Trigger By Susan Vaught

The most important lesson for Rachel that comes out of this situation is that after wearing the disgusted sweater she has become even older, and it was tied to the experience instead of the birthday itself. She understands that it is the challenge she needs to grow up faster as she will receive additional benefits of behaving the way she wants and resisting to the outside irritators. As for the literature techniques, the author applies language, diction and symbolism to reveal the issues of experience, aging, knowledge, power, authority and freedom. The discovering is gaining age are conveyed with the help of the memories of eleven-year-old girl on her birthday. Rachel resists her humiliation from Mrs. Pierce, and that is the exact moment when her “smart eleven” comes as well[2].

In Danielle Allen’s essay, Our Declaration, she argues that all people should understand and recognize that the Declaration gives all people in the United States the undeniable freedom to self-govern. One person has the power to change the government; although this is not specifically stated, the freedom to self-govern implies every voice matters. She guides the reader to this idea by using simple and easy to follow examples to show the reader that they have the power to invoke a change the government. Allen also uses credible sources in order to give her reasoning credibility as well as using arguments that elicit an emotional connection.

Every story has a setting. Whether it is in this world or one that is completely imaginary, the setting of any story is necessary in order to understand the characters. The characters in the following three short stories are shaped by their setting and would not be the same if the setting was different. Over the course of each story it is easy to see how vital the setting is in order for the reader to fully understand the characters and their lives. Therefore, while the reader reads these stories they must analyze how the setting affects the characters, the obstacles that the setting creates, and what it tells us about the characters.

Two best friends, Chris and Win, decided to do something great their summer of senior year before heading of to collage. Chris and Win are going to bike along the West Coast to Seattle, where Win’s uncle lives. At first Chris’s mom is against them going, while his dad pushes him to go because he had a similar dream that he did not accomplish. Win’s parents seem to not have a care in the world that their son is going to bike across the country. Eventually both sets of parents agree and the boys start their journey. The trip is going great but somewhere along the way things started taking a turn for the worst. The book Shift by Jennifer Bradbury is a great realistic mystery that keeps the pages turning.

"Battleground America," written by Jill Lepore, provides a strong history of guns and the way they have changed in the eyes of the American through the years. She proves her point with strong evidence throughout her article, sprinkling it with opinion and argument that is strongly supported. She presents her argument to convince her audience that the open availability of guns allows citizens to undeservingly purchase them by displaying the credibility in her sources, using negative connotations in her speech, and the strength and objectivity only a strong logos appeal can provide.

Contradiction in the mind, we struggle between decisions. Whether it is correct or not, it leaves an indelible memory. In Tim O'Brien's confessional writing, Ambush, he creates a flashback and recalls his memory in Vietnam. With detail descriptions, Tim O'Brien expresses his guilt towards killing an innocent young man. Furthermore, reinforcing his opposition against war with the writing.

In Barbara W. Tuchman’s book, The Guns of August, she argues that each competitor in World War I did some very feebleminded things in the first month of war. Tuchman quibbled that the first month was a disaster of headstrong generals, who were determined to stick with military plans that weren’t succeeding. The author explains that both sides lost in the first month because of foolish mistakes.

The act of crossing a metaphorical threshold is one that is oftentimes difficult and daunting. Although it may require courage, the reward of gaining knowledge is worth the process of crossing whatever threshold life chooses to place in front of you. In Sue Monk Kidd’s novel the protagonist, Sarah Grimké, knows all about crossing thresholds. She lives by her own personal slogan to “err… on the side of audacity.” I have come to learn so much about myself and the world around me by doing just that.

Deej Logan was just like any normal high school girl. She woke up on her first day of school and combed her hair, picked out the “perfect” outfit and headed out the door. What she didn’t know is that after that day nothing would be the same. Nothing that day seemed to be going right. At school drama was swarming all around her, not exactly what she hoped the first day would be like. By the time the last bell of the day rang she was more than happy to get out of that school. She drove home as quickly as she could but as soon as she got home she realized that she had forgotten to pick up her sisters. “Great.” She thought sarcastically as she sat back down in her car and drove off. Just then she pulled out her phone to message one of her friends about her awful day. That one decision changed everything. Before she had a chance to send the message Deej veered off into oncoming traffic and was killed on impact.

In this essay I intend to explore the narrative conventions and values, which Oliver Smithfield presents in the short story Victim. The short story positions the reader to have negative and sympathetic opinion on the issues presented. Such as power, identity and bullying. For example Mickey the young boy is having issues facing his identity. It could be argued that finding your identity may have the individual stuck trying to fit in with upon two groups.

An American author and journalist Jeannette Walls once said, “When people kill themselves, they think they’re ending the pain, but all they’re doing is passing it on to those they leave behind”. This is certainly true of the characters in Susin Nielsen’s realistic fiction novel The Reluctant Journal Of Henry K. Larsen. In this novel, a young boy named Henry is trying to rebuild his life, after his older brother, Jesse, pulled the trigger in a murder/suicide, taking the life of one of his classmates with him. The actions and choices of the characters are reflected significantly in three notable themes: regret, tragedy, and fear. All of these themes entwine into each other and help us to understand the answers to a key question- what motivates

In World War One, the war was fought in two places, in France and in England. England was never physically in the war, but France truly saw the actions. The citizens of England put their best foot forward when it came to contributing to war. The truth was that there was a great divide between the two fronts. The war front, fields bloodied and smear with greasy mud. The home front, standing tall with pride, patriotism, and power. In the book, Not so Quiet…. written by Helen Smith, who have experienced the cruel harsh reality of the war, she describes the ugly side of the war and how everyone view the war. When the war started in 1914, there was need for manpower on the front line, men and women step up to take on roles, Helen was among a group of other girls that contributed on taking on the role of taking care of the wounded and the deceased.

RUN. It’s all sixteen-year-old Tessa Carson has ever known. Hunted by a telepathic killer, Tessa and her family have fled home after home, hiding behind aliases to survive. Her scars are more than just physical, and as the only one in her family without a psychic ability, she lives a life of secrets, lies, and fear.

Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult, is about a boy who has been bullied his whole life and he decides to take matters into his own hands. He comes to school with guns and shots every person who has ever bullied him, except the girl he was in love with. This book is important to me because it shows what bullying and depression can make people do, how it can destroy many people’s lives. This book reminds me of real life, how depression can make people do awful things, but it doesn’t mean they are awful people. It shows how some people need help to be guided down the right path, which is what I try to do.

Deborah Willis was born and raised in Calgary, Alberta. She graduated from the University of Victoria and worked as a newspaper reporter. Currently she works as a bookseller in Victoria B.C. She is a Canadian author of short stories that won Prim International’s annual fiction prize. Also, she was appeared in the Bridport Prize Anthology Event, and Grain. The book Vanishing and other stories has 14 stories and most of the stories have common elements. They are all about relationships and how they have disintegrated, or disappeared, or become part of the past which will never come back. For the most of the time Willis tells a story in three tenses which are in memories from a point in the future, the principal focus is on a more recent past,