...A Complicated Kindness In the book “A Complicated Kindness” by Miriam Toews, the protagonist is a teenage girl named Nomi. Nomi is growing up trapped in a small Mennonite community called East Village in the middle of nowhere, in Canada. All her life Nomi was told what to believe, with heavy emphasis on the belief that living dutifully and by the word of God in this life would guarantee salvation in the next. In Nomi’s town, “you’re good or you’re bad” (pg. 10). There was no in between, no room for individuality or mistakes. Those who went through their life there quietly, going to church every Sunday and working at the local chicken slaughtering plant after graduation, were considered to be on their way up. These people were the ones who, at the end of their long journey, will meet the Lord and live forever in His kingdom of glory, but those who rebelled against the belief were going straight to hell. As Nomi’s older sister Natasha begins to question their faith, Nomi lives in perpetual terror that her sister is going to hell. Their father is a strong believer; the church is what glues his soul together. And although their mother grew up in the community, she had always been an independent thinker, and could not watch her oldest daughter suffer for a lifetime in a place she hated, following a religion she could no longer identify with. After Nomi’s mother and Natasha leave East Village, Nomi is faced with living in a broken family, and begins to question her faith as well...
Words: 596 - Pages: 3
...So go ahead. Fall down. The world looks different from the ground (Oprah Winfrey). Naomi is the main protagonist in the book called “A Complicated Kindness”, written by Miriam Toews. This story is about Naomi, she is a Mennonite teenager living in a community. According to Naomi’s perspective, being a Mennonite in your teens is a bad scenario. Naomi follows through in the present with her boyfriend, Travis, her father, Ray, and the number of flashbacks reminding Naomi of her mother Trudie and sister Natasha (Tash). Naomi reminisces on the challenges in the past and breathes through the settings in the present, changing her attribute spiritually and her way of thinking. Naomi loses and leaves her previous hopes and creates new ones. She becomes more independent. And as she grows, her mindset is also changing. Due to Naomi`s circumstances some of her previous hopes were broken; however, she carries on creating new hopes to move on. Naomi has lost so much as she grew, but she keeps her hope of getting her family back together. Even though her hopes were crushed, even after loosing hope, she thinks positively and shapes new goals and hopes to carry on. ”That sounds good, right? Actually I haven't dropped the bracelet but I will. Soon. I'm pretty sure of that. I`ve got the car. All I have to do is sell the house. A good solid unfurnished bungalow....
Words: 870 - Pages: 4
...A Complicated Relationship Once, there was a shy girl who likes to play the guitar. Her name is Gelou. She is always alone. She doesn’t have many friends and if she has, she doesn’t hang out much with them. Every time she’s at school, she always sits on the bench, play a song and sing it with harmony. One day when she was walking at the porch, she bumped into a girl. “Where are looking?!” “I’m so sorry. I wasn’t paying attention,” she replied. “Oh, I’m sorry, too. My day is just bad. By the way, I’m Kelly,” the girl said. “Hi, Kelly. My name is Gelou. Nice meeting you.” “Okay, got to go. See you around. Bye!” “Bye!” That was the start of their friendship. Every lunch and recess, they will meet up and talk about many things. They talk about a lot of things about academics because Kelly is not the type who will scream for her idol or wear make-up just to be noticed by her crush. She’s kind of boyish. Not like Gelou. But even though they are different, they still got along just fine. Suddenly, some popular boys, which are their classmates, just bumped into them. As expected, Gelou wouldn’t say anything. But Kelly is different. “Hey! Watch where you’re going!” “Oh, miss. We’re sorry,” one of the boys said. “Next time, you guys should look where you’re going,” looks at Gelou “Let’s go!” The next day, Kelly didn’t go to school leaving Gelou alone. For the second time in her life. Again, she was sitting in her favorite bench, playing a smooth song in her...
