In the novel, April Raintree by Beatrice Culleton, there is a wide variety of discrimination, self-identity, and moral development. The main characters, Cheryl and April Raintree, who are Métis, grew up in an environment where they were not accepted by their foster parents, society, and relationships. These two sisters experience a tough life when faced with the heavily prejudiced world around them. April and Cheryl both equally face racial discrimination inside and outside of their homes. Every human being likes the feeling of being accepted and respected by society.
When analyzing Isabel Allende's and Gabriel Garcia Marquez's lives, parallels between them become increasingly obvious, thus the rationalization for some of the similarities that are observed between their historically fictional novels The House of the Spirits and Chronicle of a Death Foretold, respectively. One of the most obvious parallels is the influence of women on both of them. Allende dedicates The House of the Spirits "to my mother, my grandmother and all the other extraordinary women of this story," showing feminine influence, and Marquez grew up in a household with his grandmother and numerous aunts, therefore he would also show the influence of women; also, both novelists are from Latin and South America, thus they both would most likely show literary elements that are characteristic of that geographic area. Because of their similar influences, the theme of 'the great mental, and sometimes physical, strength of women' is prominent in both of their works. When analyzing this theme in both novels, the two most distinct semblances are: in both novels at least one female character has the sagacity to possess some kind of preternatural ability, and women have the strength to endure a marriage without loving their suitor.
Cooper uses his many hardships he endured in his young adulthood as themes of his novels. He perhaps uses the loss of his sister Hannah, along with the events surrounding the capture and murder of Jane McRae (which was a nationally known conflict at the time) as an influence for Cora and Alice in The Last of the Mohicans. He presents these characters as delicate and vulnerable as were Jane, and Hannah (Taylor 314-315). Cooper being so emotionally attached to his sister possibly uses the tragic death of Cora as an ode to the tragic death of his own sister. This is a reoccurring theme in many of Coopers works, including “The Pioneers” which one could say center on Elizabeth Temple as thinly disguised reworkings of Cooper's sister's untimely death.
In the novel, Kingsolver presents the themes of captivity and freedom in both physical and spiritual ways. All of the Price women are emotional captives of their father and husband, Nathan. He is abusive and controlling. They each have a unique emotional captivity as well. Adah is crippled emotionally and physically, Rachel is crippled emotionally and grows into a woman constantly seeking approval from low-life men.
Mary Karr’s The Liars Club is a memoir about Karr’s traumatic childhood and what type of impact her dysfunctional family made on her childhood. The reasons for the family’s problems stem from the grandmother, Grandma Moore. Grandma Moore always put pressure on Karr’s family, but most of all Charlie Marie. The pressure grandma Moore puts on the Karr’s mother breaks Charlie Marie down, among the pressure was criticizing every relationship Charlie Marie had ever been in. For example, Grandma Moore thought that only certain men were good enough for Charlie Marie, with that being said it just so happened that the one who is Mary Karr’s father was the one Grandma Moore disliked the most.
Joan Didion: The Year of Magical Thinking Ethos: Joan Didion is one of the most respected journalists and writers that have appeared in recent American culture. In fact, she bases many of her works and articles on American culture and politics. In The Year of Magical Thinking, Didion uses ethos to convince the reader that all people mourn and different ways. She uses the death of her husband and the struggles with her daughter’s illness to show the difficulties one has to face when losing people one loves. Throughout the book, Didion expounds to her audience the attempts she makes in order to make sense of the grief in side of her.
“Sweat” The short story “Sweat” by Zora Neale Hurston is about a woman who seems stuck in an abusive relationship. However, I feel the underlying message of the story is female empowerment. Sykes, Delia’s husband, is abusive to her physically, verbally, and emotionally throughout their entire relationship. Sykes treats Delia with little to no respect and still expects her to take care of him and provide for him. Even through all the mistreatment and unhappiness, I feel Delia is an empowered character.
To become involved is to have a responsibility of living in fear. As Roberto Assagioli expresses, “Without forgiveness life is governed by an endless cycle of resentment and retaliation.” The main theme in Bones of the Inner Ear by Kiana Davenport, deals with the continuous cycle of secrets and domestic violence. Ana the narrator tells us the story that encompasses the intertwining relationships of women, and the abuse found within their family. In the lives of two women and one little girl, abuse has affected their lives greatly. First, is Ava a woman who has had many partners and failed relationships with men.
Contrast Paper The two novels, Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger and Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison, are classics of their time. In both works the structural style reflects the personality of the respective protagnonist. A solid structure portrays confidence, while an erratic structure gives an impression of uncertainty. The ways in which elder family members are treated in each text expresses the relationship between the older generation and the younger generation.
I. Introduction Paragraph with thesis (A). Intro: In the novel, You Remind Me of Me, Troy and Jonah had the same mother. And her name was Norah. As a parent she felt her responsibility was unreasonable as a mother for her son’s.