The Snake Chief, By Miriam Majola

The details about how the man feels and thinks gives the reader a sense that he is a sensible man. The man does not take joy in the task of killing the snake given to him by himself. The man knows that “the sport in taking life is a satisfaction [he] can’t feel.” THe man wants to let the snake go and not kill it. It is a similar feeling to having to give something up despite wanting to keep it. The reader has some experience with a situation like this and can feel how the man wishes to let the snake go. The man feels that the job he has given himself is something that has to be done. He looked at it as “[his] duty, plainly, was to kill the snake.” The feeling of having to have to do something is not enjoyable. It comes with some kind of displeasure in what is going on. A similar feeling could be like having to go to the dentist to get teeth pulled. The situation

“…. because a girl of my age ought to be able to brush her own hair and it was a travesty that my mother hadn’t taught me” (Evans 39). It is often the case that most people develop awareness of their identity when they become involved in diverse social circles, neighborhoods, or schools. In “Snakes”, Danielle Evans carefully chooses the characterization of her characters to give the reader an insight into the racial division that has been pervasive in America. Having never been aware of her biracial identity, Tara confronts the reality of her identity when she leaves her parent’s house to spend the summer with her grandmother. Evans portrays Lydia, Tara’s grandmother, as brutal, bigoted white grandmother to draw parallel between her and white

As the snake “drew back his head and [the man] raised [his] weapon” they both were ready for their last fight. Both felt threatened by each other; thus, both felt the necessity to become defensive. However, neither one saw the situation as an immediate threat, so they did not immediately strike. When the narrator “made an unprovoked attack,” the snake performed “a little song of death.” The reader’s sympathy for the snake once again returns because the snake did nothing wrong. The “little song of death” depicts an image of the snake’s last effort to live. However, there is nothing “little” in death, but rather displays the snake’s submissiveness to the man. The “ominous” situation with “poison dripping from [the snake’s] fangs” is reminiscent of the tragedy that just occurred. The author reminds the reader of the necessity to rid the world of the danger from a snake. It lessens the reader’s grief towards the snake, bringing a more neutral tone to the

The conflict here, is that the snakes know “that mongooses in the garden meant death sooner or later” and so must protect themselves, their children, and their land by killing the mongoose. It is a common conflict, one where both sides are simply trying to survive and must kill to do so.

The author’s diction heightens the intensity and power the snake brings as it also aids in describing the inner thoughts of the protagonist. When the main character saw that the snake was “waiting for him”, he “stopped short” and the snake continued to “[hold] his ground”. The snake created anticipation as he completed these actions, therefore causing the man to feel curious and uneasy. Like a “live wire” the snake “drew his head back,” preparing to strike, this action seemed effortless and almost as if it was a “mechanical reflex”. The reptile is seen as being extremely lethal due to its quick and natural reflexes. Snakes similar to this one are born with the same instinct as their hominid adversaries; to survive. The diction in “The Rattler” effects the tone that is understood by the audience. Detail is another key factor when trying to convey the deeper meaning within the narrative.

Once when snake was sleeping and he was hearing noises bump bump bump that was his friend alligator. That’s Simon. Then there was a bang dong ding dong. Do you like that, Simon? And then snake said to alligator, “I want something to eat,” and alligator said, “Come to my house.” Then the mother snake comes. Katie, you’re the mother snake. And she has six babies. Then a lion comes and the lion tries to get into the dream but he can’t. So he goes away.

Animals help humans in our lives for sharing their features. Every new experience can make a person change; sometimes the changes are positive, and other times it is negative. Either way, here is no avoiding change. Animals are kind, helpful, and playful.

“The Indian presence precipitated the formation of an American identity” (Axtell 992). Ostracized by numerous citizens of the United States today, this quote epitomizes Axtell’s beliefs of the Indians contributing to our society. Unfortunately, Native Americans’ roles in history are often categorized as insignificant or trivial, when in actuality the Indians contributed greatly to Colonial America, in ways the ordinary person would have never deliberated. James Axtell discusses these ways, as well as what Colonial America may have looked like without the Indians’ presence. Throughout his article, his thesis stands clear by his persistence of alteration the Native Americans had on our nation. James Axtell’s bias delightfully enhances his thesis, he provides a copious amount of evidence establishing how Native Americans contributed critically to the Colonial culture, and he considers America as exceptional – largely due to the Native Americans.

