Three Protagonist Characters Essay Example for Free

Three Protagonist Characters Essay This essay mainly concentrates on differences between teenage boys, problems they deal with and boys’ relationship with adults. Most experts of young adults’ literature agreed upon characteristics that have historically defined the genre that a protagonist is a teenager and events revolve around the protagonist and his struggle to resolve conflict (Pam, p. 49). In short stories discussed the three main characters are teenage boys. They differ from each other in their age, appearance and behaviour. All boys in stories are of different age, Charles is from eight to thirteen years old, Peter age is not directly sad, but he is at age that his father ‘’wants me [he] to learn to drive’’ (Tuohy, p. 124) and finally, the third boy, whom name is not mentioned, is 18 years old: ‘’they had been studying for ‘A’ levels together’’ (‘A’ levels – a British exam taken in particular subject, usually in the final year of school at age of 18) (MacLaverty, p. 110, 121). The narrator tells the story from his childhood flashbacks when he was a very young boy. Age differences show distinct perspective on these boys’ behaviours. The appearance of the boys’ are also described dissimilar. Peter’s look is represented as it is not important, the narrator just comments on his voice: ‘’Peter’s voice thrum like a slack guitar string’’ (Tuohy, p. 124). This simile allows the reader to create a visual portrait of adolescent boy. In Bernard MacLaverty’s short story the boy’s appearance is also not explained. However, Penelope Lively in her story describes Charles appearance in detail: ‘’The child had black hair, slicked down smooth to his head. His ears, too large, jutted out†¦laced with tiny, delicate veins. His clothes had the shine and crease of newness’’ (Lively, p. 102). It is evident that it was taken grate care of his look to show the importance of Charles’s appearance in the story. Moreover, the behaviours of the boys separate them from one another. Charles through the entire story says no word, he blocks with a wall of silence. Only from his facial expressions the author allows the reader to understand the boy: ‘’His face is haggard with anticipation’’ (Lively, p. 105). It shows that Charles is unhappy and miserable. Another character Peter in the story is acts like a typical adolescent boy who is not very friendly with adults: ‘’Please don’t always try to shut me out, Peter’’ (Touhy, p 124). This passage shows that Peter is rude and he disagrees with adults. The third character is a boy in his flashbacks of his childhood, he is interested in everything that it is not familiar with him, he wants to know everything: ‘’What is this? / Who is that in uniform? / Was your friend killed in the war? ’’ (MacLaverty, p. 114). All these questions create the image of the young boy who is nosey and importunate. ‘’Young adult authors and publishers know that adolescents can be impatient‘‘ (Pam, p. 64) for that reason authors have to create different characters and the differences they all have are making their personalities more understandable to young adults‘ literature readers. According to Pam (p. 63) the issues discussed in teenage literature are morality and religion and the modern-day novel, however, can browbeat the reader with a social issue. Teenagers deal with all types of problems in their adolescence period. In these short stories protagonists deal with different problems more frequently related with social issues. For instance, in ‘’Secrets’’ the young boy confront the problem of betrayal and deception, he is the one who is betraying others. Nosey boy reads his aunt’s letters that he is not allowed to: ‘’You are a dirt, and always will be dirt. I shall remember this till the day I die’’ (MacLaverty, p. 119). He offends his aunt by disobeying her will. The boy betrays his aunt and by this action he shows that he is too young to be reliable. In the short story ‘’Next Term, We’LL Mash You’’ Charles faces the problems more related to teenagers, it is bulling. Charles is threatened by boys of new school: ‘’Next term, we’ll mash you, we always mash new boys’’ (Lively, p. 105). This phrase shows that Charles is no exception, he will be bullied like other children and they just warn Charles what he could expect. In the third story ‘’The Licence’’ the main problem Peter deals with is adolescence. It is a difficult period in boy’s life as he is no longer a child and not quite an adult. Peter has a lot to cope with in his life because of the recent death of his mother: ‘’He hid under his handkerchiefs the photograph of his mother, and the letter she had written to him before shie died’’ (Tuohy, p. 127). Peter hides the letter because he does not want everyone to know what pain he is feeling, for teenagers it is common to hide their feelings in order not to get everyone’s attention. To conclude, problems discussed in the texts are often used in young adults’ literature, they are as follows: bulling, betrayal and adolescence. The teenagers’ stages in life when they are feeling the most misunderstood are depicted. Relationship between adults and teenagers are the most difficult because they do not understand each other. In addition, all three boys in the three different stories disagree and misapprehend with grown-ups. Firstly, in the story ‘’Next Term, We’LL Mash You’’ the relationship between Charles and his parents do not exist, his mother is asks him all kinds of questions but never hears the answer. Parents do not care about Charles willing, they decide to send him to school before listening to his opinion, and just after agreement the mother ask politely: ‘’Would you like to go there, Charles? ’’ (Liveli, p. 105) even they have already decided to send him. Treating child as he is not worth an opinion, makes parents heedless and careless. Furthermore, in ‘’The Licence’’ Peter is not understand by adults, his aunt claims that he is ‘’[†¦] just a child’’ (Tuohy, p. 125) although his father is telling him ‘’[†¦] to learn to drive’’ (Tuohy, p. 124). This shows how two adult characters are treating Peter differently and seeing him in different points of view, as a child and a grown up. Finally, in ‘’Secrets’’ the boy is treated by his aunt with care: ‘’She would sit with him on her knee, her arms around him and holding the page flat with her hand’’ (MacLaverty, p. 111), she covers the boy with love and solicitude. The aunt’s behaviour changes after the boy reads her letters without her permission: ‘’Get out, get out of my room’’ (MacLaverty, p. 118). She is mad on the boy because he defy to her. Aunt changes immediately and shouts on the boy, because he is just a young boy not an adult and she does not count him as an equal. To conclude, adults’ relationships with teenagers are complicated, the adults consider teenagers as not equal to them, as they do not understand them and do not stand well with each other. To sum up, young adults’ literature analyse problems that teenagers’ frequently deal with. The authors of three short stories discuss issues of teenager characters and reveal how every protagonist character deal with problems they have to face in their adolescence life.

