Hazel & Gus are wonderful characters that had a physical attraction that quickly turned into a strong friendship. Having experienced or in Hazels case still experiencing the hardships of a cancer diagnosis and not knowing when her illness will progress would be a very stressful way to live each day. From the book I believe they both are doing their best to deal with their diagnosis but wish for a healthier, normal life.…
From the very beginning the author shows how confident Hazel is. Hazel sticks up for her brother. In the story it says, “... and the next word out of anyone and i'll be their mother to.” This line shows that Hazel, is confident, because to speak up to someone like that you have to have courage and confidence to show people who is boss. Hazel is great at that.…
Who was the one to cause the predicaments that the Greasers had to go through?The Outsiders is not a true story, but makes the reader feel like it was real. The main character, Ponyboy, is part of a gang named the Greasers. Conflicts sparked between the Greasers and their enemies, the Socs or Socials. Ponyboy, Darry, Dally, Sodapop, Two-bit and Johnny went through obstacles and problems caused by the Socs. Throughout the book, The Outsiders, there were many problems and conflicts that the Greasers had to go through because of the Soc’s imprudent decisions.…
“It was not courage, exactly; the object was not valor. Rather, they were too frightened to be cowards” (pg 22). This quote perfectly embodies the view Tim O’Brien has on courage, as he eloquently demonstrates in his book The Things They Carried. Although all the characters of this novel display O’Brien’s point of view, the three shining examples of this are Norman Bowker, Jimmy Cross, and Tim O’Brien himself.…
Grey’s Anatomy, a medical drama that has been on air for the past 11 years, is my all-time favorite show. Not only is the plot of the series extremely riveting and tear-jerking, but the characters are all able to relate to an aspect of your life even through your most difficult hardships, especially the protagonist, Meredith Grey. Meredith Grey, is known for her well-roundedness not due to her ability as a surgeon (as she is the head of General Surgery), but because of her willingness to aid others when they’re in times of trouble. This is especially true when it comes to her best friends; Christina Yang, Isabella Stevens, Alex Karev, and George O’Malley; who struggle through deaths, countless failed relationships, and illnesses throughout…
I generally read books for pleasure that have an exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and denouement. When I sit down to read, I want to find out what happens next. I have never taken the time during or after reading a book to ask myself, “what was the theme of that? What am I taking away from that book other than the chronology of events?” But, I have been forced into changing my ways. After reading “The History of Love”, “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close”, and “Let the Great World Spin”, I have gotten my first taste of something I never knew existed: postmodernism. Learning about this genre of writing has pushed me into expanding my boundaries and thinking in an abstract way that…
Susanna Kaysen, in her memoir Girl, Interrupted, recounts her eighteen-month stay at a psychiatric hospital in Massachusetts. The events in the book took place in the 1960’s, meaning outside the hospital’s reinforced walls, the world was bustling with racism, social activism, and the Vietnam War. The story is not told as a chronological series of events, but rather as a collection of memories, darting between various periods of Kaysen’s visit. Throughout her stay at the hospital, Kaysen met a variety of women who influenced her life profoundly, including a self-proclaimed sociopath, a girl with a face disfigured by burns, and a meth addict. In Girl, Interrupted, author Susannah Kaysen achieves her purpose of elaborating on the dangers of confusing unconventionality with insanity, through characterization, impressionism, symbolism, and her…
Rising to the top of Netflix in 2009, Breaking Bad, produced by Vince Gilligan, engages its viewers with spine-chilling excitement throughout the dark metamorphosis of Dr. Walter H. White. In Albuquerque, New Mexico, Walter is an overqualified high school chemistry teacher with a PhD in chemistry. In the first episode of Breaking Bad, Walter defines chemistry as a change in “growth, decay, then transformation” in front of students that are uninterested to learn in the chemistry department. In episode one of Breaking Bad, Walt discovers that he has stage II lung cancer that is inoperable. Secondly, the doctors have given him a prognosis of two years before his illness takes him away from a son who has cerebral palsy and a wife who is pregnant…
Have you ever been in a situation where you can’t make the right decision? Have you ever think of deciding something instead of someone without knowing how this person actually feels and what he actually thinks? How many times have your parent made a decision for you? And how many times have they made the bad decision? Parents always make decisions for their children even if they don’t exactly know what their child really wants. Everyone would agree that parents want only the best for their children, but is their decision always the best for their kids? In “Stuck in Neutral” by Terry Trueman Shawn’s father expresses thousands of emotions, such as sadness, anger, love. His emotions are justifiable but not all of his actions are. From the perspective…
The main purpose of J.D. Salinger’s novel, The Catcher in the Rye, is to epitomize the importance of adolescence and illustrate the benefits of a social lifestyle. Salinger achieves this meaning in multiple ways. Primarily, he uses Holden, Catcher’s protagonist, as an example of a teenager who has failed to develop during the quintessential period of youth. Additionally, by characterizing him in this manner, Salinger utilizes Holden’s desire to act both older and younger than his age to convey the dangers that come with poor decision making, as well as their consequences. Lastly, he uses the characters of Mr. Spencer and Mr. Antolini to act as voices of reason to Holden, while also showing Holden’s missed opportunities in life when he does…
Protagonist of the story, Samuel Spade, is a very mysterious man who trusts only himself. The problems he may encounter tend to get done without the help of higher authorities (police) in his life, Spade, works only for Spade. Characterized by devilish qualities throughout the book, Samuel is associated with the term “blonde Satan” (3), implying that he is comparable to the devil. He wants to outsmart everyone and win this “game” that is going on between him and Gutman. His potential love interest, Brigid O’Shaughnessy, is in the mix causing controversy in the way he works. He likes to manipulate and trick people into telling him information in order to proceed with his schemes. Spade’s character is designed to confuse the reader with his…
In the case of the characters Tom Buchanan and Daisy Buchanan, in the novel The Great Gatsby written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, love is not the glue that holds their marriage together. Instead, the marriage of Tom and Daisy is crafted by wealth, social class, and carelessness.…
Carla Espinosa, a main character in the series “Scrubs” has a major connection with the other main characters. She possesses a realistic, protective and responsible personality, which nurture and helps her friends during a dilemma. Christopher Turk, her boyfriend at the time was upset that he did not get to do the Whipple procedure and Carla said, “Listen to me! You gotta stop turning your medical training into some ego-driven contest. No one else is doing that,” (Scrub Wiki, “My Hero Transcript”). She is honest to Turk, making her realistic because she understands that if Christopher continues to be competitive, it will make a bigger issue. Furthermore, when Christopher has a flashback to Carla talking,…
Trust sometimes helps people strengthen themselves to be able to go through tough times in life. John Greene proves so in his book, The Fault in Our Stars. Hazel and Augustus are able to build a strong relationship. The author uses characterization in order to build trust between the two characters. Since Hazel was able to put her faith in Augustus, her character became stronger and started to have more confidence in herself. Augustus, a philosophical teenager, helps Hazel live her life in the limited time that she has although he, himself was dying. Both characters became stronger and were able to live their life as much as they could because of how they made each other feel. Augustus made sure Hazel never looked down on herself. When it was time for Augustus to go, Hazel was strong enough to give him a proper good-bye.…
Betrayal is to disappoint the hopes or expectations of others. To me, betrayal is when an author kills my favorite character in a book because they have betrayed my trust and have hindered my ability to thoroughly enjoy the book or other works they have done. Books are not just stories; they are experiences. When I am engrossed in a book and connect with a certain character it is devastating if they die.…