Where Worlds Collide By Pico Iyer

In Robert Cormier’s novel, We All Fall Down, is a young-adult thriller that explores the evil side of humanity through a number of corrupt characters. Cormier, to a large extent, accurately depicts manipulative and dishonest behaviour whilst also showing the evil lurking within the prominent characters of Harry Flowers, Buddy Walker and Mickey Stallings who showcase the dark side of humanity. Cormier explores this through Harry Flower’s manipulative actions that result in the suffering of others. Additionally, the constant dishonest behaviour is shown predominantly through the main protagonist of Buddy Walker, who deceives the one he loves. Cormier continues to depict the evil lurking in society through the theme of appearance

The impact of saying good-bye and actually leaving did not hit me until the day of my departure. Its strength woke me an hour before my alarm clock would, as for the last time Missy, my golden retriever, greeted me with a big, sloppy lick. I hated it when she did that, but that day I welcomed her with open arms. I petted her with long, slow strokes, and her sad eyes gazed into mine. Her coat felt more silky than usual. Of course, I did not notice any of these qualities until that day, which made me all the more sad about leaving her.

What really defines a dreamer? Is it the children who have unrealistic dreams of playing in the big leagues or is it someone who has a plan and will go out of his or her way to achieve it? Both of these options can be true. Dreamers are special in this world because they have hope for something they believe in. Nothing is more fascinating than seeing an individual who never gave up and worked extremely hard to reach their goal. Having read only three sections so far, I have explored the individual’s purpose and passion for the work they pursue. The “Dreamers” section has made me analyze what I have and want with my future career. Overall, the elements of the book defining dreamers explains the meaning of a risk taker, the hard work and dedication involved, and the passion it takes to reach your goals.

In this essay I intend to explore the narrative conventions and values, which Oliver Smithfield presents in the short story Victim. The short story positions the reader to have negative and sympathetic opinion on the issues presented. Such as power, identity and bullying. For example Mickey the young boy is having issues facing his identity. It could be argued that finding your identity may have the individual stuck trying to fit in with upon two groups.

While today Los Angeles is prided on being one of the most diverse cities in the United States, there was (and still is) a tremendous amount of resistance that had to be overcome. Society’s inclination to maintain homogeneity along with the testing of loyalties and allegiance through pressures of war have proven great obstacles in the evolution of what is now a majority-minority city. Nina Revoyr’s Southland gives a historic fictional recount of Los Angeles’ most tested times from perspectives looking in to the past, present, and future. The discovery of unpleasant truths through grave social injustices provide a painful reminder of Los Angeles’ history and consequently a warning for future setbacks. Southland is an emotional testament to the inescapability of discrimination within stratified cities and the unspoken necessity of assimilation that occurs as a result.

Denise Giardina, the author of, “Storming Heaven” does an exquisite job of using the point of view from four different narrators’ point of view to portray the story of the lives of the miners’. The use of the different point of views from Cincinnatus a socialist, Rondal a union organizer, Carrie a nurse, and Rosa an Italian immigrant is a brilliant idea to show the different impacts among several individuals and give different moods and views throughout the different narration. The story takes place in a mining community in a rural town in southwestern West Virginia. She uses the five senses to paint a picture and make it feel as if the readers are one of the many individuals within the story. Giardina does a superb job of using the abuses of the miners and stooges to show how his or her lives were and what caused the uprising in 1921. She uses the oppression of the workers’ to create a sympathetic mood amongst the readers. The way Denise Giardina portrays the atrocities that occur during the events within the story, shows how the coal companies treat the coal miners and how the companies don’t care about whether their workers or their children die.

