The Survivors By Will Weaver: A Brief Summary

In the novel Montana 1948, by Larry Watson, we witness this through the eyes of David a 12 year old narrator, the sickness and death of his beloved caretaker Marie Little Soldier by the doing of his Uncle Frank whom he has always looked up to. An important character central to the story is David’s father Wesley the sheriff of Bentrock who is brave, courageous, conflicted and, protective of his family. A message Wesley helps us understand a thought-provoking message that it is difficult to choose between family and doing the right thing.

In this both heart wrenching and slightly humorous memoir, journalist Jeannette Walls tells the bittersweet story of her rather dysfunctional and poverty stricken upbringing. Walls grows up in a family trailed by the ubiquitous presence of hunger and broken homes. Throughout the memoir she recounts memories of moving from one dilapidated neighborhood to another with her three other siblings, insanely "free sprinted" mother, and incredibly intelligent yet alcoholic father. The author focuses on her unconventional childhood with parents who were too lazy and self-absorbed to obtain decent jobs. Although Walls's childhood gushes with heartbreaking tales of searching through dumpsters for food, she remains as unbitter as possible and

Country” are two the texts to be compared. Though they share similarities, they too are quite

As hardworking women living of the prairie, Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters can relate to Mrs. Wright’s situation. They know personally that long days of doing laundry, cooking, and cleaning can become very tiresome (Hedges 91). They realize that living on the prairie can force a woman to be confined to her own house for weeks at a time, and because Mrs. Wright never had children, the grueling loneliness that she suffered must have been excruciating. Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters both experience the constant patronization and sexual discrimination that most women in the early twentieth century lived with. They empathize with the difficulties of Mrs. Wright’s life and almost immediately a bond is formed with a woman they do not even know.

When his father died, Owen Brown’s family suffered. Without any help, the family’s crops failed that year, and they were forced to sell their cattle. The family tried to maintain their farm, but the fierce winter the next year made things even more difficult; most of their remaining

From the get go, they maintain faith in the “American Dream”, the idea that morality and hard work will bring wealth and good fortune. However, Sinclair cleverly exposes the hypocrisy of this naive dream by placing the family in Packingtown, a place that flips the myth of the American Dream on its head. Instead of a land riddled with opportunity and acceptance, they find it to be littered with racism and immorality. Instead of the concept that a strong moral compass and hard work can bring you wealth, they find the only way a man can succeed is through corruption and

Rebecca Harding Davis was a groundbreaking author whose work, Life in the Iron Mills, examined a socioeconomic system that failed some while keeping others empowered. The issues of power and social class that are embedded in the work prompts readers to look closer at the unskilled immigrant laborers, whose living and working conditions were deplorable, and compare them to the capitalists and wealthy mill owners whose financial success rested mainly on the workers who were being marginalized. The narrator’s call to the readers, “Stop a moment…hide your disgust, take no heed to your clean clothes, and come right down with me,” is actualized through the eyes of the middle and upper class gentlemen who visit the mill on what the narrator refers to as “the crisis of [Hugh’s] life” (Davis). Though the narrator’s voice eases the

Have you ever wondered what it would be like without your family? Two stories, Runaway Twin by Peg Kehret and Us and Them by David Sedaris share what it is like to live without aid of family realization or problem solving. It was Sunny Skylands, protagonist from Runaway Twin, desire to find her twin sister that she was separated from when they were younger. While on a walk from her current, out of many, foster home Sunny finds a bag of cash, but when no one claims it Sunny knew this was her chance to take the cross-country adventure that she had dreamed of since she was 10. She would travel, without any warning to her loving foster mother, from Nebraska to her old hometown, Enumclaw, Washington, that was written on a picture of Sunny and her sister, Starr, before they were separated.

In Kansas City, a teenager, Sarah, had a family with many problems. She lived in a house “with no heat. No water. No lights. She read by flashlight” (Adler 1), until her grandfather took Sarah and her brother in.

Life in the Iron Mills is a tragic yet poignant story of the effects of a man’s socioeconomic status. Although set in the nineteenth century, the story is all too familiar. The short story begins with a reflective narrator begging the audience to read the story with an open mind not tainted by the ideals of high society (Davis). The narrator suggests the story be read from the perspective of the protagonist, Hugh Wolfe, a lowly puddler at the iron mill (Davis). Hugh works long, hard hours at the mill for little to no pay in attempts to provide not only for himself but also for his cousin, Deborah, and a young girl, Janey (Davis). In Hugh’s spare time at the mill, he carves sculptures out of korl (Davis). Hugh leads a typical life of a working class citizen.

\This book talks about a kid named August,and his challenges in middle school. This boy has a problem on his face.august speaks about discrimination at school.The reason for the difference is your problem of the kid.the child tries to be like anyone despite her problem in the face.

The holocaust was a terrible war that killed many Jewish people. Valdek was extremely lucky and he was one of the very few Jews who lived and made it through the war. Although he is still a live he will never be able to forget the terrible things the Nazis did to the Jews. The things he learnt in the concentration camps will always affect his life and after reading Maus the reader can see many different ways that the holocaust effected Valdek’s personality. It made Valdek to become extremely frugal, infuriatingly manipulative, and lastly he isn’t able to relax anymore. We see these three traits a lot throughout the book.

The isolation, lack of resources, and often secular beliefs are often ignored as we increasingly place our focus on large metropolitan areas. Not to say that every woman in a small town faces the same issues or that every man living in small-town America is abusive, but forced reflection, such as the one provided Kimmel’s work, is what will ultimately aid in eliminating the destructive forces that reside behind America’s own closed doors. Most importantly, Alice and Jack’s relationship is one that is seen all too often across the globe, but adding to insult is the fact that it is often the people living in silence that need help the most. We’ve heard the saying that the wheel that squeaks the loudest gets the oil, but it is through Kimmel’s choices concerning Jack and Alice that we are reminded of the dangers in equating silence to sign of well-beings. As we come to learn, a wheel does not have to squeak to malfunction. Small towns are America’s silent wheel, and Kimmel is certainly emphasizing the complexities present within that

The Amish are a fascinating people. They live surrounded by cities full of technology. Yet they live without automobiles, electricity, and most modern comforts that are taken for granted by many. Donald Kraybill asks the question “How is it that a tradition-laden people who spurn electricity, computers, automobiles, and higher education are not merely surviving but are, in fact, thriving in the midst of modern life?” Though they do not have all of the technology that we take for granted, they live richer lives than many non-Amish people. because gender relations are accepted amongst others in the community, they have strong beliefs, traditions and values, and kinship is important.

Keith, a young boy who grew up in the Close, makes a statement that starts the events that take place in this book. At the beginning of the book, Keith seems to be the protagonist, whereas Stephen, is merely his side-kick, but in the end, as the reader finds out more about Keith’s true colours, he seems less deserving of this title. The reader learns about his unpleasant character through his physical description, background, and his relationship with others.