Accelerated Reader

Another way the theme is shown throughout both books, is through contrast in characters. In The House of the Scorpion, two contrasting characters are Celia and El Patrón. Celia is a kind chef, who raises the protagonist of the story, Matt. Celia is not rich, but cares for and loves Matt like he is her own son. Together Celia and Matt are happy, but not wealthy. Due to this, Celia must sneak food and other supplies from the Alacráns to give to Matt. “...feel happy...they wouldn’t notice if I took…

“The thousands of people who died daily in Auschwitz and Birkenau, in the crematoria, no longer troubled me. But this boy, leaning against the gallows, upset me deeply.” The two hangings described in Night appeared exceptionally similar but were in reality drastically different. Both of these hangings executed those who were found to be guilty of a crime. In addition, the prisoners of the concentration camp were forced to witness both of the hangings. The prisoners likewise were ordered by the…

come along with it. Through these poems "I Am Offering This Poem", "Who Understands Me But Me", and "Immigrants In Our Own Land", Jimmy Santiago Baca explains to his audience the story of growth that he undergoes. The memoir begins informing the readers on the early life of Baca then transitions to how it shaped him to get through the tough problems that prison threw at him. With prison comes many obstacles. People on the other side of the bars can only imagine what life must have been like for…

that the value of one’s self is either uplifted or destroyed when one chooses an occupation. Through the voices in “Blackberries” by Yusef Komunyakaa, “The Lady in the Pink Mustang” by Louise Erdrich, and “The Secretary Chant” by Marge Piercy, the reader is able to view how jobs affect the self-image of the worker. The small boy in “Blackberries” brings to life his job of picking berries by using vivid imagery. He seems to be content with his job by describing the fruit of his labor in lines…

deer’s corpse to the woods. The poem is about more than a simple, daunting mistake; it depicts a loss of innocence and attempt for salvation, as well as an apathetic relationship between a father and son while simultaneously projecting empathy onto the reader by using second person pronouns, metaphor, and details. Making the mistake of driving home drunk marks the loss of innocence for the young man, which is evident through the parallel of the deer’s life and boy’s. Prior to disposing of the…

“The clock is ticking. Are you quick enough to outrace time?” (6). The whole setting of Halcomb writing to this crime writer wanting to tell his story, and wanting him to stay in his house is extremely eerie to begin with. However, this last line is all by itself which instantly makes it stand out just from a formatting point of view. It also sounds extremely like sarcastic and kind of rude almost and the whole feel of the question makes me feel weird and nervous. “‘We didn’t realize she was…

Using an unexpected kiss under a sudden thunderstorm, Len Roberts’ “First Kiss,” depicts a young boy’s vague sense of loss, and his awareness, of his own adolescent storm approaching. Throughout the poem, three major shifts are evident in order to illustrate the young boy’s transition from childhood into adolescence, and his ignorance of the change. The poem begins with a thunderstorm coming over a sandlot which is described as, “that blue-black cloud came over the sandlot with drops of rain as…

Hello there young lad, fellow reader, whomever you may be, I hope this story affects you in a good way and as a matter of fact, it will. You will learn in this story about myself, Adam and my brother, Richard Finley. Together we’ll go on a journey to an island that no man has ever set its soul on. Let me give you a few reasons why, it is harsh to man, eerie, and mysterious. Ancient legends say that people who approach this island are forever haunted until their deathbed. The ghosts that roam…

Do readers know the intent of the advertisements that they are viewing? How can readers train themselves to read between the lines, and study a product before the advertisement spread, that may be false, completely wins them over? Advertisements only have their own companies success in mind and are not truly there to help the consumer or customers find the best product. Companies will do anything to win against their competitors, with help from the outside world. Do all magazines companies…

out a vacation that they believe will be wonderful. “A Good Man is Hard to Find” starts off with a humorous tone since the reader does not know the outcome of the story. O’Connor’s use of tone changes from humorous to quite frightening, which plays a key role in making this short story a compelling one. Flannery’s creative and strange take on narrating the story forces the reader to believe that she does not take violence seriously, as she portrays violence as being normal in Southern culture.…