My Brothers By F. Scott Fitzgerald

Wendell Berry’s past is more than just his own in “My Great-Grandfather’s Slaves,” but his past is intertwined with the slaves that grew up with. A quick reading of this poem by Berry would not give the reader that he was connected with the slaves, but rather that they lived separate lives. Berry says he sees the slaves and their activities but does not ever write about how they are connected until the very last stanza. After reading the final stanza it gives the rest of the poem a new meaning and if the reader does not take the time to closely re-read the writing they will miss out on what Berry is really trying to portray. Wendell Berry is trying to show the reader how his past is linked with the past of his grandfather’s slaves with his

The Short Story “My Father’s Life,” by Raymond Carver illustrates the difficult task of a son trying to find his own sense of identity and individualism while watching his father’s life unravel. Carver explores the relationships of his parents and his own struggle with sharing the same name with his father and the similarities and differences between them.

In the Fences, by August Wilson shows that life of African Americans in the U.S. in the 1950s with the story of Troy and his family. Wilson uses the symbol of the fence to show the desires of each character like Rose’s desire is to keep her family together, Troy’s desire is to keep death out and to be not bound forever, and Bono’s desire is to follow Troy, his best friend, as an example of the right way to live and to be with Rose and Troy who are basically his family. Rose and the other seen characters represent people and show gender roles of the time, like Rose is a housewife, Troy is the provider. Also Cory is the new generation of emotion over responsibility, Gabriel represents the war heros that were permanently disabled from war

The Color Purple, was released in 1985 and was set in the early until middle of the 1900s, it was one of the first featured movies to openly discuss the topic of domestic violence as a main part of the film. This has been very significant because it sets a standard of normalizing domestic violence in the characters lives, which Walker was able to show and develop through Celie and how she mistreatment in the hands of her stepfather and husband. In addition, a powerful message about how people who have been oppressed can unite together to overcome their oppressors. By the character finding out who she is and taking value in what she can become, this movie shows a feminist power. While Celie was searching for truth, she comes to realize that the patriarchal culture she went through in the South is abusive to all women. She learns that women can be equal to men in in matters of love and finance, power, and in knowledge, when she met Shug and they escape from Albert. Near the end of the movie, when Celie returns to Georgia, she isn’t submissive and weak anymore; On the contrary, she has become a competent, self-confident woman who knows she can be satisfied without depending on anybody else but herself.

In the book Half Brother, by Kenneth Oppel, Ben Tomlin is a very thoughtful person because he is considerate, caring, friendly, and kindhearted. Ben Tomlin, the main character in the book, lives in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada with his mom, dad, and a chimpanzee, Zan. Some things about Ben is that he has curly hair, he likes to play Risk and pinball, and he does cross-country and photography. First of all, Ben is a thoughtful person because he is considerate of others, especially his friends and family. An example that proves this is can be found in Half Brother, by Kenneth Oppel on page 371, said by Ben. “I paused, because this part was hard to admit. ‘I didn’t love you at first, Zan. I thought you were weird, and I guess I was jealous, and sometimes I didn’t want you at all. But that didn’t last long. You were my little brother. I really felt that. That was never fake.’” This quote explains that even though Zan is a chimpanzee, Ben still loves him because he cares for him and wants what’s best for Zan, which is a family. Another time where Ben shows his thoughtfulness by being considerate of others is when he understands why Zan is being crazy. Even though Zan is fooling around and he can’t stop him, he is not mad at Zan because he knows that Zan is an animal after all, even though his family is raising him like a human. He knows that Zan is only having his temper tantrum and he knows that he can’t stop him because he is an animal, not a human. In Half Brother, by

Our Town by Thornton Wilder focuses on the lives of the residents of small town Grover’s Corners, New Hampshire in the early 1900s, more specifically, the lives of young George Gibbs and Emily Webb. Throughout Act I, Thornton describes the daily lives of the people of Grover’s Corners. The milkman delivers the day’s milk, the paperboy brings the morning paper, mothers prepare breakfast, and children get ready for school. The day winds down, everyone has had their supper, homework is finished, and adults arrive home from choir practice. Life in Grover’s Corners is traditional, ordinary, and unremarkable, not much goes on out of the ordinary. Act II focuses on love and marriage in the town. The narrator says “Almost everybody in the world gets married, - you know what I mean? In our town there aren’t hardly any exceptions. Most everybody in the world climbs into their graves married.” and Mrs. Gibbs articulates that “People are meant to go through life two by two. Tain’t natural to be lonesome.”(54) George and Emily get married, much like the other young couples of Grover’s Corners, and proceed to live blithely and contentedly on George’s uncle’s farm. Act III looks into the last act in a person’s life, death. Emily passes away during childbirth, and at the cemetery, she meets the spirits of her mother-in-law and many other deceased townspeople.

