The Darkest Shadow

Growing in a tiny family, I was raised with my brother who is 6 years older than me. My father was always away and my mother was very protective. My mother used to not let me play with kids outside thinking I would get hurt and if sneak out sometimes my brother would follow me and hit me and tell me to go back home. I was never allowed to talk to him. I was always shut down whenever I have a question to ask either him or my mom. When I grew up I started ignoring to ask questions. When I started going to school my teachers used to yell at me and say why I am so quiet and not answering any questions. And in my country hitting students in hands and legs is considered

Told from the point of view of Saul, “The Man Who Killed a Shadow” looks closely at the concept of hierarchal fear, as well as the intersection of differing identities in the mid-1900’s. This piece, by Richard Wright, examines Saul’s growing resentment and fear of shadows, a representational symbol used to recognize and personify racialized fear and oppression in Saul’s life. This resentment comes to a head when he rejects the advances of a white woman, and is forced to face the consequences of non-conformity to the shadows he feared. However, by examining this fear in conjunction with the intersecting identities of the story’s pro- and antagonist, the reader can achieve a deeper understanding of the power imbalance at work within the aforementioned

Richard Wright’s short story entitled, “The Man Who Killed A Shadow” showed the reality and truth of a black man’s life and how quickly it can be jeopardized when race and sex are mixed together. When I began reading the story I felt heartbroken for the main character because he just seemed like a good human being. Saul basically grew up with no role models to guide him in his life and his parents and grandmother died when he was a young boy. Saul quickly had to adapt to these changes and began working to support himself. When Saul began working at a young age he did not understand why “the shadows” or white people saw him as inferior. This was something that he noticed that black people just seemed to accept and he began to accept it as well even though he had no idea why. Saul had to continue to work for the white shadows became increasingly unhappy with the way his life was going. The narrator states, “At the age of fifteen Saul knew that the life he was living was to be his lot, that there no way to rid himself of his plaguing sense of unreality, no way to relax and forget” (187). It was extremely depressing to me that Saul knew at the age of fifteen that this was the reality of the rest of his life. He knew he would never be happy and that he would have to work for the white shadows in order to feed himself.

To most, when asked to define what Gothic is, they will state that it is similar to any other story, just with more “darkness.” This is because Gothic stories all have a classic story line. First, there is the main character’s back story, if any is then told. Next, there are events that lead up to a horrible incident that is the climax of the story. Lastly, the character finds some way to fix the situation or free him- or herself from it. They might go insane, commit suicide, run away, or watch other characters perish. However, readers would be greatly mistaken if they thought that this was all that there is to a Gothic story; there is much more to the Gothic than meets the

During the Holocaust, Jewish people were forced into concentration camps. They were given little to none of the things necessary to survive, and were forced to work until they died from exhaustion and malnutrition. They were treated like animals; dehumanized by the Nazis. In Night, a memoir by Elie Wiesel, Elie shares his story of the agony, grief, and torment he experienced during the Holocaust. The one thing that kept him going during this horrific event was his father. He depended on him and it's clear if he didn’t have his father's presences he wouldn't have survived.

A mental disorder, or mental illness, can be a very serious issue in the world today. Not only today but even back many years ago. There have been many complications with studying mental illnesses, but with the basic knowledge and research of these topics, we can then understand the result of answering the question: How are mental illnesses viewed in Ireland compared to the United States? Looking at examples of mental illnesses around the world including examples from the book Reading in the Dark, written by Seamus Deane will help provide a good understanding of want a mental illness can look like in the life of a child. Although mental illness seems like a broad topic, there is a lot that can be taken away from it. Knowing a basic definition and background, and how mental illnesses were viewed in both Ireland and the United States, in the 1900’s and today, can help one understand how mental illnesses are caused in different countries around the world.

There are different kinds of punishments for being ac-cused of witchcraft, but before a punishment is given, the victims go before a jury. The jury asks questions that could imply that the person is innocent or guilty. The jury would examine the victim for unusual markings, or do some experi-menting. They would take the victim to a pond, and dunk them under water. If the victim drowned, he was innocent, if the victim floated he was pronounced guilty for using magic to float. If one was proven guilty the jury would then decide the victim’s punishment. Punishments for the victims are being ex-ecuted, imprisoned, or being burned at the stake. If someone is to confess to being a witch, the person will be let go, but put to shame forever (Aronson, 97).