The diction which is emphasized upon the story gives a clear picture of how everything happened in a sudden and fulfilling way. The man noticed that the snake “lay rigid” and had “suddenly arrested” and eventually watched him in calm watchfulness. The snake was placid and was not doing any violent action. The man, instead, decided to fulfill his duty concerning the community. The man describes seeing the snake as he looked like a “live wire” while his “tocsin sounded”. The man’s sudden encounter with the snake was still calm up until he decides to bring out the hoe.

There are three snakes, two copperheads and a timber rattler, squirming around in the plastic bin. Her brother knows snakes because he liked to catch them when he was a kid, and he’d told her that if you wanted to keep them still, the best way to go about it was to keep them in a sack or a pillowcase. The Preacher liked them riled up though—made the act look more impressive.

The author uses the lax nature of the snake to make its death seem uncalled for, thus, instilling feelings of sympathy in the reader for the snake. When the snake is introduced, it notices the man but does not make a move to attack him.

4 hours later he had stopped walking and decided to rest for a while. Muraco and Cherokee rested near the the foot of Mount Shasta. They spent a day there. Muraco and Cherokee traveled and traveled. Muraco raised Cherokee for years and when she was 4 he decided that he couldn't do it anymore. So he abandoned her. He didn't want to but he had no other choice because he was growing old and he had trouble take care of Cherokee. Cherokee was left alone near the Tuolumne River. She didn't know what to do and she didn't know what was going on. She had no mother and her father left her. She had to do everything for herself. She had to find food, water, and shelter. The same day her father left her she saw a snake. The snake was slithering slowly towards her. Cherokee was not frightened. She was happy to see the snake because she was lost and didn't know what to do. The snake was energetic and lively. His name was Awanyu. Awanyu was a friendly snake but he didn't have any friends or family. He always traveled around for adventure. He said to Cherokee "Hello, are you lost?". "Yes. I don't know where my father is." Cherokee

Everyone needs friends who they can trust and rely on to always have their back. The House of the Scorpion is a dystopian fiction novel written by Nancy Farmer, is about a clone, named Matt, of the powerful drug lord, El Patron. When he is brought into a world ruled by El Patron, he is hated by everyone in the big house, except for a sweet girl named Maria, who lightens Matt’s day with just her presence, his bodyguard who becomes more like his father, and Celia, the woman who has taken care of Matt since he was made into a clone. He learns what it is like to live in a world full of social hierarchy and in his adventure he goes from the top to the bottom and everywhere in between. He is constantly being judged on who he is and is learning more about his identity, though mostly learns about love and loyalty . In this adventure of The House of the Scorpions, Matt finds that loyalty with friends is one of the most important things to have. Farmer shows many aspects that point to this theme.

In the personal essay “My Mothers Tongue” (1990), Amy Tan, widely known author explains her insights on language and culture identity using details and memories from her own life experiences. Tan conceals that the language in which her mother used with her “was the language that helped shape the way [she] saw things, expressed things, made sense of the world” (1208) and in the process it made her who she is today as an author. Tan illuminates the euro centricity of the Master Narrative by retelling stories of her mother being treated poorly because of her “broken” or “limited” English. She recalls many past experiences where her mother suffered from bad service and treatment from restaurants, stockbrokers, and even hospitals. Using examples from her personal life Tan gets her point across about language and culture characteristics in order to show how Chinese culture is affected by the master narrative and also encourages others to include a variety of cultures in order to overcome bias opinions. Tan’s apparent audience can be ranged from the child of an immigrant to a doctor and offers an authentic and rich portrayal of Chinese history through her conflicting experience of her Chinese and American cultures.

     The narrator seems almost confused by how he feels toward this snake. His voices tell him he is a coward and that he isn't a man because he hasn't killed the snake. But he longs to talk to him. He seems to feel a connection to this snake. He "felt so honoured" to be with the snake. He was afraid, and he recognized that, "But even so, honoured still more"