Edward Saids Orientalism Essay -- History Colonialism Orientalism Es

Edward Said's Orientalism Western civilization, generally speaking, is extremely egotistical and has the view that Western culture is superior to all others. They believe they are more civilized and more educated than the rest of the world and because of this, stems the idea that it is the duty of Western civilization to take other, less developed societies under their wing. These concepts of supremacy and domination are closely related to Said's ideas of Orientalism. In his book, Orientalism, Edward Said explains in detail exactly what he believes the word Orientalism means. He tries to prove his concepts through the words of statesmen, including Britain's Evelyn Baring Cromer. Cromer's words reflect the concepts introduced by Said. According to Said, one definition of Orientalism is that it is a "style of thought based upon an ontological and epistemological distinction made between 'the Orient' and the 'Occident'." This is connected to the idea that Western society, or Europe in this case, is superior in comparison to cultures that are non-European, or the Orient. This means that Orientalism is a kind of racism held toward anyone not European. Said wrote that Orientalism was "a Western style for dominating, restructuring, and having authority over the Orient." This Western idea of the Orient explains why so many European countries occupied lands they believed to be Oriental. This first concept of Orientalism is blatantly reflected in the words of Evelyn Baring Cromer. Cromer was England's representative in Egypt between 1882 and 1907. He believed in European supremacy and called Egyptians, and all other people he considered Oriental, subject races. He justified European occupation in Egypt with this idea of superio... ...e. This idea is shown through Cromer's words as well. Two quotes perfectly show what Said is trying to get across to the reader. Cromer states: I content myself with noting the fact that somehow or another the Oriental generally acts speaks and thinks in a matter exactly opposite to the European. From this quote he concludes: Europe is always in a position of strength, The Oriental is irrational, depraved, childlike, "different", thus the European is rational, virtuous, mature, "normal". Cromer believes that the Orient would be nothing without Western Civilization. He embodies everything Said means by the term Orientalism including having a superiority complex and over generalizing a large group of people into one category. Cromer clearly is the epitome of what it is to be an Orientalist since he obviously agrees with what Said means by Orientalism.

