The Stone Boy

The first passage reveals the parallel suffering occurring in the lives of different members of the family, which emphasizes the echoes between the sufferings of the father and the narrator. The narrator’s father’s despair over having watched

Conflict was used effectively in the short story to reveal the theme of the story. The boy has an internal conflict about which parent to stay with, and because his father left, he seemed to have favored him. He wanted him back so badly that every night, he watches him on the six o’clock news while wearing his old jackets. He was blinded by his father’s sudden departure that he forgot about what is really important. Additionally, another development in the short story’s conflict has been used effectively to reveal the theme. When the boy went to Macdonald’s to see his father’s true colors, he thought: “I finished my drink quickly, thankful that he had to be back in the studio for the news.” By the time he saw his dad for the first time in a while, he knew he was not the man he thought he was. At that moment, he also realized that he lost sight of what he had all this time: His mother’s unconditional love. If it wasn’t for the characterization of

Throughout the novel “House of Sand and Fog” by Andre Dubus III, the recurring theme of alienation takes its toll on the lives of the two main characters: Kathy and Behrani. We see how the isolation of both characters not only has an effect on them, but also on the lives of others who matter most to them. Alienation is the act of being withdrawn or isolated from a life in which one is accustomed or should be accustomed to. The incidents of alienation demonstrated in the novel include, the relationship between each character and their families, Behrani and his family being forced out of their home country and living in America, and Kathy getting evicted from her family house. As we see these events occur throughout the book, we also learn that both characters will do whatever it takes to claim ownership of what they both call home. This drawn-out battle over a piece of property ends up putting Kathy along with Lester behind bars, and with Behrani losing his son in the process.

Alienation is a feeling of emotional isolation or exclusion from others and can be in the form of physical and mental and it is most often a combination of these forms. Throughout history and to the present day, hostility and prejudice continue to divide the human race because of the indifferences of people. Alienation can be a driving force that pushes human conscience to extremes as humans feel painfully alienated from social institutions that surround them. Friends, family, and society can all be suspects of alienation, and for victims, drastic changes consequently occur. In the literary works of “First Ice”, First Day, and Shinny Game Melted the Ice, the main characters experience such hostility and exclusion from friends, family, and society.

p. 82). Therefore, the adult narrator’s ability to comment and reflect on his child-self effectively emphasizes the naïve and vulnerable nature of youth, and contributes to the mood of foreboding and suspense throughout the novel, ‘now I was over confident. I expected things to go my way’ (Chapter 1. p. 28).

Alienation can be more hurtful than any physical harm. It renders feelings of isolation and loneliness. Estrangement by your community confuses your ego and sense of self and leaves you wondering, “where do I belong?” Alienation and its effects were appropriately personified in both the late Leanita McClain and fictional character Arnold Spirit Jr. from The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian.

Alienation is something we find to be constantly present within our society. This idea is steadily exemplified throughout history whether it be through class, race, or any social unjust. In Kristen Dombek’s piece, she details various accounts of social alienation. The reader follows as Dombek reveals corruption between human relationships and the way we interact with world. She exposes what we are all afraid to admit- modern values and morals. Kristen Dombek presses us with the question of why we do the things we do and live the way we live. Readers are forced to question if they are slaves to the world around them. Do we succumb to the social and economical pressure demanded from us, and if so, will we allow that to happen for the generations after us? Although alienation is something that roots from ourselves as individuals, recognize the factors in our lives that this originates from. Question the relationships people have established in their own neighborhood, or if a prosaic office job is fulfilling. When we serve our economy but it does not do the same for us, the symbiosis or harmony in which live in is disrupted. Will we make a change for the beauty we desire to create and the life we lead in oppression today or tomorrow? In Bank-robbin in Brooklyn Kristen Dombeck explores the ideas of societal alienation by questioning the dynamic of people 's’ lives in their neighborhoods, in the workplace and their roles in society in general.

The father’s way of dealing with his inner issues is reflected by the way he distracts himself with hobbies of the women he loves. This illustrates how a sudden tragedy can influence someone’s lifestyle. In fact, before his first wife passed away he showed a lot of interest in art and when she died he was lost and devastated ,” (…) after mom died, my sister and I used to worry about his living alone. And he was lonely.We knew that after putting in his usual twelve-hours workday, he would return to the empty house (...) then read medical journals until it was time to go to sleep.”(16). This implies that

The narrator is deeply infatuated with Mangan’s sister and she is always on his mind. He states, “Her name sprang to my lips at moments in strange prayers and praises which I myself did not understand. My eyes were often full of tears (I could not tell why) and at times a flood from my heart seemed to pour itself out into my bosom.” (Joyce 2). The quote talks about the narrator’s smitten feelings for a girl only referred to as Mangan’s sister. It is evident that she is always on his mind and she naturally flows through his mind unconsciously. He is also very grief-stricken at times, which surprises him. The fact that Mangan’s sister does not have a name clearly reveals that the narrator is in love with what she represents, physical beauty. This is something rather mutual for any adolescent boy experiencing sexual beauty for the first time. He is stuck in his own little world of infatuation where she is always present and he also feels sad as he cannot convey his feelings of love. Also, after the narrator decided that he will bring something for Mangan’s sister as a gift from the bazaar, Araby, he is overcome with joy. He states, “What innumerable follies laid waste my waking and sleeping thoughts after that evening! I wished to annihilate the tedious intervening days. I chafed against the work of school.” (Joyce 2). The quote

The dreary and melancholy tone which pervades the excerpt reveals something fundamental of the narrator. And that the character runs counter to what one may first expect from the typical twelve year old boy. This juxtaposition is seen within the first few sentences, where Judd goes from describing his times as a child - which we would expect to be recalled as lively and energetic

Literary Analysis Essay Believe it or not, there can be many similarities and differences between people and their daily live. Two examples of this are The Kite Runner written by Khaled Hosseini and Father by Alice Walker. Both writing pieces had many similarities such as both characters did not understand fully their parents. A difference is that both of their parents had different financial situations and one of the characters did get to know both parents. There are both similarities and differences between the characters and the stories.

The young man in the poem loses his identity as he develops into the ruthless world of adulthood with its dehumanizing competition of ‘money-hungry, back-stabbing’ and ‘so-and-so.’ These exaggerated words and clichés

One of the key aspect of modernism was portraying the mundane and average in an honest (and often depressing) light, so it is unlikely Joyce would have made the choice to have a young narrator express himself in such an advanced and unusual way. Throughout the story, the narrator seems to have underlying animosity toward the event that took place. At the beginning of the story, the narrator describes how his evenings were spent, “When we met in the street the houses had grown sombre. The space of sky above us was the colour of ever-changing violet and towards it the lamps of the street lifted their feeble lanterns. The cold air stung us and we played till our bodies glowed” (19). Even when describing fun activities, like playing outside with neighbors, the narrator uses negative language. Typically, a memory about a failed childhood crush would be met with a shrug, but the narrator still has feelings of anger toward this event all these years later. This is because this story illustrates what was likely one of the the first instances of paralysis the narrator encountered in his life. The story has value because of the implications it has on the future of the narrator. The negative tone of the story reflects how the narrator still feels disgust toward this event many years later because it was the first in a

"Every morning I lay on the floor in the front parlor watching her door...At night in my bedroom and by day in the classroom her image came between me and the page I strove to read." This shows the extent to which the narrator desires to be with Mangan's sister.

The narrator alienated himself from friends and family which caused loneliness and despair, being one of the first themes of the story. He developed a crush on Mangan's