Nathaniel Ayers, a 54 year old schizophrenic man who lives on the street of Los Angeles, uses music to fill in the void of his life. Growing up, Nathaniel learned how to isolate himself from the violent environment he was exposed to; music was his way out. His time and dedication to music eventually paid off as he was able to get to Juilliard, one of the world’s best art schools. Unfortunately, he eventually dropped out after his second year as he had a mental breakdown and was later diagnosed with Schizophrenia. For a short time, Nathaniel went home to his sister, but later ran away after his illness affected their relationship; he thought his sister was going to poison him. Since then he moved from shelter to shelter and eventually end up
The Motion picture “The Soloist” is about L.A. Times writer Steve Lopez discovering a musically gifted homeless man named Nathaniel Ayers. Desperately needing to catch a deadline Mr. Lopez considers writing a story about Nathaniel. While researching Mr. Lopez begins to discover interesting things about the talented musician. Nathanial Ayers was accepted to The Julliard’s School of music, the most prestige school for music in North America. After one year at Julliard Nathanial dropped out, it turns out that Nathanial had a case of Paranoid Schizophrenia that forced him into a spiral of madness, which soon caused him to become homeless and lose a chance at becoming on of the greatest musicians of
Kamron Cobbs is a 14-year-old African American male that was referred to this evaluator for a Special Sex Offender Disposition Alternative (SSODA) evaluation by Snohomish County Juvenile Court Probation Counselor Sara Bolton. Kamron is currently being charged with Rape in the Third Degree. It is alleged that Kamron engaged in sexual misconduct with an eleven year old developmentally delayed female who will be referred to as ER in this evaluation.
Kit Carson was a mountain man, adventurer, and entrepreneur who had explored the American southwest and served in the United States army. He is known for his service in the New Mexico volunteer army, where he was tasked with ending disputes with hostile Indians and later removing them from their lands to be placed on a reservations. Before he was known for his time in the army he was a fur trapper, buffalo hunter, and mountaineer. Karson loved the isolated and self-sufficient living of the southwest, which is why he volunteered for the army because he felt it was his duty to do so for being able to live the life he did.
A soft breeze lifts off the Sound and brushes Nick Carraway’s face as he emerges from the shadows into the moonlight. His eyes first gaze across the bay to the house of Tom and Daisy where Nick sees past the walls to people who “...smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back to their money or their vast carelessness or whatever it was that kept them together...” (Fitzgerald: 187- 188). Nick’s head then turns to his side where he views Gatsby’ s mansion. His heart swells for the man who was unable to let go of the past, and move toward his future. With the two houses juxtaposed in his mind’s eye, Nick ponders his experiences in the East, and enters the car to take him home with a new
If Logan Marr had come to me and told me that her foster mother was abusing her, I would have comforted her as best I could and reported the disclosure of abuse to Child Protective Services. If I was her case manager, I would also ensure that Logan was safe while an investigation took place by visiting regularly or removing her from the home if necessary. Additionally, regardless of whether or not I am in charge of her welfare, I would also do everything I could to help Logan feel safe and process her feelings about the investigation as well as the alleged abuse.
Steven is a thirteen-year-old gifted drummer with an imagination that takes him from writing in his daily English journal to musing on his own life. The book is about his experience of the year his five-year-old brother, Jeffrey Alper, gets diagnosed with leukemia. He totally didn’t expect his little brother to get leukemia. This was a big change for him. From worrying about a drumming performance, and attention from Renee Albert, to a huge worry for his brother he had thought would only try to embarrass him. When people from school found out about Stevens sick brother, Steven gets a lot of attention and sympathy from his friends. As time passes and Jeffrey goes to his treatments, Steven stops doing all his school work to only think about his
The narrator, a teacher in Harlem, has escaped the ghetto, creating a stable and secure life for himself despite the destructive pressures that he sees destroying so many young blacks. He sees African American adolescents discovering the limits placed on them by a racist society at the very moment when they are discovering their abilities. He tells the story of his relationship with his younger brother, Sonny. That relationship has moved through phases of separation and return. After their parents’ deaths, he tried and failed to be a father to Sonny. For a while, he believed that Sonny had succumbed to the destructive influences of Harlem life. Finally, however, they achieved a reconciliation in which the narrator came to understand the value and the importance of Sonny’s need to be a jazz pianist.