Tennessee Temple

Islam is the religion articulated by the Quran, a book considered by its adherents to be the verbatim word of the single incomparable God and by the Islamic prophet Muhammad's demonstrations and real-life examples. The word Islam is a homograph, having multiple meanings which are directly interpret as peace. Other meanings include submission or the total surrender of oneself to God. The origin of Islam dates back to the creation of the world. All the prophets who came to this world preached the same message of believing in one God and to accept them as His messenger. The prophets were also blessed with a manifestation of divine will or truth. Likewise, Prophet Mohammad was also a messenger of God. He revealed the truth and the way of life through the Holy Quran. Before the birth of Prophet Mohammad, the Arab society was sunk into darkness. Although the Arabs believed in the unity of God, but they also claimed that God has entrusted His duties to various gods, goddesses and idols. For this purpose, they had more than 360 idols. They considered angels as the daughters of God. They were ignorant of social values. They were nomadic people who were dependent on cattle for their living. There was no government or law. All power existed with the rich. The society was full of barbarity and brutality. Tribes fought with each other over trivial matters for centuries. A slight argument over horses or water could lead to the slaughtering of thousands of innocent people. It was the birth of Prophet Mohammad in 570 A. D in the city of Makkah which brought a revolution to the entire fate of the nomadic Arabs. He became famous among the people of Makkah at a very early age because of his allegiance and reliability. He was widely known as Al-Ameen or honest, trustworthy. At the age of 40, when Mohammad was meditating at Mt. Hera, he received a revelation from God. The angel Gabriel said to him, â€Å"Iqra† which means â€Å"to read†. Mohammad replied â€Å"I cannot read†. Gabriel embraced and released him. Then the first five verses of God were revealed to him who said, â€Å"Recite in the name of your Lord who created! He created man, out of a (mere) clo th of congealed blood. Recite; and thy Lord is most bountiful. He who had taught by the pen, taught man what he knew not. † Mohammad started proclaiming the message of believing in one God. The people who once called him â€Å"Trustworthy† and â€Å"Honest† boycotted and plotted to kill him. In 622 A. D. , due to worsening living conditions and social isolation, was broken in 629 A. D by the non-Muslims of the Makkans. Mohammad moved towards Makkah with 10,000 men and the battle was won without a single Prophet Mohammad migrated to Medina along with his followers. This flight was known as Hijrah and marks the beginning of the Muslims calendar. Mohammad's message spread rapidly and the number of followers increased in Medina. During the next few years, a series of battles were fought between various tribes of Makkah and the Muslims of Medina. In 628 A. D, the Treaty of Hudaibiyah was signed between the two parties. Truce was declared for 10 years. The treaty bloodshed. Mohammad died in 632 A. D, at the age of 63 in the city of Medina. Mohammad's death brought a huge catastrophe among Muslims. People could not believe that Mohammad had left them forever. Many of the followers were perplexed and distraught, and claimed him to be still living. At that time Mohammad funeral, Abu Bakr, who was the most respected of all the followers affirmed that, â€Å"O people, those of you who worshipped Mohammad, Mohammad has died. And those of you who worshipped God, God is still living. † Now being a Muslim requires that they read their Quran or their bible. â€Å"Reading† The Quran is the â€Å"Word of God† to Islam. About 4/5 the length of the New Testament. Muslims believe the identical book is in Heaven and Allah sent the angel Gabriel to Mohammed to reveal his â€Å"Word†. The Quran is divided into 114 chapters or Surahs. The Surahs are revelations given to Mohammed during his 23 years of â€Å"Prophet Hood† from 610 AD to 632 AD. The Quran, composed during Mohammed’s lifetime corresponds to the time and circumstances of his life. The Surahs or chapters can be divided into three time periods. The earliest Surahs are the shortest and known as Early Meccan, and date from 610 to 622 AD. Composed in Mecca, prior to Hejira where Mohammed fled to Medina in September 622 AD. The Median Surahs were composed during the time Muslims controlled the city of Medina. They date from 622 to 630 AD. The doctrine of Jihad was introduced as war was waged against Mecca and its idol worshipers. Animosity toward the Jews and Christians increased as they rejected Mohammed as a prophet from God. Late Meccan Surahs were between 630 and 632 AD. The last 2 years of Mohammed’s life after Mecca surrendered to his authority. Surahs were at this time not collected in one book but were memorized and collected on various items. In the battle of Yamamah in 633 AD many of the Hafiz died. The Hafiz were Muslims who had committed much of the Quran to memory. With the urging of Umar, Zayd ibn Thabit, one of Mohammed most trusted secretaries was appointed to the task of collecting the Quran into one book. Still later after different versions of the Quran began to appear Zayd was put in charge of collecting all the Qurans throughout the Muslim world and issuing an authorized copy in the place of one’s collected. The Quran makes the appeal to its beauty and consistency with previous scriptures as proof of its inspiration. The teaching of Quran and Hadith (sayings of Prophet Mohammad) revolves around two Arabic words namely, Emaan (Faith) and Amaal (Acts). Emaan is like the roots of a tree and Amaal are the stems, leaves or other parts of it. Just as without the roots, the tree cannot survive, similarly, without faith, the acts are useless. The teachings of Quran emphasize mostly on the beliefs and an overview the acts, whereas the Hadith explains both beliefs and acts in details. Muslims believe that although there may be reservations in the Hadith, but Quran is free from all the mistakes and is infallible. Quran is comprised of 114 Surahs (chapters) and 6236 Ayats (verses). Quran was preserved through writing and memorization. Undoubtedly, today Quran is the only book which is fully memorized by more than 10 million people all over the world. The teachings of Quran confirm the revelations of other books and scriptures on various prophets. But, at the same time, all these books are considered to be corrupted with time and do not contain the original script of God. The six articles of faith are the main doctrines of Islam. All Muslims share beliefs in God, Angels, Scriptures, Prophets, Resurrection and Divine Creed. They also believe in the five pillars of faith. These are duties each Muslim performs to demonstrate his or her faith. They include: Testimony of Faith, Prayer, Almsgiving, Fasting and Pilgrimage or taking a trip somewhere.

