...Wallace’s speech This is Water, he puts a focus upon the gravity that adulthood is going to bring and that “everything to do with simple awareness; awareness of what is so real and essential, so hidden in plain sight” will be vital in the years to come. In Joyce Carol Oates’ Heat a narrator reverts back to a time in childhood when two neighborhood twins were killed, awakening her to how real violence is in reality. Both of these stories build off a reflection standpoint that connect and divide them equally. While both stories can connect to each other through the fact of understanding life, figuring out morals and that hardships are real, the This is Water speech focuses on how to get past yourself and on with life while Heat takes a focus on being stuck remembering and questioning oneself based on the past Getting...
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...Struggle between past and present For some people the easiest way to avoid reality might be to hold on to the past – but we will need to realize the present and accept it later on in life. For how long can we keep on holding to the past – before reality bits us? The short story ”A Journey” by Colm Tóibin is a story about a woman called Mary, who struggles with accepting reality and therefore she has been holding on to the past for too many years. Through a physical and mental journey Mary undergoes a progress, which will change her life in the future as it gives her some challenges. Basically, the story takes place in a car, while Mary and her son, David, drive home from the hospital, where David has been admitted for suffering with depression. At home her husband, Seamus, is waiting for them in his bed as his right side of the body is paralyzed. On their way home Mary starts thinking about a lot of things, which leads to some flashbacks, which are mostly the foundation of the story. The story has a third person narrator, who has only insight to Mary’s thoughts and thereby a lot of flashbacks. Therefore it is possible to say that the composition of the story is not chronological – even the first statement about David is a flashback (p. 2 ll. 1-8), which is followed by Mary’s general thoughts about earlier time. Afterwards the story takes place in the present, where Mary and David are sitting in the car. Sometimes these flashbacks make the storyline confusing – as it jumps...
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...The Kite Runner “That was a long time ago, but it’s wrong what they say about the past, I’ve learned, about how you can bury it. Because the past claws its way out. Looking back now, I realize I have been peeking into that deserted alley for the last twenty-six years.” That quote by Amir illustrates the major theme of The Kite Runner, which is the past is always right behind you. The author Khaled Hosseini lets the reader know this at the very beginning of the book when the older Amir says “I became what I am today at the age of twelve...”, this lets us know that this whole book is based on the past and has always affected Amir’s actions. All the characters in this allow the past to control them. p Letting the past control your future will lead to your downfall in life. Everybody has a past and everybody has regrets, this is a fact of life. That theme resonates throughout the book as you meet new people and learn about their history. Every character in this book clings to their past as if it were a lifesaver and they were stuck in the middle of the ocean. In reality them clinging to their past is more like tying themselves to a boulder and sinking to the bottom of the ocean. If one cannot let go of the past one cannot move forward because they are always facing the wrong direction. For most of the book Amir allow the past to dictate his actions. Amir, the protagonist, tries to find Hassan so he can get his kite back and show his father that he won. After awhile he stumbles...
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...Owl By Jackie Kay Is it possible to live in the past back when you were ten when you really are in the middle age? Is it healthy to be stuck in the childhood and not wanting to move on? That is what the main character in Jackie Kay’s short story Owl does. This essay will focus on the narrative technique, the contrasts and what the title can symbolize. The short story is written by a first person narrator which in this case means that the story is told through one of the main characters, Barn’s/Anita’s, eyes. It is written in past tense and is focused on Barn’s angle of the story and the reader experiences the events through her. The reader is for the reason of that trusting the narrator because one is made to feel closer and friendlier with the narrator because the reader and the narrator look through the same eyes. This dominates not only the point of view but also the plot. Some of the text is a flashback from Barn’s and Tawn’s childhood where we get to know them as children. There are many contrasts in the short story Owl. One of them is the contrast between being a child and a grown up. The story is divided in two. The first part of the text focuses on the childhood of Barn and Tawn when they were nine and ten years old. The second part takes place when they are adults and in their forties. They are stuck in the past even though they have grown up: “And maybe after that we could go back to our names, to calling ourselves our real names. (Though I doubt we’d...
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...JetBlue: Stuck in the Middle? Let me start by acknowledging that, as a customer, I love JetBlue. Their service stands out in an industry known for, quite frankly, a pretty awful customer experience. Having said that, I've always worried that they run the risk of being "stuck in the middle" in terms of their strategic position. They are not a low cost player in the industry, but on the other hand, they cannot command a premium price either as a truly differentiated player. Now the Wall Street Journal reports that CEO Dave Barger is under fire, as financial performance has been subpar. The paper notes, "Meanwhile, excluding fuel and profit-sharing, unit cost—the cost to fly a seat a mile—rose by 6.3%, and labor expenses were up about 15% on a unit-cost basis, the biggest jump ever year over year." What's the diagnosis in this article? Wall Street Journal writer Susan Carey explains, "But many analysts and investors believe that JetBlue is marooned in an industry middle ground, between much larger, full-service carriers like Delta Air Lines Inc. that are improving their service and profitability, and successful ultra-discounters like Spirit Airlines Inc. that go after passengers who don't want perks—just rock-bottom fares. JetBlue has been profitable since 2009, but only marginally so and it often disappoints on quarterly profits." That sure sounds like a company stuck in the middle, doesn't it? Is JetBlue stuck in the middle? In other words, are they stuck in a...
