Round Characters In The Destructors

No mention of a character within a story can be unintentional. Every word counts and contributes to an image of the character both directly and indirectly. In the short story “Ray” by Guy Vanderhaeghe, protagonist Ray Matthews is an example of how no word goes unused to maximize a character. Ray is an average, middle aged man, with an average wife, an average accounting job, and an average life. Nothing sticks out that is unique to him, and his inability to understand anything without others explaining it to him creates issues throughout his life. Vanderhaeghe develops Ray's character through his physical description, how others speak of him, and his social interactions to exemplify how important characterization is in a story.

Blacky’s thoughts about prejudice in the town are confirmed after the football presentations. When the McRae medal was won by Mark Arks (from the white boys footy team), Blacky could not believe that his town could go this far and be so racist, Dumby had contributed so much to the team all season, he had been the true team player and was the best and everyone in the Port new it, but they continued to say nothing, Blacky then became really angry. Blacky states;

In the book, Gang Leader for a Day, a rogue sociologist passionately dives into the lives of one of Chicago’s toughest housing projects in an attempt to develop an insight as to how the urban impoverished lived. Throughout the text it becomes clear that a conflict paradigm is being reflected. A conflict society is based on social inequality, in which some individuals benefit and thrive more than others, which tends to lead to conflict and thus change. This is evident both in the housing projects where a gang known as the “Black Kings” take over and also in the surrounding neighborhoods where the more elite citizens, including persons from the authors university, shy away from associating with the nearby poor black nearby public, thus

Ishmael Beah is described as a pre-teen, with a love of rap and hip-hop music. He finishes as a drug-addicted killing machine, out avenging the death of his entire family. Before being rescued by a United Nations Program, and eventually fleeing to New York for rehabilitation, it is a tragic and harrowing tale that gives substance to the term ‘Boy Soldier’, that isn’t really understood in most cases. Ishmael gives a gentle portrayal of his life, before the war reached his small village and forever changed his life. Abruptly he becomes fugitive fleeing for his life and eventually into a corrupted teen.

Character descriptions are used to give a first and usually last impression of a character. The novel "Lord of the Flies" is a typical example. When Ralph is first mentioned he is described as a big solid boy who is confident when he talks, which indicates the qualities of a leader. As soon as Piggy is introduced he starts suggesting witty ideas that are thrown back in his face, which parallel throughout the novel. Piggy is also described as a fat little boy with asthma and glasses, which indicates straight away that he will be stereotypical of society and be cast away as a nobody. There is significant conflict between Jack and Ralph in the first chapter which also continues to grow throughout the novel. A character profile is used to involve the reader and give a character more depth into their personality thus creating a more intense storyline.

This book is about two black children, Layfette and Pharaoh, who grow up in inner city Chicago. They are faced with racism and hardships because of their race and social class. They have different ways of coping, but are better at facing the worst the city has to offer than are many of the other young black children who live around them. During the story the boys are faced with many adversities that stem from the social system. They are faced with gangs, drugs and Chicago housing. However, they also must face their own inner demons that may lead to either of them giving up and giving in to the corruption of the inner city. One of the major turning points in the story is when Layfette gets arrested for vandalizing a car, even though he says he did not. He gets released and is gets off with probation and 100 hours of community service. After this incident the author gets both kids in to a private school where Pharaoh thrives and starts to make good grades instead of daydreaming. Unfortunately Layfette could not handle the pressure and returns to public school. During this time Rickey starts running drugs for one of the local gangs. He is later arrested for carrying a butcher knife. The CHA finally cleans out the horrendous mess in the Henry Horner basements and reclaims the buildings from the gangs. Dawn and Demetrius finally get an

Townie, written by Andre Dubus III, is a memoir that portrays the detailed events, good or bad, of Andre Dubus III’s life as an adolescent until maturity. Dubus describes himself gaudily, explaining his battles as a boy growing up in the Boston area. Growing up without a cookie cutter father, Andre never had a strong and omniscient figure to help him throughout childhood. The only thing that became a common theme in his life was violence. Violence is present in his lifetime through many forms, starting as him getting beaten up by bullies and ending with him getting in fights as an adult with little to no motive. This continual violence brings out a fury and terror that Andre has to fight against his entire life. While he does eventually become content with his life without fighting, he initially has to fight through many obstructions to get to this point. These hindrances, though from an outsider’s perspective are tragic, shape him into the person he is today.

6. “Is the Character ‘Flat’ or ‘Rounded’? A character is considered flat (or static) when he or she does not experience change of any kind, does not grow from beginning to end. Round characters are those who do experience some sort of growth.”

As I young child he found it more interesting to be in the street than be at home. He had become the new kid on which led him to be subjected to the neighborhood bullies. He quickly learned how to defend himself threw fighting. He was fighting neighborhood bullies at age six. Learning how to fight at age six is a bit ridiculous. As a member of the black male species living in the ghetto he would

You would think, a young boy, sent to different camps, fighting to live, gets luckily abandoned by the surrendering Nazis and saved by the allies. But, the story is so much more. The boy is taken from everything he knows and loves and has to find a way to live. He is left with nothing and everything valuable is taken away. He is then marked as an object and treated worse than a

He tried to punch Mr. Dark because he was trying to protect Will and Jim. It also says, “Will’s father, groaning, sank to both knees, flailing his right arm.” (221) This textual evidence also shows the outraged tone Charles has by portraying how Mr. Halloway reacted

He and his family are kicked out of their home and sent to a ghetto and then they are put on trains. During this time World War II is going on and Hitler is in charge of these acts. He has planned to kill all of the Jews. When they got to the concentration camp they were put into two lines. One line was put to work and the second line was instantly put in the crematorium.

The Nazis followed Hitler’s orders and believed what Hitler told them: the Jewish people are responsible for all of Germany’s hardships, including losing World War I. Describe the setting and explain how the setting influenced the main events of the story. This story took place in Poland and throughout Germany mainly in concentration camps. Jack was first sent to the concentration camps when he was twelve years old and spent the next

The “Gypsies” were said , by the Nazi’s, to have evil powers and would only bring sorrow and misfortune to the villagers. The fear and suspicion quickly turned into hostility. The villagers poked, prodded, kicked, whipped and tortured the boy for days while other watched and laughed “My body burned from the slashes of the whip...”(Kosinski 17). As time passed, a plague spread throughout the village, they believed that the boy must have brought the misfortune to them. They believed that if they rid themselves of the “Gypsy boy”, they would be free of the misfortune. Enraged, the villagers threw the boy into the river in hopes of his death by drowning. The actions of the villagers were compelled by their prejudice against the boys’ perceived ethnic origins. The alienation and loneliness the boy feels after being separated from his parents and the only other person that has taken care of him is gone, now he is all alone. The boy learns that he will have to learn to cope with the alienation and loneliness in order to survive this world. The unknown causes people to be quick to judge. The fear and hate of the unknown causes people to commit horrible acts, which only gets easier when they are sanctioned by state authority.

He is well known for the Jesse Owen’s Incident. What on earth was he thinking painting himself black? I remember we all watched papa scrubbing all the black off of Rudy and telling him not to ever do it again.