Themes of Greed and Thirst for Power: 'Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children' by Ransom Riggs

Society has thrived against adversity with virtues of hope, fueled by the belief of a higher power. In The Book of Martha, by Octavia Butler, the protagonist, Martha, seeks a solution to end humanity’s greed, which will eventually lead to their inevitable demise. For centuries, religion has had an impact in the way societies view ethical and moral issues. Human kindness has always been at the core of each act behind religious beliefs. These acts of kindness have been made with the intention to progress ourselves as a society and as a community. An interview with Father Jesus de la Tapia, from The Parish of Santa Rosa, highlighted the social impact that these acts of kindness can bring to our community. Although Martha’s actions are those set in a fictional story, her belief in God and ability to bring humanity together, are actions which can be seen in our community, making it a better place.

“I believe that the root of all evil is power,” (Patricia Cornwell). I think this quote says a lot about the power of power. Let’s think about some people who were incredibly evil. Hitler killed 11 million people (Schwartz), 49 million deaths were linked to Joseph Stalin (Ghosh), and Kim Jong-Un has executed 70 officials since coming into office in 2011 (Omara). That doesn’t even include all of the other people who have died because of him or who will die because of him in the future. What do all of these people have in common? Power. If none of these people had power, millions of lives could have been saved. But with all power comes evil, as proven by these three horrible people. Now, power may not be taken to this extent all the time. As

With many resources and reasons, African slave experience numerous of punishment during their time period of slavery. As they crossed from Africa towards the West Indies their encounters experience of starvation, mistreated, beaten, sexual harassment and torments from Europeans slave’s dealers, owners, master and their own kind. Breaking the law or even working slow was a punishments. Especially for runaways slaves. Two primary sources advertisement that explained the hardship of slavery is document one. Documents one is an “advertisement come from New London (Connecticut) on March 30, 1764” and Documents 2 is a “Broadside advertisement that

In the first essay Fear, Ambition, and Politics by Robert Dallek, he talks about the way that the United States started to really conflict with Vietnam and how some of Lyndon Johnson’s issues led the U.S. into it. One thing was clear and it was that Lyndon Johnson did not want communism to spread. Johnson’s advisors would continuously report to him that things were starting to become more serious in Saigon. Johnson did not want to send troops though, saying the he would “not permit the independent nations of the East to be swallowed up by Communist conquest, and it would not mean sending American boys 9 or 10,000 miles away from home to do what Asian boys ought to be doing themselves.” Clearly his word did not last though. Dallek seems to have a rather negative view of Johnson because he wasn’t taking the precautionary steps to prevent certain events, and he could not keep his word. Johnson seemed to disagree with his own actions about what we should do in Vietnam because it was so unpredictable. He did not want American involvement, but the pressure ended up getting the best of him. He sent one of his advisors, McGeorge Bundy, to Vietnam to talk about what we should do to help alleviate South Vietnam. Bundy thought that U.S. action was a must or “defeat would be inevitable and there is still time to turn it around.” Johnson then decided to start bombing the North on February 8th, but he was not pleased with having to make this decision. This is known as the Rolling

The book “The Hunger Games” was written by Suzanne Collins and it’s the first book out of the trilogy she has written. Collins uses a mixture of modern and classical as elements in this story and it allows for any age reader to enjoy it. Some the literary devices she uses in the book are setting, symbolism, and themes. It’s everything you could want in a book because it has a little bit of each genre, like action, romance, comedy, and even mystery. This book will have you sitting at the edge of your seat on minute and then grabbing for a tissue the next. When reading this book, “The Hunger Games” by Suzanne Collins and looking at the setting, symbolism, and theme it’s easy to sense the different tones and emotions going on in the story.

These examples give the novel complexity and is ultimately why John Steinbeck received a nobel prize for the creation of it. Characterization is used throughout the novel to give insight on the characters thoughts. Cyrus Trask was viewed to be a very distant parent through indirect characterization. The reader may have picked this up through the acts of his children fighting for affection. Another example of characterization would be shown through Cal Trask. Cal was known to be the most dynamic character. Both direct and indirect characterization were used to illustrate Cal’s thoughts and actions. Allusion is another figurative device used in this novel. The novel is discretely based around the Book of Genesis. Cain and Abel is the main story that this novel is based off of. Their relationship of jealousy shines through both Adam and Charles and Aron and Cal. In Aron and Cal’s relationship, the similarity to Cain and Abel starts to lose its shine. Cal grows a conscience and becomes more dynamic and eventually defeating the odds of himself turning into a true Cain. These different figurative devices used in this novel speak to the readers in a way to grab their attention long enough to

Greed is undeniably a characteristic of being human. Even two hundred thousand years ago, when the first examples of modern humans were in a competition for food and survival, they naturally had to be greedy in order to survive and contribute to the gene pool in order for further generations to evolve and adapt. Darwin proved this with his theory of evolution stating that the species that are better adapted to the environment would be able to spend less time looking for food and more time mating (contributing to the gene pool), while the species who are not as well adapted would die off. The play “Macbeth” and the motion picture based on the book “A Simple Plan” display these themes of greed profusely as the main characters from each are affected by the same characteristic that had previously allowed for human survival. Macbeth in Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” and Hank in the film “A Simple Plan” are both affected by greed as they both turn into murders who backstab their friends, they both ruin their relationship with their wives, and they both end up destroying their lives.

