...Moving Away From Your Culture Imagine permanently moving to a country where the language, the culture basically where everything is foreign to you. This is the reality of most immigrant parents, who try to raise their children safely in a foreign country, where strong influences can ruin a person of their fundamental cultural identity. As human beings, we have a constant need to hold on to what we define as safe, but in order to chase happiness some people must let go of their fundamental basics. Travelling to another country can be very hard especially the lack of friends, family and the fact that you need to learn an entirely new culture. The short story “Where the Gods fly”, written by a Chinese American writer, Jean Kwok. Jean Kwok tells the story about a family that emigrates from China to America, and how the Chinese mother struggles to give her daughter, Pearl the life she affords. She is bound to her old culture and protects her daughter through her religion and hers decisions. A first person narrator tells the story, from a mother’s perspective. Her, her husband and her daughter migrated from China when her daughter Pearl was a child. While reading the story we notice, that the narrator shifts in the grammatical tense, which is what structures the plot of the story. In the present narrative tense, we find the mother in some sort of religious state of mind, where she prays to specific gods and spirits, for example “Ah, Amitabha, Buddha of great compassion, I whisper…”(p...
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...A Gap of Sky The short story A Gap of Sky is written by Anna Hope in 2008. It is about youth and everything that comes with it, such as school, high expectations and drugs. It is about a young student called Ellie, who lives in London. She has a paper due the next day which she has not started on because she was out partying and doing drugs the night before. She goes for a walk in the heart of London to clear her head and figure out what she is supposed to do with her life. Ellie is nineteen years old and is a student at a university in London. It seems that she is living in a dorm on campus, since she describes how she has to walk down a hall to get to the bathroom. Ellie is no taking her education seriously. She has gotten a warning from the university saying that if she does not start taking school seriously, she will be kicked out. Therefore it is very important that she hands in her essay, which she has not started on yet, and is due the next day. Ellie is very stressed out and she escapes from it all by taking drugs and going to parties. Instead of taking responsibility for her actions and choices, she blames her parents. “It was their fault she was doing this bloody course in the first place.(p. 2, l. 65-66)”. When Ellie stops at Russell Square, she sees a glove on a spike, and this brings out a feeling of freedom and hope in her. She feels completely free and instead of continuing to look for a printer shop, she enters the British Museum. Later she stops at a shop...
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...grace through ones actions is evident in many of Flannery O’Conner’s short stories including, The Life That You Save May Be Your Own. O’Conner wrote her short stories so that her characters would come to learn the truth about themselves through an epiphany of self realization and all that they have done wrong and so that each person who was lying to get what they wanted and had hit rock bottom would have a chance at salvation and grace. Though not everyone in O’Conner’s short shotries accepts this salvation and grace. In Flannery O’Conner’s The Life That You Save May Be Your Own, Mr. Shiftlet denies his newly offered salvations even after having his epiphany. In Flannery O’Conner’s The Life That You Save May Be Your Own, Mr. Shiftlet was a character who manipulated his situation to benefit himself by lying to those around him and eventually leading him to have an epiphany of his wrong doings and was offered salvation. When Mr. Shiftlet arrived at the Crater family’s house he had every intention of...
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...Therefor they want to escape from reality by ingesting drugs or drinking alcohol which could be their way of protesting against responsibilities and a search for freedom, or maybe it is just because they are in that age where they are open to all kinds of experimentations. This is what the main character Ellie is facing, in the short story “A Gap of Sky” written by Anna Hope in 2008; Ellie is wandering around in the streets of London and in her own mind as well. Her walk around London’s streets becomes a walk through her own mind. Crisis, confusion, changes, responsibilities and fear, are the main components of a short story by Anna Hope. A story which is intriguing, and will take you one step closer, to understand what a ‘typical’ teenager can go through. In this essay I will analyze and interpret Anna Hope’s short story A Gap of Sky. I will characterize the main character Ellie, and analyze her behavior as a teenager. I will also focus on the narrative technique in the short story and the importance of the city sitting. Though an analysis I will conclude upon my discoveries and determine the theme of the story. The main character of the short story, nineteen year old Ellie, is a university student and lives in London. She has...
