The Red Umbrella Essay

Immigration affects families in many different ways. In the book “Enrique’s Journey” by Sonia Nazario, family is a core element. After Enrique’s mother leaves for the U.S., the whole concept of their family gets distorted. The walking out of Enrique’s father and the abandonment of his grandmother help to disband the family even more. Enrique also threatens to repeat the same mistakes his family made with his daughter when he considers leaving her behind in Honduras. Family is the central theme in Enrique’s Journey because of his relationship and resentment with his mother, the rejection of his father and grandmother, and Enrique’s decision to leave his daughter, Jasmin, behind.

Families and their traditions can impact on the level of devotion and affection that ties people together, as well as how one reacts to a particular situation that may reinforce or harm his or her relationships. The notion of family belonging is an idea repeated throughout The Happiest Refugee and the analysis of various techniques makes this evident. ‘But my father treated that loss as if it were a win, and it was a lesson that stayed with me for a long time. If the worst happens, but you still celebrate coming second. There is no need to fear failure’ is a quote from page 48 that highlights the level of family belonging through the use of repetition as it is a message that reoccurs throughout the memoir. The sole idea recreated throughout the novel thoroughly

Although our class has not covered this chapter yet, I felt it necessary to address this song as my journal topic taking into consideration everything that is going on with latest transition of power. Like the song stated at first, many human beings have to take the decision to leave their homes and cross the border into another country. Many times, they do not want to make this transition. Who in the right mind would want to leave their family not knowing the next time one would see them? The lyrics about the tears and the load an immigrant carries also are very significant in Racial & Ethnic Relations. Due to the media and the social influence, immigrants are looked upon as criminals and evil-doers. Every has this prejudice towards immigrants but they never take into account the tears. Legal citizens never see the tears or hardships that immigrants face and judge them solely on their action of crossing the border illegally. Arjona speaks a very fundamental truth in saying that the wetback carries the weight that the legal would not load. It saddens me to say this, but our society overlooks the heavy weight that these human beings, just like the rest of us, carries on their shoulders. If anything, fueled by prejudice and discrimination, they add onto their weight. Finally, in Arjona’s last verse, he is making a sincere appeal at the unjust- immigration system. One of the goals for humanity is achieving a world liberated of prejudice and discrimination. Although this hope may seem far fetched, some change can occur in diminishing the presence of prejudice within our hearts. I identified with this song not because I am an immigrant but because one of my closest friend’s parents are illegal. She tells me of the fear that she goes through knowing that they can be taken at any moment. However, my friend and I strongly believe that the greater good will

The story is mainly comprised of comparisons, metaphors and similes that tie into the ironic situations Baby finds herself in. Comparisons and contrasts are used to illustrate the different influences in Baby’s life.

In the short story “Liberty” by Julia Alvarez, the author uses figurative language to create tone of mystery and fear. In the fourth paragraph, the author writes how they were afraid; for example, when the narrator states, “On their faces when they talked of leaving there was a scared look I also couldn’t understand,” the reader is left wondering why they are so fearful. The author does this to help set the tone and mood of the story. The author also uses the characters to show the tone of the story. Mami is frightened and mean, while Papi is brave

In the story “The Contender” the author uses figurative language to relate to the mood and the setting. In the story the author uses a simile to describe Aunt Pearl’s voice by saying “...Aunt Pearl’s pure, sweet voice rose above the others, filling the little room like a sound like golden honey.” Based on this Simile the reader can Infer that Aunt Pearl had a sweet and bright voice and that everyone liked to listen to. The author said ¨...like golden honey.” The author also sets the mood just a little bit by using this phrase. The mood in this phrase the reader can infer is very joyful and peaceful. Also, the author uses personification to describe how Donatelli was looking at Alfred by saying “Donatelli circled slowly around him, his hand on his square chin, as if he were inspecting a slab of meat in a butcher store.” Based on this personification the reader can infer that Donatelli was really inspecting Alfred and checking him out to see if he was a good fighter. The readers can also infer that Donatelli didn’t just want anybody be working out in his gym for no good reason and he was really serious about boxing. Lastly, the author used another simile to describe the mood and how big the bag was hanging on the ceiling by saying “A gray, Canvas bag, as large as a loaded army duffel bag, hung from the ceiling from the long chain. The readers can infer that the bag that hung from the ceiling was massive and was a really large

During the war, a significant amount of things happen to different groups of families in their homeland. There are soldiers that are fighting for the protection of their families and there are many families that are doing anything in their power to stay safe through the chaos. Yet a number of the individuals involved in the conflict have a tendency to try and escape the madness. In spite of the madness, some children have the advantage to escape yet they are equally impacted with long term trauma by the war as those who did not have the opportunity to depart.

