The Stranger Beside Me

Rocking on the Porch Told through the experiences of an elderly woman on Sunday afternoon, “Miss Brill,” a short story by Katherine Mansfield, drew me to the memory of my late great-grandmother and the residents of her assisted living home. Silenced by their isolation, often people in the advanced stages of life are driven by a desire to participate in the world around them. Miss Brill finds her place in the park in the interactions between others and the scenery around her, just as those that…

fallen’s memory. The best the slain boy could have, Bogle goes on, would be if “to that loyal heart you 're forever nineteen”. Of course nothing is certain in war and as in the first verse, Bogle also offers a much darker alternative: “Or are you a stranger without even a nam/Forever enshrined behind some old glass pane/An old photograph torn,battered, and stained/And faded to yellow in a brown leather frame”. These are the two possibilities for the memory of a slain soldier, forever remembered…

it turned into a battle with my thoughts and a race to reach home. In the past, I had walked this exact path numerous times with no problem. I had wondered why had today been so different. Right at that moment, as if reading my mind, it appeared to me! One of the best parts of Franklin Park had been its circular shape. Regardless of the direction we start, as long as we travel all around, we're sure to run into the same person twice. As all of us reached the final stretch, thanks to the park's…

her daughter Carin. Mrs. Ebbling says that “he has had his disappointments, too. He wants children and a gay, hospitable house, and he is tied to a sick woman who cannot get on with people. He has more to complain of than I have, and yet he bears with me. I am grateful to him, and there is no more to be said” (Willa 7). This shows that her obligation to her husband is to stay by his side until the day she dies. She could not give Mr. Ebbling anything because of her illness so in the name of love…

When we mention the theme of a book or a novel, we are discussing about a general idea, lesson, or message that can be seen through the entire story. The events in the book may be very interesting, or exciting, but without the universal connection to human, they will not grab our attention in any real way. A novel of Magaret Atwood, The Handmaid’s Tale, is highly considered as a stimulating work of feminist dystopian fiction that examines the cultural construction of fertility, rebellion,…

Capitalism Hinders our Ability to Love but Cannot Stop It Love is the greatest feeling in the world. It should be easy, pure, and free. Everybody should be able to love themselves and each other without hesitation. It should be easy to find love, to stay in love and that love should last forever. But we know that is not true, it is not even possible because capitalism hinder our ability to love. Capitalism is one of the main reason that we cannot love ourselves and each other. There are…

similarly to Dimmesdale, Chillingworth’s mental and physical health had undoubtedly digressed. As Dimmesdale confesses his sin, Chillingworth states that "there was no one place so secret,—no high place nor lowly place, where thou couldst have escaped me,—save on this very scaffold!" (Hawthorne 263). With the absence of his identity and the revenge he sought being out of his reach, Chillingworth no longer had anything to live…

to meet all occasions..” (Williams 1944). She once again delves into a realm that is anything but reality. Both characters in A Streetcar Named Desire and The Glass Menagerie fluctuate their own value and self-worth based upon how other men, even strangers, perceive them. They quite literally objectify themselves sexually and it can be a characterization of both of them in their fantasy worlds as well as reality. Wingfield and DuBois live in a consistent state of illusion, allowing an escape…

spine, causing me to shiver. “I wish the summers in Puttingneg were longer. “Cindy sighed. “I know.” She shoved her hands deeper into her pockets. Cindy was my best friend.…

this place.” (Albee 21). On the face of it, George and Martha appear to have a very unhealthy, turbulent relationship. Surprisingly though, there is love in their marriage, explained by Martha that “There is only one man in my life who has ever … made me happy.” (Albee 200). For Nick and Honey, the…