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...Compass and Torch The short story is written by Elizabeth Baines in 2003. The short story starts with a boy and his father, they are going to a camping trip to try and make a relationship, and the relationship is the main theme in this short story, the boy who is the protagonist has a desire to be together with his father and he would do anything just to get his blessing. The relationship between the boy and the father is almost like it was nothing, (non existing) and they have not seen each other for a while. The writer already shows us from the beginning that the father is addresed as the man, and when the writer does that, it means that it signifies a lack of love between the father and the boy because the word ''man'' which is used alot in the story, does not mean anything about a father and a son relationship. The boy is 8 years old, and is a very clever boy. He wants to give his father a second chance to make up for the bad things he have done. Even though his relationship with his father is really bad, he still tells his mother to stop saying bad things about him. The father drinks in the essence of dadness which is used to show how much the little boy have missed his dad, and having him around, he ( the boy ) constantly tries to reach his dad trying to impress so he can notice him. The short story has used some symbolics in it, and they are very important for the text, because it they were not in here, the text would not make any sense. There are 2 symbols...
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...she didn't know Simon's number. She always just scrolled down to his name on her mobile.’’ This is how the narrator of Sarah Butler’s short story ‘’Number 40’’ describes Melissa’s loss of memory, which is chasing her throughout the story. The numerous attempts to fantasise her away from her lonely invisible everyday life culminate in the end, and she has to face the reality. These are some of the difficulties we are dealing with in the short story, through the actions and thoughts of the Melissa. The story is told through a third person limited narrator, who follows Melissa throughout the story. The narrator describes the story through Melissa point of view, and we get an insight of what she thinks and feels, though it’s told in third person: ‘’Melissa watched his face. His jaw moved in a chewing motion and she wondered if he ground his teeth in his sleep. He turned to her, lips pursed.’’ (p. 2, l. 106-108). Because of Melissa’s memory loss and strange behaviour, the narrator becomes unreliable. As a reader, we don’t get any other information than from Melissa, and it’s difficult to assess whether it corresponds to the reality. Through the confusing point of view, the reader creates it’s own interpretation of the story. The main character in the short story is Melissa, which seems very anxious and unbalanced. She is very confused about life, and though she hates forgetting things, it happens quite often. She feels neglected on the job, and is not sufficiently appreciated:...
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...“Story of an Hour” In class while reading Kate Chopin’s short story “Story of an Hour” it helps to understand how the world was in the antebellum time period. What some of the do’s and don’ts were. A major one was how Kate wrote her stories, it was not appropriate for women to write things such as this or many other of her stories. In this story she uses contrast and irony to show the difference in gender, race, and class. Starting with gender, like stated before this was written during the antebellum time period, which means before the civil war. At this time the women have no rights and are just considered property of their husbands. Mrs. Mallards has a history of “heart trouble” (pg 57) so when telling her that of her husband’s death,...
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...Analysis of the short story ‘Accident’ ‘Accident’ is a short story written by Molly Giles in 2012. The story takes place in Siloam Springs, Arkansas in August. Arkansas is a state in the US and is placed in the bible belt. The bible belt refers to an area in the southeastern United States where Christianity is deeply embedded in everyday life and also in this story. The protagonist is far away from home (California, on the West Coast). It is a hot afternoon and our protagonists is on her way to the airport to pick up her friend, when all of a sudden she bumps in to another man’s car. Because she is already shaky do to a breakup, it shocks and affects her, more than it normally would have. This story starts in medias res and has a first-person narrator; this means that the story is narrated by one character speaking for and about themselves: “He pressed my hand so firmly to his chest I could feel his heart thump against my palm” this quote shows the protagonist’s view of the situation. The story is written in the past tense, and is a flash back: “On my way to the airport I hit a Christian. This was in Siloam Springs, Arkansas, on a hot afternoon last August.” In the story there are a lot of advanced words such as: errant and blasphemer. “……I tried to tug my skirt down” this quote indicates the narrator is a girl, wearing a skirt is very unlikely for men. The narrator is broken hearted and she is sick of missing her ex-boyfriend: “…….because Levon Helm was making...
