Silas Marner

A tragic hero is typically defined as someone who is great and is destined for downfall (“Tragic Hero Classical Definition”). In Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, the protagonist Okonkwo shows strong characteristics of a tragic hero. Okonkwo rose from being poor and humiliated to a strong, well-respected, and influential warrior since his notable win against Amalinze the cat (Achebe 3). Unlike his father, Okonkwo is able to provide for his family, consisting of three wives and many children…

Receiving a diagnosis of any mental disorder can be terrifying and debilitating, however a mother receiving a diagnosis for a child with a mental disorder can be perceive it as a death sentence to their child, particularly a Christian mother who has been praying for a child. Theresa Crew is a 50 year old mother, wife and English Professor. She is the mother of twenty-one year old Johnathan who was recently diagnosed with schizophrenia. Theresa is a devout Christian and has difficulty…

My understanding and perception of Laura Esquivel’s novel Like Water for Chocolate was significantly developed through one IOP in particular. The presenter explored the influence of the existential philosophy in the novel Like Water for Chocolate. She explained how the protagonist Tita and other secondary characters can be seen as an existential successes and failures, and how these developments influenced the novel. Previously in my IB English 11 class, we had explored the use of…

“The Yellow Wallpaper” emphasizes a slow progression of the narrator’s character as she goes from relatively sane to completely psychotic; however, it also highlights her life, which she has no authority over, but still manages to free herself from the mental and physical constraints implemented by society and her husband, John. The unnamed narrator is unable to reach her full mental capacity, nor is she able to pursue her passion of writing or carry out normal, day-to-day activities due to her…

In my last response, I discussed the emotional and physical isolation Susan suffered. After reading these past chapters, I see that isolation is one factor attached to a bigger part Susan’s of story. From this point in the reading, it is known that Susan has had to deal with many issues in her life, from abuse to drugs to death. Yet, I believe most of her problems can stem back from her ability to consciously disappear by suppressing her feelings and detaching herself from her emotions. The…

The main character of the story is named Sarah and she is attending Northwest Missouri State University. Sarah’s two best friends are named Emily and Aiyana. Both of these characters are main characters and play a huge role in the plot of this story. Sarah spends a majority of her time with these two characters and the reader is allowed to not only see the growth of the friendship, but also the personal growth of the individual characters, making them dynamic. Another character is Sarah’s mom…

Theodore expertly uses intricate examples of imagery that both accentuates and deepens the underlying tone and meaning of the story. He creates a perplexing poem by effectively giving the necessary details to move the story along; yet not enough to leave no room for individual imagination and perception. By using exceptional word choice he creates a tone of nostalgia that further enhances the imagery, which, to me, personally, makes it feel almost dizzying. The characters, lacking specific…

On my first visitation, I went to the Appalachian Dharma & Meditation Center. The Dharma is located in Johnson City, at 108 W. 10th Avenue, Johnson City, Tennessee. The Dharma is in a dentist office, with the meditation center downstairs. The meditation center was beautifully decorated. There was a room out to the side of the meditation, where we have a break and hot tea. The break room was full of different Buddhist books. On the way to Johnson City, my mother and I were both experiencing…

The story begins with the describing of mental and spiritual feelings of the protagonist. Obviously, the protagonist is so sensitive to treat every trifle, so that her husband John, who is a physician, decided to treat her. It is seemingly ordinary that John made the decision without the wishes of his wife in the power of the patriarchal society. John rent an almost isolated house, and put his wife in the house. He chose yellow wallpaper for her. He also prohibited her doing anything with…

After examining both stories the amount symbolism embedded within the text was astounding. Each story has unique aspects that intertwine with each other while in the same sense each has their own twists and turns spiraling away from the similarities. Two main themes that I found to be extremely gruesome but connecting in both stories was the powerful effect of death and the diminishing of the female sex as a whole. While the two main symbols that seemed to link together were Emily’s actual house…