When Rachel enters high school, she is tired of the labels assigned to her because of her appearance. “They call me an Oreo. I don’t want to be white. Sometimes I want to go back to being what I was. I want to be nothing.”…
In Maxine Clair’s “Cherry Bomb” the adult narrator tells about her memories from her 5th grade summer. Her story of the private box and the cherry bomb shows her childhood innocence of the summers she had as a child. Through diction, imagery and her structure she creates the sense of a wonderful summer we would all surely enjoy. Maxine’s use of diction shows how close the memories truly are. She shows how young and innocent she is when she says “I wasn’t sure what it meant, but it had just the right ring for a lofty statement I should adopt.”…
It was not a stranger they were looking for, but their very own sister. Karen Russell wrote a short story called “Haunting Olivia”, and it is about the death of a young girl and her grieving brothers. Wallow and Timothy go to Gannon’s Boat Graveyard whenever they get the opportunity because they are looking for their sister, Olivia. Gannon’s Boat Graveyard is a place where people come to leave their abandoned boats. Each time they go they wear diabolical goggles.…
When recognizing the power struggle between a mother and daughter during adolescent years, readers are able to gain a deeper understanding into the theme of coming of age, and the role it plays in Judy Blundell’s What I Saw and How I Lied. Evie and her mom Bev have been close their whole lives. The loss of Evie’s father forced them to live alone, inevitably, making them rely on each other. Now, Bev has remarried to Joe, a soldier who fought in WWII, and Evie is just beginning her teenage years.…
Many people with low self confidence act poorly as a result of feeling as though they are unable to regain confidence. In The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins, Rachel Watson’s desire to become a better person leads her to overcome obstacles. After Megan Hipwell goes missing, Rachel is determined to find out what happened to her. Since she does not remember anything that happened the evening of Megan’s disappearance, she tries to resolve this issue by going back to where she was the night of the disappearance to jog her memory. Rachel writes in her journal, “I'm going to Witney instead.…
In My Brilliant Friend, Ferrante reveals that the change from childhood to adolescence is scary and upsetting because the breakdown of innocence occurs. In the first chapter of Adolescence, Lila’s experience of “dissolving margins” (2) is symbolic of what occurs in every child during puberty. Furthermore, Ferrante symbolizes change with the motif of fire, which is seen in the fireworks display. During the display, Lila feels disgust towards the changes she sees in her brother and repulsion towards the human body, which “seem[s] to her attributes of monstrous beings” (39). Lila’s disgust of the body is representative of the disgust most children may feel about their own bodies, and the unveiling of the changes in Rino is symbolic of a loss of…
He wants to have a close friend. Nowadays, I often see news about suicide in teenagers. I have a question why they choose to commit suicide. When I read “13 reasons why”, I understand in those people immediately.…
Janie Johnson, a casual, curious, and confident teenage girl, gets a quite unexpected turn during her freshman year in high school when she sees herself in a “kidnapped at a young age” ad. In this novel, Janie must decide if she should believe or even act upon this ad. This draws readers in because many young adults face hard situations daily, and struggle to do the right thing. The Face on the Milk Carton is challenged due to its sexual content and challenge of authority, according to http://thefaceonthmilkcartonisawesome.weebly.com/. Caroline B. Cooney’s The Face on the Milk Carton should be placed on an optional ninth grade reading list because although it contains mature content, ninth grade readers can learn how to say no to the temptation…
I put these new facts into the new girl. ”(10). The people in her new community try to define her according to the racial stereotypes they embrace, but Rachel refuses to accept their labels. She does not believe that her physical differences define who she is; she is aware that there is more to…
During our life’s journey, our experiences and relationships we have with others are often the most memorable when we are able to see things in a new way. However, such memories and relationships we have with others stick with us so strongly that we will forever see certain people and events the same way, with an unchanged perspective. Monumental moments, such as a loved one’s death in “Violets,” by Gwen Harwood does not alter the persona’s view of their parents. In contrast, the persona in “Violets” is able to reflect on the memories of herself as a child and her relationship with her parents in another light. At some point in our personal journey, our childlike innocence is often shaken and we are forced to mature into adulthood.…
As a slight cripple, she shies away from the world, hiding among glass unicorns and other figurines, and listening to her phonograph records. The real world unnerves her, deeming her unable to even handle typing class at Rubicam’s Business College. She couldn’t even type from nerves, her hands jittering across the keys. And when she tried to take her speed typing test, she vomited on the floor, and almost had to be carried to the washroom. While she was supposed to be in class, Laura simply wandered through parks and visited animals at the zoo, or the local conservatory, slipping even further from reality.…
In the short story Only Daughter by Sandra Cisneros, Sandra is challenged by being the only daughter in the family of six sons. Her father believes that Sandra should go to school so she can find a good man. While Sandra believes she should go to school to complete her education goal. Because the different beliefs between the two, Sandra 's father fails to acknowledge he has only one daughter and refers to her as a son. Sandra Being referred to as a son puts her in the place where she has to compete with her brothers to gain her father 's approval.…
In life, most children that are around ten years of age have a very low maturity level. But this does not prove to be the case with Ellen from Ellen Foster. This raise in maturity in Ellen also helps raise her intelligence and ability to read emotions as well. All three of these abilities Ellen use throughout the book to help her get through the rough life that she has. Ellen has a very advanced maturity level compared to a regular ten-year-old that helps guide her throughout the novel.…
In the story “Only Daughter” by Sandra Cisneros, she writes about her childhood and the relationship she had with her siblings and her father. Sandra is the only daughter out seven siblings in a traditional Mexican household. Parents, family, friends and heritage influenced Sandra Cisneros to be a successful writer. Sandra Cisneros’ childhood helped her overcome the housewife stereotype and become a successful writer. Sandra Cisneros grew up in Chicago in a family of nine.…
The New Girl by Marc Mitchell In this essay I will write a brief summary of the short story “The New Girl”, written by Marc Mitchell, an author from Florence, Alabama. I will continue by characterizing the narrator and discuss the reasoning behind Allison’s behaviour and narrator’s response (which will be included in his characterisation). The story takes place on Prospect Street, a white, lower-middle-class neighbourhood, where there are old houses aplenty.…