How Does Tomoko Escape The American Dream

Moana contains many themes connected to the idea that nature is an escape from corrupt society. For example, Moana faces many problems on her island, such as the fear she will not make her father proud as the next chief, and the physical problems with the island not producing enough food to sustain its citizens. Therefore, Moana will often escape to the beach to be with her grandmother, who taught her to “dance” with the waves (Moana 2016). Moana uses the ocean as an escape from her problems in her home, and her society which does not accept her love for the ocean. Such a belief that nature can be an escape from problems is very transcendentalist. Next, Moana has to travel across the ocean to achieve her goal of restoring the heart of Te Fiti and saving her island. The ocean actually

Throughout Kim Thúy’s Ru, the American Dream is very common. Kim Thuy’s experiences are a perfect example on how the American dream is eye opening and a big struggle. Thuy reflects on the what her ideal American dream is by finding inspiration from the stories of those around her. This is important as it helps her figure out what her ideal American dream is and what she is willing to give up culturally in exchange for it.

Burroughs talks about how the sea is contradictory on its own, in its immensity. It mocks its victims “with the most horrible thirst”, and it smites everything like a hammer, while sometimes caressing like the hand of a lady. The breaking of its waves is violent, yet as it reaches the sands it reminds us of the rustle of a child's

Tim Winton’s short story, ‘The Water Was Dark and it Went Forever Down’, depicts a nameless, adolescent girl who is battling the voices inside her head along with the powerful punishments at the hands of her inebriated mother. The key concerns of life and death are portrayed through the girl’s viewpoint as she compares her life with her sad, depressed mother. Anonymous as she is, the girl constantly makes an attempt to escape the outbursts, that come as a result to her mother’s drinking, by submerging herself into the water. An extended metaphor is used when expressing the girl as a machine and her will to continue surviving in her sombre life.

(213). The narrator once again speaks of the sea as if it were human. Stating the “waves paced to and fro” and “the great sea’s voice”, he gives the sea life and a voice. Having figures of speech such as these gives the story life and a vivid

Initially Mai holds a negative perspective in “Mai closed her eyes and tried to recall her father's stories— but they rang shallow against the dense roaring slabs of water she'd just seen.” The hydrographia personifies the natural elements creating a pathetic fallacy, which reflects Mai’s initially pessimistic attitude as her hope is crushed by the harsh reality of her experiences on the boat. However, this provocative experience catalyses a transformed perception, as upon reaching the shore she thinks: “The boat would land - they would all land.” The epistrophe of “land” and high modality of “would” shows her renewed hopeful perspective, which would not have been possible without physically experiencing the harshness of being on the boat. Thus, the ability for discoveries to be far-reaching and transformative is seen through these provocative and confronting external experiences that transform individual perceptions.

In Michael Gows text, “Away” we are introduced to the idea of deep self-discovery through overcoming life-defining obstacles. For the protagonist Tom, he struggles to accept his approaching death; this is seen through his attempts to keep his inevitable fate from his parents “they want me to think I’m going to be as right as rain. They mustn’t find out”. Through this, Gow conveys the protagonist’s parents as ‘they’ repetitively, which furthermore depicts the growing separation in their relationships due to his illness. By conquering this difficulty, Tom is able to attain self-discovery in realizing his role as the mender, which is indicated at the beginning of the play. It is his approaching death, “cancer of the blood”, which provides him with greater vision in recognizing the preciousness of life. We are able to have a look at Tom’s therapeutic nature through his complicated relationship with Coral. The meta-play they put on, “Strangers by the Shore,” is an analogy of the healing of the soul. Coral’s transition from, “come with me… into the darkness” into the healing light of, “I’m walking, I’m walking, I’m walking, I’m walking” is demonstrative of Tom’s ability to bring other characters to a greater discovery. In this act, he himself comes to understand the importance of his remaining time.

