Charlotte, North Carolina

Taekwondo: Reality vs. A Novel The novel, Eliza Bing Is (NOT) a Big, Fat Quitter by Carmella Van Vleet, explored an integral part of my life, which is Taekwondo. Though the novel explained Taekwondo to some extent, Van Vleet poorly portrayed the relationship between the student and their sport. The main character, Eliza, and I experienced different introductions, contradistinctive emotional experiences, and contrasting achievements. Eliza and my own introduction to Taekwondo differed greatly.…

Katherina Minola, also known as Kate, is the first-born daughter of Baptista in Taming of the Shrew. “Shrew” is an expression used to label an aggressively assertive woman. From the beginning, Kate is frequently referred to as “a shrew whom cannot be tamed”. However, as the composition progresses, Kate’s personality drastically transforms when she comprehends the effects of her actions on other people. Kate becomes conscious of this after her husband, Petruchio, starts imitating her. His mission…

The novel Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen could not have been named better. This is because of the personalities that result in the actions of the two main characters, Fitzwilliam Darcy and Elizabeth Bennett. Elizabeth Bennett, or Lizzie, is one of the five Bennett daughters, but is nothing like her other sisters. She completely refutes society’s ideas about a woman’s purpose and marriage. This often leads to her having more pride than the average woman of the Regency Period. Elizabeth does…

Jane Eyre, a gothic and romantic novel, was written by Charlotte Brontë and officially published in October of 1847 under her pen name “Currer Bell” (“Jane Eyre is published”). Throughout the period that her novel was published, women were stereotyped as housewives and caregivers to their children. By publishing under a pseudonym, she saved herself from verbal attacks concerning her femininity. She was bold by publishing her work. Her novel contains many instances where the degradation of women…

The work of Susan Griffin is unique, and it may not be easily to classify it in the existing genres of literature. When one goes through her work for the first time, it is easy to assume that it is a novel, a story about her past. However, it becomes clear as one continues to read her work that this is not just a simple novel meant to entertain her audience using fiction. The details she provides about various events and the manner in which she chooses her words clearly points out that this is…

In The Secret Garden, readers learn the devastating effects on a child when he or she is shown no love. Mary Lennox, the protagonist of the story, was given all the goods and things that she wants, but with no real feeling from her parents, she feels neglected and soon adapts a very nasty character. When you first read it, it may seem like she might never change, but when she encounters a secret garden tucked away in a hidden room in a giant mansion, she changes completely. Frances Hodgson…

French Society: As An Individual- Baldip Singh-Josan In the novel, A Tale of Two Cities, Madame Defarge was a part of the revolution and her role in it was important, but she acted cold and ruthless towards others. Despite her actions and her personality, she makes readers feel more sympathetically towards her. Madame Defarge was always seen knitting, and it was questionable as to why it was done. It was soon revealed that she was knitting a list of people so that her husband could do his…

Most people, at some point in their life, grapple with the idea of following what is morally and socially accepted and following what their heart desires. In Charlotte Bronte’s novel Jane Eyre, The main character Jane eyre struggles with this issue as well. Jane Eyre, a passionate, poor orphan girl who, after being sent away by her aunt to a boarding school, becomes a governess to a wealthy bachelor’s 8-year-old ward in Thornfield. Jane finds herself falling in love with Mr. Rochester and he…

their plot development by way of ensuing action. The supernatural is something “belonging to a realm or system that transcends nature, as that of divine, magical, or ghostly being,” as defined by the Oxford English Dictionary. William Shakespeare, Charlotte Bronte and Jean Rhys utilize the supernatural in their works, Macbeth, Jane Eyre and Wide Sargasso Sea, respectively. No matter the gain or loss of power, the supernatural induces people to reach a brink of madness. The supernatural…

In the first half of Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre, Jane is a victim to herself in experiencing nearly uncontrollable outbursts, however after acquiring the ability to remain calm from a much needed feminine figure Jane is calm in most every nerve wrecking situation thrown upon her. All of the anger Jane encapsulates in herself throughout her life begins in one place, the red room. The traumatic event of losing both of Jane’s parents clearly caused part of the outbursts that she experiences…