The Boat Alistair Macleod Analysis

Happiness, the number one factor in a persons decision making can completely change the way parents nurture their child. As the level of a parent’s happiness towards their child is dependent on the amount of pressure they impose in their child. In both Alistair Macleod’s short story, The Boat and W.H. Auden’s poem, The Average parents are seen putting different amounts pressure on their children. This pressure can be seen radically influencing how happy the parents are.

Humanity often tends to see itself as being somehow important in the grand scheme of the Universe. We speak of 'fate' as if we were put here for some reason, or purpose. We have our religions, which often serve as an engine to drive our lives and as a means to give meaning to them. But why do we think of ourselves in such a superior fashion? Do we really matter at all? Would the Universe stop if we were suddenly taken away? In his short story, 'The Open Boat,' Stephen Crane shows us a Universe totally unconcerned with the affairs of humankind; it is an indifferent Universe in which Man has to struggle to survive. The characters in the story come face to face with this indifference and are nearly overcome

I believe that everyone, no matter how big or small, also has challenges and obstacles which test them. Although the difficulty and frequency of these setbacks are not set in stone, everyone has to face these challenges to move on in life. Personally, one of the greatest challenges for me is to become what I want to be. In order to reach my goal I must finish university at a high standard, then move onto medical school to finish my education. Although, my challenges do not align with Homer’s, one bridge that can connect us, is the fact that our fathers are extremely demanding. Now, John Hickam wants Homer to work in the coal mine instead of Homer’s optimistic view of pursuing rocketry. This contradicts my father’s belief, which is of me being optimistic and becoming something which involves tons of hard work. This places a great deal of pressure on me in my studies. My method of achieving this will be, of course, working hard and such. However, it also plays a big part in me actually becoming what I want to be and not just what other people want. With me being on the same page as my father, I know what I am going to do in my life and will continue to pursue it until I reach my

"The Boat" by Alistair MacLeod is the story told from the perspective of university teacher looking back on his life. The narrator relates the first memories of his life until his father's death. The story focuses on the conflicting relation between the mother and the father, and their different perspectives on how their children should lead their lives. MacLeod uses features of setting to present the tension between tradition and freedom.

In the story "The Open Boat," by Stephen Crane, Crane uses many literary techniques to convey the stories overall theme. The story is centered on four men: a cook, a correspondent, Billie, an oiler who is the only character named in the story, and a captain. They are stranded in a lifeboat in stormy seas just off the coast of Florida, just after their ship has sunk. Although they can eventually see the shore, the waves are so big that it is too dangerous to try to take the boat in to land. Instead, the men are forced to take the boat further out to sea, where the waves are not quite as big and dangerous. They spend the night in the lifeboat and take turns rowing and then resting. In the morning, the men are weak and exhausted. The captain

In the short story, “The Boat” by Alistair Macleod, symbolism is used to represent an abstract idea. The boat, being a major symbol of the story was the way of life for the family. As the story goes on, the boat starts to make the family feel confined giving them a choice to leave or stay with the boat. There were symbols that impacted the story that had connection towards the boat. Chain bracelets, the father’s clothes, the books that the father read are all symbols that tied to the boat. The father's chain bracelets and clothes represent the father feeling trapped as a fisherman since he never changes out of them. We find out more about the characters and their personal connection with the boat and the other symbols and what it means to them. The family starts to fall apart due to the kids learning about the father’s books leading to them moving away from home. Symbolism is used when one thing is meant to represent something else adding meaning and emotion to the story which is well represented throughout the story.

