The Death Of A Fountain

“Love and Honour and Pity and Pride and Compassion and Sacrifice”, focuses on the relationship between the protagonist, who is referred to as ‘Child’, and his father, referred to as ‘Ba’. The opening story follows the protagonist as he is struggling to overcome writers block, whilst dealing with his estranged Vietnamese father who is visiting. A number of flashbacks are used as a literary device to divulge into the protagonists past with his father as well as the fathers past. This reveals, not only an abusive past with his father, but also his father’s memories of the Vietnam war. It becomes clear that the son makes excuses for his father, with his girlfriend Linda also noting this, “I think you’re making excuses for him…You’re romanticising his past to make sense of the things you said he did to you” (pp.20). The protagonist reflects this himself, making the excuse that “he was a soldier” (pp.13), and that is why his father treated him as he did. The protagonist, despite once being able to admit to Linda that his father abused him, can no longer admit this, as his relationship with his father grows, and it can be argued that he is willing to overlook his past in an attempt to reconcile with his father. “It was too much these words, and what connected to them” (pp.13).

The narrator is totally crushed by the gender discrimination. She longed to be seen by her mother and her grandma. The narrator is heartbroken that her mother loved her brother more than her and failed to notice her. “When she went into Nonso’s room to say good night, she always came out laughing that laugh. Most times, you pressed your palms to your ears to keep the sound out, and kept your palms pressed to your ears, even when she came into your room to say Good night, darling, sleep well. She never left your room with that laugh” (190). Her agony can be easily seen by the way of her narrating. She does not get the affection that she deserves. She really needs the affection from her own mother, but she is not getting it. She compares the love which her mother shows to his brother and herself. This is gender discrimination can be seen with her grandmother too. She hated her grandma as she would always support her brother and find fault with her. Even though what the brother did, no matter what crime. Her mother and grandmother always supported her brother and never supported or showed interest towards

She saw in her dream what was about to happen, looming around her in her unconsciousness, creeping into her when she was asleep, a shadowy premonition of what was coming to shatter her.

Her whole world was crashing down. It what seemed like only a split second, her best friend’s father had been condemned to death. Someone who she considered to be like a father was going to be taken away, ripped away from her.

The absence of Richard’s father quickens Richard’s development of self-reliance. After the disappearance of his father, “the image of [Richard’s] father became associated with [his] pangs of hunger,” yet when his father offered him a nickel for food, Richard “wanted to take the nickel, but not from [his] father” (Pg 16/33). Following the absence of his dad, Richard associates hunger with the lack of his presence. However, when his father attempts to provide money for food, he refuses and lets his pride and stubbornness affect the acceptance of receiving help from his father. The link between Richard’s father and hunger is clearly stated, yet Richard’s rapid rise towards independence allows him to neglect help, regardless of the circumstances provided. Additionally, the constant movement of Richard’s family introduced an aspect of independence that resulted from the illness of his mother. After his mother’s sickness, “ paying rent became a problem and [they] moved...where [he] found a job,” and Richard could already “feel what being without her would mean”(Pg 84). The decline in his mother’s health affects her ability to provide for the family. They move often, and Richard begins to experience life without the help of his mother, leaving him”hungry and scared.” This brief moment of scarcity in Richard’s life acts as a symbol, providing insight into his mother’s role in the family and the physical and psychological effects her absence would have on his life. The hunger that Richard currently experiences furthers his desire to provide for his family, and to maintain a mindset of life without his mother, which demonstrates his push towards independence in providing for himself and his brother. Last, Richard’s necessity to work at a young age portrayed the growing ability of Richard

Since then, Tina’s dreams have grown increasingly weird: a faceless man knocking at the door, asking for her hand, a full moon bathing graves in the middle of the forest, and a golden key on a chain brought to her by a crow. As Tina works to unravel the meaning of her dreams before something else terrible happens, she realizes that her memories are of both the

It was a constant thing, a breathing creature at the foot of her bed. The long pole at the corner, all leads and lines, a crooked spider web. It was the brightest thing in the room, taunting as the florescent light shined off of it. The sink was next, and the bins. Around the perimeter were outlets, a chair, a window at the corner, and Daddy sat on the edge of the bed. In the middle was another, in the bed, with the creature at her feet.

In contrast, his mother has been looking for him instead of losing him. His mother illustrates the worry and sadness of the protective parent. The urge for superior guidance into the world of innocence and evil is very

The grandmother is hurt by her daughters decision, feeling abandoned after every sacrifice she has made to give her the privileged life she has now and in return, is

The work that the narrator does with her father is contrasted with the chores that she

Brendon woke up in excruciating pain he called for his mom ,and all there was ,was silence .So after that he decided to limped down the stairs to the kitchen .Then he screamed he saw a strange tall skinny me wherein a long black coat standing in the middle if his kitchen .Then he woke up in in fear so he yelled for his mom ,but when she came in she was not happy “if this is another one of your nonsense dreams i am done, i am tired of hearing them”

Lavender woke up in a cold sweat. She’d had the same nightmare that she’d been having. Lavender didn’t know why the same dream kept replaying every night or what the flash of green light meant. Her mom came into Lavender’s room to wake her up. “Is everything okay, Lavender?” her mom asked.

She awoke with great discomfort; the huger pains impaired her, and fogged her mental clarity, but she persevered, and crawled out of the neatly kept bed. It was early in the morning and no one was awake, there was no food on the table, and no servants guarding the doors, so Proserpina made her way to the front of the palace. Each step she took was carefully calculated, for the floors creaked. She arrived at the black wooden doors, still impaired from hunger, and the motionless fog that clouded her mind remained, she clasped the handle of the wooden doors, feeling the carved intricacies, and pulled only slightly. Just then, a hand reached from the dim, and somber atmosphere. The darkened room shadowed everything except the pair of hands that gripped the refulgent, pearl shaped seeds. The sweet smell of the berries was enticing, and her mouth began to water. Emaciated, and weak; Proserpina took the berries and ate. Of all the horrid possibilities she had thought of, this was among the worst. She was taken advantage of in her moment of

Late last night her mother had driven away. Her father’s eyes filled with tears as he told Lizzie her mother had filed a divorce. She could feel the pain of her father’s broken heart. She prayed that her laughter and love would mend the pain.

On February 15th, 2014, I took a trip to the drinking fountain at the University of California, San Diego that was assigned by Professor B for my second writing assignment. The drinking fountain is made out of granite that has been polished. It is situated on a cement pathway across from Yogurt World and the iconic Triton statue, which is next to the Price Center. The drinking fountain is in front of the Student Services Center building and next to the fountain, close to several outdoor seats and tables. The cement pathway is in between grasslands and several trees. On the same walkway, I see a large American Flag on a flag tower. I would later go on to discovery the rich history surrounding the monument on the walkway behind the flag