Premium Essay

The Escapist: A Short Story

Submitted By
Words 429
Pages 2
The Escapist

“Another day just for working,” I sigh. I see a man walking across the field to me. “My boss is here!” I smile. He walks over to me. “Tomorrow's the big day buddy!” He says through the electric fence. “I can’t wait to eat some fresh turkey!” It seems I am a turkey... My boss walks away smiling and licking his lips. “It seems I need to get out of here...” I turn to my laptop and I open the lid. “HI THERE!!!” Says Gerald, my virtual assistant. “How can I help YOU today Joe?” I think for a second. “Can you hack into the electric fence over there and turn it off?” “SURE THING BUDDY!!!” He screams through the screen. I see the electric fence turn from grayish blue to plain gray. “Thanks… I guess…” I mutter. “UR WELCOME BUDDY!!!!” Gerald screams again …show more content…
“Will you just SHUT UP!?!?” I say to him. “OkOk… you didn’t have to scream it at me… jeez” I roll my eyes at him. “You were obviously the one screaming…” I tell him. “Whatever… Why did you turn off the electric fence anyway?” He states. “Well… I kinda want to… um… escape the office cube…” I say. “WHAT!?!? YOU WANT TO ESCAPE THE OFFICE CUBE?!?!” Gerald screams yet another time. “Yes, and can we please just get out of here?” I say. “Whatevs…” Gerald says. “Can we please go now?!?” I ask. “Whatever you want BUDDY!” Gerald comments. “CAN YOU PLEASE STOP CALLING ME BUDDY!” I shout. “If you want to BUD!” “Whatever…” I mumble. We start off on our adventure across the field. “Ugh… I’m sooo thirsty….” I state a few seconds in. “IT'S A-OK BUD!” Gerald says. A couple minutes later, we find a small house full of glowing yellow and green eyes. I look up at the sign at the top of

Similar Documents

Free Essay

The Picture of Dorian Gray

...Hoping to gain a different perspective on the assignment, I met with fellow classmates to talk out my problem. It turned out that they were having the same issue with their essays, and through discussing my paper with them, I realized that my topic was too narrow to be easily supported by sources; the idea of Dorian growing older without growing up was interesting but could not easily be supported with sources outside the novel itself. With this in mind, I modified my thesis, claiming that though Dorian Gray demonstrates aesthetic behavior in The Picture of Dorian Gray, his fascination with artistic things serves less to pursue aestheticism and more to evade his dark past. In this manner, I argued, Dorian could be considered more of an escapist than an aesthete. At last I had an argument that could easily be supported by sources on aestheticism (e.g. Talia Schaffer’s and Walter Houghton’s work); this made writing my first draft much easier than before and allowed me to focus on the essay’s flow and style. Writing “Dorian Gray the Escape Artist” was no easy task, and I often felt...

Words: 2321 - Pages: 10

Free Essay

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty vs the Necklace

...The Secret Life of Walter Mitty VS The Necklace April Kahl ENG 125 Introduction to Literature Angela di Guaico March 3, 2014 When comparing and contrasting short stories. One should look at tone, irony, theme, symbolism, and imagination. When all these literary terms are combined they make stories. The secret Life of Walter Mitty, and The Necklace, there is similarities in gender role of the characters, but there is differences, both of these short stories represent relationships in their marriage, through the main characters, and the roles they play. In this paper I will explain the similarities as well as the differences the characters play in both stories. I chose these two stories because they both have the same theme about marriage and love. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty and The Necklace are written in third-person narration, and throughout the two stories one person point of view it also allows you to see the dreams and thoughts of the main characters. In ‘ The Secret Life of Walter Mitty’, you are given some insight to his imagination of events throughout his day of errands that his wife is having him do while she is getting her hair done at the salon. In ‘ The Necklace’, you are given some insight into Madame Loise’s unhappy and depressing life that she lives and when she is given the opportunity to go this high end event we get to see w her at the ball in her dream, in the dream she is admired as...