In Martha Ostenso’s Wild Geese, there are many issues surrounding power and control throughout the novel. Many of these issues are because of the main character Caleb, and the control he holds over many other characters. There are three main issues associated with power and control in the novel: The power Caleb holds creates fear and hatred for him from other characters in the novel. The power he holds also causes his children to dream about things in another life and become rebellious against Caleb’s wishes. Finally, Caleb’s control and power ruins him as a character and he suffers from nemeses. These issues surrounding power and control are important to characterization, plot development, and the relationships and conflicts between characters.

Today I started reading Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs. I really like how the author describes the background of the story in the prologue of the book. It really helps to understand the story better later on. Jacob, the main character in this book, is kind of a shy kid, and seems like a slacker. He doesn’t seem to want to work hard at anything. I really love how the author jumps right into the plot with Grandpa Portman’s frantic phone call while Jacob is at work. Very excited to read more!

Fantasy appeals to us, to put it crudely, because of the relationship between magic and morality. An alternate world filled with strange and wonderful things, a world defined by imagination, gives us a setting in which to lose ourselves within. J.K. Rowling has done this and has captured the minds and hearts of readers all around the world with her bestselling series “Harry Potter”. As we engage in the engrossing narrative following Harry Potter and his friends, some may be able to relate to the lives of such characters. J.K. Rowling takes an undeniably riveting approach to showcasing the round characterizations throughout her novel "Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone" to such a degree that the reader can personally identify with such characters.

Taking place in a countryside home, W.W. Jacobs’s short story “The Monkey’s Paw” illustrates the White family’s two-day interaction with a seemingly innocent mummified monkey's paw. Each character presented in the short story represents natural human traits that can prove to be negative when greed and curiosity are involved. The use of symbolism throughout the story proves to be vital to the reader, as it allows him or her to understand the importance of every action done to the monkey’s paw has an opposite consequence. This correlates to everyone on Earth’s predetermined fate and the problems that an individual could face when greed overcomes their needs, even when it is for a better or worse life. When individuals are consumed by greed, like the White family, they must accept the consequences no matter how severe it is when it is something they truly seek in life.

Tyranny has always been present in human history from Joseph Stalin to Adolf Hitler they have all taken advantage of the public and used them to their own advantage and personal needs. In the story Animal Farm by George Orwell this tyrannical, totalitarian, and corrupt form of government is seen. In the story the tired animals organize a rebellion against their owner and drive him out. They create their own government, with the pigs assuming control. But the corrupt pigs take advantage of this power entrusted to them, and oppress the animal for their own benefit. Even though the pigs abused the power they had, The naive and gullible animals themselves were the ones responsible for the pigs’ quick rise to power and control because the animals were tricked into supporting the pigs evil plans, they were too braindead to organize and execute a rebellion even after they realized the pigs were up to no good, and they were so foolish that they even supported the expulsion of snowball, the only good pig that worked for the good of the other animals.

The Vengeful Miss Havisham - Great Expectations. In Great Expectations, by Charles Dickens, Miss Havisham is a complex character whose past remains a mystery. We know about her broken engagement, an event that changes her life forever. Miss Havisham desperately wants revenge, and Estella, her adopted daughter, is the perfect tool to carry out her motives.

character that shows us all that is good in the book and what a true

Victorian England was notorious for, along with top hats, its outdated “justice” system. Fraught with corruption, expired methods, and disorganization, the Victorian judiciary system was a severe flaw in the royal kingdom that was partially fed by the crime-fearing public and indifferent servants of the law. Growing up in an oppressive environment reminiscent of Victorian England’s own corrupt justice system, Pip’s journey from childhood to adulthood illustrates a gradual realization of the willful blindness of his fellow man to the injustice served to the convicted criminal, and indicates the cyclical nature of how poverty and fear feed the public consensus on crime. As explored by John H. Hagan Jr.’s article entitled “The Poor Labyrinth: The Theme of Social Injustice in Dickens's “Great Expectations”", in which Pip’s own life, as well as the lives of those around him illustrate how socioeconomic differences played a significant role in how individuals perceived the law and one another.