Northern Lights By Philip Pullman

In Binghamton, New York, author David Sedaris, reflected on a snow day that truly represented how his family operated behind closed doors. "Let it Snow", was a captivating personal reflection showing how exactly alcohol can ruin a family. Although this was not directly written within the essay; Sedaris however, had the abuse of alcohol as an underlying theme that the reader could pick up on. For instance, "We knocked on the pane, and without looking in our direction, she refilled her goblet and left the room." (Sedaris 73). Through the use of multiple literary devices, Sedaris was able to capture his audience through a compelling first-person narrative, the use of black humor, and the use of imagery.

Howard Thurman removes the window dressing in the African American experience of segregation in America. Thurman in his book, “The Luminous Darkness” paints an obscure portrait that delved deep into the consciousness of Black men, women and children freshly freed from chattel slavery. Two hundred years of slavery and one hundred years of darkness seeping into each soul perpetuated by an evil explained only through the Word of God. Although this book was published in the 60’s, the stigma segregation continues resonate in the souls of those who remember and perhaps even in the souls of those who do not.

“You must understand that you must treat all men as machines in service of the emperor” This quote was used by the Japanese to describe the POW’s in this book. The POW’s were people that were captured and imprisoned by the enemy side. However, many of the prisoners that worked for the Japanese were not even involved in the war. In fact, in the book only a fraction of the prisoners captured were even part of the Alliance. “Alongside them were a quarter of a million Tamils, Chinese, Javanese, Malayans, Thais, and Burmese. Or more.” In “The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan” begins with Dorrigo Evans looking back on his life.He has an affair with his uncle 's wife Amy, while already liking another girl named Ella, without

The human race likes to believe that it is the most intelligent and powerful life form on planet Earth. While mankind has proven to be capable of many remarkable feats, there is one force that proves that man is relatively fragile. This force; though not living, is capable of rendering even man utterly weak and powerless. This force is nature. Throughout Sinclair Ross’ short story The Lamp at Noon, the historical context of the Great Depression helps to reinforce the story’s theme that nature is more powerful than man. This is evident through the fact that in the story and in real life; nature caused the Great Depression, nature can cause man to do unusual things and the fact that nature continually outsmarts man. These examples have been exemplified throughout the text and history to help prove that nature is indeed more powerful than man.

Equipped with radio transmitters and a “light” powerful enough to pierce the darkness, lighthouses function as marine and navigational aids. The light illustrates redemption and direction, leading those in trouble to security and refuge. The archetype resembles to the symbol of a “tower” which denotes danger, and captivity but the factor of “light” is able to transform the lighthouse into a symbol of hope, unity, and guidance, since light is a form of safety, goal and purity. In ancient times, sailors were guided by fires on hilltops as placing the fire on a high platform would improve visibility. This occurred before the first lighthouse, the Pharos of Alexandria, was created. “In Roman mythology, the Roman god of Janus was the god of transitions

The stimulating novel, A Northern Light, written by an outstanding author, Jennifer Donnelly, was recommended to me by my eighth grade English teacher, Mrs. Jimenez. Mrs. Jimenez had given me a few recommendations she thought I might enjoy. I chose to read, A Northern Light, because of my interest in novels comprised of mystery, and in this case, homicide. Mysteries are most intriguing to me because of the thought provoking effect they have on the reader. These types of novels always keep the readers on their toes and interested throughout every chapter. Donnelly had written this novel based on stories she heard growing up from her grandmother. The stories about her grandmothers’ life as a young girl fascinated her so much that she decided

In a postmodern world it is worth contemplating in what we can put our faith. Does culture, religion, or God merit our trust? Or is this a world of mechanical and biological evolutionary processes void of any meaning and purpose? The Sunset Limited, “a novel in dramatic form,” by Cormac McCarthy, is a dialogue between two persons who approach each other from opposite worlds to answer these questions. Black, a born-again believer and ex-con, and White, a nihilistic college professor, attempt to determine whether belief in God is viable in this world and if life is worth living. Despite Black’s efforts to convince him otherwise, White remains a Depressed Self who denies God’s existence, affirms his view of the world as deranged, and leaves to complete his suicide.

