Joan Fontaine

It is clear that in society people are often incapable of forming profound relationships. Problems relating to someones home or family life, and the connections they find within that, can lead to people breaking away in order to seek, and form, more substantial connections elsewhere. This is portrayed within J.D. Salinger’s ‘Catcher In The Rye’, and Sean Penn’s ‘Into The Wild’. Holden and Christopher share similar triggers for the beginning of their journeys, namely the break down of…

17-year-old Holden Caulfield’s mother scheduled him for a psychiatric appointment in my office. On the phone, Mrs. Caulfield explained that everything seemed to start when Holden disappeared for 3 days, around Christmas last year, after being kicked out of his fourth boarding school. Phoebe Caulfield, Holden’s little sister, was the one that noticed his strange behavior and told her mother of these peculiarities when they started to worsen throughout the year. Holden displayed feelings of…

A quick glance into Joan Didion’s life would put readers under the assumption that she identifies as a standard second-wave feminist. A prominent female writer in the 1960s, Didion had initially left me drawing connections to the likes of Betty Friedan and Gloria Steinem. Even her stern gaze present on book covers and articles seems to give off a sense of feminine mystique. But after careful venture into her work, it is my understanding that while feminism plays a role in what Didion tackles as…

Terri Apter once said that “adolescence is society 's permission slip for combining physical maturity with psychological irresponsibility.” Adolescence, or more precisely the transition from childhood to adulthood, is often associated with one’s struggle to become unique and create a bright future. A stage in life full of self-discovery and an acceptance of the responsibilities of adulthood, adolescence can be a daunting, yet truly fulfilling experience. In the novel The Catcher in the Rye by…

The conflict between Catholicism and natural religion is evident within the main character, Antonio, who has been raised Catholic but is drawn to the natural elements. Antonio meets Ultima, the woman who delivered him, at age seven and finds that he identifies very strongly with her and with the natural religion she believes; “she took my hand and I felt the power of a whirlwind sweep around me. Her eyes swept the surrounding hills and through them I saw for the first time the wild beauty of…

The Catcher in the Rye introduces a troubled teenager, Holden Caulfield, who sees the adult world and growing negatively. Using tone, symbolism, and the meaning of the title to J.D Salinger shows the difficulty of growing into adulthood and having to deal with its complexities and the inability of preserving the innocence of a child. This is because Holden does not seem to want to join the phony adult world, and he tries to avoid it. He mentions he wants to live on farms and in New England…

Jose’s Great Dilemma Literary thesis statement: In “The Challenge”, Gary Soto introduces Jose as a young boy who experiences a change in his rite of passage in his personality as he undergoes liminality. I. Prior to liminality, Jose is a teenager boy who is ingenuous and has a lack of experience to loving a girl. A. Jose is naïve because he thinks that receiving perfect test scores will make Estela notice him. 1. “But when the quizzes had been returned and Jose bragged, ‘Another A-plus,’…

Synopsis The Dead Poets Society is a story that revolves around a group of boys who were attending a prestigious boys school together. Set in the 1950s, the parents and school culture were seen to be autocratic, where parents often dictated the lives of their children and leave them with no say. The story mainly unfolds from the perspectives of two students, Todd Anderson and Neil Perry, who are roommates. In the story, the students found inspiration from their English teacher, Mr. Keating, who…

Are we there yet? What’s your name? How old are you? Why? These are all common questions that a young child would ask his/her parents. Young children are usually more susceptible to new things because they have no other beliefs on how things should be. A child is always on the go, exploring new things taking interest in learning everything he/she can. As a child gets old he/she is always on the go but for different reasons. Most children go with the flow relatively easy, but adults don’t. Adults…

A great number of people enjoy the feeling of being frightened whether by a movie, story, play, or whatever else. Even so, most like to have a little scare every now and then. In Lucille Fletchers, The Hitchhiker, a man is taking a road trip from Brooklyn to California. However, it is not just an average road trip. The main character, Ronald Adams, comes across a mysterious man on the way. Everywhere he goes, the strange man is in his presence. This triggers Adams to become a little deranged.…