Interactive fiction

Just by looking at the front cover of The House on Mango Street, one could grasp an idea of what the novel is about and how it is presented. It is a story, decorated with colorful detail and authenticity, of a girl adjusting to a new home and growing up. In the introduction to the novel, Cisneros paints a picture of who she had been at the time she had written this novel. Cisneros discusses how as a girl she always wanted to move into a standalone house as opposed to the apartments she had been living

I chose to read the novels from the socio-economic hardships genre, which included The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls and Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë. I had a very difficult time picking my genre due to the wide variety of books, especially since I could not find a genre where I was intrigued by both novels. After reading more into each set, I decided to read about socio-economic hardships because I figured that I could relate to them the most. Also, I had heard of Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

Believing in Creating Families The novel Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen presents a dramatic and emotional plot about a boy, Jacob, who joins the circus after losing everything. As readers join Jacob on his journey, the question of what constitutes family is answered and the theme family can be created by those who love a person is revealed. Like Jacob people may feel alone and lost but, there is a family out there somewhere, even if they are a bit unconventional. Water for Elephants resonates

Over the course of the summer I read Jeffrey Eugenides’ novel, Middlesex. The novel depicted the journey of Cal, the narrator, as he struggled with his gender and sexual identity. I found Eugenides’ use of first-person narration compelling because it allowed me to feel a greater connection to Cal, the narrator. Throughout the novel he provided insight on his experiences, while also telling the tale of his family’s immigration to Detroit, Michigan. By relaying stories of Desdemona and Lefty’s early

The inner workings of the mind are always wired to be apprehensive towards deceit, especially when this deceit is coming from the mind of a murderer. Shirley Jackson’s gothic novel We Have Always Lived in the Castle revolves around the obscure life of a deceitful 18 year-old girl, Mary Katherine Blackwood. Mary Katherine, nicknamed Merricat, narrates the novel and lives with her older sister Constance as well as her wheelchair-bound uncle Julian. The novel tells the story of Merricat’s isolated life

The inner savagery within every one of us can only be restricted with civilization. In the allegorical novel Lord of the Flies written by William Golding, a group of British boys aged from 6 to 12 gets stranded on an island where everything is provided for them. Without any adults, the boys only have each other to rely on due to the great fear of the ‘beast’. As the boys are liberated from civilization, the fear of the beast brings out the inner savagery of the young boys. The most important techniques

The Inner Beast Emerges The beast that lies inside of us all shows what it can do when it has a chance too. By Daniel Frankel The Lord of the Flies is a 250 page novel written by Sir William Golding. It was first published in 1954 and since then, has become a worldwide success. A quote from Golding was “The right impression is the one that rises to the reader the first time he reads the book”, This was perfectly suited for his book, as his book was a best seller. The movie based on the novel “Lord

How would you feel if everyone around you was treated in the exact same manner? This allows for a society of equality, but where does fairness come in? Within the stories “Scarlet Ibis”, “Harrison Bergeron”, and “Brownies”, there is a common theme: Not everyone should be treated equally. The characters Doodle, Arnetta, and George allow us to explore lives where people are treated the exact same way, and how this can harm a person or society. Arnetta, a character within the story “Brownies”, often

In the novel Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, by Lisa See, the role of women presented by the author incorporates historical context of societal value and conventions, reveals the agonizing subjugation necessary for life, and explores the subtleties of female power in a male-centric world. Through characterization, dialogue, and imagery, the meaning behind the story of two friends reveals itself. Set in rural China in the early to mid 1800s, historical context plays a major role in defining the value

With New York Times bestselling author Thomas C. Foster has introduced literary devices to help annotate and understand deep thinking when reading. Likewise, Richard Connell’s short story “The Most Dangerous Game” has examples of statements made by Foster on literature. The short story is about a hunter goes through the perspective of someone being hunted. Remarkably, literary devices provided by Thomas C. Foster accompanied a different understanding of the short story, The Most Dangerous Game.