Revelation by Ruby Turpin Essay

Main Characters: Macey Clare, Austin Fent, Mr. and Mrs. Macey, Monica and Henry Fent, Venita Edna, Grace, and Lindsay.

In the book “Nothing But the Truth”, a young adult fiction novel written by Avi. In “Nothing But the Truth”, Philip Malloy, the main character, begins humming during the morning announcements when the National Anthem was played. Everyone thought that he was trying to create a disturbance but Philip said that he was trying to be Patriotic. A few days later, he got suspended. Philip’s story was heard from all over the country several days later. All of Philip’s friends and teachers are trying to prove him wrong and the country thanking him for something he lied about. So to avoid the mess, Philip switched to a private school. But when the Nation Anthem played there, a teacher asked him to sing but Philip said that he doesn’t know the words. Throughout the entire book, Philip was treated fairly for many reasons. First, for how Philip was

‘The Sapphires’ by Wayne Blair was the trigger that led my research into the effects of the Stolen Generation on Aboriginals in Australia. This film is about an Aboriginal singing group who want to make a name for themselves, but find it difficult because of the racism against them. This film also tells the stories of their cousin Kay, who was a half-caste and was stolen from her Aboriginal family at a young age to be taught the ways of white people, and forget her culture. This film made me realise that I am lucky to live in a country where racism of such an extent in which children are stolen from their indigenous families, isn’t part of our history, and has not affected me personally. From my research, I have found six main sources that have helped me to understand how large this problem was and continues to be. My sources: ‘The Sapphires’ by Wayne Blair; a film about a group of Aboriginal singers who are affected by racism which is based on a real life singing group; ‘The Sorry Speech’, by Kevin Rudd who was the Prime Minister of Australia in 2008 who explains the damage and apologises for the way that the actions of past governments tore apart the lives of their indigenous people. Then there is ‘Blind Eye,’ the documentary in which people who were stolen are interviewed and tell their stories. The film, ‘Rabbit Proof Fence’ this tells the story of two girls who were stolen and gives us insight into how brutally that they were treated after being ripped apart from

When Irene finally realizes that this woman is Clare, someone who chooses to “pass” and hide all traces of her black heritage, Irene’s opinion of her changes. She no longer wants to be involved with Clare in any way, and “had no desire or intention of making the slightest effort about Tuesday. Nor any other day for that matter. She was through with Clare Kendry.” (p. 31) Irene is appalled that someone can so easily throw away her background just for the sake of gaining privilege over another race. When Clare asks her if she had ever thought of passing, Irene replies, “No. Why should I? You see, Clare, I’ve everything I want.” (p. 28) She is happy with what she has, not even having to give up anything to get there. Or at least that’s what she convinces herself to believe. Irene is again hypocritical in her beliefs. Even when she opposes Clare’s view of passing, she is still very interested in the idea. “The truth was, she was curious. There were things she wanted to ask Clare Kendry. She wished to find out about this hazardous business of ‘passing’…” (p. 24) She even admitted that she held for her “a fascination, strange and compelling.” (p. 28) Irene doesn’t seem to be able to decide if she accepts passing as reasonable. She forces herself to disagree with passing, allowing her to hate Clare for doing it. This shows us that sexuality and race are two matters that conflict with each other, at least in Irene’s opinion. She uses race to

The play Spring Awakening, written by Frank Wedekind, pushed the boundaries of the strongly moralistic society of the Victorian age. It was written in 1891, but because of its explicitness, it was not performed until more than a decade later, in 1906. One controversial aspect that is detailed in the play is the unwanted pregnancy of the character Wendla Bergmann. Wedekind 's description of this topic illuminates the destructiveness of the Victorian age, which believed in morality and virtuosity above all else. The complete lack of sexual education, middle class values, and hostile feelings towards illegitimate children are the topics concerning sex and sexuality examined in Spring Awakening.

