There is also love in people, demonstrated by Santiago's love of Fatima's beauty, and Santiago's knowing that it is part of his Personal Legend to love her. Also, there is true love, a brief definition given by the alchemist; "True love is love that allows you to reach your Personal Legend." Controlled Luck The theme of controlled luck is prominent in this book, as the old king and the alchemist both tell Santiago about how if one really wants to fulfill his/her Personal Legend, the whole universe will conspire to help make it happen. Coelho refers to this as the idea of "beginner's luck", or the concept of favorability. Santiago is blessed with beginner's luck, when he decides to go to Africa. He manages to sell all of his sheep very easily, and is given "a taste of success" that whets the appetite to fulfill one's Personal Legend. Spiritual…
A “narrative” is defined as being a “written or spoken account of connected events” (“Narrative”). Narratives can take many forms. For instance, in english class many of the short stories we read are narratives. However, a movie, a television show or a song, could also be a narrative. Even our lives can be considered our own personal narratives in which we are the writer, the main character and often times the reader. “Life as a Narrative” demonstrates how certain events, both minor and major,…
Examining Tennyson’s Lotus Eaters the first thing that clearly stands apart is the two distinct narratives taking place within the text. There’s the stand alone narration of the tale of Odysseus and his men but in the Choric Song we are exposed to a direct account of the men’s experiences and personal emotions that derive from their exposure to the island. The first half of the narration’s structure appears on Tennyson’s part to be more concrete. It follows a rhyme scheme as well as the rules of…
coincidentally divorced Bardacke (McPherson 2005, p. 8). Deren completed her MA in English Literature from Smith College, writing a thesis about the influence of French Symbolists’ on the work of Anglo-American modernist poets of Ezra Pound and T.S. Eliot (McPherson 2005, p. 8; O’Pray 2003, p. 50). Following that, she worked with Katherine Dunham from 1940 until 1942, where she became increasingly interested with the dance form and Haitian voodoo rituals (Doneson n.d., p. 327; O’Pray 2003, p.…
The immigrant journey is filled with both hope and hardship, a duality that Carlos Eire captures powerfully in his memoir, Waiting for Snow in Havana. Through his story, we see a young boy’s struggle to adapt after being uprooted from his homeland. Eire’s personal experiences reflect broader themes in the immigrant experience, especially for Cuban émigrés who left everything behind to seek a new life in the United States. Susan Eckstein’s article, “Cuban Émigrés and the American Dream,” expands…
to examine these problems with a nuanced perspective. Daniel Gordon's 2019 documentary ‘The Australian Dream’ and Wesley Enoch and Deborah Mailman's 1995 play ‘The 7 Stages of Grieving’ offer compelling perspectives…
result of the unjust cruelty America has placed upon them. However, many families have been able to feel a sense of security and comfort within their unique household, allowing them to fulfill their own American Dream more abstractly. The Younger family within Loraine Hansberry’s Raisin in the Sun faces a variety of tribulations throughout the play, however, unite as a collective family…
In the narrative essay, “My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant,” journalist Jose Antonio Vargas recounts his childhood journey from the Philippines to the United States. He presents his accomplishments in his education and career as a journalist while living with his grandparents and having an illegal status in the United States. Throughout Vargas’ story, he explains the difficulties that he faced for not having the proper credentials to be in the United States. Building up his essay as a…
the novel, The Catcher in the Rye and the only words he said was “it's all in this book”. Mark made such a connection with the novel that he believed John Lennon was a phony just as Holden thought so many people in New York were. Set in America, Salinger's novel, is successful because we make a close connection with the protagonist Holden Caulfield through the brilliant literary techniques and are interested in the characters struggles through his development. The 1st person narrative allows…
the consequences of simplifying their experiences. Seeing others through a limited narrative can lead to misunderstandings and stereotypes. Reflecting on my own life, I realized how my parents' expectations for me placed me in a narrow box, leaving me feeling like I had no choice in shaping my future. Firstly, my parents wanted me to attend a local college, live at home, and pay them rent while helping to care for my younger sister. They envisioned a future for me that mirrored their own…