Words: 1341 - Pages: 6
...Help can come from unexpected places no matter where you are. The story "7th grade" by Gary Soto and the "Scholarship Jacket" by Marta Salinas. They share a common theme. Both stories teach us, help can come from unexpected places. When you need help, you need help might find it where you least expect it. In 7th grade by Gary Soto tells a story about a boy named Victor, who's in 7th grade he tries to impress his crush Teresa. When he is in French the teacher asks if anybody already knows how to speak French already. Victor raises his hand, wanting to impress Teresa. The teacher asks him to speak what he knows. Victor doesn't know any French says what he thinks sounds like it could be French but it sounds like nonsense. The teacher didn’t...
Words: 401 - Pages: 2
...In her book “It's Complicated: The Social Lives of Networked Teens”, Dana addresses the idea of internet addiction head on. In boyd's chapter "addiction: what makes teens obsessed with social media?", boyd takes on the idea of addiction, or lack thereof, to the internet. Beginning with the anecdote of a frustrated teen, boyd starts off by putting forth the common idea that overuse of social media is seen by most, teens included, as an “addiction” and “…something that teens lack the capacity to maintain a healthy relationship with…” (79). However, boyd later states that this is better represented by psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s term “flow” (80), or deep engagement. An interesting point that boyd brings up is the idea that teenagers...
Words: 1089 - Pages: 5
...Religion is interpreted differently by all who are affected by it. Some believe in specific Gods, others believe in the general concepts, and some do not believe at all. These extremes and their impacts are clearly portrayed In Miriam Toews, A Complicated Kindness. The protagonist, Naomi ‘Nomi’ Nickel, is an outlier from the extremist values of her Mennonite community, as she is not a devout Mennonite and often criticizes their ideals. Her mother and sister were exiled because of their non-conforming actions and viewpoints, while Nomi and her father confront the restraining morals and their consequences during their absence. Through the mental and physical challenges that protagonists and minor characters cope with in their daily lives, Toews’s...
Words: 677 - Pages: 3
...danah boyd is a researcher and author of the book: It’s Complicated: the social lives of networked teens. boyd has focused most of her scholarly work on teens and social media. Notably, boyd is also noted by the lack of capitalization in her name intended to both “achieve balance” and take the focus off herself. This element shines through as boyd guides parents, instructors, and similarly involved individuals into the lives of teens using social media. The overarching concern of many adults, boyd proposes, are the “new dangers” that come with the technology. However, she will come to acknowledge that the concerns of the “new dangers” may not be as foreign as adults believe. Teens have always embarked on a journey for privacy and identity. boyd shows that the internet and social networking sites, in general, are mostly another vessel for this coming of age. Finally, the major highlights of this book do not come from boyd herself, but is more so expressed through the commentary of teens that shape this narrative. boyd divided this discussion into eight sections: identity, privacy, addiction, danger, bulling, inequality, literacy, and ended with “searching for a public of their own.” Each chapter was also accompanied by a leading question that was based on the chapter title. The book began with some...
Words: 1081 - Pages: 5
...Seminar Paper on the Topic: Scarlett O’Hara as a Complicated Heroine INTRODUCTION Gone with the Wind, a popular romantic novel by Margaret Mitchell, differs from most Civil War novels by glorifying the South and demonizing the North. Other popular novels about the Civil War, such as Stephen Crane’s The Red Badge of Courage, are told from a Northern perspective and tend to exalt the North’s values. Mitchell’s novel is unique also for its portrayal of a strong-willed, independent woman, Scarlett O’Hara, who shares many characteristics with Mitchell herself. Mitchell frequently defied convention, divorcing her first husband and pursuing a career in journalism despite the disapproval of society. Gone with the Wind was published in 1936; ten years after Mitchell began writing it. A smash success upon publication, Gone with the Wind became—and remains even now—one of the best-selling novels of all time. It received the 1937 Pulitzer Prize. In the late 1930s a film version of the novel was planned, and David O. Selznick’s nationwide search for an actress to play Scarlett O’Hara captivated the nation’s attention. The resulting film starred Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable as Scarlett O’Hara and Rhett Butler, and it quickly became one of the most popular motion pictures of all time. My research paper discusses about the character of the protagonist. No doubt Scarlett O’Hara is a complicated heroine in the story. But there is nothing to say that...
