John Wideman's Brothers And Keepers

In the short story, “The Scarlet Ibis”, James Hurst demonstrates that the confidence that comes with pride is an inspiration for growth, however, overconfidence can lead to one’s downfall. Despite a year of seemingly hopeless attempts to teach Doodle how to walk, Brother manages to persist because he has “[Doodle] to be proud of” (Hurst 419). Although Brother teaching Doodle how to walk was not altruistic, it was his pride that allowed it to happen in the first place. If Brother and Doodle did not have their pride to fuel their desire for success then they would have accepted what everyone else said about how Doodle would not be able to walk which even Doodle agreed with at first. Without pride, one would not have the inner desire for success

“I do what I can for them, but it is not enough… though their bandages unravel… believe me I love them…” establishes conflict and insight on the complex relationship between the novelist and the characters in the novel “Marching Through a Novel” by John Updike. Updike shows the complexity of being a novelist and creating characters through personification and metaphors.

* Problems of inducing structures- person must discover the relations among the parts of a problem

In the essay Our Time by John Edgar Wideman, Wideman is speaking on how he and his brother’s life differ even though they grew up together. The author utilizes many distinctive literary techniques such as personification, breaking the narrative, point of view, and a couple examples of diction.

The recent controversy going on in the sports world is about Dennis Wideman, an NHL player who is recently playing for Calgary flames as a defenseman who was suspended for 20 games for hitting the linesman Don Henderson during January 27 game against Nashville Predators. He has been in a spot of bother since then and had to answer many questions from the officials and their fans after the controversial collision. Unfortunately, Don Henderson who was hit from behind by Dennis Wideman will miss the rest of the season due to concussion. According to my point of view, I think it wasn’t intentional at all.

Oftentimes, when burdening or stressful circumstances begin to generate strain on an individual, they find themselves turning to literary art as a form of mental relief. This deliverance applies, in particular, to the narrator in Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper,” and the father in “The Boat,” by Alistair MacLeod. In both short stories, readers can pinpoint several instances in which these specific characters seek solace through differing formats of written language. The function of the father’s books in “The Boat,” and the narrator’s diary in “The Yellow Wallpaper,” is to serve as an instrument of escapism, rebellion, and self-expression, within the controlled existence of

The irony of each story came to light at the close of the writings. The ending turned out to be something totally different than what it would initially have thought to be, because of how the narratives

As we examined the essay “Sonny’s Blues” and “The Rich Brother” that may not have a great deal in common, but with more analysis in to the stories it becomes clear that they are similar but still have their own uniqueness. The stories are “The rich brother” which was written by Tobias Wolff is known for short stories or memoir and “Sonny’s Blues” which was written by James Baldwin also an American writer best known for its eloquence or rhetorical force in his writing. Both writers a best known for their famous writing than span for decades.

Letting pride take command can cause more harm than good, and have unexpected consequences. It starts by giving him a feeling of satisfaction that he had done what most had deemed impossible. He says, “They did not know that I did it for myself… that Doodle walked only because I was ashamed of having a crippled brother” (215), showing he does not care about what it means for his brother, only that he is the reason Doodle walks. Doodle is content being able to walk finally, but his brother wants more. He believes in his own, “infallibility” (215), and does not care about his brother’s health condition.

In the short story, “The Scarlet Ibis,” James Hurst indirectly characterizes the narrator as prideful and sadistic through his thoughts and actions, to convey the idea that an excessive amount of pride causes someone to be deceitful, and act for their own personal gain at someone else’s cost. The abundant amount of pride the narrator has blinds him, ruining his perspective of his brother, Doodle. “The Scarlet Ibis” revolves around the narrator reminiscing on his past memory of Doodle, his “invalid” younger sibling. The narrator longs for someone to run with, play with, and fight with; a brother to be proud of. However, the birth of a frail and severely disabled younger brother is a disappointment. The narrator’s pride along the storyline leads him further into believing in his own infallibility, after been emboldened by the success of Doodle.

People are looked down upon for having constant assertiveness. A man named Dan Post once said, “Egotism is the glue in which you get stuck in yourself”. In a modern world, egoists are seen as negative figures who are full of themselves. In truth, egoists are the confident leaders and achievers that the world offers. Though they are frowned upon, the egoists of yesterday, today, and tomorrow shaped the human race. Egoist entrepreneurs, scientists, and doctors held such pride in themselves and their work that they changed the world. For hundreds of years, egoism has been seen as a negative aspect to life. This idea has been summarized by the late Scottish philosopher Thomas Carlyle, Carlyle said “Egoism is the source and summary of all faults and miseries.”. Carlyle believes that egoists are shameful to society. In reality, the egotists of different generations are the ones who keep the wheels of life spinning with their curiosity and determination. Both themes of curiosity and determination apply to Prometheus and

vanity, pride, and self - knowledge intervenes in the development of the virtue of the characters,

Stephen King is perhaps the most widely known American writer of his generation, yet his distinctions include publishing as two authors at once: Beginning in 1966, he wrote novels that were published under the pseudonym Richard Bachman. When twelve, he began submitting stories for sale. At first ignored and then scorned by mainstream critics, by the late 1980’s his novels were reviewed regularly in The New York Times Book Review, with increasing favor. Beginning in 1987, most of his novels were main selections of the Book-of-the-Month Club, which in 1989 created the Stephen King Library, committed to keeping King’s novels “in print in hardcover.” King published more than one hundred short stories (including the collections Night Shift,

More than half a century later, Carson McCullers’ themes of loneliness and isolation still speak to today’s readers. The work “Reflections In a Golden Eye”of Carson McCullers drew a lot of criticism, but was anything but unsuccessful. Carson McCullers’ problems with her health and family brought upon manors of writing, she expressed her loneliness and isolation, showing issues relating to bisexuality, infidelity, hostility, and murder. Lastly she made a large impact in the readers and other writers that became familiar with her work. By exploring the depths of Carson McCullers’ work, one can come to realization that it made such an impact in its own unique way.

Both activities have shown me that the definition of a complex problem is in itself complex (Funke, 1991) and is subject to many interpretations by different researchers (Gray, 2002 and Wenke et al, 2005). It has also shown me that presenting a problem in a different manner can affect how the solutions are thought about (Gambrill, 2006).