My Clearest Memory Of St. Catherine's Prep By Ellie Summers

In the poem “Still Memory” by Mary Karr, the speaker, through a dream like memory, re-experiences a snapshot in time that held particular significance in her childhood. Karr focuses on the seemingly inconsequential details that made mornings in her childhood home memorable for her. She describes the morning scene with the use of sensory, imagery and onomatopoeia to make the dream particularly zoetic. Although the dream is seen from this childlike aspect, Karr highlights how dreamlike this memory is and how memories are fluid and can be easily moulded and altered by the mind-they are not “still” as the title proposes. The writer also keeps the poem very dreamlike in order to remind the reader that the memory, although it can be recollected and valued, it is never going to be repeated and that the speaker is aware that things can never be this way again. Furthermore, the relation of the poem to dreams brings in messages how of heavily a person can become mesmerized by their memories.

Through this examination of the differences between past and present, wrong and right, and North and South, by Ray West Jr., the different viewpoints and conflicts that appear throughout “A Rose for Emily” are deeply analyzed. West’s critical assessment divides the characters based on who represents the old ways and who represents the changing times. However, the story shows the South’s fervent desire to keep their lifestyle the same. Emily attempted to hold her love for Homer like the South attempted to hold its love for gentile days before the Civil War. West’s asserts that Emily’s fall from grace symbolizes the South’s fall. The deterioration of Emily and the South during reconstruction parallels the slow deterioration of Emily’s house.

In Laurie Halse Anderson’s Young Adult novel, Speak, the reader takes a journey following the life of Freshman Melinda Sordino. The novel begins during Melinda’s summer break when a tramatic incident (sexual assault) at a party forces her to call the cops and ruin the party for all her future classmates. Her year at Merryweather High School, following the sexual assualt on her, revolves around the disdain she receives from her fellow students, her constant haste in avoiding Andy Evans (her attacker), as well as her struggles to deal with the deep depression that has over taken her. Her deep depression eventually leads to her desolate silence and eventual avoidance of school and her circumvention of her sexual assault. The novel conveys the

Starting off with a picture of how days were when she experienced her fifth-grade summer, the author adds in details that seem so minuscule, and unimportant to set the setting. The information about the cost of riding a trolley and the ice truck driving around on a hot day with blocks of ice provides the readers with the background of her story. In addition, by using diction that the author used as a child, such as “that-old-thing” and “help-him-out,” she brings the story to life as if it were still the 1900s. Every tiny detail that the author remembers about her childhood shown in this passage proves to the readers how important her fifth-grade summer was to her.

Throughout a woman’s life, she is told time after time that she cannot do certain things because of her gender. People tell women that they cannot be the CEO of the world’s largest company or the President of the United States because it is a “man’s job.” Clementine von Radics’ poem, “For Teenage Girls,” emphasizes the sexism imposed on girls from a young age and how women of history have proven the prejudice against women wrong.

In a world where male-dominance is the standard for societies, there will always be a group of the subdominant gender that is looking to change the way that society functions, to achieve equality. However, opposers to the form sometimes head towards the extremes and surpass equality, only to achieve dominance. In Sarah Hall’s novel, Daughters of the North, she follows the protagonist, Sister, on her journey away from the dystopian, patriarchal society of England to an off-the-charts, female-only commune, named Carhullan. Sister dreams of a matriarchal, utopian community that is far different than the city she had left; however, what she finds is that Carhullan is not necessarily better, but simply ruled by a different, dominant gender. All in all, this paper argues that matriarchal societies are not superior to, but rather an inversion of patriarchal societies.

Gender roles and gender stereotyping have been around since the beginning of time, and although society has made great advances in trying to change these terms, they still exist. They shape our children and effect their outlooks on society. Gender roles and gender stereotyping play a huge role in the story, “Boys and Girls,” by Alice Murno. In this story, the preconceived notions of gender are played out through every character. Male and female roles portray society’s expectations of appropriate behavior, through the children, and parents. The narrator tries to rebel against her assigned gender role, but eventually conforms to the world, and becomes what they consider to be a real woman.

