David Mamet

Though this character changes drastically throughout the extent of the play, one consistency is the idea that change can be a good thing, as long as it is embraced rather than

In David Mamet's essay "The Rake: A Few Scenes from My Childhood" he reminisces to a time in his childhood filled with abuse, neglect, and altogether toxic behavior. This essay is not only based on the author’s childhood memories, but also Mamet’s sister. The story beings with Mamet describing their kitchen, specifically, the family’s dinner table. The kitchen or “the nook” seems to be not only the essence but also the undoing of the family. Throughout the entire story, neither the boy nor his sister feels safe in the midst of their home. Constantly being blamed for whatever goes wrong within their household (around dinner time especially), they reluctantly endure living with their mother and stepfather. The suffering within their home is evident

changing attitudes toward life and the other characters in the play, particularly the women; and his reflection on the

“The most memorable characters in fiction are not people most of us would choose as our friends” (Allen 1). Readers find it intriguing to learn about a character that lacks predictability: they could do no wrong in one scene, then turn around and become a backstabbing liar in the next. The same characteristics that would not make the best of friends. Irregularity makes a character and the story, for that matter, interesting. Abigail Williams from The Crucible develops into a character that readers love to hate. Her anger, her cunning, her passion, every twist and turn she brings throughout the play brings fascination with it. She would not be an especially remarkable candidate for a best friend, however, but it perusers find it extremely easy to remember her. Abigail exhibits memorability not because of the qualities that prove a good friend, but because of her intransigence, her passion, her accusatory behavior, and her manipulation.

There are many young aged kids and teens who experience bullying, some of them bullied for their appearance, some for their popularity status, and others surprisingly let themselves. However, it’s pretty doubtful anyone really knows why a kid would let themselves be bullied. Author Gary Soto developed a short story called “Fear” designating bullying with no specific theme but made to feel the anxiety or agitation of its presence of danger, pain, and evil. This author's breathtaking story is about a young 5th-grade boy named Frankie T. (F.T) with many things gone wrong in his family/life. Those things turned him to be a bully and later someone who would drown their own brother in a pool, and beat a woman with a lengthened pipe in a burglary years later. Frankie T. is an interesting character that can be better understood by examining his Character Traits, Contributing Factors, and his Motivations.

David Sedaris tells an anecdotal story about his childhood struggle with a speech impediment in his essay, “Go Carolina” from his book, Me Talk Pretty One Day. His witty and good natured humor is apparent throughout the essay but is significantly emphasized in regards to his sexual identity which he chooses to take a comedic approach towards as he writes about his childhood experiences. Sedaris’s use of humor, anecdotal evidence, military diction and hidden dark tones all add depth and interest to his story by grabbing the readers interest and revealing depth of character through the images he creates with his descriptions.

that he is daft and why later on in the play why he is not well liked.

Each character in the play and movie has a special characteristic about them. For example, Stanley is portrayed as the head of the household, who is easily ticked when the females do not listen to him. He is an alcoholic, who is abusive to his wife and he rapes

Mr Neal is presented throughout the text as a very cut-throat sexist man who only cares about himself. His character build up throughout the play makes people sympathize the people Mr Neal attacks and is not it favor of.

What do you find most troubling about this character and why? Do you understand and respect the choices your character makes? Why or why not?

“Remembering My Childhood on the Continent of Africa” is a juxtaposition of author David Sedaris’s experiences growing up in North Carolina and his friend Hugh’s experiences growing up in various places in the continent of Africa. In this satirical piece, Sedaris’s jealousy is obvious of his friend’s exotic upbringing in Africa, but Hugh experiences tragic events during his childhood in Africa, such as seeing a man hanging from a telephone pole and living apart from his family for an extended amount of time. His jealousy is used to teach readers that everyone longs for another lifestyle that is different from his own even if they have moments of danger and gloom, but people need to appreciate what they already have. Sedaris humorously describes

What is your view of this complex character and how would a contemporary Shakespearean audience have responded to him?

portrayed him in this way. It is vital the believability and credit to the play

High schooler Kenneth Weishuhn Jr. took his own life because he was being bullied by his fellow classmates and online.The classmates were sending death threats to his phone.When Kenneth first started being bullied it was through an anti-gay Facebook group. Kenneth’s classmates were the ones who created the group about Kenneth being gay. The high schooler’s mother was aware of Kenneth being bullied, and he told her she does not know how it feels to be hated. All of the hate towards Kenneth started when he came out to the people he trusted. The people Kenneth trusted were the ones that turned their back on him and went against him. Most people joined in on the ruckus and most did not say anything because they were to afraid (“Kenneth”). Teens

• What are the characters’ emotions, attitudes, and behaviors? What do these indicate to the reader about the character?