Short Critical Response “How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents” In the book, “How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents”, by Julia Alvarez shows the lives of four sisters who struggle with finding their own identities in American culture. The four girls named Carla, Sandra, Yolanda and Sofia were forced to move out of the Dominican Republic when they were young girls and now struggle to adapt to a new culture that is much different from their social norms. The elements of the text that I thought were the most significant was a quote that Alvarez states, "She has been too frightened to carry out any strategy, but now a road is opening up before her. She clasps her hands on her chest—she can feel her pounding heart—and nods.…
Within this journal, I will be evaluating the themes in To Kill A Mockingbird. To begin, one of the themes displayed in the novel is the coexistence of the innocent and evil. One way the book conveys this is when the evil jury kills an innocent black man, Tom. I say this figuratively because the prison camp actually killed him, but the jury got him there. The jury knew Tom was innocent but back then, blacks were always guilty no matter the situaton.…
John Kennedy Toole's Pulitzer Award winning novel A Confederacy of Dunces takes place in New Orleans during the early 1960s. The novel follows Ignatius J. Reilly, a rather bulbous man, as he searches for a job to help support his mother. His quest for a job is marked by constant episodes of hilarity as his rotten personality thwarts even his best attempts to find employment. Throughout the novel he often displays his gluttonous and conceited personality.…
As we all know, the theme of a story is the lesson that is being taught throughout the novel. But a theme can also be the subject of a talk, a piece of writing, or a person's thoughts. All stories have a theme, but they may not always be directly stated. This requires readers to dig deep down into the text and analyze the lessons that they have acquired through the book. Between the two excerpts, "Angelas Ashes" and "The Street", there is common theme that perseverance is important when times get tough in life.…
1. Discuss one or more themes in the novel. Is the theme directly stated or implied? Explain. There are a couple themes in my novel, The Lions of Little Rock.…
The Civil War or “War between the states” (page 26) is a historical American event like no other that has been over for nearly 150 years. Most Americans are under the notion the Civil War is over and done with where, other Americans believe the war is still being fought today. In Tony Horwitz’s book “Confederates in the Attic” he explores the impact the American Civil War has on the modern day south, and just why southerners in particular still care so much about the Civil War? After reading “Confederates in the Attic” I believe there are a three main reasons the south still cares about the Civil War so much. They are defending southern pride and heritage, a way of defying against the federalist north, and an escape from ones everyday life.…
This is an African-American family who lives in a small town and is struggling in their life financially. Dee one of the daughters is away for college, she is the first one to go in her family. Her family was poor and were uneducated so someone in the family going away for college was a big deal. Dee struggles to accept her family 's heritage just for the simple fact of being embarrassed by her Mother and sister Maggie. Dee’s Mama and sister Maggie don 't have an education but are very appreciative of their background.…
Theme is the underlying message, or recurring idea in a piece of writing. This paper will focus on the themes that appear in Brownies by ZZ Packer. The two themes that are focused on this paper are racial segregation and peer pressure. Racial segregation focuses on the separation of people of different races and is also a form of institutional racism. The second theme that is shown in this story is peer pressure which is the influence a member of a group has one person of the same age.…
“It would be nice if she could let this genius know about this one little flaw in this perfect plan for taking care of women in their old age” (Esquivel 11) This quote is an example of how traditions do not always benefit the majority. Traditions can bring the family together, and create a sense of communion with the family. Each tradition has a role within the family, whether to create a sense of togetherness, or if to imprison the other family members. These traditions play a vital role in the novel, and change throughout the growth and decrease of the family.…
The book Of Mice and Men written by John Steinbeck is a tale about two men who are immigrant workers back in the 1930’s and their journey through life. Throughout the book, the reader learns about two men, George and Lennie, and the troubles they face being migrant farm workers. George is a short man with strong features while Lennie is tall and less defined. In the book you discover the dream the two men have, their past struggles, and how they face each day. There are dozens of themes and lessons presented in this book about life and the beauty of California.…
To Kill A Mockingbird connects to the reader in many ways one would not expect. In this book, Harper Lee shows many diverse themes such as empathy, loss of innocence, innocent victims, courage, and prejudice. Though the book does in fact show all of these themes, one of theme definitely shine throughout the entire book. The main theme, arguably, would be loss of innocence. In the book To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee shows loss of innocence through the rough experiences and mature events in Jem’s and Scout’s lives.…
Little Miss Sunshine is about the dysfunctional Hoover family. Sheryl Hoover (Toni Collette) is an overworked mother who is trying to make everyone happy. Sheryl's brother, Frank Ginsberg (Steve Carell) is a gay and scholar of Proust, who temporarily moved in with her after attempting suicide. Sheryl's husband, Richard Hoover (Greg Kinnear) is a Type A personality man who strives to build a career as a motivational speaker and life coach, he loves winning and hates losing. Sheryl's fifteen-year-old son, Dwayne (Paul Dano) is a Nietzsche-reading teenager who has taken a vow of silence until he can accomplish his dream of becoming a Pilot.…
Family in To Kill a Mockingbird “Family is not an important thing, it’s everything,” stated Michael J. Fox. Family is a meaningful theme in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, which is written by Harper Lee. The main characters are Scout, Jem, and Atticus, their father. The setting takes place in a small town called Maycomb County in Alabama. Scout and Jem have to deal with the problems that occur because of Atticus’s trial.…
A Life in Sight but Out of Reach The 19th century was a strange and highly structured time for women and Kate Chopin highlights many of these social controversies in her novel, “The Awakening.” The book revolves around a character named Edna, who felt constantly tied down by her husband and children. Despite her commitment to them, Edna still manages to discover a sense of freedom that she has been searching for her entire life. Although Edna’s freedom was in sight throughout the novel, it remained out of reach which led to the ambiguous ending where Edna goes into the ocean to drown herself and commit suicide.…
To Kill a Mocking Bird is one of the most widely recognized pieces of American literature. Through the eyes of a child, Harper Lee takes the reader on a journey that examines one of the most controversial topics in history of the nation – civil rights. From Scout’s innocent perspective, Lee challenges cultural norms and stereotypes, and asks the audience to question their personal concepts of courage, justice, and morality. Summary Lee begins by introducing the audience to Scout, her family and Dill, and the notable inhabitants of Depression-era Maycomb, Alabama.…