Words: 1582 - Pages: 7

Free Essay

Chronicle of a Death Foretold

...Critically examine the title of Marquez’s novel Chronicle of a Death Foretold. Chronicle of a Death Foretold (1981) by Gabriel Garcia Marquez is a short novel written in the form of a chronicle. It is an instrument that combines Marquez’s journalism skills with those of fiction writing-the work depicts a murder investigation that took place around thirty years ago and, revolving around this probing, are the major problems that Marquez wants to address- lapses in the social and administrative order. The death, which was “foretold” to almost every member of the town, by the murderers, could not be prevented- it is a clear mirror to the moral disorder which was contained in and rather, dominated the society. As the title exposes, it is about a death- it becomes a natural curiosity as to why the death takes place. In this social order, that the narrator is interviewing, it is very apparent that the culture is marked by “male privilege and domination”; here women were not allowed to exercise their “free will”- “…they have been raised to suffer.” The status of the women was, therefore, reduced to an object. Angela Vicario is reluctant to marry Bayardo San Roman because she didn’t love him. However, she is forced to marry him because he is a man of large fortune and immense power. The death in the story is caused because of an outdated “code of honor” – on the night of wedding if the bride failed to prove her virginity, she was returned back. Consequently, the person responsible for...

Words: 1451 - Pages: 6

Free Essay

Tolkien's Christianity

...has turned to the Bible to answer questions of how and why we are here. At the dawn of a new millenium, popular culture has shifted away from ancient stories like those in the Bible. Thankfully, more recent tales influenced by the Gospels have emerged to fulfill this craven desire. J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings is one such book. It offers a mythological explanation of the apparent chaos, pain, disappointment, horror and violence of the world in terms of the struggle between good and evil. Taking this into consideration, a closer look at the The Lord of the Rings reveals grim and glorious lessons that can be learned. The works of Tolkien have been almost universally embraced by literate Christians who have long recognized the richness and beauty of Tolkien’s Middle-earth as well as the profound influence of his Christian faith upon the shape of his imaginary world. On the other hand, it may be read and enjoyed without reference to any theology whatsoever. It succeeds mainly as an exciting tale, but a full appreciation of Tolkien’s accomplishment requires some sense of what lies behind the book. It is one thing to find a connection between Tolkien’s tales and some other story based on inference and perceived pattern, and it is another thing entirely for the author to make a concrete connection between stories. Similarity is totally different than equivalence. “The Lord of the Rings is of course a fundamentally religious and Catholic work, unconsciously...

Words: 5568 - Pages: 23

Free Essay

Book Review

...The The Collected Works of Billy the Kid: Left Handed Poems Assignment Test Object Thing(ness) 1. Read this (this thing 1 cm. below) P. J. O’Rourke, the political satirist, reviews in this issue a new book about Starbucks. He told us, in an e-mail exchange, how he brews his own reviews: “I read something I’m reviewing the same way I read other things except more so. That is, I already keep a commonplace book (a file folder, really) for quotations, ideas, information, etc. If I’m going to write a review I mark the work for myself, but besides underlining what interests me I also underline what — as far as I can tell — interested the author. By the time I’m done I have an outline for the review. All I have to do is figure out a smart-aleck lead sentence and a wiseacre ending.”[1] 2. Then read the “How to write a Book Review” article on the very next page. Yes, it is a bit long but the information is really quite good. 3. Over the week go to www.salon.com or to http://www.nytimes.com/pages/books read at least five reviews and then divide them into good and bad reviews. Think about the specific qualities that define the better ones. The article from step two of this process will be helpful at this point. At the end of the day a good book review sees an interesting pattern or spins your understanding of the book in a new and delightful way…and importantly is enjoyable to read (as a writer you need to have fun savaging the book, exploring it, dwelling on it, falling...