Language and imagery plays a dramatic role in portraying relationships and feelings/thoughts of the persona. Whilst in ‘Burning Sappho,’ the mother’s attitude towards tasks is portrayed as emotionless (“the child is fed, the dishes are washed, the clothes are ironed and aired,”), language is utilised within ‘Suburban Sonnet’ to construct the mother’s mental state and situation as dire. “Zest and Love drain out with soapy water.” The use of two personal, passionate adjectives and the depiction of them being physically overcome by soapy water directly link the mother’s loss of feelings and fiery emotion to the household chores and duties. For example, she “scours crusted milk,” as a part of her role as mother and housewife as the reader is positioned to reject this requirement as a result of the huge impact to her quality of life (“Veins ache”). The literal image of a dead mouse symbolises the mother’s situation as the ‘soft corpse’ directly represents the mother, that is, emotionally dead as a result of the entrapment by society. The reader is positioned to fully

Figurative language is a main component in showcasing the emotions the characters reveal. An example being when the author writes “ The children huddled up to her and breathed like little calves waiting at the bars in the twilight.” This portrays the children's emotions with more emphasis and really shows how they watched everything Granny Weatherall did with precision. This type of writing really helps the reader understand what is going on within the characters and their actions. The author also displays figurative language in the way she describes how John would be in the situation of them still being together. She describes him as being more of a child, rather than taking a parent role.

A major tone that is present throughout most of the poem is a reminiscent tone. The speaker begins the poem by stating “The first time I walked with a girl, I was twelve…” It is easy to notice that the speaker is indulging in past events. The speaker also tells his story in past tense. The speaker describes the little details that bring him joy while reminiscing. He states that the girl’s face was “...bright with rouge.” and there was “...Light in her eyes, a smile starting at the corners of her mouth.” The speaker is reminiscing and mentions the details so he can indulge in past events wholly. There is shift in tone present when it becomes a conflicted tone. This occurs when the girl choses a chocolate that costs a dime, but the boy only carries a dime and two oranges. When the speaker realizes the fact that he will not be able to play for the chocolate he states that he “...didn’t say anything.” He took the nickel and an orange and “...and set them quietly on the counter.” He then looks up at the sales lady “...knowing very well what it was about.” The speaker is so uncomfortable at this point he does not even talk. He is conflicted because if he can not buy his girl the chocolate, he will not be able to make her happy, and making her happy is his ultimate

This memoir of Ma Bo’s sent shock waves throughout China when it was published and was even first banned by the Communist Government. This passionate story paints a clear picture for what the Great Chinese Cultural Revolution was really like. Many Chinese living today can attest to similar if not identical ordeals as expressed in Ma Bo’s story. The toils of being a young Red Guard in inner China were experienced by many if not millions. The horrors and atrocities were wide spread throughout the country, not just in Inner Mongolia. The experiences illustrated in Blood Red Sunset uniquely belong to Ma Bo’s entire generation of mislead Chinese. As expressed in the books dedication the Cultural Revolution

Linda Pastan made this poem include various forms of figurative language to hide the literal message that it's trying to portray. Figurative language is using figures of speech to make the text be more powerful, persuasive, and meaningful. Figures of speech such as, similes and metaphors, go beyond the literal meanings to give the readers a new way of looking at the text. It can come in multiple ways with different literacy and rhetorical devices such as: alliteration, imageries, onomatopoeias, and etc. With the usage of the literary devices Pastan has used, it introduced the relationship between the mother and the daughter. It shows the memories of how the mother helped her daughter grow from a little girl to a young adult getting ready to go her own way in life.

Another useful tool in analyzing a poem is to identify poetic devices, meter, and a rhyme scheme. Through her deft use of extended metaphor, Bradstreet weaves an intricate web of parallels between parent and author and between child and book--both relationships of creator to creation. This use of metaphor allows the reader to relate emotionally to Bradstreet’s situation. In line seven, we see the uses of litotes, “At thy return my blushing was not small,” to express the depth of her embarrassment. She also uses metonymy in line eight to express her pain more clearly, “My rambling brat (in print) should mother call.” The simile used in line nine stresses her objection to the published work, “I cast thee by as one unfit for light.” Then in line 19, the poetic device of consonance is used which provides emphasis on her warning, “In this array ‘mongst vulgars may’st thou roam.” In this poem, through the use of personification and apostrophe Bradstreet conveys her feelings and emotions. Anne Bradstreet ensures her poem’s success by linking the triumph and tragedy of authorship with the pain and pleasure of creating and nurturing human life. The meter used is

“That Evening Sun” by William Faulkner is a good example of a great emotional turmoil transferred directly to the readers through the words of a narrator who does not seem to grasp the severity of the turmoil. It is a story of an African American laundress who lives in the fear of her common-law husband Jesus who suspects her of carrying a white man's child in her womb and seems hell bent on killing her.

     In Ernest Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises, Jake Barnes is a lost man who wastes his life on drinking. Towards the beginning of the book Robert Cohn asks Jake, “Don’t you ever get the feeling that all your life is going by and you’re not taking advantage of it? Do you realize that you’ve lived nearly half the time you have to live already?” Jake weakly answers, “Yes, every once in a while.” The book focuses on the dissolution of the post-war generation and how they cannot find their place in life. Jake is an example of a person who had the freedom to choose his place but chose poorly.