The Warmest December Essay

David Sedaris’ essay, “Let It Snow” is a reflection of Sedaris’ past. A single day from his childhood in North Carolina where Sedaris and his siblings were home due to school being closed for few days because of bad weather. The story reflects solely on the relationship that Sedaris’ mother had with him and his sisters, and how it was affected by her drinking problem. Although the story revolved around the children the mother was the main character.

The novel “The Coldest Winter Ever” by Sister Souljah follows the life of the lead character Winter Santiago and her family. Born in Brooklyn,New York, Winter Santiago was the daughter of a young mother and the notorious drug dealer Ricky Santiago. From the beginning of the novel Winter lets it known that she was born into luxury, and just because she lived in the projects of Brooklyn didn't mean she was poor.In fact it was the exact opposite for the Santiago family.Winter came into adolescence as a shallow, self-centered individual, motivated solely by physical attractiveness, material possessions and the desire to attract as many men as possible. On Winter’s six-tenth birthday her father Ricky Santiago decides it's finally time to move his family out of the ghetto. Winter’s mother and sisters were very excited for the move although Winter was livid. The family’s move to a mansion in Long Island did not stop Winter from desiring her ghetto culture. It also didn’t help that neither parents were actual parents to Winter. Shortly after the family moves to Rhode island the FBI raid the house and arrest Ricky Santiago on several charges. After Santiago’s arrest his empire begins to crumble. All of the family possessions are seized leaving Winter, her mother and her three younger siblings to fend for themselves. Winter selfishness didn't let that happen,she decided to go on her own and hustle her way back into the lifestyle she once lived.Unfortunately things didn't work out for winter the way she wanted. Instead of getting things done on her own Winter looked for a man to take care of her, because that was the only thing her mother taught her. The same man that was supposed to love and take care of her let her take the fall for his crimes, and ultimately sent Winter to jail for a fifth-teen year sentence.

"Those Winter Sundays" is a very touching poem. It is written by Robert Hayden who has written many other poems. This paper will talk about the poem "Those Winter Sundays". In particular we will look at the structure, main idea, and each stanza of the poem.

Once upon a dark and snowy Friday night, a mysterious man named Rabbi Hirsch came out of the dark eeriness of his desolate and abandoned synagogue and asked a boy named Michael Devlin if he could turn on the lights for him. Michael in the book Snow in August by Pete Hamill, at first hesitated, but then he willfully did the task. This started a wonderful friendship between the two Brooklyn residents that brought out the in best each other despite their different backgrounds. However, with the relationship came some physical and emotional turmoil as a result of the Rabbi being Jewish and most of Brooklyn being anti-semitic, meaning that they are hostile towards Jews. This was evident when Frankie McCarthy and his band of best friends named

Authors tend to write on subjects that they know the most about, or subjects that affect them on a personal level. Authors and poets use various aspects of life for the basis of their works, such as life experiences, romances, and family roles. Poems like “Those Winter Sundays” by Robert Hayden and “Forgiving My Father” by Lucille Clifton feature one of the most important roles in a family: a father. The two poems differ vastly in many regards, but many similarities surface among them and a common theme resides between them. Through the similarities they hold, the poems represent a common theme of regret for one’s lack of action.

     Born Lisa Williamson in 1964, Sister Souljah is a hip-hop artist that burst to the forefront of mainstream media in 1992 when she was criticized by then Presidential candidate Bill Clinton for saying “If Black people kill black people every day, why not have a week and kill white people?” Clinton was trying to prove to other Democrats that he did not sympathize with the organization that Souljah was a member of. She basically said Bill Clinton and went on to sign music and publishing contracts. She has become one of the more passionate and articulate voices to emerge speaking for young African Americans in the United States. She has written and published to works: No Disrespect, and

What if every day you woke up to fireplace smoke in your face, people around you dying of sickness,and when you went to go have breakfast there was no food? The first two years had not gone well for the continental army. Since the summer of 1775 when he had taken command, George Washington and his troops had withdrawn from Boston and retreated from New York.On October 1777, General Howe marched his army into the national capital of Philadelphia. With Howe’s army of 18,000 quartered in Philly, washington decided to build a winter camp at Valley Forge. Many soldiers while living there got sick from fireplace smoke,and catching diseases, and lastly there was a major shortage of food while Washington's soldier stayed there. I will not re-enlist because there are too many people with illnesses,a big shortage of food and the overall risk and fear of the unknown.