One common conflation I have been seeing a lot of in the community lately is the conflation of the Grimoire with books such as Magical Journals and the Book of Shadows. Most people don’t seem to know that there is a vast difference between these types of books, and I want to illustrate those differences in this article. The Book of Shadows is specifically a Wiccan and Neo-Wiccan concept. The name itself is a misnomer which references Wicca and Neo-Wicca’s penchant for revisionist history on the mythical subject of the Burning Times, and alludes to a period when Witches supposedly had to keep their practices a secret or risk being burnt at the stake.

Ursula K Le Guin once stated that “I am a man. Now you may think I’ve made some kind of silly mistake about gender, or maybe that I’m trying to fool you, because my first name ends in a, and I own three bras, and I’ve been pregnant five times, and other things like that that you might have noticed, little details” (The Wave In the Mind pg 3) discloses that no matter what “role” is placed on a gender, it is paramount to preserve equality and acceptance. In most cases, the male gender is considered to be the more dominant and superior sex when compared to the female gender, which is speculated to be a less powerful and more sensitive sex. Le Guin uses gender to immensely contribute to this entire novel as she endeavors to display to readers that a world could indeed thrive when free from gender roles. In the science- fiction novel, The Left Hand of Darkness, Le Guin brilliantly represents gender equality and a genderless society that exists on planet Gethen.

Chapter 9: There is a darker side to Norton according to John. This chapter shows the true persona of Norton, and John also speaks of more emotional issues that are ongoing in his life. The “Dear Alice” article was put into their book because it reminds him of what Norton was before he became a monster and a criminal. Norton also interrogates John and wonders why they visit the Pigman and wants to rob him and sell whatever he owns. John isn’t happy with what Norton is doing, so he threatens and teases him up to the point where he stops with his threats. John says he has been in his brothers showdown his entire life, his family doesn’t tolerate him, his family doesn’t treat him as he should, he also clams he likes the Pigman because the Pigman is the one who fills the void of a loving parent and treats John with kindness and respect unlike his parents, and John lastly states he would kill Norton if he did anything to Mr. Pignati because Mr. Pignati is a very important person in his life who he loves.

The world was created with the intent that every person might inhabit it and live freely and for the most part most of the people do just that; live freely with little to no restrictions. Yet, there is a small percentage that is oppressed, not openly, not publicly but in the shadows. In this country everyone comes from a line of immigrants. Every settler, every missionary, every pilgrim came to the New World as an immigrant, one who comes to live permanently in a foreign country due to oppression, religious freedom, or to pursue a better life. Yet a pressing issue that has taken a high level of importance in the political and social spectrums is the issue of immigration, how to prevent future immigrants from entering America

A common theme in both the Child of the Dark and Man of the people was a constant battle between modernization and traditional way of life. The movie watched in class about Africa also consisted of the same theme. An issue of corruption in the government officials was evident throughout both books and the movie as well. Which trickled down to the poorer people whose behaviors differed from how it would be traditionally. Another common theme was societal hierarchy.

this in order that she would drop me off at the pub. I was keen to get

Chants of, “FIGHT!FIGHT!FIGHT!” circle around me, until it just becomes another noise like a light buzzing. Then this angry boy starts to punch me. The first punch isn’t hard but alerting. I hate fighting, so I don’t do anything. He finally kicks me so hard that I go through the door, opening it. It feels like my spine just cracked in 36 different areas. I’m laying on the floor, the boy follows me out the door along with more boys chanting in “FIGHT!FIGHT!FIGHT!” Everything now just sounds like ringing. The angry boy sits on top of me. He starts punching me in the face. I just take it... Then I look to my left and see someone not chanting, just staring at me. I stare back. I look away, accepting what is happening to me. Then the angry boy moves from my chest. I see the boy who I made eye contact with, is now yelling at the angry boy. I can’t hear what they are saying, but it looks heated. Then out of nowhere, the one I made eye contact punched the angry boy in the face. He fell to the ground, I think

Stafford furtively conceals the profound meaning of his poem behind a story of the narrator, who stops alongside the road to care for a deer. The genius behind poem is better understood when the superficial meaning is expressed deeply.