Devil In The Details Summary

explores. They are also themes that she found in the Genesis narrative of Adam and Eve in

. . . Her writing is about the existential struggle with the principle of destruction traditionally called the Devil" (Contemporary Authors 403).

The speaker is thinking in a childish manner, caught dwelling on how her “wool winter suit scratched.” (Shore 2) and the idiosyncrasies of her mother. Her attention is consistently darting from object to object, unable to relax her thoughts. Further into the text, feelings of doubt and skepticism emerge. When thinking that she is the chosen one, she questions God’s intentions. “Why would God choose me. . .” (Shore 57) she asks herself. The speaker wonders how could someone so seemingly insignificant and feeble lead a congregation to victory? Then, once feeling empowered by the possibility of her being able to defend her people, a tone of acceptance arises. She gains self-pride and confidence knowing that she is capable of interpreting what is occurring around her. As a Jew, she is aware of what her faith requires of her yet is unsure of how to approach them. During her visit at the synagogue, she began pondering about these responsibilities and how she should fulfill them, thus resulting in the chain of events that led to the acceptance of her obligations to her religion.

In her earlier years, Kathy found herself divorced with an infant son working fifty hours a week. “….her life was a struggle, and she was looking for some order and answers.”(Eggers 61). Kathy started becoming disheartened by the preacher at her evangelical church she was attending for the congregation 's lack of charitable donations. She began talking to her lifelong friend Yuko who also was raised Christian about her concerns and questions. “disappointed with the aspects of Christianity she knew, in some of the things she’d seen”. (64). She felt disgraced for not being listened and understood by her pastor (66). They both realized that Islam and Christianity were quite similar “So by fits and starts; she followed Yuko into Islam.” (66). Kathy was initially ignorant about Islam faith, and her conversion was inspired by curiosity and intellectual capability rather than the religious beliefs. "...she assumed Syria was entirely Muslim, but she was wrong about this and so many things..." (192

She is a very "typical" Jewish Person, she was born into the religion, and have raised her children in a

Leah, the tomboy of the family, opposes her father's mission and finds out the true man he really is; this changes her opinion towards religion. Leah puts forth tremendous effort to be accepted by her father, however then realizes that her father is an "ugly man." She sees that her father's "blue eyes with their left sided squint..had a vacant look. His large reddish ears repelled me. My father was a simple, ugly man." When Leah was younger she practiced religion based on her father's perspective, however after making the realization of her father's true colors, she chooses to practice her religion. Leah follows the path of the

She is a person that took every day as it came to her and did what was necessary in order for her to survive. There was no shame in her trying to obtain happiness by keeping her cousin as a lover, nor killing an unborn child to keep herself from being punished. She is attempting to open the eyes of a naive priest who sees nothing but what he has learned from books.

The Devil’s Rooming House is the interesting story of Amy Archer-Gilligan, America’s deadliest female serial killer. Written by M. William Phelps, this book brings to light the story of the woman who ran a murder house over one hundred years ago. The case of Amy is a fascinating one because of her motive, money. She opened a nursing home for the elderly and then murdered her clients for financial gain. Amy Archer-Gilligan put a lot of planning into her killings, this is her story.

She aspires to be a perfect copy of her father, someone she has looked up to since she was little. It’s easy to see his influence on her through her narration and thoughts. Everything he says, she soaks in, like a sponge willing to accept an unlimited amount of water. When she says of Brother Fowles that “I heard them saying he was a New York Irish, which tells you a lot, as they are notorious for being papist Catholics” (38), her father’s effect on not only her personality but views towards people is evident. Because of his impact on her youth, she looks up to him with fierce intensity, even desiring “his wholehearted approval” (42). Underneath this adoration for her father, however, lies a distinct fear of disapproval, having never “contradicted [her] father on any subject, ever” (66). Here, it is apparent his authoritative influence on her, resulting in a deep-seated anxiety that Leah feels. Furthermore, with Leah’s initial love of her father, it is easier to see the contrast of what she feels towards her father as the book progresses, something that changes directly as a result of her time in the Congo. Her views towards religion are also an aspect that can demonstrate how she has been inclined to feel specific ways. Leah’s most important value in her religion is the sense of justice, something she believes that Christianity is about with every particle on her body. She considers “God’s scale to be vast

believed. She was a Christian woman who was tied to her beliefs. She stated this about

Theresa was a good catholic girl. Her faith was important to her. She went to mass on Sundays, her mom was very involved in the community and her dad had a very important job. Her family was the normal American family. Her dad’s job required them to move around a lot and because of that she never had true friendships. One day her family moved to Birmingham and her life changed dramatically.

After covering 17th century colonial America in class, focusing on the New England settlements, I decided that the subject matter I wanted to learn more about was the events surrounding witchcraft in Salem and other New England colonies. In the historical novel The Devil in the Shape of a Woman: Witchcraft in Colonial New England, author Carol F. Karlsen focuses on the the accused female “witch” in colonial New England and discusses a broad array of themes regarding the role and position of women in Puritan society. Carol F. Karlsen is currently a professor in the history department at the University of Michigan, she specializes in American Women and early social and cultural studies; Karlsen received her Ph D. from Yale University in 1980.

As time went on she became more involved in church, and religious activities. She got baptized and saved at the church that she always attended. She grew to love the black church that she grew up mocking. The old lady that always sat in the front row made her realize how deep the roots of her church were.

The scholarly article “Sympathy For The Devil” by Lin Haire Sargeant was a very informative and persuasive article. This article focused on the evaluation of the movies of Wuthering Heights, and the differences between the characters, more specifically Heathcliff. It talked about how most of the movies made the viewer have “sympathy for the devil,” or sympathy for Heathcliff. In the first movie that was spoken about, the 1939 adaption, they portray Heathcliff not as the one who is sinning, but the one who has been sinned upon. She states that this movie almost makes it seem that Heathcliff is really a good guy, but he has just had a streak of bad luck. Her evaluation of Heathcliff in this matter is very persuasive, and since I have not seen any of the movies,

The family is catholic and some different biblical events are used to symbolize different events that occur in the family. The mention of an angel coming to Mary to tell her she was pregnant (Chapter 2, page 11) symbolized how it took a miracle for the girl’s father to allow them to go to school. Maria Teresa gaining a soul (Chapter 3) symbolized how she came to be more of a woman and accepted into the family. It wasn’t until after her communion that she was accepted into Minerva’s circle of loyalty and secrets. The symbolism of Christ’s resurrection in three days (Chapter 10) was used as a false ideology and instead of getting a resurrection another member of her family was taken