White Teeth Character Analysis

1. Who is the main character(s) of the novel? Consider both protagonists and antagonists. Provide a brief description. Lina Vilkas is the fifteen year old main character and protagonist of Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys. Lina has long, wavy, honey-colored hair and blue eyes like her mother, but she bears a resemblance to her father as well. “‘Kostas, Lina looks just like you” (Sepetys 34). Her personality is headstrong, impulsive, and outspoken, which puts her in danger with the Soviets. Though it is risky, she uses her art to express her strong emotions and opinions. “When I imagined sketching the commander, I had no problem, until I got to his head. My mind saw… a nest of wicked snakes sprouting out of his neck, or a skull with hollow

Jimmy knows too well the agonies of abandonment. First, when his mother, Cecilia, ran away with Richard to pursue a better lifestyle. Then, due to his father’s, Damacio Baca, alcoholisms and violent behavior; he also had to leave Jimmy behind. In spite of the drawbacks from abandonment to being a maximum security prisoner in Arizona State Prison, Jimmy preserver’s the darkness of prison by overcoming his illiteracy. However Cecilia and Damacio is not as fortunate as their child; Cecilia is shot by Richard after confronting him for a divorce and Damacio chokes to death after he is released from the detox center(Baca 263). Therefore the most significant event in this section of the memoir, A Place to Stand by Jimmy Santiago Baca is the death of Jimmy’s parents.

In John Updike’s short story “A & P”, a dynamic and round character expresses his subjective attitude towards his views, a plot twist causes him to realize his future. Sammy an opinionated cashier at A & P grocery store does not agree with his Lengel, his manager after he reprimands a particular group of customers at the store. Sammy’s further actions cause him to face the true reality of his future.

man, her family cuts all ties with her and sit shiva, to prove that Ruth is no longer

Brinker reared back arrogantly. “And who do you think I am!” But Finny hadn’t heard that. His face had broken into a wide and dazzled smile at what I had said, lighting up his whole face. “Enlist!” I drove on, “I wouldn’t enlist with you if you were Elliott Roosevelt.”

Malala Yousafzai once stated, “Let us remember: One book, one pen, one child, and one teacher can change the world”. In one’s life, there is always someone or something steering them in a direction. It can be as complex as an intervention held for someone, or as simple as a small talk with someone that is idolized. In the short memoir, The Color of Water, by James McBride, James takes the simple route. He is portrayed as a young careless boy throughout the story and starts going into a downward spiral after death approaches those around him. Due to all of his bad habits such as drugs and cutting class, he is sent to other family members and connects with a strange man on the street corner. This man turns out to play a huge role in shaping what james will become. Throughout James McBride’s life, the most influential person on his identity was Chicken Man.

The book “Ugly” by Robert Hoge it is a inspiring, true story about, Robert, a boy who grew up in Brisbane, Australia, with a tumor the size of a tennis ball on his face and two deformed legs. Robert had four other brothers and sisters, who were all older. The story is the journey of Robert Hoge and his life with artificial legs and deformed face, and all the challenges he faced along the way.

Toni Morrison’s short story, “Recitatif” is about two young girls, named Twyla and Roberta, who grow up in an Orphanage because their mothers were in no condition to properly take care of them. The main theme in the “Recitatif” is concentrating on racism. A very mind- grabbing event in the story is how the author never tells the race of the two girls. Morrison leaves class codes but not racial codes, as in the story Twyla states, “ It was one thing to be taken out of your own bed early in the mornings—it was something else to be stuck in a strange place with a girl from a whole other race” (pg 201) , even the girls do not mention which race the other is. Recitatif is a great story as it plays with the reader’s emotions and effectively makes the reader aware of the stereotypes and each races characteristics.

The contemporary classic novel Speak, profounds a girl, Melinda Sordino, entering freshman year at Merryweather High School in Syracuse, New York, with a heavy secret weighing on her. Unlike regular students, Melinda isolates herself from the society after a devastating event that she had experienced. Through her perspective, we enter her world of depression as she struggles her way through the school year. From her eyes we see the way she sees life, hear the ways others described her and enter her mind on how she thinks of the world. On a journey of gaining back herself, bad things turn worse, as that one person enters her life again. ‘It’, who made her fall into misery, ‘It’ who destroyed her once happy life. Melinda fights not only with herself, but It, the school, the world. The only thing that she feels comfortable in doing is art, where she drew trees to Anderson will definitely make you laugh throughout her book, however along holds undeniable sadness as we watch Melinda heals her way through her trauma that doesn’t seem to leave her.