“ A starving man will steal from babies” (Collier and Collier 173). War is horrific and it has a dreadful impact on people. Authors Collier and Collier describe the Revolutionary War in their book My Brother Sam is Dead. The authors portray both sides of the war thoroughly, but they ultimately argue that war is gruesome, separates families, and it is unfair.

James Baldwin, author of Sonny’s Blues, was born in Harlem, NY in 1924. During his career as an essayist, he published many novels and short stories. Growing up as an African American, and being “the grandson of a slave” (82) was difficult. On a day to day basis, it was a constant battle with racial discrimination, drugs, and family relationships. One of Baldwin’s literature pieces was Sonny’s Blues in which he describes a specific event that had a great impact on his relationship with his brother, Sonny. Having to deal with the life-style of poverty, his relationship with his brother becomes affected and rivalry develops. Conclusively, brotherly love is the theme of the story. Despite the narrator’s and his brother’s differences, this

The story “Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin centers on the conflicting relationship between two brothers that is explored throughout various stages of their lives. Through the structured, melodic style used by Baldwin there are reoccurring themes of suffering, family, and home that are used to further convey the idea of two brothers who love each other, but don’t understand each other. Ultimately, the relationship between the two brothers is greatly strained due them being polar opposites, their lack of effective communication, and failure to truly hear one another rather than seeing. The characters do not have much in common beyond the blood that they share, thus making it difficult for a bond to form until the walls of judgement are torn

In the novel, The Things They Carried, by Tim O’Brien, brotherly love is a key theme expressed throughout the novel. Lieutenant Jimmy Cross is faced with guilt because of the death of Ted Lavender. Cross feels responsible for the death of one of his men, therefore he must distance himself because of his love for the men. As a soldier, the emotional baggage from death of close friends has to be eliminated because death is so prevalent in war. All of the grief and sadness felt within Cross about Ted’s death leads O’Brien to state, “He would dispense with love; it was not now a factor. And if anyone quarreled or complained, he would simply tighten his lips and arrange his shoulders in the correct command posture” (O’Brien 25). After Lavender’s

In James Baldwin’s “Sonny’s Blues” it is only when a brother loses his child that he realizes how easy it can be to lose his brother. The narrator’s little brother, Sonny, was left in his charge when their parents passed away. He neglects Sonny and leaves him to work through hard decisions on his own which leads to Sonny being picked up by the police for using and selling drugs. When the narrator’s daughter, Grace, passes he sees how suffering can affect people and reaches out to Sonny, who is fighting to make his way in the world through music. Baldwin shows us that you don’t have to see eye to eye on everything to accept that person.

Do ethics, personal beliefs, and family have an effect on your identity? The historical fiction novel, My Brother Sam is Dead, by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier is about a young boy named Tim Meeker and his journey through the American Revolutionary war. Tim’s older brother Sam is a Patriot but his father, Life,

The Great Gatsby is often considered to be the great American novel. However, this notion must be challenged because the ideas that F. Scott Fitzgerald presents in his classic masterpiece clash with the distinctly “American” ideologies that citizens of this great country have been spoon-fed since birth. Ideas such as capitalism, the American Dream, and self-actualization are presented in one form or another and then systematically dismantled to show just how fragile they really are. In his famous novel, F. Scott Fitzgerald emphasizes the despondency of class struggle and other Marxist ideologies through literary devices such as setting, imagery, and character development. Ultimately, Fitzgerald offers a negative critique on how social

In the story “O Pioneers!” by Willa Cather presents a young intelligent woman who had an American dream. Alexandra Bergson is a perfect model of emotional strength, strong-will and courage. She not only motivated herself but she always had a drive to encourage others to never give up on their dream. Building up the land, having more patience and passion than men, and self-sacrifice were some conditions Alexandra Bergson faced as a young woman. Overall, all of the obstacles she overcame granted her to live an American Dream she had planned to live all her life.

It took very long, but by sunset, she recognized her farm and her fields. But it had been destroyed. The fields looked as if they had erupted, and her animals were missing. But her house was the saddest . . . it was gone. All her belongings were scattered everywhere.