Chiyo's Transformation In 'Memoirs Of A Geisha'

In life, we are often deeply influenced by the people who surround us. Consider the age-old adage “Birds of a Feather Flock Together”; this familiar saying reminds us that, in life, we gravitate toward people who appeal to us, and those people can have a great impact on who we are and the choices we make. In Sandra Cisneros’ The House on Mango Street, Esperanza meets many women who play a role in her life. Some of the women impact her in negative ways, but others help her to see that she can make more of her life than what her Chicago neighborhood offers. Of all the women in Esperanza’s life, Esperanza is most influenced by her mother and Alicia because they teach her to rely on herself in order to escape Mango Street.

In the book The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros, Magdalena’s identity is shaped throughout her childhood by poverty, her hopes/desires, and disappointment.

Sally married young, “not ready but married just the same”(101). She grew up fast and traded her youth for a safer place, free from her father’s belt buckle. On Mango Street, we see many girls give up their childhood trying to move up in the world. When Esperanza takes a job to help support her family, she is sexually harassed at work. Sally loses her innocence in the Monkey’s Garden, kissing all the boys to get her keys back. Similar to Eve in the Garden of Eden, Sally can’t resist the opportunity to act older, so she gives up her adolescence. Many of the girls on Mango Street make this trade because they believe that to get out of the slums, they need to grow up and attract a man. When Esperanza explains Marin’s appeal, she states that, “Marin is already older than us in many ways”(27). On Mango Street, youth is often thrown off the boat first when girls are trying to lighten the load and stay above the water.

When society faces obstacles that are deemed a burden it is often forgotten that those same Experiences and tragedies often shape an individual's outlook on life and inspires personal growth from within. The Novel, The House on Mango Street reminds its readers that even in the worst of times there is still a lesson to be learned as seen through the eyes of a girl named, Esperanza. The coming of age story deals with dark underlying struggles blanketed in the innocent viewpoint of a child forced to grow up frighteningly quick. The main protagonist, a young Chicano girl, reminds the audience of the importance of learning from past experience in order to form an identity entirely based on the individuals own volition. Sandra Cisneros, The author of House on Mango Street, uses Esperanza's struggles caused by her race,gender, and economic status to instill the theme of identity.

This book views the Japanese folktale from a feminist standpoint, and rather than the main character being Momotaro, the story centers around Uriko-hime, the “melon princess”. Although the general storyline is the same as the original tale, author Sierra focuses more on the power of the female in her version. Instead of creating a sense of equality and respect between Uriko and her fellow warriors, Uriko is established as the leader of the force. When, for example, the group reach the land of the ogres and the ogres finally “saw Uriko and her miniscule companions, they laughed until their stomachs shook” (Sierra 18). As Uriko is only a young girl and her companions, such as the dog and monkey, are not particularly small in size, the use of the word “miniscule” implies that her companions are lesser in more ways than just mass. Compared to the ogres, the animals could be considered “miniscule,” but because Uriko is separated from this group, she is established as their leader, possessing more power and status, and is thus viewed as larger and more important than her companions. This minor change undermines one of the main goals of the original text – emphasizing the value of cooperation by showing that the group is more powerful than the

In The House on Mango Street, Sandra Cisneros creates the theme that when a young girl is growing up without role models and a community that doesn’t support her development, she will have uncertainty in her identity and will search for her way out of the endless cycle. Cisneros does this through the main character, Esperanza. Cisneros creatively weaves the uncertain identity though many of the vignettes, but the vignettes that have the strongest meaning are number one and four. In vignette one, “The House on Mango Street,” Esperanza describes the places that she’s lived before

There is evidence of physical, mental, psychological abuse described from an early age. An alcoholic Father, controlling Mother responsible for a series of abortions made against the will of Malaika. A husband who after physically abusing her, once separated becomes a vicuous stalker inducing a consistent fear. At the central part of the book, a man walks into Malaika's life, a charming man with an accent, a man who seemed foreign to her in many ways, he was kind to her, offered a sanctuary away from her tyrannical husband and family, a role model for her two daughters in the true meaning of a “Father”. It is no surprise to the reader when this knight in shining armour turns out to be too good to be true.

