A Double Life

Receiving Help Sherman Alexie's poem, "This Is What It Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona," uses flashbacks, sensory description, dialogue, and other literary tools to illustrate the importance of reunion. In the story, Alexie demonstrates how the news of the death of Victor's father affected him. He says that even though he has not seen his father in years, “there was still a genetic pain, which was as real and immediate as a broken bone,” (Alexie 11). Victor’s father had died and now Victor has…

by jfsdfdls, my ideas and values about a nurse were reassured. The story is about a woman named Leah, who finds out she has been diagnosed with cancer and must die leaving her son and husband behind. There is no lesson or class in life that can prepare us for life-changing moments like this, so we rely on the presence and comfort of the nurse. In this story, Elizabeth was the nurse who gave her patient comfort and ultimately allowed her to die peacefully. Activity one asks the reader to…

always an enjoyable experience. The workplace can be a dismal and strenuous environment. The poem “The Postman” by Sadhu Binning, is an embodiment of this statement, in which it shows that the reality of being a postman is a dull and lonely way of life that comes without reward. “The Postman” explains the circumstantial aspects of the postman described in the poem, and what will become of him based on those factors. In addition, the poem “7:59AM” by Michael Turner exhibits the same theme, by…

Brene Brown once said that "shame is the most powerful, master emotion. It's the fear that we're not good enough" (Shame Quotes). Shame is defined by the Oxford Dictionary as a "painful feeling of humiliation or distress caused by the consciousness of wrong or foolish behaviour" (Shame Definition). In Puritan society, people felt shame due to the strict moral code that was enforced because people would inevitably break it at some point throughout their lives. In both stories, the characters…

David Sedaris' goal in writing, Me Talk Pretty One Day, is to take the reader on a journey through a challenging time in his life through which he ultimately persevered. I was able to determine, through a deeper, more analytical reading that the author's reference to his age and location emphasize the difficulties he would face. The author sets the tone for what appears to be an impossible situation. He is well past prime school age, he is in a foreign country surrounded by younger…

allows people to escape reality. However, because of the ideas and beliefs that religion entails, it is much less tangible than other outlets and requires a different method of practice. In Karen Armstrong’s Homo Religiosus, Armstrong introduces various life lessons that result from religious teachings. Armstrong touches upon various examples of religion,…

she is realizing that she is going to be happy again. The marriage she had with her husband wasn’t the best marriage because they never really got along and that her husband was very controlling over her due to the time period they’re in. that is the life that she has always wanted to…

Thiel’s view of competition is interesting to say the least. He believes that the worst thing to ever have been taught to entrepreneurs is that competition is healthy. By no means would Thiel find himself promoting the ideals of competition. In his world, monopolies are the best thing in business. Whereas competitors earn no profits according to him, monopolies are out there making profits all to themselves without sharing. Competition causes businesses not to prosper. There is no way to look…

received a phone call that had my mom devastated. I was too young to know what a loss in the family is at that moment, but I knew something was wrong. That day was so vivid, I remember there was so much crying and people hugging each other like their life depended on it. Many people were coming in and out of the big bright white front door every second. My brother was seven at the time and my sister was eight. My mom…

Look Me in the Eye: My Life With Asperger’s, John Elder Robison depicts his struggles in life to readers. From a child, not comprehending why his understanding of “normal” was different than everyone else’s, to an adult, finally learning that he had Asperger’s, Robison conveys the inner workings of his mind. As a very personal topic, I imagine revealing one’s whole life would be very hard to write about. Robison includes all the tragedies, struggles, and successes in his life throughout…