Themes In 'The Dare' By Roger Hoffman

In the book, The Scorch Trials, the main characters Thomas and Teresa are friends who help each other get through some difficult times. Sticking together and friendship are important themes throughout the book. There were a lot of tragic and scary things that happen and because the friends stuck together, they were able to get through them.

For this essay, I am going to be discussing the short story “Swimming” found on the New Yorker, and written by T. Cooper. I have chosen this story for many reasons, and among those reasons is the personal sadness I felt when I first read the story, almost as if the universe was placing a certain theme in my life, that only the main character could possibly understand. I am talking about running, the god given instinct felt by all men, inherent in the nature of fear, and brought out in all who feel sadness in its full intensity. Though in my short life I can not compare the sadness I have felt with that of losing a child at my own hand, but if I had been placed in that situation, if fate had tempted my soul with such a sequence of events, I would like to think I could find the strength to endure and the courage to not abandon all I had previously known. Yet I am able to reconcile the themes of grief, the mode of recovery, and the longing to escape such a terrible tale. I think in this piece, as I will discuss in later parts, the author was able to put into words a transformation we rarely get to observe in closeness, the kind of transformation that turns a kind man into a “just man” the kind of death that turns this world from a beautiful and happy place into a world that is closing in on our main character, that is forcing him to surface temporarily and gasp for air, much like he does when he finds peace in the water, wading breath after air, after sea. I firmly believe that

New Directions provided a story with a strong theme of courage. That theme was brought out through the use of the plot, setting, and mood in this short

In the short story, “The Swimmer,” John Cheever uses precise literary devices to emphasize the true meaning behind what the average reader might first gather. Throughout this short story, Neddy’s journey is recorded through what he does and how the time changes. His actions of “jumping from pool to pool” show Neddy’s incapabilities of growing up and the falsehood that he lives in. John Cheever wants the readers to understand that Neddy’s life is only a downfall as the years go by, and that his outlook on life doesn’t change until he realizes all his actions have left him alone. To set the tone of the story, the author uses metaphors of different objects to show Neddy’s changes in life, change of diction to set a tone from excellence to weakness, and Neddy’s life paralleled through the imagery described in this short story.

In life, one must overcome their fears in order to achieve or successfully attain a certain goal in their mind. The short story “Through the Tunnel”, by Doris Lessing tells us about how Jerry builds confidence and maturity throughout the story, by overcoming his fear of going through the dark and scary tunnel underneath the water. The author portrays the idea of overcoming one’s fear to achieve a goal through Jerry, who was once a childish and isolated character, had begun his risky adventure of going through the tunnel to prove his worth to a group of boys and along the way discovers what he truly wants. Over time he becomes more mature and in the end, gain self-acceptance.

In a world of empathy and selfishness, one must always prevail. The short story “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst tells a tale of a young boy and his disabled younger brother, Doodle. The narrator, also known as Brother, recalls the life of his brother and how his own actions and emotions affect his brother’s experiences. Brother’s pride determines whether he acts empathetic or selfish towards his sibling. In “The Scarlet Ibis” Hurst uses diction, symbolism, foreshadowing, and imagery to fabricate a remorseful mood as Brother looks back on his past, a compassionate feeling when the ibis dies, and a regretful mood when Doodle dies.

In the story “Through the Tunnel” by Doris Lessing the main character Jerry is young and sees a group boys do something that he finds interesting, Going through the tunnel. The problem is he is too young and too weak to do it. The boys were Judging and excluding him and it made him sad. Jerry used the negative actions of the french boys as motivation to set a goal of swimming through the tunnel before he leaves. Although Jerry is not physically strong or mature he has a large amount of mental strength and uses what should be his weakness be his strength.

A common theme we see in the two stories, “Two Kinds” by Amy Tan, and “The Rocking Horse-Winner” by D.H Lawrence is the detrimental effects that a forcing a bar of success can have on developing adolescents. Recognizing that the product of success is generally good, clouds the notion that there is in fact a wide range of effects that chasing success can bring about. Some of these effects have positive repercussions, teaching adolescents discipline and work ethic. However, some of the effects are quite negative, especially in those that are too young to truly care for themselves. Forcing a cusp of success on adolescents indirectly in “The Rocking Horse-Winner” or directly in “Two Kinds” pushes the children to achieve the impossible resulting in a breaking point in the adolescent characters.

