The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari Essay

In the narrative “A Summer Life” by Gary Soto, the author recreates his childhood heist by using repetition, imagery, diction, and Biblical allusions. Events expressed in literature use these tools to create a vivid, surreal world that the reader can apply to themselves. Life is full of tempting things like money, expensive houses, or pie, but you have to use self-control when faced with

The theme of this novella is to look at the good you do in life and how it carries over after your death. The moral of the book is; "People can make changes in their lives whenever they really want to, even right up to the end."

The car that Shiftlet voluntarily fixes is also a symbol for freedom, the moving spirit, but also how material objects can block mankind from God’s grace. Shiftlet first notices the beat up old car and offers to fix things up car when he says he can just sleep in the car like, “the monks of old slept in their coffins!” (O’Connor 678). Shiftlet not only does not care to sleep in the house with human company, but he also compares the car to a coffin. The car is a symbol of much more than freedom, like Shiftlet says when he compares a man’s spirit to an automobile, but also as a symbol of death. When discussing symbolism, Tom Deignan discusses how “Shiftlet responds, eerily linking the car to a symbol of death. Mrs. Crater then says ‘They wasn’t as advanced as we are.’ But Mrs. Crater’s response be ironic. By inserting the image of stoic, noble monks, O’Connor seems to be contrasting their lives of devotion with these two lives of greedy pursuit. The monks, within O’Connor’s value system, are perhaps more ‘advanced.’ Furthermore, Shiftlet’s desire for the car just might lead him to some sort of death” (Deignan 133). Because the theme is about finding what truly matters in life, O’Connor uses symbols to show the reader what does not matter and what does matter. She compares Shiftlet to Jesus Christ, but then at the end of the story sacrifices someone else for his own gain instead of

His survival is heavily influenced by every choice he makes, from ignoring the exhortations to escape impending danger to choosing to stay with his father in spite of difficulties. His experience with the Holocaust directly shapes his role as a frontline fighter for recognition of Holocaust victims. In moving to Canada, I also shaped my role in society. My skills, such as playing sports; hobbies, such as reading; and characteristics, such as persistence and studious attitude have all developed due to my moving to Canada. My exposure to a life so plentiful in opportunities has also caused me to take many things for granted. Events in people’s lives shape who they become. Some of these circumstances are brought about by the decisions of others, while the majority of occurrences are caused by deliberate choices. These decisions can shape destiny in a life-or-death situation or a can be like a small, yet equally profound, choice to smile at a stranger. While some decisions are out of one’s hands, a conscious effort to have a positive outlook on life can still influence destiny. Like a rudder, daily decisions made with a positive mentality can steer people to a prosperous life. It does not do well to dwell on what may have happened, but rather on how the life one creates can be consequential in further extending the development of

A larger part of this book is written in the perspective of two characters named Steve and Maria. Maria is Steve’s spiritual mentor who is hired to help Steve, a manager in a very successful company, get in touch with who he is and what drives him spiritually to make the decisions he does in his career. In between their conversations there are very deep quotes and rhetoric that provoke thought to stimulate the readers to change their way of thinking. While Steve is very successful he is not fulfilled with his life, he has a void and Maria is attempting to transform what motivates him to be his soul and

Riddled with tragic events, mentors and beliefs help one to continue on one’s path to destiny and not stray from it. However stretched or rough or slippery the path is, it will lead to one’s

Sacrificed the truth, beauty and the right to think, happiness and comfort is just indulgent, it is the discomfort brought by the misery, responsibility and the bonding give us the weight of life. The world is full of people who try hard to gain happiness, and we all have at least one time the idea of living in a perfect world, a world without pain, without misery, without getting old and without cancers. We always ignored the importance and the beauty of uncomfortableness, just as a quote in this book said, “Stability isn’t nearly so spectacular as instability. And being contented has none of the glamour of a good fight against misfortune, none of the picturesqueness of a struggle with temptation, or a fatal overthrow by passion or doubt. Happiness is never grand”. After read this book, I started to be more objective at those bad things I used to hate, to understand the significance of art and to be grateful to this imperfect world we are

Our Life is a matter of choices. Live well and have faith and it will never go wrong. Our lives can be full of crazy ups and downs that shape our views on how life should be lived. With a similar ideology, author Flannery O’Connor’s depicts her own life struggles using different aspects and details throughout her novels and short stories. O’Connor lived by the basis that life must go on no matter the hardships. In her novels she represented various characters who made wrong choices and due to those choices suffered extreme negative consequences. Despite her struggles, O’Connor made the choice to continue on in her life yet many of her novels contradicted that same idea by having characters in her novels and short stories suffer consequences for making the wrong choices. Because the

“Contents of a Dead Man’s Pockets” by Jack Finney is about a man, Tom Benecke, who is torn between two loves. Tom, the protagonist, is faced with a choice in the basic situation: work or family. He is put through many hardships that show him that he needs to prioritize his work and family life. This story, “Contents of a Dead Man’s Pocket”, shows its readers that if one does not prioritize their life, then they could lose everything. Life is a universal theme found in many different genres of writing. In the song “Glorious” Macklemore talks about how he is back and he takes all the chances that he can in life. The poem “Loveliest of Trees” talks about how the author does not have much time left, so he will take more chances and enjoy more things in life. The poem “George Gray” tells readers that he wishes that he had taken more chances in life. People are given many chances in life; therefore, they should take as many as they can get.

According to Marian Erickson, “Most of life is choices, and the rest is pure dumb luck.” Real people’s lives depend on this quote everyday, which leads to the outcome of each problem individuals face. In the passages, characterization of the main personas helps one understand the theme. Conflict and symbolism also help lead to the overall idea that life is not always guaranteed to be full of success. The book The Other Wes Moore, the poem “If,” and the informational text “The Art of Resilience” all share a common theme of how choices and luck contribute to the success of life.

From prayers magically appearing in the man’s pocket, to the unmistakably realistic elements in the story, to the outstanding symbolism used, Brockmeier teaches a life lesson that should not be taken lightly. Living life with a positive

“Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it?” This quote from the play “Our Town” points out that many people do not potentially live life to the fullest. People always say “don’t wish your life away” because before you know it, it’s already gone. In the play “Our Town” there are many little life lessons that can be learned.

As the story unfolds, the reader finds that the narrator, a profitable lawyer who worked under “the late John Jacob Astor,” believes in living life easily or without

Crying and laughing, people experience many different emotions during different stages of their life. Sometimes they would find themselves dissatisfied almost every single moment when they assume that the world is not fulfilling their desire, in other words, their expectations on how the world supposes to be. Dan, an ordinary college student from the story Way of the Peaceful Warrior written by Dan Millman, faces the same obstacle as many others do. Although he has lived a pleased and content life, passion suddenly disappears from him. Such depression stops when he meets Socrates, an old man at the gas station, and learns inspirational lessons which connect to the Four Noble Truths from Socrates. The lessons promote great changes in Dan’s

Each of the characters in “The Monkey and the Monk,” represent an important trait or idea of buddhism, and this novel can be used as a basic representation for buddhist ideas. Either the strengths, weaknesses, or backgrounds of each character can be analyzed and applied to traditional buddhist