Fashion essay - 1020 Words

Fashion:On and off the runway? Fashion: On and Off the Runway What comes to mind when you think of fashion? Do you picture the latest issue of W Magazine, a runway for â€Å"starving Models†?, or is fashion to you less of a privilege and more of a key to acceptance? Dries Van Noten once said â€Å"Consider clothing not as an element of social status but more as an expression of one’s personality.† (Jaeger p.54) The fact is, fashion isn’t about putting something on our bodies to cover us up, but a form of expression! Just like a singer singing on a stage to communicate, and a writer voices his opinion in his journal, a Fashionista expresses his/herself by Cloths and Accessories. First of all, the main goal and soul reasoning of a†¦show more content†¦On the other hand, in the mental aspect, by using fashion as a way to express one’s inner voice, fashion shapes people’s attitudes and self-esteem. For example when you wear a certain theme you are compelled to act on your emotion that made you wan t to wear that outfit. Although some would argue that the issues with â€Å"skinny models† or provocative, revealing fashion corrupts the self-image of young girls today in defense of designers, I can appreciate the art and feeling that the designer is trying to get across thru the piece. It is also true that In the world of fashion one day you’re in and the next day you’re out (Beker p.10). As harsh as it may seem, this is none less than a reality to anyone in the fashion business and the industry has no respect for person. To fashion newcomers such as Lady GaGa, Avril Lavigne, and Selena Gomez it is very important that they stay on their toes and keep themselves in the fashion scene. In concludtion, Fashion may seem like the least of some peoples worries and not of importance to society but in reality it’s what we wear everyday†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. So the question is, what are you wearing? Sources Consulted Beker, Jeanne. Passion for Fashion: Careers in Style. United States by Tundra Books of Northern New York 2008 Gerval, Olivier. Fashion: Concept to Catwalk. United States by Firefly Book Ltd. 2010 Golbin, Pamela. Balenciaga Paris. United States of America by Thames Hudson Inc. 2006 Jaeger,Show MoreRelated History of Fashion Essay638 Words   |  3 PagesHistory of Fashion Fashion has changed a great deal over the past three centuries. As history changes it seems that fashion in some aspect changes with it to adapt to the era. Even today fashion continues to change as the years go on. Looking at fashion even 20 years ago we can see a difference from what we see in our everyday lives. For the purpose of this essay Fashion will be divided into three centuries, since not every era of clothing can be touched upon. 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