emotions pick up and that gives him the grace to keep on going without emotionally breaking down.
life as a human: “she licked her father’s hand and kissed his palm, could not hold back her tears,
Throughout the entire world there are issues with our societies brought upon by the lack of clear thinking and/or compassion. Many of these issues may not be problems necessarily but just topics discussed when the word “issue” is brought up. One can clearly compare our society to the society described in Aldous Huxley’s novel Brave New World. In this novel the society Huxley has created is meant to be a utopia, made up of a hierarchy known as the caste system. Social classes in both societies create issues due to the fact that everyone has always had different standings in society.
“Love and Honour and Pity and Pride and Compassion and Sacrifice”, focuses on the relationship between the protagonist, who is referred to as ‘Child’, and his father, referred to as ‘Ba’. The opening story follows the protagonist as he is struggling to overcome writers block, whilst dealing with his estranged Vietnamese father who is visiting. A number of flashbacks are used as a literary device to divulge into the protagonists past with his father as well as the fathers past. This reveals, not only an abusive past with his father, but also his father’s memories of the Vietnam war. It becomes clear that the son makes excuses for his father, with his girlfriend Linda also noting this, “I think you’re making excuses for him…You’re romanticising his past to make sense of the things you said he did to you” (pp.20). The protagonist reflects this himself, making the excuse that “he was a soldier” (pp.13), and that is why his father treated him as he did. The protagonist, despite once being able to admit to Linda that his father abused him, can no longer admit this, as his relationship with his father grows, and it can be argued that he is willing to overlook his past in an attempt to reconcile with his father. “It was too much these words, and what connected to them” (pp.13).
Southern gothic literature underscores the unpleasant aspects of southern culture. These issues are exposed through grotesque characters, including those who are physically deformed, mentally deficient, or deeply flawed. Many of the characters struggle to make sense of the surrounding world and find a place in society. Southern gothic authors are iconoclasts, criticizing southern culture and revealing the anti-social idiosyncrasies of humanity, especially in the face of difficulty. Among these authors is William Faulkner, who is often recognized for his exceptional southern gothic style.
Several things that happen in this book are a result of what the father and son do in their relationships for
Continuing to read this story I found more situations relatable. The argument between the mother and the children made me think of my mother and I fighting. We disagreed a great deal, but we always resolve our conflict. At the end of the day, she is my mother and I am her daughter, and family sticks together. The mother hiked with no pants, and unknowingly loses one of her loafers in the snow. The children assisted her with the search for it, but ended up creating her a shoe from their hats and scarfs. The existing love the children shared for their mother conqured the dismay they previously felt for her. That’s how it was for my mother and me. The love was not always visible but it was still present.
In order to avoid problems in their communities and being called out for being different, people tend to fall to propriety. This is evident throughout history as people follow the social norms established by an authority, a religion, or traditional beliefs. These powerful entities continue to dominate our American society today as many people continue to fear change and social repercussions due to their unique ideology about the world and its issues. However, throughout history, non-conformist people have challenged the social norms and the entities that establish them and continue to do so to this day through counter-culture movements such as the Civil Rights, the Gay Rights, and the Black Lives Matter movements. In American Literature, many authors such as Hans Christian Anderson and Harper Lee have stated their perspective about a myriad of topics related to our world. Anderson and Lee both state their views about the world in their novels by employing children as main characters that hold the world’s wisdom since children are the hope for a bright future and they are careless about social norms and conformity.
Children should never be ashamed of their parents, but it happens more than people would like to believe. The main point is that this specific story is so relatable and very different than the ones read this year by the class. The story itself gives the reader an appeal to emotion because some of the audience is