In Water For Elephants, Sara Gruen examines circus life in the 1930s through the eyes of the main character, Jacob. Jacob is a college student who, after the death of his parents, leaves home to join a circus. During his time with the circus, Jacob experiences and witnesses violence. As Jacob sees animals and humans being abused, he, unlike most characters, takes a different perspective and does not commit or join the cycle of violence. Contrastingly, August, the main antagonist, is a main contributor to the cycle.…
“No More Curtain Calls for Elephants,” an article published in the Los Angeles Times’ newspaper and composed by its own editorial board, brings the issue of domestic elephant mistreatment to light and declares its support of the Los Angeles City Council’s consideration of a measure that would promote domestic elephant welfare. In writing a story that was most immediately available and applicable to Los Angeles residents, the LA Times’ editorial board hopes to bring more awareness of the problem to the community and simultaneously create a broader base of support for the City Council measure. The LA Times’ editorial board uses two strategies to appeal to Los Angeles readers.…
In the beginning, he was scared to go to school and didn’t want to be around people. In the end, though, he was very loving to everyone and ended up graduating 5th grade with all of his friends. After Auggie went on the “Grand Tour” before he started school, he wasn’t very happy. On page 33, the story says, “The moment we got inside the house, I ran to my room and threw myself onto my bed.” this shows that he didn’t want to be around his family or talk about the tour, because he didn’t enjoy it.…
Mo Willems’ popular “Elephant and Piggie” series for beginning readers goes musical. With a script adapted by Willems himself, the oddball friends (and their backup singers, the Squirelles) will have all of their little fans toe-tapping along. This production is appropriate for all ages, particularly the elementary school set. Gerald the elephant is careful.…
The culturally relevant film I watched was “The Vanished Elephant” directed by Javier Fuentes-León. The film was released in 2014 and is a feature narrative. It is from the countries of Peru, Colombia, and Spain. The film was played in Spanish with English subtitles. This is one of the only films that I have watched where the cast is mostly all Latino, not white, unlike other movies that would be considered popular in today’s generation.…
In ¨Wonder¨ The author shows us that it is what on the inside that counts. In the beginning of the story everyone at school made fun of Auggie because of his deformed face that he had many surgeries on. No one came even close to touching him let alone getting to know him. In the resolution of the story summer just sits by Auggie because she feels bad for him. After a couple of days she gets to know the real Auggie and realizes that he has a fun personality.…
Between the Lions is a PBS program that promotes reading and literacy. Each episode features a letter or a sound that the whole episode’s focus is built upon. The letter or sound is featured throughout the episode using songs, stories, skits, on-screen text, vocabulary, and animations. The information is presented and modeled in many ways, using many examples. When a character in Between the Lions says a word that contains the letter or sound focused on in the episode, the word is shown on the screen with the letter or letters that make the focus sound highlighted within the word.…
Values are something all people posses, some people live by them, others just make them up on the fly. Values are something all people learn to appreciate. What does one do with those values when a conflict arises? Most people like to think they follow them at all times, even if it is in a stressful situation, but that is not always the case. In “Shooting An Elephant” and “Singing Silence” both characters have values that are dealt with in different ways more so than similar.…
PARCC Practice Analysis Essay How would you react if you read about how unique elephant behaviors are? In the articles “Elephants Can Lend a Helping Trunk,” “Elephants Know When They Need a Helping Trunk in a Cooperative Situation,” and “Elephants Console Each Other,” authors Virginia Morell and Joshua Plotnick discuss the high cognition elephants have. They are able to tell when another another elephants needs assistance or if they’re in need of consolation. The authors’ purpose of the articles is to show the mental awareness elephants have of each other when they need help or are in distress.…
Humans have the great ability to mediate any of their own actions, which in turn allows them to think greatly about how they act and treat others, while formulating an internal debate of whether their actions are commendable or poor. Introspection is an imperative for humans to have the proper view and respect for other individuals, including those of a different species. It allows us to look at our actions towards others and trade places with others to see if how it would feel to be in their place using our own feelings and experience. If in a conflict, then this method can justify whether or not a correct decision was made so that it would not negatively one’s self or another. Without using this feature we cannot understand the plights…
My first impression upon reading The Tower of the Elephant by Robert E. Howard was that Conan is the classic example of a hero starting at the lowest of low, and then doing great things despite this low status. Conan began the story as nothing more than a drunken barbarian seeking to gain wealth when he gains word of a magical gem hidden away in the Tower of the Elephant. Once he reached the Elephant tower and encountered Yag-Kosha who explains that Yara is evil and must be defeated by Conan. Conan listens to Yag-Kosha and defeats Yara by drawing him into the gem. Conan is left at the end alone, staring at the ruins of the tower he was just in, questioning the reality and majesty of the events that had just transpired around him.…
What are the most horrible things your boss could even do? Most people imagine long workdays, cruel comments, or being paid unfairly, but in Sara Gruen’s novel Water for Elephants Uncle Al makes today’s worst bosses seem like saints. Uncle Al uses false advertisement to make extra money, threatens his employees with death if they complain about not being paid, and even forces his star performers to stay in an abusive marriage in to keep his male lead in a good mood. In order to satisfy his never-ending greed, Uncle Al uses deceitful tactics to manipulate his audience and employees, ultimately leading to his depressing demise. Many bosses tell their employees that costumer satisfaction is the most important piece of the business, but, in the case of Uncle Al, making money is far more important.…
In the story, the people of the blind village had never heard of such a being as an elephant. Therefore when the elephant came to their village, they had to form a perception. Whether an elephant was dangerous, how it was able to carry so many goods among other things. The behavior of people changed towards each other because of their thoughts of the elephant, even if no one had an exact proof of their allegations. An example in our current world is religion.…
Critique on ‘Shoot an Elephant’ In todays’ society, we are influenced by many peers. Even though many may say to ourselves, “I make my own decision, I am my own person, I will do what I think is right.” With that being said by most of us, are we really doing what ‘we’ think is right, or are our decisions being made being influenced by other individuals? It comes across that George Orwell’s essay reflects what many may go through today. The struggle to do what is morally right when an entire world persuades individuals, or gives a different vision of the opposite.…
The Animals of India In The White Tiger, by Arvin Adiga, animal imagery is used to show the corruption of India. Adiga describes India as a jungle in order to communicate the severity of the corruption that has been taking place in India through all aspects. The entire country is corrupt, from the governments officials, police officers, to the media. The main character, Balram is portrayed as the “White tiger” to show his individuality and rare case of overcoming corruption.…