Never Fall Down Character Analysis

Authors in many instances use the main elements in the story such as setting and narrative to prove a point in the story. For example, writers often use characters, their actions, and their interaction with other characters to support or prove a theme. In the short story “Our Thirteenth Summer”, Barry Callaghan effectively uses characters to develop the theme that childhood is fragile and easily influenced. One of the ways that Callaghan makes effective use of characters to develop the theme is by describing the tension between Bobbie and his parents. This usage of characters supports the theme because Bobbie’s childhood is no longer free to do what he wishes, but has to bow down to his parents’

Alex matures and grows through his experiences in China and is now aware of the human consequences that war has. Alex’s growth and maturity is shown when his dad is captured by PLA. Proof of this is when Alex and his dad are talking over the two way radio before Ted gets captured. He is very concerned for his Dad at this point in the book. This event is the beginning of Alex’s awakening. This event hits Alex hard and makes him realize the reality behind war. Another event that helps Alex articulate his new vision of war is when he sees Lau Xu die right in front of his eyes. He even describes the details of the shooting when he says “Crack! Lau Xu spun around, his arms flung skyward. Before he fell the AK 47 spit flame again and the burst blew Lao xu off his feet” (Bell 114). Another example of Alex’s growth leading up to his epiphany of hating war is when Xin-hua gets shot. This happens when Alex starts to beg the officer to let her go and says” Please let me talk to your commanding officer. I just want to-...CRACK. The sound of a single gunshot. I turned to look into the trees where they had taken Xin-Hua. Oh God no, I moaned. No, No ,Nooooooo!” (Bell 183). Alex is now fully aware of the horrible consequences of war after witnessing the death of his friends and his father getting

I was pleased to have attended a lecture cosponsored by the Ethics Center, the Fresno State office of the president, the Fresno Bee and Valley PBS. The lecture began with Dr. Castro recognizing a few leaders on campus, including a past Fresno State president, Dr. John D. Welty and campus volunteer Mary Castro. Dr. Castro then mentioned a few things about Mr. Brooks stating that he is a columnist for the New York Times and an analyst for the PBS “News Hour” and NPR’s “All Things Considered.” Dr. Brooks also teaches at Yale University, one the finest university in the country. Dr. Castro continued by saying that he learned that Mr. Brooks office hours are from 9am to 1pm and how “cool” it sounded to him. I was surprised how many people attended the event. I was fortunate to find a seat. David Brooks mentioned how he has some remote roots in the Central Valley because his father grew in Chowchilla, CA but Mr. Brooks grew in New York.

Jimmy knows too well the agonies of abandonment. First, when his mother, Cecilia, ran away with Richard to pursue a better lifestyle. Then, due to his father’s, Damacio Baca, alcoholisms and violent behavior; he also had to leave Jimmy behind. In spite of the drawbacks from abandonment to being a maximum security prisoner in Arizona State Prison, Jimmy preserver’s the darkness of prison by overcoming his illiteracy. However Cecilia and Damacio is not as fortunate as their child; Cecilia is shot by Richard after confronting him for a divorce and Damacio chokes to death after he is released from the detox center(Baca 263). Therefore the most significant event in this section of the memoir, A Place to Stand by Jimmy Santiago Baca is the death of Jimmy’s parents.

Grace has been told for more than half her life that she was crazy. Her mother’s death that she witnesses was an accident, there was no scarred man, and there was nothing she could do to change what had happened. But Grace knew they were wrong. With the help of her friends Noah, Megan and Rosie, she managed to discover that the scarred man was Dominic, the first love of her mother, who was there to kill her mother, but chose instead to stage her death. Grace came down just as Dominic was taking the picture, and picked up the gun that was lying on the floor. Firing blinding, she missed Dominic and shot her mother instead. The traumatic moment of shooting her mother was blocked from Grace’s mind as it was unable to handle what she did. Her family tries to protect her from this, saying it was an accident, trying to get Grace to stop pushing. When pushing too hard, Grace discovers the truth of what happened that night, and what she did, and with the