Words: 2230 - Pages: 9

Premium Essay

An Existential Crisis

...Ilych, a dying man looking back into his life. In Kafka, we have Gregor Samsa, a man transformed into a vermin watching his life change and witnessing his family learning to live without him. The main characters here now have an existential crisis and are going to have to make a choice. Both accept their fates in a similar fashion, acceptance. Both works have a similar theme of seclusion. In Kafka's work, Gregor transforms into an insect. His entire family and employer immediately reject him. His father locks him in his room; his mother faints at the mere sight of him. They worry more about who will provide for them, rather than Gregor’s feelings about this transformation. The idea of seclusion presents itself differently in Tolstoy's story. Ivan when encountering a situation that does not promote his pleasant existence alienates himself. He alienates himself from his family mostly. What both Gregor and Ivan do not know is that both of the seclusions they experience will cause them to have an existential...

Words: 2417 - Pages: 10

Premium Essay

Pinoy Blonde

...I. Introduction "Over-determined," a term used in film studies, simply means that any film is the cumulative product of certain industrial practices, political climates, ideas about artistic merit and available financial and technical resources. So when and how does the classical Hollywood studio system become stable? Two issues are greatly considered: the advent of sound and the business ideal of vertical integration. II. The Coming of Sound: Golden Age of Classical Hollywood The shift of the entire industry to sound films began during the late 1920s. As many film scholars will argue, film was never entirely "silent." Most movies were accompanied by some kind of music and even, at times, live narration.  As with the invention of celluloid film and projection, the move to sound involved a great deal of technical trial and error, in addition to jostling for patents. In 1910, the richest studio, The Motion Pictures Patents Company, standardized the technological guts of filmmaking; their exclusive patents essentially locked others out of the market. Warner Bros. gambled that talkies would be popular with viewers, by offering the first bit of synchronized speech in The Jazz Singer. Studios now had a proof that "talkies" would make them money. But the financial investment this kind of filmmaking would require, from new camera equipment to new projection facilities, made the studios initially hesitant to invest. When vaudeville singing star Al Jolson introduced...

Words: 2400 - Pages: 10

Premium Essay

Analysis of the Story "I Spy'

...1. Speak on the function of different plot-structure patterns. A Retrieved Reformation | The Story-Teller | Summary of the story: | The story is written by O. Henry and tells us about the life of a man with 2 personalities at the same time: Jimmy Valentine, who used to crack saves and Mr. Ralph Spencer, the phoenix that arose from Jimmy Valentine’s ashes, who wanted to start a new life with a beloved woman. | The story is written by Saki (Hector Hugh Munro) and tells us about a group of people: an aunt with 3 children and a bachelor. The aunt tried to come down the children by telling them a story. But it was so dull for them that this bachelor had to tell another one, much improper that the aunt’s one. | Narration: | The story is 3rd person narration and the main form of presentation is narration with elements of dialogue. The story told from this point of view is more confiding and sounds true to life. Though told from the 3rd point of view it nevertheless helps us to feel an emotional connection with all characters. The author tries to reveal Jimmy’s personality both with the help of his thoughts, words and actions and the author’s description of the events, to show us his hard way of gaining a better life. | Though the story is told from the 3d person point of view, we can say that the events are shown through a bachelor’s perception. As well as in “ARR” the main form of presentation is narration with elements of dialogue and here the characters are described from...

Words: 9343 - Pages: 38

Free Essay

Kavalier & Clay

...Sammy’s Journey As a “Professional Sidekick” ENG 99B: Senior Honors Essay Aaron Mitchell Finegold Professor Caron Irr Spring 2009 Chapter 1: Introduction, What Is a Sidekick? Something about The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay’s syntax sounds like a comic book itself, not unlike the two characters of Detective Comics who are always billed as Batman & Robin. “Robin & Batman” makes no sense, since Batman (Bruce Wayne) is the protagonist of the story and Robin (Dick Grayson) is his ward. The ordering of names is indicative of both their working style as superheroes as well as their living arrangement, which caused a great deal of controversy both in the context of the novel and some of the historical events it references. For Sammy Clay, the sidekick role apparent in the ordering of his and Josef’s names provides him a creative and continual outlet for his sexual desires, until the final crisis of the novel in which his learning of this very trend allows him to break free of his role and live his life in fulfillment and contentment. The connection between Kavalier & Clay and Batman becomes apparent not only through linguistic observation, but also through several references Chabon makes in the novel comparing one or both characters. Arguably, the interrogation Sammy faces at the trial about Wayne and Grayson’s relationship is the most explicit in that they both live together and they work as a team to achieve a common...