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...feeling that whatever we do is for nothing and that everything we do is in vain. The short story "Stolpestad" from 2008 is written by William Lychack, and it is dealing with the feeling of stagnation and feeling useless and impotent. In the story we meet the protagonist Stolpestad who is a police officer, husband and father of two. After his shift has ended on a Saturday night, the mother of a nine year old boy calls him to go out on one last job for the night. He arrives at the address and he is asked to put down a wounded dog. Later that night, Stolpestad is approached at his doorstep by the little boy and his father. They came to tell him that the dog had survived Stolpestad’s attempt to kill it, and that they instead had to call someone else to do off the wounded dog. At first, this story might seem a bit odd and the way it is told makes it hard for the reader to understand. However, the themes and the message of the story are very relatable to all of us and the stagnation that we can all feel at times. In the very beginning of the story, the reader becomes familiar with the environment and the setting of the story. Lychack describes, in the first line of the text, how the mood in the story is; “Another one of those long slow lazy afternoons of summer (…)” (l. 1) this is not only a description of how the day is moving very slowly, but it also describes how Stolpestad is feeling. The day this story takes place, is just another long slow day in Stolpestad’s stagnated life. Nothing...
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...Everyone have dreams, and everyone has to make grand choices some day in their lives. “Because It Is Running By” is a short story written by Jo Llyod, which deals with the lack of courage in taking a step towards our dreams, which many people has and can have. In the story we are following Wil, who is a relatively young man, working on a farm and still living with his mother. Wil has dreams about exploring the world and experience what it has to offer, but several things has kept him back and tied him to his childhood, working on the farm his family owns, doing his daily duties. Wil´s mom is presented as a hardworking woman, since we from the very beginning gets introduced to this woman called Edie, who is supposed to assist Wil´s mom with her duties, finally giving her more spare time. Edie and Wil´s relationship later on evolves into love. Edie has done the thing Wil couldn´t. She broke her daily routine, took the step and travelled. Therefore Wil admires what she stands for and immediately falls in love with her. Then he begins to explain to her, how he had intentions of moving out and gone to college as well “I could´ve done my A levels, he said. Could´ve gone to college (…) Left when I was sixteen. When my dad died.” In other words, did Wil because of his father´s death, give up his dreams and his studies and never came back on the horse. Later on Wil talks about the caravan which has become a symbol of his dreams of travelling in the world. Wil explains how he used to travel...
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...written by William Somerset Maugham. Its a sort story. He is a very good storyteller. Its his one of the most popular short story .William Somerset Maugham is one of the best known English writers of the 20th century. He was not only a novelist, but also a one of the most successful dramatist and short-story writers. He was one of the most popular storytellers.Maugham was born in Paris in 1874. William Somerset Maugham (25 January 1874 – 16 December 1965). British novelist, playwright, short-story writer, highest paid author in the world in the 1930s. In spite of his popularity and international fame, Maugham did not receive critical attention for his fiction in Britain. This short story deals with the harsh facts of Garnet’s life. Garnet has been portrayed as a very simple-minded and good individual. We see that he not only undermines his own ability to not be considered someone special but he takes sides with others to hide their mistakes and lack of abilities. Moving on, we find him quite glum and silent, not something that suit him. His friends ask him about the reasons of his not being himself, and then he wants suggestions from his friends about his only son Nicky who goes to Cambridge and is quite good at tennis. Garnet cannot make up his mind on whether he should let him go to play tennis abroad. Because every parents are thinks about their children s safety. He think that it’s abroad anything can append. He just worry about his son. His wife seems not quite opposing the...
