Watership Down by Richard Adams

Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey is a critically acclaimed novel produced in 2009 and set in 1965. Described by The Monthly as “an Australian To Kill a Mockingbird”, the book deals with a variety of themes in an intriguing and comedic way. The extent to which the themes in Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey mirror the context of production more closely than the context of the setting varies depending on which theme is being discussed. The wide range means that both years are represented in a balanced way. In the novel, Jasper Jones, half-aboriginal and half white, and Jeffery Lu, Vietnamese, often fall victim to mistreatment, oppression and violent hate crimes because of their race. Their characterisation as victims positions the reader to explore the theme of prejudice in 1965 society. Moreover, Charlie’s (the narrator) characterisation as an open minded person deals with the theme of acceptance. His relationship with both Jasper Jones and Jeffrey Lu represents this. The novel also, perhaps less explicitly, deals with ideas about masculinity. This theme is largely explored through Charlie Bucktin and Warwick Trent and further reinforced in the resolution. In terms of context this embodies 2009 more as the flourishing of the media has changed and created ideals. Themes of prejudice and fear appeal more to 1965. However, acceptance and masculinity mirror 2009.

Puritans and reformers of seventeenth century England have been given a bad name for their part in history. This is primarily because they were working against the grain and trying to create change in world that saw change as a threat. The time period was turbulent and there was bound to be resistance in a world that was dominated by Catholics and those that had reformed to abide by their King’s law. The puritans of the time were considered extreme and rubbed people the wrong way because they wanted a world that abided by their morals and ethical codes. For this, they took the blame for the misery that many suffered during this age, but as we see in Fire from Heaven, this is not a fair assessment. The Puritans of this time wanted to improve the lives of the people and society as a whole through morality and purity.

The Open Boat, written by Stephen Crane is discusses the journey of four survivors that were involved in a ship wreck. The oiler, the cook, the captain, and the correspondent are the survivors that make onto a dingey and struggle to survive the roaring waves of the ocean. They happen to come across land after being stranded in the ocean for two days and start to feel a sense of hope that they would be rescued anytime soon. They began feeling down as they realize nobody was going to rescue them and make an attempt to reach shore. The story discusses an external conflict of man vs nature to help state clearly the central idea. The central idea of the story conveys man’s success against nature when ones’ abilities are combined together to increase the chances of survival. The use of 3rd person limited omniscience and character analysis helps to explain how the journey of the men’s survival to get out of the ocean and reach shore is able to succeed while Stephen Crane uses symbolism to demonstrate the unity created amongst the survivors.

Rebecca McClanahan’s essay, “Interstellar,” is a memoir explaining what it is like, “To be the sister of a sad and beautiful woman,” (354). This line is one of the many uses of repetition the narrator utilizes to speak on the relationships her sister and her endure, while also explaining their relationship with each other. These relationships are magnified by the narrator’s use of literary elements such as metaphors, allusion, repetition, second person voice and her diction. These elements help develop characters, as well as give us a deeper sense of the relationships between the characters themselves.

In the early days, the role of woman has been confined by a man because their jobs are to get marry, have children, and most depend on their husbands. The men in the early society had bigger roles than women. Therefore, women has to base themselves on and listen to their men. However, in the story “Once Aboard The Lugger,” author Thomeas Qiller- couch presents an intense image of a woman who makes change in woman’s role in the early society. Nance Trewartha, a daughter of a fisherman in Ruan, wants to marry a minister Samuel from Troy. She has fond on him and starts to wonder how would be like if Samuel is her husband. With her lovingness and braveness, she kidnaps Samuel and start to reverse a women role in the courtship. Surprisingly, Nance pursues Samuel by isolating him, and she changes the patterns of courtship, culture, and class.

African Americans have been discriminated and were not treated fairly from the beginning of the American colonies up to the 1960s. Their history included about 250 years of slavery followed by another 100 years of discrimination. However, many people state that throughout the 1800s, the whaling industry helped African Americans thrive as a race. In addition, they were treated as equals and could gain glory and wealth from it. In most cases, this is not true because negroes for three main reasons. Almost all African people did not receive high positions on their crew ships. Also, they experienced segregation on ships and were treated not equally. Finally, they were taken for their cheap and hard labor in a dangerous, unrewarding industry. Using internet sources and the novel, In The Heart of The Sea, by Nathaniel Philbrick, African Americans in the whaling industry had low status within crews and faced harsh working conditions as well as discrimination and racism.

What images come to mind as you reflect on your childhood? Playgrounds, blackboards, and soccer balls may be among the warmest of memories. Yet for many mermaids swim their thoughts, princesses get swept of their feet, and lions roar to their loyal place in the animal kingdom. There is no doubt that today’s entertainment has most of its touch using classical influences. Walt Disney has produced animated films that have captured the heart and imagination of audiences of all ages around the world through the magic of storytelling and imagery. Many of us appreciate the imagination and magic that Disney puts into its animations with out knowing they are based off of classical and traditional storylines

The Canadian novel ‘Crow Lake’ by Mary Lawson, published in 2002, was awarded in Canada as First Novel Award in the same year it was published and won the McKitterick Prize in 2003. The author Mary Lawson was born and brought up in a small farming community in southern Ontario. After graduating from McGill University, she moved to England in 1968. She still lives there with her husband and sons, though she returns to Canada every year. The story took place in a small town called Crow lake in northern Ontario. In this book Kate Morrison, the main character, leads the reader through her journey for healing from past mistakes dealing with her family. At the beginning, Kate who is seven, and her siblings Luke, Matt, and Bo, experienced a tough time surviving after their parents were killed in a car crash, which impacted them for the rest of their lives.

