A Common Reader

In the life of a human being, growing up is a key component of life as it develops your behaviours and attitudes as an individual. Childhood itself is like a blank canvas that gets painted on by the people, incidents and environment that you experience over the years. Many poems have revolved around this topic in ways where the protagonist have to experience some sort of pain through loss, and others where they learn from a lesson through their seniors. Examples of poems which the protagonists…

The Help is a deeply moving story that shines a lot of light on some of the common trials that African Americans experienced during the Civil Rights era. Of course however, any novel (and/or movie) is only as good as its main characters. One of the core protagonists, Aibileen, a black maid in the wealthy Leefolt household, is incredibly significant in this story. Her character is able to connect with the reader due to three of the main qualities she possesses: strength, love, and intelligence…

book, the occasions where surveillance is used stand out among others, and it’s apparent that Brontë spends an abundance of time focusing on these scenes in particular. Lucy doesn’t want to experience life for herself, thus throughout the novel the reader is able to see Lucy watch and observe others. Surveillance is also used by Madame Beck as a means of keeping her students and faculty in check; she wants her school to be perfect. M. Paul, who is a nosy man that wants to know everyone’s…

of Chaucer. Through Chaucer’s detailed descriptions of most of the characters in The Prologue to the Canterbury Tales and the stories each character tells, readers can gain an innate understanding of social opinions and ideals in the time of Chaucer. Due to the sheer number of characters present in The Canterbury Tales, it is likely that readers will find a particular story or character, whom they may relate to. Also, since society’s root motivations rarely change, Chaucer’s time is in some…

allusions. Sometimes called a reference as well, allusions are effective tools for writers as they “stimulate ideas, associations, and extra information in the readers’ minds” ("Allusion in Prose and Poetry"). They ultimately give the reader a better understanding of what is happening by connecting the author’s ideas with the knowledge of the common man. Throughout That Hideous Strength, Lewis uses two popular allusions – Merlin and the Tower of Babel – aiding in the reader’s understanding of…

willing to get up to warm himself. “This discussion continued for some time. I knew that I was no longer arguing with him but with Death itself, with Death that he had already chosen,” (page 105). This gives a the reader an awful mood, a feeling of solemn and grief. At this point the reader understands that Elie’s father is gone, and he would not return to the man he used to be. He had been way to mentally and physically tortured to stay alive. He himself no longer believed he could survive, he…

knew exactly what you were bloody doing. I've read the book, remember" (Haddon 81). In the Novel The Curious Dog in the Night-Time written by Mark Haddon many suspenseful quotes by both Christopher and his father like the one above will keep the readers mind open to all of the different topics and actions available to interpret through their own and a feministic lens. A few of the key topics that will be analyzed through these lenses are the conflicts that arise amongst Christopher and his…

Deciding the Journey The decisions that people make in their lives determine their future. However, many teenagers struggle with determining important choices for themselves because it is usually done for them. The most common mistake people make is that they think there is only one option for each individual; anyone can have any future depending on their own decisions. In both Dorothy Livesay’s “Experience” and Robert frost’s “The Road Not Taken”, they express the difficulty in making crucial…

In Adam B. Summers’ editorial “Bag Ban Bad for Freedom and Environment”, he argues why California’s possible ban on plastic bags is detrimental and encourages readers to resist the ban. Summers uses several methods of persuasion in his essay to convince the reader of his argument. He begins and concludes the essay with words and phrases that appeal to the reader's emotions, as well as utilizing many facts and statistics to support his position. In the first several paragraphs, Summers appeals…

Thesis: MacNeil is effective in using rhetorical question, illustration and appeal to authority throughout the article in order to keep his readers interested. While expanding their knowledge of the American dialect, MacNeils desire is also to persuade his audience that Americans should embrace all dialects. “a young waitress approaches out table and asks, ‘How are you guys doin?’ my wife and I are old enough to be her grandparents, but we are ‘you guys’ to her” (MacNiel 306). This quote will…