The purpose of the story is to compare fate to how one grows up. The mixture of the environment, the

In Richard Wright’s “The Man Who Was Almost a Man,” Dave finds himself throughout the course of the story. Throughout the story, Dave is constantly seeking the pleasure of obtaining and then eventually shooting a gun in order to be a man and find himself. However, Dave does not expect the consequences that are to follow the pursuit of pleasure. The moral of the story pertains to the role pleasure and its consequences have in development and finding oneself. The story narrates a common, but little talked about problem, that runs rampant in today’s society. In the story “The Man Who Was Almost a Man,” Richard Wright illustrates Dave’s development, or lack thereof, through the symbols of the gun, the train, and the mule.

The short story “Powder” by Tobias Wolff displays an inspiring change of heart in the narrator caused by his father’s unintentional teachings throughout the course of the story. The narrator is a young boy whose character is apparent to his conservative and controlling thought of mind. The boy almost fears not planning ahead, but on the adventure with his father he is taught that it is okay and you should take in the moment for what it is. He needed to be responsible because of his parents split, this resulted in him being very strict and regulated, however that was not the case with his father. The father is a polar opposite from his son; he is fearless, careless and a risk-taker. Although the father is not a responsible figure the boy idolizes in the beginning of the story, the boy states “I actually trusted him” when he finally regains faith in his father at the end.

(Hook) Motivation, when used to push a person to their highest potential, can cause both greatness and disappointment. (Bridge) In James Hurst’s story, “The Scarlet Ibis,” Brother pushes Doodle to the limit teaching Doodle activities that he would have never had the opportunity to do without the motivation and determination to reach greatness. (FS1) Throughout the journey of learning to walk, swim, and run, Brother motivates Doodle to keep pushing so that he could be like the other kids before he started school. (FS2) Doodle, born physically impaired, tries his best to follow his brother’s orders and make him happy, but this leads him to his death. (FS3) The motivation in this short story is represented by three symbols: the scarlet ibis, the wagon, and the coffin, which all demonstrate the motivation Doodle and Brother have to use to overcome the obstacles they face. (Thesis) Motivation can be used as a compelling force to strive for greatness, but can lead to upsetting results when it is used to the extent as it is in the “Scarlet Ibis,” by James Hurst, which is demonstrated by the symbols of (I) the scarlet ibis, (II) the wagon, (III) and the coffin.

The author demonstrates the difficulties of the boy by using imagery to describe the complication that he has to overcome. The imagery provides visual description of what they boy experience when he

Even though, jerry wants to be accepted and in control of his life, the harsh reality is Jerry’s identity wants to be with his mother. Further throughout the story the tunnel is shown as the symbol of the story; letting the reader know that Jerry senses that it is the door to his identity. Additionally, the chronological structure is effective throughout the story in showing the process of growing up and an insight into Jerry’s transformation. Moreover, the 3rd person omniscient narrator and formal register presents the character of Jerry and his mother in a distanced way and without a biased perspective. This suggests the sense of detachment and alienation that Jerry is starting to feel from his mother as he is growing up and wanting to make his own choices. The story is firstly introduced with a description of the mother carrying a bright striped purse. It was this and other uses of describing Jerry’s surroundings with the use of bright colours symbolising jerry’s childish world and thoughts. In addition, the thought of jerry’s childish thoughts shows his struggle to establish his own identity. The author writes that Jerry goes swimming “over a region where rocks lay like discoloured monsters under the surface”. The simile shows that even though Jerry wants to be independent and swim alone in the bay, he’s terrified of being alone in the water and not seeing his mother again. Briefly, Jerry learns that you cannot

The things we do as children are often irresponsible and reckless. Yet we do them for fun, and because others are watching, judging, and expecting us to fulfill our 'friendly,' peer-pressure driven responsibilities. There are times, however, when these things lead to something bad, something unexpected. During such times, it is difficult to get over what once was, and to go on with life, especially if the said occurrence is a tragedy, which often times, it may be. Such an event happened in the story "Samuel" by Grace Paley, where a boy died because of his and his friends' reckless behavior, but also because of the actions of the individuals surrounding these boys. This paper will thus analyze the story, in order to determine who was responsible, in this case, for the tragedy that occurs in the story.