Death, as an integral part of life, should be accepted and respected. However, in The Stranger, Meursault views death almost joyously, going through life without care or consideration, as death to him is nothing but inevitable. His opinion on death creates his identity, his own personality mirroring the carefree opinion of death that he holds. Throughout The Stranger, Camus employs symbolism of Meursault’s surroundings to convey the absurdity of life that is central to Meursault’s identity, causing his actions against society’s strict moral code, until his eventual realization when finally faced with death himself.

The Light in the Forest is a story about a white boy, Tru Son, forced to return to his white family, after living with the Lenni Lenape Indians for the past eleven years.True Son was taken by the Indians when he was four. Tru Son’s Indian father was Cuyloga. Del Hardy, he's a character that used to be an Indian. He brought Tru Son back to his white family. Tru Son’s white name is Johnny. His parents are Harry and Myra Butler. Gordie is his white brother. Half Arrow is True Son’s Indian friend. He brings True Son back to his Indian family. At the end, True Son has to go back to his white family.

The story I read was“The Sun and the Moon” retold by Jeannette Faurot from the book Asian-Pacific Folktales and Legends, pages 18 through 22. The main characters were two siblings, a son and daughter, and a tricky tiger. The story took place in Korea, way in the past. The conflict involves the tiger, after eating the sibling’s mother, tries to eat the children. The tiger desperately tries to trick the children so it can eat them, but the children keep outsmarting the tiger. While eluding the tiger, the siblings escape into the heavens where they are awarded for escaping the tiger. The daughter is turned into the sun, and the son becomes to moon.

Carl Zimmer, an evolution scientist, wrote an article called “Bringing Them Back to Life”. In July 2003, a group of scientists brought the bucardo back to life, allowing scientists to reverse time.

One issue of Freud’s psychoanalytic theories and the psychosexual stages is exposed through examining Frantz Fanon. During the 1950’s Fanon found residency in France and wrote about the impact of colonialism subjugation of blacks. The focus was on the negative psychological effects brought out by the trauma of the events. Loss of personal identity, reactionary psychoses and defense mechanisms were all brought up related to the war involving the algerians. An interesting conclusion from Fanon is that there are mental defenses to protect a person from mental disorders such as Case No.1’s wife. Its implied that simple differences, such as knowing the information a person is being tortured for, can greatly impact whether or not they acquire

New Moon is a romance novel, and you can find this book at the library. Stephenie Meyer is the author of the Twilight Saga. Stephenie graduated from Brigham Young University, with a degree in English literature. She lives with her husband, and her sons in Arizona. She is a delightful author that writes adventurous books. The vocabulary and reading level is considered a high school level novel. New Moon is intended for teenage girls from ninth to twelfth grade; enjoy reading about vampires.

In the poem, The Crunch by Charles Bukowski, it talks about some of the major topics that are important to us in this world. The poem explains how some people can feel insecure about themselves. People believe they need to look perfect to succeed in life. The poem says the world has a sense of loneliness and how people are not the same anymore. Charles Bukowski explains the many problems that people are having, however it seems it is all mental.

The most magical time of the year is Christmas; where friends and family gather around to celebrate the birth of Christ, exchange gifts and love. The Christmas tree itself is a symbolic figure that brings Christmas together. During the time of ‘1879’ was conceived a revolution of a new modern perspective and created a realist drama in modern homes (local history). Whereas Nora lived and breathed to make Torvald happy because in the time, European men were the dominate ones and women basically conform there ways (local history). “However the growth of trade and industry should not be exaggerated. In the 18th century the vast majority of Norwegians were farmers and fishermen” (local history). Moreover, the presence of the Christmas tree within the play is used by Henrik Ibsen as an instrument to symbolically express an intense personal experience, which cannot be conveyed directly. The Christmas tree is meant to serve a decorative purpose which symbolizes Nora’s position in her household as a play thing who is pleasing to look at and enhances charm to the home; furthermore there are a number of parallels drawn between Nora and the Christmas tree in the play.