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...Save as many as you ruin The short story Save as many you ruin is written in 2007 by Simon Van Booy. The theme in the story is about existentialism. In the story we are following Gerard, who is the protagonist. He has a midlife crisis. Gerard thinks a lot about his past and sometimes he questions his own life. He thinks whether he has done enough in his life. The protagonist has a conflict with his past and he feels somehow stuck in his past because of a bad relationship. Gerard is the main character in the story. He is the father to a little girl called Lucy and he loves her a lot. Gerard is a handsome guy, who sleeps with a lot of women. He had an affair with Lucy’s mom Issy when he was with Laurel. He had never loved Lucy’s mom, only Laurel. When he found out that Issy was pregnant, he chose to settle down and be a good parent to Lucy. But Issy chose to leave her husband and child. Gerard is a good father and responsible person, the fact that he chose to stay with Issy even if he didn’t love her. Furthermore Gerard attended Issy’s funeral and this shows that he is a decent person. He questions his own existence: “Gerard thinks of his own footprints and how soon they will disappear.” (Page 3 lines 43) This quote shows us that he is seeking for something more in his life. He feels that he is miserable in his life. He perceives his own existence and he wonders if he has made a mark in his life: “Gerard told her that he was caught because it began to snow and left footprints”...
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...another representation of the American Dream being destroyed. Throughout the book, it is emphasized of “a single green light, minute and far way, that might have been the end of a dock” (21). This light is beamed across where Daisy’s mansion is, far in the distance, and Gatsby reaches for it, wishing he could grab her. He constantly has hope to have his dream come true, so much that he hosts insane parties so that maybe one day it would catch Daisy’s attention. When Daisy finally is close enough in reach, having gone to his party, even exchanged a kiss or two with him, Gatsby is killed. His dream was nearly obtained, but with it being so far in the past and not in the moment, it slips from his fingers by a second. After this has happened, Gatsby is killed, and that is when the reader realized that the hope Gatsby obtained from remaining stuck in time to obtain the American Dream is what killed him, and there hence, the American Dream is gone with...
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...Past The Shallows is a novel written by the Australian author Favell Parrett, set in the early 1980’s in an economically depressed Tasmanian fishing village. Past The Shallows describes a community of long-term downturn in economic activity, impacting the characters and setting of the novel. The dysfunctional aspects of the town create a sense of hopelessness for the people, leading to the deterioration of the community and increasing the mental health issues of individuals resulting in the strain on family relationships. The setting on the margins in Past The Shallows, a small town in Tasmania, contributes to the degradation of the community. The community of this small village, live on the peripheral areas of society, having limited access...
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...answered Ruby, trying to fathom why Jared couldn’t understand that these were not the ideal conditions for such a trip; a two and half hour drive from Denver via I-25S to Cripple Creek. Most of the route was uninhabited forest. “Where is his bag? “In his room.” “But what if we get stuck?” “Stuck?” Jared stared at her for a second thinking that he wanted to tell her why they had to leave. Randall was on his way here to blow up their world....
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...Tyler K. Schlagheck Professor Daniel Rosenberg English 1102 30 January 2013 Everything Stuck to Him He gets up from his chair and refills their drinks. That's it, he says. End of story. I admit it's not much of a story. I was interested, she says. He doesn't respond and takes his drink to the window. It's darker now but still snowing. She's been gone ten years and these are the stories I still remember about her, he says. I don't even remember the night of your birth, for God's sake. He takes a deep gulp from his drink and stares out the window. The darkness seems to grow with each minute. That's okay, it was so long ago, I – But she stops herself from saying more. She sits quietly and reflects upon her nails. He watches her in the window's reflection. He sighs heavily. She lifts her head. She looks out past him into the darkness. Then she asks if she is going to get to see the city, after all. He says, not tonight, how about tomorrow? She does not reply. I'm going to bed, she says. He continues to stare out the window and does not even seem to hear her. She gets up and goes to her room. He looks out into the cold darkness, remembering the times they used to have together as a family. He sighs and reaches for the bottle. It was going to be a long night after all. Part 2 I decided to change the ending of “Everything Stuck to Him.” Instead of having a sad ending where the man clearly left his wife and moved to Milan for an unknown reason, I decided...
