Krakauer wrote that Chris McCandless was, "green, and he overestimated his resilience, but was sufficiently skilled to last for sixteen weeks on a little more than his wits and ten pounds of rice"(Krakauer 182). In this quote it seems that Krakauer thought that McCandless was well equipped with his skills, so that made moderately prepared to survive in any situation. I feel that McCandless was rather prepared, yet again he never could have been fully prepared for the unexpected. My opinion is that McCandless was vaguely aware of the struggles that he would encounter in the Alaskan wilderness such as his epiphany that "happiness is only real when shared" was realized when his body was dying of starvation. I believed that he found what he was…
Jurgis’s father, Dede Antanas, is an old immigrant who needed to work to support his family. He is ready to put in hard physical labor when clearly his advancing age does not allow it. He believes “he is as lively as any boy” (36). This brings forth Antanas’ hopes and spirit to build a better life for his family, similar to millions of young, immigrant workers. He faces a lot of trouble finding work as there is intense competition amongst immigrant labor in the meat packing industry. His old age puts him at a disadvantage. When he finally does get an offer for a job for floor mopping, he is asked to give 1/3 of his earnings to the man who arranges the job. This represents the widespread corruption propagated by capitalism. In addition, Antanas…
I genuinely did not expect to learn this much from the book Unbroken. The story of Louie Zamperini was unexpectedly much more understandable and relatable than I first imagined. Seeing the main character was a former war hero, I found it surprising I was able to connect to him as I happen to be fourteen. In my opinion, readers can easily compare similar situations in their life, regardless of their age. A point often overlooked, Louie is a true survivor. He was stranded forty-seven days on a crammed raft, as well as beaten without remorse at a prison camp for two years. Louie was stripped of his friends as he watched them either be transferred or slowly die. He witnessed many accounts of sexual abuse to innocent and helpless animals, as well…
This quote is about Susanna Kaysen finally reading a book about her given diagnosis. I do believe she was given an accurate diagnosis and that it was necessary for her to spend some time in the mental hospital because she did try to kill herself even though she never admitted it. I disliked the fact that Kaysen had to be in the hospital for almost two years for her to actually try to get better. Instead of arguing and being upset about being in the hospital she should have gotten over it and started putting an effort to get herself out of there. In my opinion I don’t think Kaysen was in dire need to go to a mental hospital. Kaysen did take fifty aspirins, but I don’t believe she was intending to kill herself. She only took the aspirins because…
Mark Watney (the main character), in my opinion, would make a very gook friend. First…
Jackie Craig is a character who is really mischievous. He’s a man that is mostly unknown and judged because of keeping things to himself. People just don’t see the light in him.…
Enrique is motivated to stay in the United States of America because he is reunited with his mother, has better opportunities, and can aid his girlfriend financially. On the other hand, he wants to return to Honduras considering that he has his girlfriend and daughter back home.…
Changes are subtle, but when observed closely, they can be spotted easily. It is just as if an ant is under a microscope, so that people can see a scar on one of its legs. That is the case with the characters in the book, The Outsiders, by S.E Hinton. Although there are many dynamic people shown in the book, with Ponyboy being the easiest one to see, soft-spoken Johnny Cade is one-of-a-kind, if examined closely. Johnny’s thinking changes dramatically as he faces many challenges in his life. Johnny is a timid and nervous 16 year old that changes into a strong-willed man, able to think and act as an individual, which shows that he is a dynamic character.…
While reading the novel, 'My Antonia', one can very quickly notice that author, Willa Cather has much admiration for the character, Antonia. Throughout 'My Antonia', readers can conclude that Antonia is a very optimistic and inteligent girl who grows into an independent young woman. Due to such characteristics, many people could very easily find themselves admiring Antonia.…
Paul changes in many ways, good and bad. What are some examples of Paul changing and good and bad ways and is changing for Paul always good? The book is mostly about a kid by the name of Paul fisher who moves from Houston, Texas to Florida and starts school at Lake Windsor. He doesn't really fit into this new school. He is shy, and not very confident. As a sinkhole happens at the new school, he then had to transfer to Tangerine middle school. He makes some friends there, but right as he makes some friend, two of his friends die. His brother is a big trouble maker. Erik fisher’s friend kills Luis Cruz then goes to jail. As Paul struggles with confidence, he feels like an outsider, but soon he realized he already has confidence, but he only has…
“Where are you going, Where have you been” is a famous story that was written by Joyce Carol Oates. In this story, Connie is fifteen years old girl and the main character. She seems to have always lived in her sister’s shadow, June, who was apparently better all-around. Connie seems to be the more attractive of the two due to which she felt that her attractive personality would succumb to pleasure in the arms of a random boy. One day, she decided to stay home as opposed to going to a barbecue with her family. At that time, Arnold Friend, the antagonist in Oates’ story drives up to Connie’s house. Connie is a character that represents the nature of epiphany in literature. Through Connie, we learn how a character can have a highly significant impact on an important work of literature and the person reading the story. Connie’s naïve understanding of the world and her immaturity led to her downfall in “Where are you Going, Where Have You Been?”…
I believe that Kathleen Norris is correct when she says that "in many ways the world of My Ántonia is still with us, a neglected but significant part of America,” because we still have people coming into our country hoping to fulfill the American dream and having the country fall short of their expectations.…
“Writers provide glimpses of other worlds giving readers opportunities to reflect on their own world”. To what extended do you agree.…
Although Elizabeth Lavenza is not present for most of the novel, she is a very pivotal character. Elizabeth is a prime example of how women were viewed as minor characters in a man’s story for the time period in which the book was written. The novel Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, includes many instances where women are inferior compared to men. The main example that the novel displays this is through the character, Elizabeth. She represents a woman who cannot seem to gain any power over her life, and once she gets that opportunity, a man takes it away.…
LIKE WATER FOR CHOCOLATE "Character Commentary The character of Mama Elena presented in the novel Like Water for Chocolate, was not developed to its fullest potential. Mama Elena, while a central character, is surprisingly shallow. Because of the one-dimensional quality of the character Esquivel has created, Mama Elena is at times little more than a foil to Tita, playing the evil stepmother to Tita's Cinderella. Mama Elena is portrayed as an authoritarian, cold, harsh woman throughout the text. There is never any show of compassion on her part, and her ruthless treatment of Tita is difficult to understand and hard to accept at times. There is no motherly compassion demonstrated throughout the text whatsoever. She scolds Tita for embroidery mistakes, and seemingly takes equisite pleasure in ruining the stitches and forcing Tita to resew them. She is determined to break Tita's spirit and enforce the tradition of spinsterhood for the youngest daughter of the family. Mama Elena demands complete submission. This coldness and utter lack of humanity and empathy is illustrated when Mama Elena disowns first Gertrudis and then Tita. Towards Rosaura she is impartial, and even then she does not show signs of affection. Her fierce, barbaric nature is enough to intimidate a commanding officer of a revolutionary army and stave off their raids. She suspects Tita, her loving, doting daughter of trying to poison her. This shows Mama Elena's coldness and lack of affection for Tita. She is bitter, suspicious, incapable of loving and of being loved. Her suspicion shows she has given Tita reason for hatred and shows that she too realizes this. In the author's attempt to portray Mama Elena as the antagonist in her tale, she has created a one-dimensional character that is so inhuman as to become caricatured at times. When Esquivel does venture to develop Mama Elena's past and reveal her capacity for love and reasons for her bitterness, it is too late. Background of this nature usually…