Words: 9593 - Pages: 39

Free Essay

Bigdata

...------------------------------------------------- BIG Data February 8, 2015 Srinivas gogineni SAI SRAVAN KOLUKULA February 8, 2015 Srinivas gogineni SAI SRAVAN KOLUKULA Introduction Big data burst upon the scene in the first decade of the 21st century. The first organizations to embrace it were online and startup firms. Firms like Google, eBay, LinkedIn, and Facebook were built around big data from the beginning. Like many new information technologies, big data can bring about dramatic cost reductions, substantial improvements in the time required to perform a computing task, or new product and service offerings. Davenport.T (2013). Big Data is emerging from the realms of science projects at Web companies to help companies like telecommunication giants understand exactly which customers are unhappy with service and what processes caused the dissatisfaction, and predict which customers are going to change carriers. To obtain this information, billions of loosely-structured bytes of data in different locations needs to be processed until the needle in the haystack is found. The analysis enables executive management to fix faulty processes or people and maybe be able to reach out to retain the at-risk customers. The real business impact is that big data technologies can do this in weeks or months, four-or-more-times faster than traditional data warehousing approaches. Floyer.D (2015). Literature Review The IT techniques and tools to execute big data processing...

Words: 4913 - Pages: 20

Premium Essay

Kurt Vonnegut in American Lit

...I. Introduction In his foreword to a collection of the radio scripts of comedians Bob Elliott and Ray Goulding, Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. endorses these entertainers as somehow new and different—and relevant—since they draw their humor from the plight of the (American) Common Man. In the process, Vonnegut offers us an insight into his own writing, and the philosophies that inform it. “They aren’t like most other comedians’ jokes these days,” Vonnegut writes, aren’t rooted in show business and the world of celebrities and news of the day. They feature Americans who are almost always fourth-rate or below, engaged in enterprises which, if not contemptible, are at least insane. And while other comedians show us persons tormented by bad luck and enemies and so on, Bob and Ray’s characters threaten to wreck themselves and their surroundings with their own stupidity. There is a refreshing and beautiful innocence in Bob’s and Ray’s humor. Man is not evil, they seem to say. He is simply too hilariously stupid to survive. And this I believe. Jerome Klinkowitz, in the introduction to his essay collection entitled Vonnegut in America, has used this quote—as he certainly should—to support his claim that Vonnegut’s humor has its roots in the comedic response to the Great Depression. But of course there is much more to it than that. The reader is left with a nagging question: Were humanity’s case really as Vonnegut describes it, and were this truly his belief, wouldn’t it seem that the...

Words: 6991 - Pages: 28

Premium Essay

100 Años de Soledad

...Introduction In this lecture I would like to start with an initial question and then suggest some possible directions one might like to explore in answering it. We can all agree, I think, that this novel is amazingly rich, so I don't propose anything like a last word. However, by examining some patterns in the novel, we can perhaps help to shape some potentially illuminating observations. So I propose to deal with the novel in the following stages: First, I want to consider One Hundred Years of Solitude as an epic, in the traditional sense of the word, and from that consideration to frame an interpretative question. Second, I propose to look at the complex effects this novel creates: a wonderfully comic sense combined with an overall tragic irony underlying the remarkably energetic and entertaining inventiveness in the plot and the characters. Thirdly, by way of accounting, at least in part, for these complex effects, I wish to look at two particular aspects: the double sense of time in the novel and the style of magical realism. Finally, putting all these elements together, I shall address the question posed at the start. I would like to suggest that this novel does, in fact, have something very insightful and important to reveal about the social and political realities of the world it depicts and that this theme may be difficult for North Americans fully to recognize. One Hundred Years of Solitude as an Epic It seems clear to me that, in any conventional sense...