In Toni Morrison's short story "Recitatif", the story revolves around two girls, one white and the other black, and how their social status affects their way of life. The narrator, Twyla, has five significant instances in her life where she is in a setting with her childhood best friend, Roberta. When they first met at the orphanage, they disliked each other, but because both of them still had a parent to their name, they were seen as social outcasts to the other children of their orphanage. Through their social disgrace they became friends and helped each other out. As they grew up, their lives were distinctly different with Twyla living the life of a lower-middle class citizen while Roberta was living a lavish lifestyle, creating conflict between the two. In the end, there is a slight sense of reconcilement in that they clear up a misunderstanding of their past, but there is an open question to what had happened to an element of their past.

Are things ever truly black and white or is it a matter of perception? For example, when one hears the word war the mind automatically thinks of two or more parties fighting over a common cause with the use of some sort of weaponry. However, the truth is that battles are much more than some sort of physical altercation between groups of people that simply result in a win or loss. It effects every individual involved on a deep and personal level, both physically and emotionally. Soldiers in combat are internally conflicted with matters such as the difference between what is right and wrong or who/what are they fighting for. The novel A Midnight Clear by William Wharton, explores this topic in a tale of six young and highly intellectual U.S.

Violet Duran being a protagonist of the novel “Feed” by M.T Anderson stood out the most. To me she wasn't just some girl, she was different. titus was drawn to her and from the minute him and his friends started talking to her at the moon, they noticed she wasn't like them. Violet had her feed implanted in her brain when she was seven years old due to her parent’s financial situation. She is also home schooled by her father who is a professor who teaches the dead language. Both her parents didn't have the feed and were even hesitated about getting it for Violet. Until Violets father figured it was necessary for his daughter due to the generation she was going to grow up in and because of the job interview. He stated “Then one day, when

The author of Recitatif, Toni Morrison, is an acclaimed writer known for her fictional stories and her explorations within the black community. Receiving the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1993 was one of her most acclaimed accomplishments. Morrison’s American Midwest family had an unfathomable appreciation and love for black culture and showed this through there many traditions and storytelling. Recitatif, a fictional short story, was written in 1983.

Characters throughout Alice Walker’s The Color Purple can be evaluated and analyzed using Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, a five-stage model consisting of fundamental needs and growth needs. His theory states that the basic, lower tiered needs have to be met before the growth, higher tiered needs can be met, to ultimately reach the top tier, self-actualization. In The Color Purple, Walker shows the eventual progress to self-actualization through the protagonist, Celie. Celie’s growth is shown through her letters to both God and her sister Nettie. Celie fulfills her basic physiological needs when she gets married to Mr._ because she is finally able to escape her father’s abuse, beatings, and rape. It takes a while, but Celie gains safety and security when Shug Avery tells her, “I won’t leave… until I know Albert won’t even think about beating you” (Walker 76). The relationship that Celie forms with Shug helps Celie satisfy her belonging and intimacy needs. Their love for each other can be shown when Shug states, “cause she [Nettie] the only one you ever love… sides me” (120). As Celie begins her life in Memphis, she meets the respect/self-respect needs when she opens her own business making and selling pants. Celie feels so pleased and shows her character development when she says, “I got love, I got work, I got money, friends, and time” (218). Celie finally reaches self-actualization by the end of the novel. She has a successful business, is able to be independent in her own house, and realizes that she can bring herself happiness and that through every situation she needs to see the bright side. This is evidently shown when Celie is talking to Mr._ and says, “If she [Shug] come, I be happy. If she don’t I be content” (288). Celie’s evolution to reach self-actualization is clearly displayed in The Color Purple as Celie faces and overcomes hardships and learns to be confident in herself.

The 1900’s – a time when blacks were segregated from whites and women were seen as inferior to men. Alice Walker's character Celie, from The Color Purple, was ugly and terrified as a young girl. Though many trials and tribulations, she would become strong and independent. In addition, Celie built up a resistance to the hurt and suffering that she painfully endured from her stepfather and husband. She eventually allowed herself to not take simple things for granted therefore recognize the beauty of everyday life. In her final years, Celie is portrayed in a blissful state and displays her independence as a mature woman. Alice Walker’s use of the first-person point of view, tone, and