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...DJ Nolff Literacy Of Life 9/24/12 The literacy of life in my opinion the most important story for one to pass on to others, not jus tin terms of reading or to draw conclusions to deeper and more detailed meaning, but to learn and understand about the lessons we encounter in everyday life that we at most times look past or ignore. I can see a time in my life living in a small town called Hastings Michigan when I was forced to do something that I would have never imagined doing. I was there my entire life and my parents were going to, with such short notice tell me we were moving to Minnesota. I loved where I Lived, I loved my friends and family being so close, sports, everything where I currently was had enough to offer for me. When they told me this I felt like everything I ever cared for was being taken away from me and that things were falling apart right before my eyes. There were many clues that my parents had said weeks and months prior to the news but I was so caught up in my own little world, too young and immature to even have noticed them. They would ask me little questions all the time like how would I feel about being far away from home? Do I like the Vikings? All kinds of questions relating to Minnesota but I never even thought more about them, I thought they were just questions. I was put in a situation to say goodbye to all the people who ever helped me make it as far as I was at the time. Friends, family, teachers, coaches everybody. I was so confused...
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...taking drugs or alcohol and end up unsuccessful. Nowadays young people have to think about their own life and school to become successful and not be distracted by their surroundings. Last but not least, not to be afraid to failure in life because anything is possible if you want to do the effort it takes. This is the case of Ellie in the short story “A Gap of Sky” written by Anna Hope. The short story takes place in London. She lives in the epicenter in a modern society. It symbolizes a city of noise, filled opportunities, and people. This is an urban environment which affects her daily life. In the city there are plenty of places to get drugs and go to a nightclub or something like that. As described on (P. 2 l. 57-58): “There are people moving together, here in this part of London, moving with purpose, with meaning and Ellie is one of them.” With that she means that life in London and the big city is very intense and especially fast moving; there is no room for being lost in this environment. Ellie knows all about the behavior in the city, and all the street-names and buildings. But it is also a dangerous environment as we read on (P. 3 l. 90-91): “She dodges her way through the traffic, clotted like blood in the arteries nearing the heart of the city”. It is like she has a dangerous lifestyle with drugs and alcohol in city and she will eventually die from it. The composition of the story is built up chronologically. The text is built up so we get a sight of Ellies mind....
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...and can the most magical time in your life. You guys love everything about each other. Everything is just great. In the short story How by Lorrie Moore you dive into the mind of a woman who talks about her relationship with a guy from the beginning to the end. She dives into her worries and issues in her mind. The emotions she goes through, and how she sticks around even when she feels like running away. In this short story she begins with talking about how she meets this guy and how they get to know each other. She quickly jumps into how they speak of moving in together. She has mixed feeling about it but she gives in. She doesn’t forget to lay down the rules. She lays out rules for him including that their relationship is nonexclusive. She doesn’t move any furniture around, only makes room for her things in his closet. Finally living with him she and she begin to refer to him as her “family”. She goes to a family wedding from his side and his relatives quickly start investigating and asking when is their wedding. They also begin to make comments on how lovely they look together. She feels a sense of uneasiness because her feelings for him are not as serious as his relatives believe. After the wedding they attend she begins to have thoughts of restlessness. She doesn’t feel how she feels. She goes out and she starts looking at other men and not about him. She then goes on to say that she met a guy whom she begins to have...
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...B Insignificant Gestures by Jo Cannon The short story from 2007 by Jo Cannon is a story about a former district health officer, who is looking back at the time in Africa and how his job was different from the western understanding of the job. He worked sometimes at night, sometimes with sulky pregnant nurses and he didn’t seem to enjoy his job very much. His only ray of comfort was his housekeeper, Celia. But one day she is suddenly his patient while she, according to the women in the village, was beaten up by her boyfriend. She was in such bad condition that he chose to send her to a larger hospital an hour and a half away, in a last attempt to save her. After her transport he was called to the police station to give a medical statement which could put the boyfriend behind bars. Six weeks later he finds out that Celia didn’t die of that reason which he had given a medical statement of - she died of meningitis, meaning he could have saved her with penicillin. When he realizes his mistake he contacts the police station so the boy can be free to go, but the police officer does not agree and the innocent boyfriend stays inside the walls. After returning from his job in Africa retrained as a psychiatrist, to keep away from death, hunger and the severe amount of bad memories from his time as doctor in Africa. This results in a meeting with an African nurse, who brings back all the memories about Celia, his companion. The short story is written in past-tense with a flash back to...
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