Words: 1315 - Pages: 6
...Technology has made relationships complicated. Discuss. Due to its rapid development, technology nowadays affects every aspect of our lives, and has inevitably become a part of our daily routine, helping us perform numerous tasks without breaking a sweat, but can massive use of technology show its downsides when it comes to things such as maintaining relationships with other people? Even though people list reasons why technology has made relationships more complicated, there are a lot more more reasons in favour of the claim that couples can actually benefit from using technology. On one hand, technology may have certain drawbacks regarding relationships. For example, the fact that you can phone or chat to your partner whenever you want means that you'll spend less and less time actually being with each other in person. Furthermore, a lot of people use various social networks which can cause excessive jealousy, and can also lead to one person meeting a new potential partner, since it's not a long way from sending “hi” on chat to changing your relationship status. On the other hand, technology and relationships go very well together, and for a number of reasons. First of all, social networks don't necessarily have to mean a negative thing, but can provide a helping hand when we wish to find out a bit more about somebody. Also, being able to reach someone at all times is always a plus, and it's essential to be able to do so if your partner lives in another town or abroad...
Words: 287 - Pages: 2
...Success is what every person tries to achieving their lifetime, and through this overarching goal you get those that are successful and those that are not. In the article by James Clear What Mozart and Kobe Bryant Can Teach Us About Deliberate Practice, deliberate practice is the defining characteristic that separates people from success and stagnation (or failure). Clear defiance deliberate practice as a medium in which, along with other factors, decide success through work that specializes on the specific needs improvement. This specificity in one’s improvement decides how much they improve and eventually decide their success. So the more specific and intensely any person trains on a specific skill, the higher the probability that they’ll be successful in that skill. In Clear’s writing, deliberate practice is not correlated to how much you practice on trying to improve a skill; but more about what in particular about that skill you’re trying to improve. In the article, Clear brings up Jerry Seinfeld's, “ ‘don’t break the chain’ strategy is all about deliberately practicing the skill of writing jokes.” In other words, in order for a comedian, Jerry Seinfeld, to improve in his career he needs to practice the particular skill of writing jokes to be successful. Jerry’s term “don’t break the chain” simply means to not break the chain of jokes. This correlates to Clear’s perception of improvement stemming from training deliberately versus training without a purpose. The strategy...
Words: 740 - Pages: 3
...It’s understandable to think inflation (price increases within a country – indicating the dollar has weakened in purchasing power for domestic goods purchases) would lead to depreciation – weakening of the dollar against other currencies. The logic of this common misunderstanding is not too complex; if the dollar has weakened for a foreign import, say a $20,000 car, why shouldn’t we expect the foreign company to charge more dollars for the same good, thus indicating depreciation has occurred for the American currency? The reality is quite different and in many ways the opposite of this simplified story. Let’s say both the imported and domestic cars start at $20,000. Then there is inflation in the U.S. and the price of domestic cars, once US automakers include inflation, increases to $23,000. The imported car is still $20,000. This tends to cause U.S. buyers to switch to the 20,000 dollar import over the 23,000 equivalent domestic car, increasing the foreign firms’ market share in the U.S. It can be worth it for the foreign central bank to buy foreign reserves to maintain this favorable exchange rate. Citing research by economists Richard Clarita of Columbia University and Daniel Waldman of Barclays Capital, Nobel Laureate (Nobel Prize Winner in Economics) and international finance expert Princeton’s Paul Krugman reports that the Clarida-Waldman study confirms that inflation leads to appreciation, and the effect is stronger for core inflation (excluding food and...
Words: 1035 - Pages: 5
...1. What do you see as the writer’s main point in this draft? State the main idea in your own words. Is the essay focused on causes OR effects (these types of essays do not cover both)? A. It was very clear that the essay was about the causes of depression in winter and with winter comes the holiday season, which can cause a lot of stress and depression for some people. 2. Is the thesis clearly stated? Is the thesis effective (not an announcement, not too broad etc.)? What is or isn’t clear? How could it be improved? A. I think the thesis was very clear and there was a clear understanding that the cause of some of the depression was due to the stress of the holiday season, due to the cooking, cleaning and scrambling to get shopping done, along with the lack of sunlight. 3. Are causes or effects clearly stated, logically organized, and supported by details? Make suggestions for improvements. Mention which parts work well. A. I think the essay was organized and was supported by and plenty of detail. It was clear the essay that was showing the effects of winter and the holiday seasons has on some individuals, causing them to have depression. 4. Do you find parts unclear, confusing, or underdeveloped? Write a note to the writer with questions and comments about the parts you have noticed. Which parts work well for you? A. The essay was not confusing or unclear at all. In fact, there was plenty of research information from credible sources. Showing the effect and...
