The Rocking-Horse Winner To begin with, “The Rocking-Horse Winner” is a short story written by D.H. Lawrence. This short story is about a young boy named Paul who feels the need to have luck, due to his mother always saying that his father has no luck and is always in the need for having more and more money. “According to the mother, if you have luck you have money that is why it’s better to be born lucky than rich” (P, 268 Para 5). Due to this constant saying, Paul and the rest of the family hear voices in the house saying “There must be more money” (p. 267, Para, 5). Paul is so sick of these voices that he wants to prove his mother wrong.
He is obviously biased against his father and wants his mother’s sole attention. This point of view provides humor because Larry thinks that he actually belongs in his father’s place, as his mother’s sole companion. Sexuality is involved in the story’s humor because the boy sees his mother as a spouse and he thinks that they can have children together. 3. Larry calls it irony that his prayers were answered because he prayed that his father would return from the war, and when his father actually returns from the war, he wishes that he would leave again.
Paulo Coelho The Alchemist Referee: Santiago, a boy living in Andalusia, leads a common life of travel through his trade of shepherding and entertains thoughts of marrying a merchant's daughter. One day he has a dream telling him to go to the Egyptian pyramids to searc his personal legend. it states that there are 4 obstacles in finding your personal legend: being told from childhood that what we want to do is impossible; Being afraid of hurting those around us by abandoning everything in order to pursue our dream; Fearing defeats we will meet on the journey and fearing the realization of the dream for which we have fought all our lives. . He consults a gypsy to interpret his dream, who simply tells him to go to the Pyramids to find the loot.
He is without a doubt sure that he has chosen the perfect wife for his son Nnaemeka. He has said that she has had a proper Christian upbringing and that she has received all the training a wife could need (p.374). His plan for Nnaemeka to marry this girl are quickly demolished when Nnaemeka brings him news of a better match that he has chosen himself by the name of Nene Atang. He tells his father that he is in love with Nene from a different tribe than he and that he can not marry anyone else. Okeke is furious and tries many times to convince his son that it has never been heard of that someone marry outside the Ibo tribe.
One day he decides to tell his father that he did not want to become a priest and his father’s response was, “The people who come here have a lot of money to spend, so they can afford to travel. Amongst us, the only people who travel are the shepherds” (9). This is when he decided that he wanted to become a shepherd. Even though his father had to bury the dream he always had, of his son becoming a priest, the next day his he gave him three ancient Spanish gold coins which he was saving as a part of his inheritance so he can buy himself a flock. One of the other obstacles he had to deal
Rudolfo Anaya’s Bless Me, Ultima is a classic novel which follows a young boy’s life in the town of Guadalupe, New Mexico. Six year old Tony tells about his relationship with God and an old curandera named Ultima, he tells of his experiences, good and bad, and as the story goes on you can see his sense of understanding broadens. Throughout the novel you’ll notice that some experiences that Antonio goes through helps him mature and grow as an individual. As the story begins Antonio witnesses his first death, and it is of a (convict) named Lupito. Many men in town including his father were going after him while Lupito went into hiding, but as young Antonio follows the men he sees Lupito hiding in the brush near the river, where Antonio was hiding as well.
In his nightmare, Antonio's parents are arguing over what Antonio's religion and way of life should be like. Antonio's mother portrayed standing on the moon with the holy water of the church, wants him to become a priest and respect the one and only God. His father, portrayed standing on the barren shore of the lake, wants him to let the llano and the will to wander like the water of the sea control his life. Also, the mysterious golden carp, portrayed swimming in the lake with the people it has saved from the evil Mermaid of the lake, is not trying to persuade Antonio to be a
Mrs. Greene AP Literature December 2, 2011 Opposites Attract Rudolfo Anaya’s Bless Me, Ultima, uses two contrasting places to illustrate the protagonist, Antonio Marez‘s, contemplation of his destiny. He must decide between being a devout Catholic and putting all his trust in God, or being like his guardian, Ultima and possessing “made beauty from the raw, sun-baked llano, the green river, and the blue bowl which was the white sun‘s home“ (1). Anaya uses the Catholic church and a brothel called Rosie’s, to create a contrast which shows both choices Antonio has for his destiny. Each location has its own physical details and meaning which makes them opposites. However, the extreme physical contrast creates an irony when Antonio begins to acknowledge the symbolic similarity.
The religious quest is shown very clearly throughout the movie. When the main character Paikea is born, no one is glad. Her people had been waiting to celebrate and follow the first-born son, but when Paikea’s twin brother dies these hopes die too. The movie shows two different kinds of religious quests, one quest is Paikea’s and the other is of her grandfather, Koro. Paikea’s quest is more personal and direct.
This gives it a completely different twist, and makes sure that in this case we will think positive things of the inferior person. The boy is eight years old, and is a loving and carrying boy. He lives in a house with his mother and her new man, Jim. Even though Jim is awfully nice to the boy, the boy cant really go beyond his limits and bond with Jim, because he isn’t the boy’s biological father. This indicates that he lacks the love from his real father.