Words: 6156 - Pages: 25

Premium Essay

Footnote to the Youth

...Villa’s A Footnote to Youth 9 THE MAKING OF JOSE GARCIA VILLA’S FOOTNOTE TO YOUTH Jonathan Chua Ateneo de Manila University jchua@ateneo.edu This article recounts the story behind the publication of Villa’s stories and his book Footnote to Youth: Tales of the Philippines and Others (1933) in the United States. First, the conditions of the American literary marketplace are briefly described. Second, documents pertaining to the realization in print of Villa’s stories and his book are analyzed as sites of negotiations between colonial subject (Villa) and the colonial master (his American editors and publishers). Finally, an account of how Villa was made to circulate in the Philippines after the publication of his stories and his book in the United States is given. From these discussions the article hopes to show that Villa’s self-fashioning by publication was both subject to and critical of the colonial condition, alternately reinforcing it and challenging it. Abstract Philippine literature in English, book history, postcolonialism, exotic, author Keywords Jonathan Chua teaches at the Department of Interdisciplinary Studies of the Ateneo de Manila University. He is the editor of The Critical Villa: Essays in Literary Criticism by Jose Garcia Villa (2002). His edition of the collected short stories of Jose Garcia Villa is forthcoming from the Ateneo de Manila University Press. About the Author Kritika Kultura 21/22 (2013/2014): –039 © Ateneo de Manila University ...

Words: 15232 - Pages: 61

Premium Essay

Theories of Communication

...People therefore had just two types of programmes to choose from and there was a feeling that the power of television was not being utilized for greater good. Entertainment education is therefore a communication strategy and a process by which media messages are planned and created with an aim to entertain and educate audiences so that they can live a happy, safe and value-filled life. These programmes first capture the attention of the masses by entertaining them and then educate them in a manner which is easily understood. Entertainment education programmes incorporate the best elements of entertainment and educational programmes to attract viewers with quality shows. These programmes are escapist in nature and introduce a new world to the people watching. The viewers were attracted to stories of people like them who meet with various challenges and solve them. People became emotionally and intellectually invested in the lives of the protagonists and their acts, values, beliefs and choices are held up as standards to be emulated. Eventually viewers learn ways in which problems can be solved and are inspired to learn new things. Entertainment...

Words: 7381 - Pages: 30

Free Essay

Midterm 1 Notes

...CTCS 466 LECTURE NOTES 1/17: John Dies At the End * CTCS 466 * Former Professors * Arthur Knight * Charles Chaplin * Former Students * Ron Howard * Robert Zemeckis * 16 mm/35 mm * Brotherly Love (Popeye), Max Fleischer * Original song * Made for adults as well as children * Take place in cities * As opposed to the barnyard settings of early Disney * Classic cartoon * Postmodern cartoon (The Simpsons) * Digital Cinema Print (DCP) * Ted Mundor, Landmark Theatres * Career * Monsters Magazine Film Fan Monthly (13 y.o.) * Movies on TV & TV Movies (17 y.o.) * American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) * Gene Shalp, The Today Show * Bruce Cook, Entertainment Tonight * Theme: Great Moments from Movie Musicals * “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”, The Wizard of Oz * Only a few cuts * Simplicity requires confidence * Contrast with the circus of Les Miserables * Remains in character without melodrama * Impression that she actually is singing * She is very much still Dorothy Gale, not Judy Garland * John Dies At the End * Phantasm * Bubba Hotep * Horror + Fantasy + Comedy * Based on novel of the same name * Don Coscarelli (Director/Producer) * Loved...

Words: 10501 - Pages: 43