Providing the two heroines with strong and engaging personalities, the novel portrays the life of two young Chinese girls, who because of historical events and family secrets, have to grow up faster than what they had planned. The book delivers emotional themes that are powerful yet familiar, and is written in a compelling manner.

During the novel “Purple Hibiscus”, we witness the transformation of Kambili Achike from a silenced, repressed and wary girl into a more confident, mature and happy young woman. This change is brought upon by significant characters in the story, who help show Kambili how joyous the world can be and how she also has a place within this joyous world. And through this Kambili finds a way to slowly crack through her father’s hold over her and come into her own.

Cofer portrays the theme with the use of imagery to emphasize the ending of a childhood and a beginning of adapting to pre taught adult characteristics. “My dolls have been put away like dead/children in a chest I will carry/ with me when I marry…”(1-3) Cofer in the first three lines establishes an image to the reader of the girl, in this case putting her childhood in chest of dolls. The author, Cofer makes it quite clear that the girl will no longer have an existing childhood after her transition to “adulthood¨ as a young lady, although these images of her playing and having fun will no longer apply to her for she is no longer to be considered a child in the eyes of family members. Also, Cofer illustrates the imagery with life after the Quinceanera and the changes that come along with it.

Chiyoko represents the West’s neutral impact, while Yasuo represents the West’s negative impact. Mishima’s depiction of how long-established Japanese values and customs were altered by the United States’ involvement in Japan offers both a negative and positive viewpoint. Minor characters such as Yasuo and Chiyoko were created to symbolize the Western encroachment on Japan. The small island described in the novel is an allegory for the entire island chain of Japan. The author uses Uta-Jima to describe the West’s slow chipping away at the culture he held so

In Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Purple Hibiscus, one is introduced to the characters, Kambili and Jaja, whose lives are controlled by their authoritarian father, Eugene. As the novel progresses, these two characters are exposed to a world that is completely divergent to the one they know, one that significantly changes their perspective about life. The influence that their cousins, Amaka, Obiora and Chima have propels this change. Through carefully highlighting the cousins’ behaviours and personal agency, Adichie succeeds in presenting the change that Kambili and Jaja undergo as a result of the influence they have on them. This discussion will explore the roles that Amaka, Obiora and Chima play in Kambili and Jaja’s lives with close reference to particular actions by these characters and the significance that these actions have. Additionally, the discussion

Celie's transformation from Mr. ____'s slave into an independent women is successful thanks to two strong women that become role models for Celie in her everyday life; Shug Avery and Sofia. Sofia is a role model in a more unconscious way for Celie then Shug is. Sofia's whole appearance and behaviour is proud, she lets no one sit on her and Celie is, at first, jealous of Sofia's self-confidence and tries to destroy it by giving her husband Harpo the advice to beat her to make her obedient; "I think about this when Harpo ast me what he ought to do to make her mind. [---] I think bout how every time I jump when Mr. _____ call me, she [Sofia] look surprise. And like she pity me. Beat her. I say"2. When this does not work, Celie realises that Sofia is someone to become more alike, not someone to destroy.

However, two vibrant changes occur as the story progresses —Coyotito, his son, getting stung by a scorpion and Kino’s discovery of the pearl—broaden Kino’s horizons and outlook on the world. As Kino begins to strive for wealth and education for his son, the simplicity of his life becomes increasingly complicated by greed, conflict, and violence. Kino’s character then falls through a gradual decline from a state of innocence to a state of corruption and disillusionment. The factors promoting this decline are ambition and greed. Thus, when going got tough for Kinoo and he had to escape town he faced a lot of hardships, since he had to go into hiding and the only immediate help he had was from his brother. This had an adverse effect on his personality as he became increasingly negative, given the way he hit his wife shows how the pearl preoccupied his mind to such a great extent that he grew indifferent to everything else as evil and restlessness eloped him. In addition to these social changes, Kinoo, after attaining the pearl was on the move to gain economic sustenance, but not being able to find the right price to sell his pearl got him feeling even more uncertain and disappointed but he continued to strive and was reluctant to give up because he wanted everything in his reach for his son, who he consequently ended up losing in the

The director Miyazaki utilizes both physical and visual elements as represented by the characters, in order to communicate and individualize unique character traits and contrasting personalities. Miyazaki’s placing emphasis on character development is a significant aspect of not only the narrative, but also asserts how each gender is represented in a different way.