The Positivity in Determination: An analysis of House of Stone
Introduction
This essay will first provide historical context about Lebanon. This essay will provide a brief summary of House of Stone by Anthony Shadid. Finally this essay will analyze determination and focus in House of Stone in order to support the idea that one’s character can be strong enough so that they are able to avoid conflict and trouble. For example Anthony Shadid’s determination to rebuild his grandparent’s house allows him to avoid the dangers of the Middle Eastern society at the time the story takes place. Memories are the strongest connection to one’s childhood. For Anthony Shadid, his memories brought a positivity that allowed him to neglect any negative influences …show more content…
There are a lot of symbols that have different types of meanings in Lebanon. One is the olive tree “this tree is a blessed tree ( Shadid 78)”. Anthony and other Lebanese people thought that the olive tree had a lot of sentimental meaning. While in the United States we would just think it is another tree. Anthony did plant the tree in the front yard of His Grandfather`s house to symbolize that no matter in what condition it was in it was still a house that he cared for and loved. Life in Lebanon was tougher than America`s toughest ghettos, projects, or under privileged. “I like life here in Lebanon, but I have never felt so hopeless (Shadid 277) “. Life in Lebanon was brutal, especially for the people who have grown up there and have just watched it go to dust and turn into a complete war zone. Of course the people who live there love it and want to stay there but it is so bad and they are at such a risk that they either need to move or possibly die or lose everything. I could understand why the Lebanese people would not want to move out of their home country and stay there because if I was in their situation I would want to stay in my home too. Even though I think I would stay in my house and in my home country if I was in their shoes, I did think about why they just didn’t get up and say goodbye to the war zones and dangers of Lebanon. I think it would be one of the hardest things to get up and
Introduction
This essay will first provide historical context about Lebanon. This essay will provide a brief summary of House of Stone by Anthony Shadid. Finally this essay will analyze determination and focus in House of Stone in order to support the idea that one’s character can be strong enough so that they are able to avoid conflict and trouble. For example Anthony Shadid’s determination to rebuild his grandparent’s house allows him to avoid the dangers of the Middle Eastern society at the time the story takes place. Memories are the strongest connection to one’s childhood. For Anthony Shadid, his memories brought a positivity that allowed him to neglect any negative influences …show more content…
There are a lot of symbols that have different types of meanings in Lebanon. One is the olive tree “this tree is a blessed tree ( Shadid 78)”. Anthony and other Lebanese people thought that the olive tree had a lot of sentimental meaning. While in the United States we would just think it is another tree. Anthony did plant the tree in the front yard of His Grandfather`s house to symbolize that no matter in what condition it was in it was still a house that he cared for and loved. Life in Lebanon was tougher than America`s toughest ghettos, projects, or under privileged. “I like life here in Lebanon, but I have never felt so hopeless (Shadid 277) “. Life in Lebanon was brutal, especially for the people who have grown up there and have just watched it go to dust and turn into a complete war zone. Of course the people who live there love it and want to stay there but it is so bad and they are at such a risk that they either need to move or possibly die or lose everything. I could understand why the Lebanese people would not want to move out of their home country and stay there because if I was in their situation I would want to stay in my home too. Even though I think I would stay in my house and in my home country if I was in their shoes, I did think about why they just didn’t get up and say goodbye to the war zones and dangers of Lebanon. I think it would be one of the hardest things to get up and