Donna Tartt's The Goldfinch

Donna Tartt’s novel The Secret History is a story of destruction, mystery, and sacrifice. Tartt, born in 1963 in Mississippi, received most of her post-secondary education at Bennington College in Vermont, which later influenced the setting of her aforementioned novel. Almost considered a literary prodigy, her writing and intellect were impressive to peers and professors alike. Like her main characters in the novel, she studied Classics. In her novel, she explores the chaotic world of college, and addresses several themes that are not very common for college students. Some of these themes include moral ambiguity, adhering to ancient values, and death.

In Amy Bloom’s short story, “Silver Water”, the main character Rose takes her own life as a result to living with mental illness. Throughout the story the narrator, Rose’s sister, shows the difficulties of living with mental illness not only for Rose’s family, but also for Rose. A common obstacle for the family is getting Rose proper care; this is difficult because the family could not find long term insurance or doctor. In “ Silver Water”, Amy Bloom makes a point about how mental illness is treated; the specific point she makes is that mental illness is not taken as seriously as it should be. This is shown through how difficult it is for Rose to receive proper treatment.

To say that Cheryl Strayed has overcome many things in her life is an understatement. She has an unmistakable amount of courage and bravery. Cheryl goes through a complete transformation within her life. The person she becomes after all of her pain and struggles is unbelievable. During her tough journey through life, Cheryl has truly found herself and becomes the person she knows her mother raised.

Have you ever thought about being rich? How about finding gold where you least expected it to be? In the passages “Klondike Gold Rush” and A Woman Who Went to Alaska and City of Gold each author or narrator discusses the same topic which was that people went out on a challenging trip to find gold, but only some people were successful. In the two passages and the one video the authors or narrator were using different points of views. Each person’s point of view shapes the reader's understanding of the miners’ lives is because each person has there own situation, so they have to act and talk differently than some of the other characters.

His most perfect love in all the world was on that train. So he’d run to the end of the earth if he had to(Pg. 120). Juan Villasenor, one of the two major characters in Rain of Gold, a nonfiction novel by Victor Villasenor, faces many problems throughout the book that have a significant impact on the skullduggery little boy we knew from the beginning to the scrupulous and surreptitious man at the end. In Rain of Gold, it follows the sides of 2 characters, Juan, Lupe, and their families during the time of the Mexican Revolution, as they travel from Mexico to America, and go through many struggles on this voyage. In these obstacles, Juan faces from beginning to end, he learns many things on this journey and meets new people that change his

While stuck in Strattford, Henry gets to know Trot and his girlfriend Janine and strattfords very own walking history book Cecelia Hainsworth, never-married fiancee of the long-dead Andy. Henry is given Andy's diary to read, and finds himself fascinated by the story of this young man of his own age from another time, another world.

Wow! Reading the point of view of a first-person narrative reveals so much about the author’s thoughts. While reading first-person narratives, it enables readers to understand more information throughout the story. Hearing the thoughts and ideas right from the character makes it easier to make connections. In the short story “George and the Jewels” by Jane Smiley, the main character Abby goes through a transition from disliking horses to understanding them. In “Black Beauty” by Anna Sewell, the story is narrated by a horse who is introduced into a new environment where he has to become used to being rode every day. By examining Black Beauty and The George and Jewels, it shows that both passages use first-person point of view to develop

From the very first meeting, Hobie helps Theo in his efforts to survive in his post-mother world. When everyone else fails to

However, Tom further transcends as he looks beyond himself into a new awareness through other individuals. ‘His eyes were shut, as silently he mouthed along with the song’ is an imagery that displays uncle Brenden’s grief towards the incident. ‘slowly I backed out the door, closing it gently behind me.’ The use of diction is an indicative of Tom’s movement of backing away slowly instead of fleeing from reality. This examines Tom’s changing attitudes from the ability to look through the perspectives of other individuals that enhances one’s understanding.

Tom and Andy are delightful young kids whom are curious and got tangled up in peer pressure related incidents. Looking deep into the kids surprisingly shows that they are delightful, even though a few incidents show otherwise. The kids comprehend that the Duvitch’s were suffering from various illnesses. In addition the Duvitch’s were at a loss of money due to the fact that their father lost two weeks of pay. The kids appreciated when Dr.Switzer aided to the family without any charge. They showed their true colours after they presented the Dutvitches with 61 fish because they had finally opened their eyes and stopped thinking like everyone else. They began to appreciate the Duvitch’s and their way of life. “She quietly turned and went away; and again I felt that I had witnessed a profound moment.” (Page 13) The kids were extremely curious when the Duvitch’s moved to town, like most young kids would be.

He sells bibles and encourages people to buy at least one for their family. When he visits Mrs. Hopewell and finds out that she does not have a bible in the house, he tells her, “For a Christian, the word of God ought to be in every room in the house”. He continues, “I don’t want to go to college because I want to devote my life to Christian service. I got this heart condition and may not live long”. Moreover, Pointer is characterized as a very friendly man because he seems to like Joy when they meet for a date and calls her a sweet little girl whom he claims to have liked from the first day he saw her. Surprisingly, his real characters are later revealed in the story. In fact, he is neither a Christian nor a friendly man. He is a hypocrite, liar, swindler as well as a pretender. Firstly, he tells people that he is a believer while he is not. Secondly, during his date with Joy, she finds a bottle of whisky, a pack of condoms as well as obscene pictures in his suitcase. She gets so shocked and asks him, “Aren’t you just good country people? You are a Christian! You are just like them all- say one thing and do another. You are a perfect Christian, you are…..” Hulga had already put

Having never experienced a positive way to express his feeling in his childhood it caused him to be so cold and empty in side. He was as inhuman and void of emotions as his small childhood pet.

Mildred Taylor, author of The Gold Cadillac, wrote about a 1950’s African American family’s battle with society. During the 1950’s, a group of laws known as Jim Crow laws made segregation legal in many states. In the family’s African American neighborhood, the purchase of a “golden” Cadillac gave them social status but also tears them apart. The same Cadillac invited danger, as the family drives through Mississippi, a state where segregation was legal. The purpose of this writing was and is to explain how ‘lois' character traits affected how she dealt with the situation in Mississippi. Of the three main characters, I will be focusing on lois' character trait and how she dealt with ordeal in Mississippi.

Gemma struggles in the end of the book trying to figure out if she really does love Ty and has feelings for him. There can be several themes to a story so it can be difficult for the reader to distinguish which one fits the story the

The Falcon Prince is the second book in USA Today Bestselling author Karen Kelley’s Prince's of Symtaria series. If you like fast paced, sexy shape shifter romances get your copy today.