The Oldest Jest by Jennifer Johnston

He felt an aching pain in his shoulder and left arm, one of the many realistic details used in the story. The realistic details in the story provide a real-life environment that helps develop and make the story one of a kind. The stories the porters told, the symptoms of a heart attack, and the trains’ names all help develop the story. To begin with, the first way she shows this is through the telling of stories in the porter house. In the story the author, Patricia McKissack, tells us that Lester is telling the tale of the 11:59, otherwise known as the phantom death train. This example shows how the story is realistic by giving the reader an example of how Lester likes to pass time. In addition, another example is how the main character, Lester

The British have reigned over the Irish so long and so cruelly that they have left Ireland in “state of dependence” psychologically, politically, and economically. In other words, the “ideology of Protestant consumption” has “actually eroded” the self-confidence and sense of worth of the Irish so badly that it has left Ireland a nation unable to sustain itself (Mahoney). England is eating up Ireland. But this tribulation cannot be blamed solely on the British. Swift cleverly condemns the British aristocracy for their mistreatment of the Irish people while also criticizing the Irish people for allowing this exploitation.

The most important lesson for Rachel that comes out of this situation is that after wearing the disgusted sweater she has become even older, and it was tied to the experience instead of the birthday itself. She understands that it is the challenge she needs to grow up faster as she will receive additional benefits of behaving the way she wants and resisting to the outside irritators. As for the literature techniques, the author applies language, diction and symbolism to reveal the issues of experience, aging, knowledge, power, authority and freedom. The discovering is gaining age are conveyed with the help of the memories of eleven-year-old girl on her birthday. Rachel resists her humiliation from Mrs. Pierce, and that is the exact moment when her “smart eleven” comes as well[2].

    In the early twentieth century, Ireland, and more specifically Dublin, was a place defined by class distinctions. There were the wealthy, worldly upper-class who owned large, stately townhouses in the luxurious neighborhoods and the less fortunate, uneducated poor who lived in any shack they could afford in the middle of the city. For the most part, the affluent class was Protestant, while the struggling workers were overwhelmingly Catholic. These distinctions were the result of nearly a century of disparity in income, education, language, and occupation, and in turn were the fundamental bases for the internal struggle that many of Joyce's characters feel.

The story "Suzy and Leah" was written by Jane Yolen, and it took place in the U.S with the main characters as Leah and Suzy. The story was originally two series of diary entries written from August 5, 1944 until October 12, 1944 by the two girls. Over the entire story, both of the girls evolved. They evened by going from hating each other to really understanding the other person. In the end they both got to know the other person a little bit better and started to form a relationship out of the things they had in common.

The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan follows multiple Chinese-American women who struggle with their self-identity and creating a balance between American and Chinese culture. Because of their immigration and many hardships in life, many of the women feel like they cannot truly tell who they are anymore, and throughout the novel these women are portrayed as ghosts. Ghosts are used to symbolize these women because they share many parallels including being only a remnant of who they once were, or who they could be. Ying-ying St. Clair is one of the women, who has a daughter named Lena St. Clair, she has had a troubled past in China, which has made her lose her fighting spirit, and her spirit in general. Ying-ying is fully aware of her loss of spirit and is embarrassed because she considers ghosts to be shameful and weak, and wants to save her daughter, Lena, from her fate.

The Storied Life of a.J. Fikry is a novel written by Gabrielle Zevin. The stories titular character A.J. is a bottom end of the barrel at the start of the story. He is traumatized by his young wife’s death and his ill nature has slowly taken the better of him. After series of miraculous events lead to A.J. taking care of a child he slowly changes from his Grinch like nature to a more kind and open hearted person. Throughout the story, A.J. transforms into a selfless man willing to give all to his family.

The Juggler 's Children, written by Carolyn Abraham is a novel composed of both questions and answers. It is the journey of a woman and her family, who are on the search to gain more knowledge of their pre-existing ancestors. To what depths will they go to figure out where they came from? As Abraham travels across the world to China and India, with DNA kits, high hopes and a notepad she begins to discover answers to questions both she and her family did not prepare themselves for and begin to realize some questions possibly do not have answers. It is through The Juggler 's Children that we are able to watch as one woman in particular tries to answer the question she was asked on the playground as a child, "what are you?".

Vergible “Tea Cake” Woods came into the story kind of out of nowhere, He wandered into town while everyone was at a baseball game and just strolled around checking everything out. He stumbled upon Janies store and noticed someone was inside so he stopped for a visit, He was confident, cool, and just all around happy, That caught Janies attention. He was somewhere around twelve years younger than Janie, That didn’t matter a bit when the sparks flew. It was as if they were kids again, joking around and playing, just genuinely having an amazing time.

In the play “Wit,” by Margaret Edson, the reader is challenged with the complex ideas of character development following the imminent shadow of death. Edson focuses this concept amongst the character Vivian bearing; the disciplined, witty, and quite frankly cold hearted protagonist. The play starts with us seeing Vivian receiving her diagnosis; stage IV ovarian cancer, with her being in the final stage. The persistent and impending idea of death encourages Vivian to reconsider what is truly critical in obtaining happiness, while influencing her to reconsider her past unfavorable actions. As human beings we are attuned to resolve conflicts, so when an inevitable circumstances arise an individual will often consider their past actions and attempt to find what is of true importance in the quest to find happiness in their present life, allowing them to be content.

Joyce 's novel demonstrates a city and a society full of contradictions, parochial ideas, and paralysis. The Dublin inhabitants are divided by the river Liffey, into 'North and South ', 'rich and poor classes

(H) The life of women has drastically changed throughout the ages. (CIS) The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan portrays life in America and in China in the 1930’s for women. (GS1) When stories are true, there is more power behind them. (GS2) Novels need accuracy for the book to have feeling. (GS3) A rave-worthy novel needs truth to really draw the reader in. (thesis) Author Amy Tan accurately portrays life for Chinese women in the 1930’s and it enhances the power of the novel because the stories have true roots, the accuracy gives the book more feeling, and the truth behind the stories transports the reader into the novel.

The Article “Suzy and Leah” written by Jane Yolen was about a relationship with the two girls. But they started out on the wrong foot. Leah she is a refuge that came to a US camp. She is a German born Jew which goes to a school with the other girl. Suzy is a Jew that lives in America. But in the end Suzy and Leah found out more about each other by reading each other's diaries.

The “Times have changed and they’ve changed in this case for the better”, by Ann Gutmann. This quote directly reflects my paper and the individual’s experiences during the early 1800’s. This paper will share key details of Charlotte Forten’s journal. Charlotte Forten was an African-American girl that attended a private school in New England. This paper will also showcase the book the Lakota Woman by Mary Brave Bird, a Native American woman that endured in order to survive during the 1800’s. Changes for the better include systems in place to end slavery, to stop racism, and to protect women’s rights.

The story chosen was Suzy and Leah by Jane Yolen. In this story, we see a holocaust survivor’s relationship with a young American girl. The overall theme of this work is relationships and tolerance to others you do not understand. The story takes place in America, post-World War II.