A child’s future is usually determined by how their parent’s raise them. Their characteristics reflect how life at home was like, if it had an impeccable effect or destroyed the child’s entire outlook on life. Usually, authors of any type of literature use their experiences in life to help inspire their writing and develop emotion to their works. Poetry is a type of literary work in which there is an intensity given to the expression of feelings and ideas by the use of distinct styles and rhythm. These distinct styles include different types of poems such as sonnets, villanelles, free verse, imagist poems, and many more. And these distinct styles are accentuated with the use of literary devices such as metaphors, similes, imagery, personification, rhyme, meter, and more. As a whole, a poem depicts emotions the author and reader’s can relate to. In the poem’s “Those Winter Sundays,” by Robert Hayden, and “My Papa’s Waltz,” by Theodore Roethke, we read about two different parent and child relationships. These two poems help portray the flaws and strength’s parents exhibit and how their children follow their actions and use it as a take away in their grown up lives.

Being a child is one of the hardest stages in a person’s life. They go through doing all the wrong things in order to learn how to do the right things, and then they socially develop into a sensible mature adult. During this stage of a young child's life, the roles of parenting are absolutely crucial and determine a child’s role that he/she is going to play in society in the future. This is a crucial part of everyone’s life, they need to learn what they are good at and what they are not good at. In the poem "Those Winter Sundays" by Robert Hayden, there is a sense that the narrator does not have a special bond with his father when he was a young boy, and that there is a sense of fear toward his father. I

This arising tone of regret and distance is also formed by the speaker’s depiction of his father having “cracked hands that ached,” (1. 3) which further signifies the father’s struggle with the severe coldness. The concept of self-sacrifice is apparent in this portrayal of his father’s disregard to his own pain in order to provide warmth and light for his family’s home. The stirring of “banked fires blaze” (1. 5) within the house,

The bond between a mother and child is often spoken of as being unlike any other. Yet there are always exceptions to the rule where this connection isn 't as impenetrable as one might assume. This book is an example of this bond gradually becoming weaker over time. It shows how it affects the child, Bone, and leaves her vulnerable to the abuse of her step-father. Bone’s mother, Anney, had fallen in love with a man who abused her which at first, she’s unaware but eventually comes to realize but still chooses to stay with him. Throughout the book there are instances of Anney’s negligence in recognizing her daughter’s abuse and being of aid to her but wasn 't. In having to deal with her

It was a normal winter morning. I woke up freezing my butt off. The night before we

In a country where Divorce is more normalized than ever before, one can be guilty of neglecting to consider the pain it can cause, not just the couple, but also their children. The short story “Hot or Cold” by Maile Meloy is a remembrance from the author's life which communicates the divorce of her parents represented in a nostalgic memory from her past. In the piece, the author’s young self plays in a van while her parents deal with an unexpected encounter with a bear. After a brief chase, the parents escape and the family drives away. The author masterfully develops the story by hinting at the nature of the parents relationship by adding clever metaphors, until it is apparent that the parents eventually divorce and that the story is only a dream. In the short story, the author utilizes juxtaposition, a motif, and metaphors, to suggest that memories create narratives, true or otherwise, that help one comprehend events that are otherwise incomprehensible.

Rich successfully uses strong images and an extended metaphor to establish a theme that shows that by re-examining a hurtful experience one can experience a rebirth of their

Christmas is my favorite holiday of the year. I love seeing the shinny Christmas lights that decorates my street and the sound of fresh fallen snow on the ground. Christmas reminds me of family, the laughter and loved we shared, and the gifts we gave to each other. My house on Christmas became the center of my joy.