Words: 472 - Pages: 2
...Mohammed Alhamawi Mr. Johnson English 1302-11 February 27, 2012 A Summary of Donald C. Murray's “ Jame's Baldwin's 'Sonny's Blues': Complicated and Simple” Donald Murray, in “Complicated and Simple”, talks about how the author is emphasizing “man's need to find his identity” as the main issue society as well as Sonny and his brother are dealing with throughout the story. The area of Harlem with all its negative influences tend to affect its children's upcoming. Either to take the difficult route of finding one's self or to fall in the drug trap of Harlem “ it's simpler to submerge oneself, at the most dismal level, the limbo of drug addiction, rather than to truly find oneself” ( Murray 353). Murray sheds light on Baldwin's use of light and darkness in the story to exemplify “man's painful quest for identity” ( Murray 354). In many cases Baldwin uses this imagery to draw an emphasizing image of his theme in the story. In multiple areas of the story Baldwin mentions light and darkness such as the subway encounter with one of Sunny's friends and the waitress at the pub. “All they knew were two darknesses,the darkness of their lives, which was now closing in on them , and the darkness of the movies, which had blinded them to that other darkness (Baldwin 328). This excerpt from the story is one of the main examples of the use of darkness and light in the story. As can be seen here darkness is representing the bitter reality that is consuming the people living in Harlem. Yet...
Words: 732 - Pages: 3
...Raymond Williams argues that ‘Culture is one of the two or three most complicated words in the English language’ (1983: 87). With reference to at least one of the key readings other than the extracts from Williams that you’ve studied in weeks 1-5, discuss (1) why Williams argues this and (2) some of the different ways in which culture has been defined. Culture is one of the most difficult words to define as there are so many modern and traditional meanings that come across as being the ‘true’ definition. Williams said that it is because ‘it is now used in important concepts in intellectual disciplines and systems of thought’, however a more modern way of putting this is that it is part of spiritual development and a way of life. Arnold describes culture as a ‘study of perfection’, which, if you look at the dictionary definition of culture, applies to it; ‘Noun: The arts and other manifestations of human intellectual achievement regarded collectively’, referring to high culture. High culture, as Leavis put it is ‘the use of such language’, meaning the appreciation of finer living. Finer living means people who visit the theatre, art galleries, drink fine wines; are socially higher than the majority of society who most of the time cannot afford to live like that, they would swap the theatre for a cinema, the art gallery for ‘Madame Tussards’ and the wine bar for a nightclub. Such definition of the word culture makes it seem like a class division; something that Shakespeare picked...
Words: 813 - Pages: 4
...Religion Ideas REL/133 January 15, 2012 Religion Ideas The religion topic is kind of complicated. Around the world people have different points of view about the religion. The youngest generation in comparison with the old people they do not take importance to religion or any issue related with the religion. In some parts of the world the people do not care about religion but they believe in other things such as afterlife. This paper will explain what religion does for people, why people avoid religion and what are the factors that make the religion study complicated. What religion does for people? The word religion is related with the word spirituality. The people that have the religion in their lives are more spiritual persons. The people that have the religion in their lives are a happiest people. Religion can act as a buffer that will protect people from life’s disappointments. The religion can provide positive spirituality to people as well. The religion can change the life of a person. The religion can provide feeling emotions such as love, awe, wonder, respect, and gratitude. The feelings that religion provide can connect people to others. The spirituality that religion gives to people makes them to focus on the purpose and the meaning of life. People also will find social support when they introduce the religion to their lives. The religion often offer help to the community. People can find help for problems like drugs abuse, alcohol abuse, domestic violence...
Words: 841 - Pages: 4
