Out Of My Mind: A Letter To Mrs. Draper

In a world usually depicted as a “man’s world,” a woman’s role is not considered as significant and thus can be repressed. It is why a feminist perspective or criticism comes into place, especially in literature. By definition, a feminist criticism consist of scrutinizing “the ways in which literature reinforces the economic, political, social, and psychological oppression of women.” (Tyson) In Gail Godwins’s A Sorrowful Woman, the leading female character is concentrated in her efforts in distancing from her structured lifestyle. A feminist would critic Godwins story by as the female character is in pursuit of peace and happiness and wants to escape from the role she has been implanted. The critic would concentrate on the experience woman

Maud Martha Gwendolyn Brooks was a black poet from Kansas who wrote in the early twentieth century. She was the first black woman to receive the Pulitzer Prize. Her writings deal mostly with the black experience growing up in inner Chicago. This is the case with one of her more famous works, Maud Martha. Maud Martha is a story that illustrates the many issues that a young black girl faces while growing up in a ‘white, male driven’ society. One aspect of Martha that is strongly emphasized on the book is her low self-image and lack of self-esteem. Martha feels that she is inferior for several reasons, but it is mainly the social pressures that she faces and her own blackness that contribute to these feelings of inferiority. It is

Question 3, (p. 1135): What are the “trifles” that the men ignore and the two women notice? Why do the men dismiss them, and why do the women see these things as significant clues? What is the thematic importance of these “trifles”?

In 1847 Eliza Stacey writes a letter to her father in law, Edward Stacey, to persuade him to help the family get out of this debt they have unexpectedly fallen into. Through her letter Eliza Stacey uses pathos to display the suffering the debt has brought her and ethos to

Rebecca is a beautiful, haunting, gripping tale of love, hate and deceit told in the simplest and most endearing manner by Daphne Du Maurier. 'Rebecca' is a beautiful, haunting, gripping tale of love, hate and deceit told in the simplest and most endearing manner by Daphne Du Maurier. Du Maurier weaves a beautiful web of mystery that holds you captive until the very end of the novel. We readers feel the anxiety, apprehension and fear that the protagonist describes and together we move through each chapter with an anxiety that only ends with the end of the novel itself. I think du Maurier's greatest accomplishment in this book, character-wise, is the way she develops Rebecca, who is already dead when the main action of the Van Hopper's calculated meetings that her companion meets Max De Winter who is pointed out to her as "the man who owns Manderly..." and a widower who cant get over his wife's death. Their relationship takes form the next day when Max invites her to join his table for lunch and

In this essay, I will be discussing Cather’s views on three philosophies of life and I will attempt to draw a conclusion about the one to which she personally adheres. I have took my time and read this book and it has been a really good one. It had

People sometimes have tough ordeals. Some may act negatively toward the problem, but the people that act positively toward the problem are able to see hope in places where they wouldn’t expect it to be in. People have been through cruelty, yet they continue to stay positive. People still have the positivity to cling onto their last hope, or even continue to think positively when there is no hope at all. People like Anne Frank, in Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl, continue to stay positive throughout the horrible ordeals that have happened. Some of the Japanese in Dear Miss Breed: True Stories of the Japanese American Incarceration During World War II and a Librarian Who Made a Difference have continued to stay hopeful while in internment

In Harper Lee’s novel To Kill A Mockingbird my ideas of personal courage changed by allowing me to reflect on the lack of equality in the world. There is still issues similar to this today involving discrimination and the absence of fairness. Throughout the novel it made me realize how poorly some people treat others, and how incredibly sad it is.

From the beginning Lucy Gayheart held my attention. It had so many ups, and downs, twists and turns that it was captivating. The book was very descriptive and wordy, but instead of taking away from the book it added depth and clarity. It's detail allowed me to become part of the book. I felt as if I knew Lucy forever,

Mrs. Betty Thomas is a seventy-three-year-old African American female who was born on April 17, 1942, in San Bernardino, CA. She was born into a family of nine children, six girls and three boys. I conducted the interview in the Thomas family home where Mrs. Thomas and her immediate family have resided in for fifty-five years. Her husband of over 50 years is deceased, and she misses him dearly. Mrs. Thomas is a tiny frame and short woman who stands about 5 feet, 105 pounds or less. She stands with no slump in here posture.  Her appearance was very comfortable dressed attire, black socks and not shoes.  Her home is well kept, tidy and scented with the smell of beef stew coming from a slow cooker on the kitchen counter. The home is in the midst of a working middle-class neighborhood; furnished with modern casual furniture, along with photographs of close family members spread throughout the living room and hallway area.

out of something bad). The book appealed to me in an emotional way, mostly because as a teen I

Summary “All my memories had words, and all my words had meaning. But only in my head. I have never spoken one single word” (Draper, 2010. p. 2). This quote is the first line in Sharon M. Draper’s book: “Out of My Mind”, that truly resonated with me. Melody, an 11-year-old girl, has a strong attachment to words describing them as delicate snowflakes, each one different, yet she can’t express herself with any words. Melody has spastic bilateral quadriplegia, also known as cerebral palsy. She has a hard time since, as she said, “I can’t talk. I can’t walk. I can’t feed myself or take myself to the bathroom. Big bummer” (Draper, 2010. p. 3). She shows unbelievably character development which provides numerous sections that were especially meaningful to me. Chapter 14 and 15 of “Out of My Mind” are very significant chapters in the book because it revolves around a

In her essay written as a travel journalist, The Old Man Isn’t There Anymore, American journalist Kellie Schmidt does a remarkable job entertaining readers with the awkwardness of her relationship with her Shanghainese neighbors, and describing a subsequent Chinese funeral. The author explains her neighbor’s hesitancy towards having a friendship with her in the shared three story house she had lived in four a year. After she observes some of her neighbors crying in the hallway, she phones her cleaning lady and learns an old man in the house, who she has believed has always said hello to her, has died. In her continued attempt to be neighborly, Kellie takes flowers to the family of her deceased neighbor; while there, she was invited to the

As I read the book I felt as if I was spending time with Matthew Homes. I felt his emotional journey, and at times his sleep deprivation when reading the book in wee hours of the morning. Even though I felt as if I was Matt, I also knew I was lucky. With this book I knew that mental health is such a fragile thing, and that Matt would always have a harder time than I. From this book alone, I learned so much on what it is like surviving and living with a mental illness.

My Comments: (revised) This novel was so powerful and beyond words. Alice Walker is an amazing writer, and everything about this book was quite phenomenal. It was incredibly sad, and hard to read at some points, but it was absolutely worth the read. I love the fact that the whole novel was a set of letters about a girl’s life. It's an unusual approach but it worked so well. Shug was so empowering to me, and I loved what she stood for, no matter how many people talked bad. She defied common teachings about God and what to believe in. She helped Celie love herself and her life. This book has changed my outlook on dealing with problems, pain, and suffering. It definitely made me appreciate my life and every little flaw. I learned to be happy