Reading has impacted my life in many ways. The two books that impacted my life greatly are Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom and Never Fall Down by Patricia McCormick. It helped me through every crisis I had in life. It increased my understanding on things I knew little about. I am very appreciative to the authors of these novels because they helped me to grow into the person I am today. Tuesdays with Morrie gave me some helpful advice that others could not give me. It taught me that we must have no regrets and should always be true to ourselves and others. Never Fall Down informed me of all the violence other countries face and the hardships they went through. It taught me to love for my family because most of those families who went through

Starting the dark dreary walk back home, I barely sensed the harsh pounding of raindrops on my forlorn face. Thunder crackled ominously overhead, a tidal wave of mucky water covered the dusty streets. The world seemed to be crashing before my numb, tear-stricken eyes.

As the sun set into the waiting night, Birmingham, known for its steel and history decades past, fell into its usual routine. The city faded into dark, much like when a song reaches its end, and became lifeless except for the few couples and families huddling together along the sidewalk. The only light shining came from the stores and restaurants still open at the time, casting ominous shadows onto the street seeming ready to grab anyone passing by. The chill in the air was much like every year in November, raising the hair on the back of the neck and making the tip of a nose ruddy. The chill was accompanied by a breeze that whistled between alleyways and disturbed the few trees present within the city itself. Despite the near-winter weather,

The character Evelina in the “Frances Burney excerpt” as well as the characters of the show “Girlfriends” share similar themes like female reputation, snobbery, and marriage but Evelina and the show “Girlfriends” all has one thing in common they learn that in society women have little value. In the show “Girlfriends” the women are morally unfit due to the social status within society. Evelina is accepted by society because of how she acts in public and within her society. Evelina demonstrates a woman of intellectual, emotional, and awareness of how a woman supposed to act in public. In the show “Girlfriends” Joan is interested in finding the right man but will not bend over backwards for a man; Maya have

College was said to be the most exciting time of a girl’s life, parties, finally away from the restrictions of parents, and of course the whole new atmosphere of being an adult. Ava Matthews was certain that college was one of the worst stages in her life so far. After constant plans and saving money to finally finish her education, the young woman had made a terrible, terrible mistake. One of her professors had taken a rather firm stance with her, more so than other students. Of course, Ava was unamused. Reluctantly, she’d accepted a chance to up her grades and attempt to figure out what his problem was. Unfortunately, she’d been discovered by another staff member when she was snooping through her professor’s private notes. They were confidential, therefore, she could have been expelled. Instead, she suffered the will of a rather sadistic older man. This was not how she planned her mid twenties.

Stefan Zweig’s The World of Yesterday originally published in 1942 and translated into English in 2009 by Anthea Bell is a perceptive memoir that skillfully recounts the life of Zweig (a Jewish middle class male) beginning with his childhood in Vienna, Austria pre-World War I and ends right before Zweig’s suicide in 1942. During his account, Zweig provides critical commentary on various historical events that is invaluable when it comes to putting these events in the context of the everyday life of the individuals living through them. He also provides accounts of many societal structures as well as of interesting individuals that are not necessarily important in the grand scheme of things but help the reader build a more complete picture of the period. Throughout the book, Zweig maintains a cautionary as well as a didactic tone that attempts to caution the reader about how society can change so drastically and rapidly. Overall, Zweig’s book is an excellent memoir that helps put major historical events into context; however, the book also has some problems that undermine the delivery of the cautionary message of the book.

One frigid and rainy Friday, I sat in Mr. Bursheim’s first hour class. I was sitting on my phone texting my friends as the rain poured onto the window. I was thinking how delighted I was that my plans for the weekend were going to be inside. My friends and I were planning on going bowling, seeing movies, and some other fun stuff.

Rain drops splashed on top of the rooftop as the sun began to set .Amber hopped of the counter in the kitchen and walked over to the fireplace were we were all sitting at. I opened up a can of ravioli and poured it in a pan and began to warm it up on my portable cooking stove. Amber sat beside me as we felt the warmth of the fireplace. Eve was rocking back in forth in the corner her face in her knees eyes not blinking as she seemed to be in deep thought. I focused my attention on Isamu who was staring out the window staring at the rain his hands behind his back probably contemplating what he will say. He turned around and looked at me and Amber and released his hands behind his back .