The Wish

The transition from childhood to adolescence is a difficult process with many obstacles. In Doris Lessing’s short story, “Through the Tunnel”, this idea is expressed when Jerry decides to leave the safe beach and play in the rocky bay. He strives to be like the older boys, but he can only do that when he matures enough. In Doris Lessing’s “Through the Tunnel,” the author demonstrates the many obstacles present in going from childhood to adolescence using symbolism and imagery.

Harwood’s poem ‘The Glass Jar’, powerfully illustrates the fears and consternations of childhood. The poem deeply explores both the loss of childhood innocence and transition between childhood and adulthood. Typical of Harwood’s poetry, the central character is never named and as a result, the boy's feelings and thoughts become representative of all children. Her poetry offers new and enlightening perspectives on the most significant stages of our lives, reinforced with the phrase ‘He woke’, a blunt, monosyllabic statement that highlights the passing of time. Emotive and powerful language communicates the transition between a child who’s sleep was disturbed by ‘whispering’ monsters. He became a child who has secured hope and faith in a metaphorical glass jar filled with light. This symbolises a ‘host’ providing salvation, security and

From experience, I know that when I was a little kid I would enjoy playing with empty boxes and imagining that it was a house or a weird toy. At this point, the readers are now imagining the infant from the beginning of the poem grow into a toddler.

As a child daydreaming and imagining was essential to survive the extensive abominable days of summer, or the weekends. Likewise, in the texts “Red Cranes” by Jacey Choy and “The Firefly Hunt” by Jun’ichiro Tanizaki two children who still express their imagination and creativity, have to realize the harsh realities that everyone must incorporate. In the texts “Red Cranes” and “The Firefly Hunt” they express the ambition and creativity of a child’s mind. However, the development of the two characters dealing with the realities in their adolescent years, varies tremendously between the two stories.

Firstly, the writer portrays the world of children through the first person narrative which encapsulates young Leo’s fresh, spontaneous optimism and hope towards the dawning of a new era, ‘My dreams for the twentieth century, and for myself, were coming true’(Chapter 1. p. 28). Therefore, this device allows the reader direct access to the intensity yet simplicity of a child’s point of view and enhances Leo’s personal

Cunning. Crafty. Creative. Cruel. “Charles”, written by Shirley Jackson in 1948, is a rather chilling short story about the vulnerability of a young child’s imagination, about the fantasies of the human mind, about the manipulation of humans, and about the insidious dangers of change. Jackson’s horrific tale stealthy kidnaps the oblivious reader from their seat and takes him or her on a non-stop ride that begins in a simple family home and ends in the darkest corner of the human imagination. By manipulating the innocent thoughts as a young boy into those of a grim reality, by employing innocence to camouflage hypocrisy and duplicity and by hiding behind the faultless nature of a young imagination to hide the insidious nature he possesses,

“His uncle pointed a warning finger. Don’t get saucy now, mister. I know paper dolls when I see’ em” (133). This tells us how children change their dreams when they are discourged by others, especially adults. Furthermore, children pursue what they have been taught and the kind of personalities they contract with every day, which can also influence and destroy their inner intentions and dreams.

The Eye of the Sheep, written by Sophie Laguna is a strong example of how memorable texts can both disturb the reader as well as instil hope. The novel follows the story of the narrator Jimmy Flick, a young, unusual boy and his family. Laguna’s writing style and use of language throughout the text enables the reader to feel the pain and distress in Jimmy’s family without ever losing hope that things will work out. One of the ways in which she does this is through the use of Jimmy’s voice, as it allows the reader to feel the positive energy bubbling inside of Jimmy, while still witnessing the problems that Jimmy’s family have to deal with, such as his father’s drinking habits. Another way is the manner in which the characters are constructed. All the members of Jimmy’s family have multiple facets to them. They are all complex characters that have both light and darkness within them. Through these cleverly constructed characters, Laguna how even good people can do disturbing things. While reading the Eye of the Sheep, there have been multiple different perspectives that have enriched my own interpretation of this text, that again show different facets to the story.

In J.D. Salinger’s Nine Stories there are many tales centered on children, who are often depicted as a symbol of hope and connected with the values that stand in contrast to the ones typical of the adults corrupted by materialism. In my essay, I would like to concentrate on the portrayal of children in “A Perfect Day for Bananafish” and “Teddy”. Even though the way these characters are depicted is similar, a child protagonist in each of the stories is representative of different things. While Sibyl can be seen as a prototype of a childlike innocence, purity and simplicity, Teddy can hardly be considered a prototypical innocent child. Despite the simplicity of Sibyl’s thinking, her presence and behavior help the reader draw many complex

Childhood is arguably the most exciting time of a person’s life. One has few responsibilities or cares, and the smallest events can seem monumentally thrilling. Often, people reflect on the memories of their youth with fondness and appreciation for the lessons they learned. Sarah Orne Jewett captures this essence perfectly in the excerpt from “A White Heron.” Jewett uses many literary devices, including diction, imagery, narrative pace, and point of view to immerse the reader in familiar feelings of nostalgia and wonder, and dramatize the plot.

This book appeals to the child in all of us because we can all remember a time we'd like to go back to; a time when making our beds was our greatest responsibility and life was something we took for

Taken from Neil Gaiman’s ‘Don’t Ask Jack’, this extract is a descriptive story focussing on the toy Jack in the box. Narrated in the third person by an unnamed character, the story of Jack takes place in a grand house as a nursery where the toy Jack is stored. Through the voice of the narrator, Gaiman uses a sombre tone from the beginning to the end as children do not play with it and ignore it after they grow up. By utilizing a raft of emotive language, sensory detail and allusion, Gaiman addresses the children attitudes towards the toy Jack and the passing of time. The author uses several declarative statements to emphasis the fact that ‘children don’t play with it’ and sets up the tone for story.

‘How does the writer use language to present the theme of enslavement in The Paradise Carpet?’

Childhood has its own ways of seeing, thinking, and feeling which are proper to it/ child’s mind considered as a blank state to be inscribed by experience: the infant is often compared to a ‘white paper’ to be written over or to a plastic substance (wax) to be molded

Upon reflection of the Five Wishes, several thoughts came to mind. First and foremost, having a designated advanced directive is critical. There are countless examples of clinical experiences in with which families were overwhelmed with unexpected end-of-life decisions. As an educated caregiver, we should personally take the necessary steps to assure these tough decisions are known to someone who can facilitate the level of care desired. Such consideration of these elements of care in advance can help to support our loved ones during this emotional time. After review of the five wishes, I recognized that I would not want life-support measures if faced with irreversible deleterious outcomes that resulted from