Various children grow up admiring and desiring to be comparable to their mother or father. In the poem, “Future Connected By,” Edward J. Whitelock contrasts the son’s desire to follow in his father’s footsteps of becoming a welder with the father’s desire for his son to be more successful than he was. In the poem the son says, ““I’m going to be a welder, just like my dad”” (Whitelock 141). Some people would agree that the son is right to think highly of his father and want to be in the same profession as him. To a certain extent they are right but most parents’ want to see their children go further in life than they did. Whitelock clearly demonstrates that the father knows his sons true potential when he tells his son “ “No yer not. Yer too

The father, although coming from a lineage of fisherman, does not possess the traditional mentality. Perhaps some of the anger the mother feels in the story stems, in part, from knowing despite her wish of marrying ‘a fisherman’, her husband is far from it. From the beginning, it is clear that the father was not designed to be a fisherman. His pale skin burns and bubbles in the sun, re-burning rather than tanning (121). His inability to swim (124) contradicts the entire nature of his livelihood. He spends days on the ocean, yet figuratively and literally he can never truly emerge himself in it. He does not want his son to follow in his footsteps, which in a way contradicts what a true fishing family would want, and what his mother

The father/husband has had to live a life of following patterns passed down by many fishermen, his life thought about university and a higher job opportunity was shot down. This story is strongly influenced by the traditional folk culture of Cape Breton. 1 A university degree was never an accomplishment in his culture; his father raised him to be a strong, hard working

The fundamental factor, that determines the differences in the boy’s lives, is whether their parents constantly agree with one another or not. Warren's parents always act as one unit; “his parents [board] him at school”, “[t]hey blushed” or “the meagre acreage that bore them down”. In every case, they are seen as a singular force, which makes decisions together. On the other hand, the Professor's parents could not act more differently. The mother keeps her house in “immaculate order” while the father leaves his room in ”disruptive chaos”. They are polar opposites, the “mother [is] of the sea” and of the physical world, while the father “[is] of the ... book” and of knowledge and learning. The biggest difference is that of the parents’ tolerance. The mother does not accept her daughters’ husbands as they “[are] not of her people”, while the father allows his children to chose their own paths in life. The father “never [tells his children] to do anything,... only [asks]”. It is this differences of opinions that allows the Professor to follow his dreams. Since Warren's parents always

During Sharon M. Drapers childhood years, they were very successful because of her parents. Her parents encouraged her and her siblings to study, work hard, and as a result they could reach any goal they set for themselves. As encouraging as her parent were, they would set standards for each child and push them to be the best they could be. Her parents taught her that every opportunity you get you take because you never know what the future holds for many cases. In the educational aspects “For her parents education was precious commodity”. (SharonDraper1) Ever since the time

Daniel James Brown manages to awe and inspire readers in his book The Boys in the Boat, which describes the hardships a row crew from Washington underwent to make it to the 1936 Olympics. The story of the nine rowers on the Washington crew teaches lessons about inner confidence, trust, dedication, and the hope that can be found during even the most difficult times. I learned while reading that being the underdog doesn’t mean you’re destined to fail. Readers see that despite the hardships and many disadvantages the Washington crew faced, their dedication allowed them to beat the odds and inspire an entire nation.

In another episode of Fresh Off the Boat, the Huangs struggle with staying in touch with their Chinese culture while being surrounded by American society. Mrs. Huang notices that her family is straying from their Chinese identity by doing things such as not speaking the language at home, not wearing the proper attire, and not eating home-made Chinese food. In a last-ditch effort, she forces her sons and husband to give up certain aspects of their American life in order to try to get them to behaving more Chinese. She starts wearing traditional Chinese dresses, only speaking Chinese, cooking classic Chinese food, and forcing the boys to go to a Chinese school two hours from their house. She even forces Eddy, her eldest son, to choose China as the country he has to present during the school culture fair.

The Open Boat by Stephen Crane is a story describing four men that are trapped together in a small boat or dingy. The men aboard the boat are a captain, a correspondent, an oiler, and a cook. The men were aboard a larger boat that crashed off the coast of Florida and are now searching for the safety of a light house they remember. After making a homemade sail and some brisk paddling they finally get near the coast. They spot some people and begin to signal for help but the people only respond with friendly waves. The tide is much too strong to swim to shore so they paddle back out to sea a ways and wait for it to calm. While waiting they get approached by a shark. The large fish circles in such a way that death searches for the