In less than a few months, Cambodia, once prosperous and vivacious, has transformed into a tumultuous nation filled with suffering and tribulations. The Khmer Rouge’s calamitous actions asunder families; however, because thousands of people are undergoing the same tragedies, many abiding friendships are established. Arn befriends several members of his band, including Siv, Kha, and Mek. Throughout their time at the camp, they are constantly supporting each other, always providing either nourishment or encouragement. Instead of working in the fields during harvest time, Arn and his band are busy muting the sounds of death by playing hymns that praise Angka. After the radio announces the Vietnamese are going to liberate Cambodia, panic and chaos rapidly spread throughout the camp. Many people, both prisoners, and the Khmer Rouge, seize this opportunity to flee. As Arn prepares to abscond, he realizes that despite their atrocious principles, he fears the

Alex was interested in the history of wars but he is not realizing war is very harming and the impacts it has on people. Alex has a very arrogant and opinionated personality because he does not think beyond; for example, he only cared about the strategies but he is not going beyond of what people had to go through and their emotions. He only cared about his thoughts and opinions and does not care what other people had to say. This also proves that he thought his dad was immature when he said, “Sometimes I wonder if my father will ever grow up” (Bell 1). When Alex and his father Ted came off the plane, Alex had to handle the boarding

All refugees, the circumstances notwithstanding, face immense hardship throughout their lives. In time, these hardships give way to new opportunities, dreams, and perspectives, as even in the face of suffering, one always retains their intrinsic self. Kim Ha, the protagonist in Thanhha Lai’s Inside Out and Back Again, experienced this through her family’s daring escape from war-torn South Vietnam. Consequently, Inside Out and Back Again serves as a fitting title for her story.

A Lesson Before Dying A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines tells the story of a black man, Jefferson, with unequal rights, being accused of killing a white man. Although, the accusation was far from being right, he is a black man, and blacks were treated unfairly. Throughout the journey of the trial, Jefferson and Grant became very close, and they both learned a lot from each other and the trial. Grant learns the lesson of being a man, because he develops feelings, and becomes humble.

On the one hand, Youk Chhang was a survivor when the Khmer Rouge came to power in Cambodia. One of his opinions was “Some Cambodians are anxious to forget and forgive. Others are angry and searching for justice” (Hyde 2). Chhang lost everything, and tells us this story. He was 13 years old when the Khmer

Alex is a young man who seems to be very well educated but does something that gives him the allusion of a "nutcase." Since he seems to be well educated, Alex has probably lived most his life studying and staying in school to learn but never got a chance to experience life outside of his town.The book states that he had not talked to his parents for two years for reasons unknown and it could be suspected that he then realized that this was his chance to escape into the wilderness and live off the land for as long as he wanted to. He seems determined and excited to finally be out on his own which means that he wont give up easy and unfortunately might push himself past his limits and lead him to death. His lack of care about the rules of the

In the book “Never Fall Down”, Arn starts off as a lower class kid who does anything he can to make an extra buck. He sells ice cream to kids, but also gambles with adults. However, he shows he doesn’t want this money all for himself. After acquiring the money, he buys gifts along with food, for his family to help them live a little better. Soon after, everything changes as the Khmer Rouge take over the town filling them with lies about the Americans bombing them if they don’t evacuate.

In the book Free to Fall by Lauren Miller the quote, "Character is what you are in the dark", Dwight Lyman Moody, is best represented by the characters, Rory Vaughn and North Pascal. My interpretation of the quote is, you are most yourself when you are alone. They are both in situations where they cannot be themselves to the public and alone are completely different people. Rory can hear "the doubt", a voice children have been told is a mental illness all their lives.

In the novel Catch Me If You Can by Frank William Abagnale, Frank is a well defined static character. Even though he faces different challenges throughout the novel, he remains the same a the end of the story as he was in the beginning. Being said this, he still continued to run away from his problems and did cons. He is a confident individual who ran away from home at a young age to find a life for himself. Frank is a smart, young and charismatic boy. During his early teen years, his parents started to go through a divorce, which left him torn between whom to choose to stay with. After learning about the divorce that was about to take place, Frank decides to runaway. Frank states, “One June morning of 1964, I woke up and knew it was time to go.

Alex's world is characterized by class collectivism and dullness. For him the middle class remains behind closed doors enjoying the commodities of televised entertainment, while the working spend most of their time at work or asleep. Demarcated from the society by its own language, nadsat, the violent Modern Youth lives in a different world. Thus no accepted form of social identification exists for Alex, and life in