The Mamas & the Papas

The sound of the war blared over the radio in the small New England farmhouse, mixing and blending with the bubbling voice of a six year old playing pretend with her favorite toys. The kitchen in which she sat was bright, colored off-yellow with green trimmings around the cabinet. The smell of dried lavender and black bitter coffee tainted the air, along with the pungent odor of cow manor from the farm outside. Sun streamed in through the glass window above the sink, setting ablaze the particles

Michaela DePrince was born in Sierra Leone when it was a war –torn country and she was orphaned at a young age. She was known as Number 27 at the orphanage, where she was told she was a “devil child” because she has vertigo a skin condition that causes her skin to appear spotted. At that same orphanage, Michaela found a picture in magazine of a ballerina in a pink tutu en pointe that caused her to see the world differently and it gave her hope to get adopted and make it to America to become a ballerina

honor, I immediately pictured my great grandfather, papá Onésimo. I had the privilege to meet him when my parents decided to go back to our town, San Juan Tabaá in the state of Oaxaca. During the first week of our arrival, my parents and I went to visit my great grandparents on a weekend. We arrived to their house, after a 15 minute walk up the hill, around 8:00 am in the morning. My papá Onésimo was finished eating breakfast. My great grandmother, mamá Tomasa, cooked some beans, made tortillas, put

Rudy Steiner slept. Mama and Papa slept. Frau Holtzapfel, Frau Diller. Tommy Müller. All sleeping. All dying. I can remember Liesel sneaking through her house on that night. First into the dining room, through the living room, out the front door, and into the Steiner’s home. The night was dark and ominous as she ran from door to door, hoping nobody would see her but I did and as always I was intrigued. I followed her despite what I knew was going to happen. I could hear the sound of bombs dropping

But Adaku would not accept that. She turned swiftly to face Chiaka, “Now that Kemji is still missing, who is to blame? Perhaps, he would have been freed if you obeyed a simple instruction. But you didn’t because have a hand in his kidnap.” “Stop it, Mama!” Chiaka shrieked. “Yes, you do!” Adaku said loudly. Uzoma cringed at his wife’s allegation. He was tempted to believe it due to Chiaka’s reluctance to yell out a strong defence. Silence descended, Adaku stood and walked away. Obiageri followed her

representing a sort of a state of confusion (Foster 59). However, it is important to note that each weather condition can have numerous connotations and it is up to the author to choose the symbolic meaning behind them. For instance during the act of Papa smashing Mama’s figurines, there was “howling winds [that] came with an angry rain”(Adichie 257) and this signals to the reader that there a sense of distress in the atmosphere due to the ominous weather conditions.On the other hand, Adichie also uses

In the terms of colonial European men, the dependency of men showed respect and increased their patriarchal power. In Purple Hibiscus, Papa Eugene is the product of colonialism. He grew up believing in the strong presence males and clearly demonstrates his alpha male character as head of the house. Mama Beatrice and her children is powerless and inferior to Papa. They are manipulated by Papa’s physical and mental abuse. Colonial missionaries and colonizers worked together to convert the people in

In the story “The Highway”, Bradbury plays with what humans perceive to be ‘normal’. The character Hernando represents the simple sustainable, and slow life. His everyday existence consists of plowing his field and caring for his animals and family in his simple home beside a large highway. This highway brings unusual experiences to Hernando including ‘gifts’ of a tire and a hubcap, and interactions with strangers who perceive him as unusual sight. “Hey There, can we take your picture?”(Bradbury

Have you heard the tall tale about Pecos Bill? Actually, there are many stories about Pecos Bill, some of them true, some of them not. One thing they all agree on, though, is that from the day he was born, Pecos Bill was no ordinary baby. From the time he was tiny, Pecos Bill liked to ride. In fact, before he even took his first steps, he pulled himself up on a donkey and gave the old animal a kick in the rear. The donkey took off down a canyon with little Pecos Bill facing backwards. Pecos Bill

Fasting and Feasting is a novel written by Anita Desai that narrates the story of the protagonist, Uma, and her family’s life. The novel is divided in two parts. Part one deals with Uma’s life in India until the tragic death of her cousin Anamika, and part two tells the story of Uma’s brother, Arun, as he spends his summer with the Pattons, a typical American suburban family. Throughout the novel, Desai explores the theme of family life and uses the novel’s two settings, America and India, to compare