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...University of Phoenix Material Effects of the Motions of Tectonic Plates Worksheet From Visualizing Earth Science, by Merali, Z., and Skinner, B. J, 2009, Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. Copyright 2009 by Wiley. Adapted with permission. Part 1 This diagram was similar to one Alfred Wegener drew to show the distribution of continents 300 million years ago. His theory of continental drift was met with skepticism in the scientific community. [pic] 1. Describe three forms of evidence Wegener used to support his ideas of continental drift. Wegener used landorms, climate, and fossils to support his theory of continental drift. He said that when it came to landforms all the continents seemed to fit like a “jigsaw puzzle”. Even went as as far to say the mountain ranges seemed to line up as well. Wegener said that the same fossils and rock from one continent would end up on a different continent. For instance a fossil found in Africa would also be found in South America. When it came to climate, Wegener said that some fossils did not match the climate. For instance, there a glacier scratches in South Africa. 2. Years later, the continental drift theory reemerged as plate tectonic theory, with two additional pieces of evidence. [pic] [pic] Refer to the images above. Discuss in detail the two pieces of additional evidence that supported Wegener’s theory, now known as the theory of plate tectonics...
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...“Becoming A Better You” OPEN: AS CHILDREN, WE ALL DREAMED OF HAPPY, SUCCESSFUL LIVES NO ONE EVER DREAMS OF BEING SICK, POOR, ADDICTED OR DEPRESSED. A. NO CHILD DREAMS OF A DEFEATED LIFE…YET MAY END UP THERE. WE GET STUCK IN THE BATTLES OF LIFE AND NEVER FIND VICTORY B. BUT THAT CAN CHANGE! TWO (2) QUESTIONS… QUESTION #1: WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO CHANGE ABOUT YOURSELF? A. YOU ASK YOURSELF, “WHY CAN’T I CHANGE WHAT I WANT TO CHANGE? BUT I DON’T SEEM TO HAVE THE POWER?” WHERE DO WE GET THE POWER TO CHANGE? TO GET OUT OF NEUTRAL? HOW DO I BREAK THE MOLD I’M IN? (THAT’S WHAT A LIFE IN CHRIST OFFERS US) Now may the God of peace [Who is the Author and Giver of Peace]… strengthen you…make you what you ought to be and equip you with every good thing that you may carry out His will [while He Himself] works in you and accomplishes that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ to Whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen. Hebrews 13:20a, 21 AMP B. GOD DIDN’T CREATE YOU TO BE AVERAGE; HE CREATED YOU TO EXCEL! (ON A SCALE FROM 1-10, WHERE DO YOU SEE YOURSELF? DO YOU SEE ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT?) QUESTION #2: DO YOU WANT TO BECOME A BETTER YOU? WE ALL WANT TO BE BETTER – WE ALL WANT TO: KNOW GOD BETTER BE BETTER SPOUSES BE BETTER PARENTS BE BETTER LOVERS BE BETTER ENCOURAGERS BE BETTER COMMUNICATORS BE BETTER EMPLOYEES, BOSSES, MANAGERS, ETC. GOD HAS PUT SOMETHING DEEP DOWN INSIDE US THAT YEARNS...
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...future goals based off past experiences, will end up destroying those dreams by themselves. “Through Gatsby, Fitzgerald attempts to correct Americans’ misconceptions about the American dream” (Dilworth 119). The Great Gatsby was written during the “Jazz Age” and prohibition era. Fitzgerald was born on September 24, 1896 in St. Paul, Minnesota and died on December 21, 1940 in Hollywood, California. He attended Princeton University in 1913 and in November 1917, with graduation looking unlikely, he decided to accept a commission as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army. He later went on to marry Zelda Sayre and had a daughter named Frances Scott Fitzgerald (born in 1921). In his novel, The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald demonstrates...
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...In the epic poem,“The Odyssey,”written by Homer and translated by Robert Fitzgerald the main character Odysseus is on his way home and is faced by a numerous amount of challenges, Odysseus uses his leadership skills, cunning and fearless personality to return home safely. Leadership is one of the character traits that helped Odysseus get home. Odysseus employs his leadership skills when he motivates his crew to row past Scylla, a monster with 6 heads, and Charybdis, a whirlpool, he does this in the excerpt“Well I walked up and down bow to stern trying to put heart into them,”(Fitzgerald, 510). To get home Odysseus must cross Scylla and Charybdis. Odysseus again shows his leadership ability when he avoids Charybdis knowing the whirlpool will...
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...dreams big in the post-apartheids era, may have just been the breakthrough for many young strong women of South Africa. These words, coming from a white man( the AUTHOR), was the last boost she needed to go get and live her biggest dream in Johannesburg, as a black girl coming from the Valley. Veronica was born and grew up in the Valley, in the shadows of her mother and grandfather, but in the light of her loving grandfather. Being the sweet, innocent, obedient and respectful child, as she was, pleasing her grandfather and growing up, in the same way her mother did, she was not stuck in her past. She had her own dreams- and dreaming big, she did- and plans for her own future. And reaching these dreams was her passion. Especially her dream of becoming a famous singer. Veronica, not being stuck in her past, strengthens her believes in reaching her dream. She wants to do things differently than in the past “… and all that talk that was going on about how things was going to change and be different from now on.”(p. ). And by this means, not ending up spending her future days, cleaning and scrubbing floors in a white man’s house “…you will never see me on my knees scrubbing a white man’s floor”(p.68). This, however, was the planned future for most of the young black women in that time, especially those living on a farm. But Veronica Yonker had this dream and passion, that carried her through every day and through every negative thought and strengthened her and gave her the courage...
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