At the beginning of this story, water is a pathway which helps the narrator escape from the refugee camp in Vietnam, but it also functions as a barrier because it keeps the narrator from a person who is very close to her. The narrator of the story mentions that “before the red apartment we weren’t a family like we are now” because the South China Sea separated her from her mother by thousands of miles (Thuy 3). The narrator comments that the South China Sea was the means of escape from the violence her family experienced in Vietnam, but in reality it was a barrier in her life because it caused family

Moreover in “Away”, Gow explores how personal connections of individuals’ and their self-discovery can influence and challenge each other’s perspective of themselves and the world. This is shown through the relationship of Tom and Coral as Tom’s acknowledgement of his impending death enables healing for Coral who is emotionally disconnected from reality due to her son’s premature death. The play ‘Stranger on The Shore’ acts as an analogy of the healing of the soul where Coral is afraid to walk; metaphorically she is unable to accept her son’s death and advance further, however, Tom helps her to return to the real world. This is apparent in the stage direction: “he lifts her and holds her as she takes a step forward, then another, then another”. The stage direction makes it apparent to the audience how Tom is leading Coral towards her self-discovery by familiarising her to the nature of mortality, which

For this essay, I am going to be discussing the short story “Swimming” found on the New Yorker, and written by T. Cooper. I have chosen this story for many reasons, and among those reasons is the personal sadness I felt when I first read the story, almost as if the universe was placing a certain theme in my life, that only the main character could possibly understand. I am talking about running, the god given instinct felt by all men, inherent in the nature of fear, and brought out in all who feel sadness in its full intensity. Though in my short life I can not compare the sadness I have felt with that of losing a child at my own hand, but if I had been placed in that situation, if fate had tempted my soul with such a sequence of events, I would like to think I could find the strength to endure and the courage to not abandon all I had previously known. Yet I am able to reconcile the themes of grief, the mode of recovery, and the longing to escape such a terrible tale. I think in this piece, as I will discuss in later parts, the author was able to put into words a transformation we rarely get to observe in closeness, the kind of transformation that turns a kind man into a “just man” the kind of death that turns this world from a beautiful and happy place into a world that is closing in on our main character, that is forcing him to surface temporarily and gasp for air, much like he does when he finds peace in the water, wading breath after air, after sea. I firmly believe that

“The Swimmer,” a short fiction by John Cheever, presents a theme to the reader about the unavoidable changes of life. The story focuses on the round character by the name of Neddy Merrill who is in extreme denial about the reality of his life. He has lost his youth, wealth, and family yet only at the end of the story does he develop the most by experiencing a glimpse of realization on all that he has indeed lost. In the short story “The Swimmer,” John Cheever uses point of view, setting and symbolism to show the value of true relationships and the moments of life that are taken for granted.

The structure of a novel enables it to embody, integrate and communicate its content by revealing its role in the creation and perception of it. A complex structure such as that of Robert Drewe’s work The Drowner, published in 1996, refers to the interrelation or arrangement of parts in a complex entity1. Drewe’s novel is a multi-faceted epic love story presenting a fable of European ambitions in an alien landscape, and a magnificently sustained metaphor of water as the life and death force2. The main concerns of the novel include concerns about love, life, death and human frailty. These concerns are explored through the complex structure of the novel. That is, through its symbolic title, prologues, and division into sections. The

The son had loved his father dearly but does not favor his way of life. His interest in school greatly outweighed his interest or desire to work on ‘The Boat’. He still had a love for the sea and in some way felt like he should carry out his family’s tradition. After his uncle had accepted a new job he took his position on the boat and promised his father that we would continue to sail with him for as long as he lived, and when his father passed despite the desires of his mother he followed his dreams and pursued education and all of its wonders. After living his life he finds himself longing for the sea again and isn’t so satisfied with his life.

Hancock states her mother's mind is “festooned with weeds” (18-19) . This quote paints us a picture of her mother's watery mind that has been taken over by the sea monsters in the form of depression. Imagery was used previously when Hancock mentions “Kraken, Leviathan” (7). By doing this, she invited us to visualize frightening sea creatures. This stylistic device helped in depicting the grief and suffering the author, author's mother, and authors husband are undergoing.

“Two Kinds” by Amy Tan is a short story about a mother pushing her ambitions and dreams unto her daughter, Jing- mei. Born during the American Dream era, Jing-mei’s mother believed that anyone “could be anything [he/she] want to be in America. [He/She] could open a restaurant… work for the government… buy a house with almost no money down… and become rich” (Tan 43). With this mindset, Jing-mei’s mother pushes her daughter to become a prodigy, thus the adventures of Jing-mei trying new things began: such as learning the names of capitals, becoming a ballerina, imitating Shirley Temple, and playing the piano. At first Jing-mei is excited and even believes that she could become a prodigy, but after various failed attempts Jing-mei realizes