Pixar has been very successful in terms of producing and filiming movies that targets the younger generations. It means that they're aiming for children who loves to have some fun in watching movies as much as they want. This is why Pixar continues to innovate no matter what story are they making. However, this is something that the kids must look forward to, and it's never been "darker" than before. As a result, they've decided to release a short tale that would make things interesting for the children. This is something different that you've ever imagined for good. This is not just like any other Pixar films that you've seen out there. This is not just like Toy Story, Finding Nemo (and Dory), Monsters, Inc., The Incredibles, A Bug's Life, Brave or so. Without further ado, this short Pixar tale is what we call 'Borrowed Time'.

Nighthawks, was painted in 1942 by Edward Hopper (1882-1967) an artist who was known as “a great master in the ranks of America realists.” (Levin, Gail) Hoppers paintings were first hung in “retrospective in 1933, Hopper played host just three years later to the first major show of surrealist art in New york.” (Levin, Gail) Hopper grew up in Washington Square, and lived there for most of his life. “ Hopper excelled in creating realistic pictures of clear-cut, sunlit streets and houses, often without figures.” (Levin, Gail) “He offers a brand of realism not bound to reality, and the places he depicts are familiar and foreign, comfortable and disquieting,” said the USA Times. The painting resides in the Art institute of Chicago. Nighthawks just like many of Hoppers paintings give a feeling of loneliness, and isolation as well as a feeling of darkness due to the dark hues. The picture leaves the viewer with thousands of words and interpretations with a third person view of an isolated man as he sits in a small parlor and ponders. The painting was created in 1942, which took place during the time of the great depression.

How hard is it to do the right thing? In the article, “The Man in the Water”, many people did the right thing right until the end. “The Man in the Water” takes place in Washington D.C., where there was a blast of winter. It was a chaotic disaster that caught the nation’s attention. In reality, not everyone is willing to be the “good guy”. Everyone have once, thought of themselves more than others but, in this article, not everyone was selfish. Not being selfish, showed heroism and bravery. In the article “The Man in the Water”, Roger Rosenblatt uses conflict and setting to develop moral courage.

In Name of the Wind, Patrick Rothfuss gives life to The Four Corners of Civilization through his storytelling. Storytelling gives the author an opportunity to show their experiences and reflect their beliefs within the world they are creating. During the time this book was being written, there was the Iraq and Afghanistan War taking place which had been sending many soldiers back home with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Rothfuss parallels this disorder within his book through the main character, Kvothe, when he experiences trauma and he shows how Kvothe copes with the persisting trauma through grief theory, “four doors of the mind” (135) . His four doors of the mind is similar to the Kubler-Ross Model, which is widely accepted by practitioners, but challenges it by believing the mind copes with pain through the central idea of numbing. However, this mindset of categorizing emotions experienced within grief can be destructive behavior towards any griever rather than helping them cope; stages of post-loss grief do not exist.

Wide Sargasso Sea is a novel written by Jean Rhys, discussing the life of Antoinette Cosway. Antoinette and her family are Creole and they live on a sugar plantation in Jamaica. Due to Antoinette’s Creole background, she and her family face a lot of problems and discrimination during their lives. However, when Antoinette grew older she had one friend named Tia. They played and talked together despite their obvious differences. On the night that Coulibri is set on fire, Antoinette flees with her family when she sees Tia. In search of comfort, Antoinette immediately goes to Tia, but instead of compassion Tia strikes a large stone at Antoinette’s face causing her to become injured. This event is significant, because it marks the first time that Antoinette experiences betrayal and hurt from someone whom she is fond of. This leads her to become reserved and begin to lose hope in others throughout the novel. Antoinette does not describe the physical pain of the attack, but rather the internal pain that she faced. This instance of betrayal from Tia exemplifies Antoinette’s isolation and loneliness in the community which ultimately causes her to lose her identity.

The women of the late sixties, although some are older than others, in Alice Walker’s fiction that exhibit the qualities of the developing, emergent model are greatly influenced through the era of the Civil Rights Movement. Motherhood is a major theme in modern women’s literature, which examines as a sacred, powerful, and spiritual component of the woman’s life. Alice Walker does not choose Southern black women to be her major protagonists only because she is one, but because she had discovered in the tradition and history they collectively experience an understanding of oppression that has been drawn from them a willingness to reject the principle and to hold what is difficult. Walker’s most developed character, Meridian, is a person

Children’s movies typically are known for having flat characters that don’t really change throughout the movie. Along with that, the problems the main character usually faces are simplistic in thought and don’t really captivate older audiences. Also, the theme of children’s movies tend to be aimed for helping child development or teach a lesson about honesty, friendship, or something of a similar caliber, which doesn’t tend to intrigue most adults who watch them. The humor in children’s movies generally is juvenile. While the juvenility is expected and hilarious for children, the humor can come off as cheesy and boring. Some adults prefer to watch movies that are sophisticated and can provoke deep thoughts, causing them to avoid children’s movies. Overall there are many reasons for adults to avoid watching children’s movies, begging the question: how is Big Hero 6 any different?