Didion begins her essay discussing the uneasy feeling that preludes the Santa Ana, using words such as “tension,” “unnatural,” and “stillness” to describe the ambiance in L.A. This word choice epitomizes the tranquility of city in the reader’s head. Further into her essay, Didion uses powerful words to illustrate the atmosphere of LA during the Santa Ana; “ominously glossy” skies with a “yellow cast,” followed by “surreal heat” and “the kind of light sometimes called ‘earthquake weather.’ ” These

Through out the book To End All Wars, Adam Hochschild starts off with a very bold statement in the introduction of this book. The main point that I picked up from the introduction is that this war is a pointless war and it is in fact stupid, and I for one would have to agree with this. As the sub title suggests this book is more than just military history on the war. This book goes much deeper; Hochschild’s work uses lots of historical research to illustrate an in-depth storytelling to provide a look into the conflict between loyalty and the rebellion. As Hochschild illustrated in the very beginning of the book he explains that this war was truly pointless, and to my belief it was. This book was very educational because it shows us a different

In his book “Deep Down Dark: The Untold Stories of 33 Men Buried in a Chilean Mine, and the Miracle That Set Them Free,” Hector Tobar recounts the story of 33 miners who spent 69 days trapped more than 2000 feet underground in the Chile’s San Jose mines following the collapse of the mine in 2010. According to Tobar (2015), the disaster began on a day shift around noon when miners working deep inside the mountain excavating minerals started feeling vibrations. A sudden massive explosion then followed and the passageways of the mines filled with dust clouds. Upon settling of the dust, the men discovered that the source of the explosion was a single stone that had broken off from the rest of the mountain and caused a chain reaction leading to

By concluding the novel in a fictitious location of Pacific Rim Auditorium to record the surreal fight between El Gran Mojado and SUPERNAFTA, Yamashita marks the agglomeration of her culturally diverse characters (and the immigrants among them) in the urban city of L.A.

Although Los Chinos is not an official reference to a slum within Buenos Aires, the explanation of the area reinforces the use of geographic locations to represent social and economic class. It is

We all know the big city that everyone loves to talk about and be a part of the experience of a lifetime which is Los Angeles, also known as L.A. It is one of the most known cities in California and around the world where people’s dreams come true. L.A. is best known for its beaches, entertainment, amusements, and the people around the city. It’s also known as “The City of Angels”, which is the spanish word for “Angeles”. It is the second most populous city in the United States after New York. I’ve always known L.A. as a big part of my life, being born in the city of luxury and fame. Growing up, I never knew how much of a big deal LA was until I was in high school. Being around so much popularity and seeing the opportunities that LA has brought to people was amazing to me. From the sports games, to the concerts, to the famous celebrities walking the red carpets brung so much excitement to me and I was glad to experience all of it.

In the novel Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe the ideas of the Ibo tribe are greatly influenced. The main character, Okonkwo, does not embrace the cultural collision of the introduction of Western ideas into the Ibo tribe and the cultural collision leads to his tragic downfall.

Throughout history we have learned that different societies are accompanied by different customs. Amongst these customs are the rules, morality, ethnic norms and others that make a society unique.Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe is a novel that describes a Nigerian community Ibo, that has its own set or rules, norms and traditions. In this novel we are exposed to a community that goes through struggles between change and tradition when Christianity is introduced to the society through British colonization. The novel remains ambivalent about the courses of action that officials and missionaries used to enact Christianity in the Ibo culture.

Have you ever heard of the phrase “With great power comes great responsibility?” Perhaps this quote from The Amazing Spider-Man sounds familiar. Even if it doesn’t, I want you to think about it for a minute. This quote is pretty self explanatory, but it does not explain the consequences that may come if one fails to have great responsibility. The complication that great power brings is the potential for power to fall into the wrong hands and dismantle a community. In the novel Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe one observes the many consequences this issue can have on a town. Okonkwo is the main character of this novel, the leader of the clan of Umuofia. The violence that Okonkwo inflicts on his clan gradually turns him into the man he has always feared of becoming and without the guidance of an outstanding leader the people of Umuofia are with ease altered by colonialism which not only rips the people apart from each other but also tears them from their culture, one can learn to reflect on morality of their desires before acting out of control.