Lust is having a self-indulgent sexual desire. Susan Minot portrayed the mind of a promiscuous high school female perfectly. Lust is powerful and seductive, but it's inherently selfish and opposed to love. For many girls who are having sex with different boys they can identify with the desire to be needed. The characters in "Lust" are written in a way to highlight the dysfunction and disconnection of everyone involved. The narrator herself is nameless and faceless, making the reader believe that she has already somehow disappeared, just as the men in her life have made her disappear after having sex. Similarly, the men are listed in a brief and are identified only by their sexual acts or by other, easily objectified characteristics. What

As a teenager she got pregnant by Peter and she went to New York to get an abortion. Ruth did not tell anyone but Peter. Peter was a black man and he was first boyfriend. By her being a white women and being Jewish, she knew it would be a

The book, “Apostles of Disunion,” by Charles Dew, relates to a major topic that we have been discussing in lecture, which is racial equality. Racial equality was a very rough battle that was being taken on by abolitionists and African Americans in America at the time before and during the civil war. Many southerners did not want slavery to end and the book is mainly about the south trying to succeed from America to become its own nation that could thrive off of slavery. They desperately wanted slavery to continue because they thought it crucial for them to be able to continue to harvest crops and make a living off of the work that slaves were forced to do. Southerners also hated the idea of African Americans being seen as equal to them because

After the reader realizes the impact of trauma on Twyla’s memory, the audience further discerns Roberta’s complications following the assault. When Roberta discusses the event later into her adulthood with Twyla, she finds her own memory of the assault is at fault. Originally, Roberta addressed Maggie’s race to Twyla as being black, but as she continued to investigate the past similar to Twyla, she then retracts her statement. In response to Twyla’s assault questionings succeeding the initial racial comment, Roberta responds with:

Flannery O’Connor believed in the power of religion to give new purpose to life. She saw the fall of the old world, felt the force and presence of God, and her allegorical fictions often portray characters who discover themselves transforming to the Catholic mind. Though her literature does not preach, she uses subtle, thematic undertones and it is apparent that as her characters struggle through violence and pain, divine grace is thrown at them. In her story “Revelation,” the protagonist, Mrs. Turpin, acts sanctimoniously, but ironically the virtue that gives her eminence is what brings about her downfall. Mrs. Turpin’s veneer of so called good behavior fails to fill the void that would bring her to heaven. Grace hits her with force and

Toni Cade Bambara’s "The Lesson" revolves around a young black girl’s struggle to come to terms with the role that economic injustice, and the larger social injustice that it constitutes, plays in her life. Sylvia, the story’s protagonist, initially is reluctant to acknowledge that she is a victim of poverty. Far from being oblivious of the disparity between the rich and the poor, however, one might say that on some subconscious level, she is in fact aware of the inequity that permeates society and which contributes to her inexorably disadvantaged economic situation. That she relates poverty to shame—"But I feel funny, shame. But what I got to be

Ruby's blatant racism, her smug complacency, her haughty bearing and cruel condescension have long since repelled us. Plump and pleasant though she may be outwardly, Mrs. Turpin is morally ugly inside.

Through our life experiences, we all have a different story or perception of an event that we envision to be the truth. The question is, how do we know what is the truth? In the novel by Russell Banks, "The Sweet Hereafter" tells a handful of stories from different points of view providing contrasting angles and meanings to the same event. As these stories interlock with each other and intertwine together the accounts of how each of these people cope with this tragedy, Banks helps readers explore the complexities of grief. In "Books of The Times; Small-Town Life After a Huge Calamity", Michiko Kakutani feels Banks draws on the school bus accident as a catalyst for enlightening the lives of the

Irene wants to control her relationship with Clare and seems frustrated as she loses control when Clare is around. One occasion, Irene tries hard not to accept Clare’s invitation to meet her but ends up going. Later, Irene’s anger goes away just by the power of Clare’s smile, "And under her potent smile a part of Irene's annoyance with herself fled”. This constant loose of power makes Irene vulnerable and the possible affair between Clare and Brian gives Irene a motive for hating her instead of admitting her lesbianism and losing the life she has worked so hard to build.

Just like its predecessor, Ruby is founded on the concept that isolation equals protection. The citizens view Ruby as a "fortress [they] bought and built up and [which they had] to keep everybody locked in or out" (213). It is a town where "outsider" and "enemy" are "'. . . two words [that] mean the same thing'" (212). They believe in their isolation so much that the outsider, Reverend Misner, feels like "he [is] herding a flock which [believes] not only that it [has] created the pasture it [grazes] but that grass from any other meadow [is] toxic" (212). In an effort to retain this isolation which they believe to be paradise, the citizens did not build anything "to serve a traveler: no diner, no police, no gas station, no public phone, no movie house, no hospital" (12).