The theme of this story can be expressed as a story of suffering and racism. Though the theme may be thought of as just about a young boy who gets himself in trouble with drugs and tries to redeem himself by his passion of music; it
The same depth of absorption and attention was to be seen in relation to music and art: he had no difficulty” (38). In this, Sacks acknowledges that these inabilities don’t define these people: they are more than it and can live beyond it in some aspects. Jimmie’s inability to remember does not hold him back from continuing to live his
Perhaps one of the strongest demonstrations of the power of music in “Sonny’s Blues” is the street revival. Everyone has seen these types of revivals before. Every song has been heard by the crowd, but when the music starts everyone stops, watches, and listens. “As the singing filled the air the watching, listening faces underwent a change, the eyes focusing on something within; the music seemed to soothe a poison out of them; and time seemed, nearly, to fall away from the sullen, belligerent, battered faces” (57). The music from the street revival helps lifts the hopelessness from the crowd and provides a sense of relief. Music is able to bring people from all walks of life together. It gives them a sense of calm and ease, an assurance that something is there to help. Music listens.
When Gatsby reveals to about his relationship with Daisy, Nick’s relationship with Gatsby takes a full u-turn as it rapidly advances their association from simple acquaintances to close friends. Nick’s outlook of Gatsby undergoes a similar transformation. When Nick learns of the previous relationship between Gatsby and Daisy, Gatsby’s actions make sense to Nick. The mansion, the extravagant parties, and the green light were all in the efforts for making Daisy notice him. Gatsby lives his life for the past life that he lived. He spends his life seeking the attention of his love, Daisy, and as Nick explains, “He wanted to recover something, some idea of himself perhaps, that had gone into loving Daisy. His life had been confused and disordered since then, but if he could once return to a certain starting place and go over it all slowly, he could find out what that thing was…” (Fitzgerald 110). Gatsby sought out the American dream in order to win over the love of Daisy which creates a different perception of himself to Nick. Nick, now knowing Gatsby’s intentions worries about Gatsby’s possible rejection, and then warns him that, “[he] wouldn’t ask too much of her, you can’t repeat the past.” (Fitzgerald 110) But Gatsby, blinded by love, strives to win Nick’s married cousin’s heart. Nick perceives Gatsby as a man dwelling on the past
In a coming of age story, a character must look back on his or her youth and say goodbye. Nick Carraway comes to Long Island as an almost 30 year-old man who prides himself on the fact that he is a non-judgmental person. However, after his experiences he is no longer the same person he was before his 30th birthday. Along with turning 30, Nick’s experiences allow him to see past the illusions of the upper class lifestyle. Initially, Nick was intrigued by the glitz and glamour that accompanied the lives of Tom and Daisy. Slowly but surely, he matures out of his infatuation and comes to several realizations about himself and those around him. Fitzgerald initially presents Nick as a trustworthy character who reserves judgment and is unaffected by others. This first impression provides a meaningful contrast for Nick’s final opinions. After an unforgettable summer, Nick matures into a different person and has several judgments to make towards the people of East and West Egg.
The personal Narrative “Music Tonight” by Stephen Policoff is unusual because it is all about the daughter, but written from the father’s perspective. I was at first confused as to who the transformation would happen to, and it seems that both the father and daughter experience transformations within the piece, but because it is told from the father’s point of view we will focus on him being the character. At first, this story made me feel somber because I was sympathizing with the daughter, however after reading the entire story I realized that this story is not meant to be morose but rather to celebrate the joyous effect that music has on Anna. Simply because she was diagnosed with a neurological degenerative disease I was beginning to
While he enjoys everything to do with literature, she has no interest in anything literary. She is only happy in her alcoholic daze when she can escape the reality of her unhappy marriage and unsuccessful career. She explains to Natalie how "[t]his is the only life [she’s] got” and that “[she] spend[s] most of [her] time just thinking about how nice things used to be and wondering if they'll ever be nice again" (Jackson 10). She offers her empty life experience to her daughter, hoping that Natalie will never feel the sadness and loneliness she does because of her failure and distance to her own husband and children. The only seemingly stable one is Natalie’s brother Bud who manages to keep his distance from the family and engage himself in other activities. This conveys isolation since their depressing mood caused the whole family to drift away from one
Album’s use of time sequence gives readers a look into the development of his early friendship with Morrie. Additionally it illustrates his own personal development and the changes he went through from a young college student to a near middle-aged man.