Analysis Of The Bridge Of San :: essays research papers

People who thinks of Thornton Wilder primarily in terms of his classic novella â€Å"Our Town,† The Bridge of San Luis Rey will seem like quite a switch. For one thing, he has switched countries; instead of middle America, he deals here with Peru. He has switched eras, moving from the twentieth century back to the eighteenth. He has also dealt with a much broader society than he did in â€Å"Our Town,† representing the lower classes and the aristocracy with equal ease. But despite these differences, his theme is much the same; life is short, our expectations can be snuffed out with the snap of a finger, and in the end all that remains of us is those we have loved. The novella begins by describing the quest of a Franciscan monk, Brother Juniper, to figure out why some people’s lives are cut short while others, apparently less deserving of life, live well into their eighties and nineties. He has happened to witness a terrible accident (the sudden collapse of a national landmark, the Bridge of San Luis Rey) which five people were crossing at the time of the disaster. All five were killed instantly: a little boy, a young girl, a wealthy old woman, an old man, and a youth. Brother Juniper is shocked into a metaphysical thought: â€Å"If there were any pattern in the universe at all, any plan in a human life, surely it could be discovered mysteriously latent in those lives so suddenly cut off. Either we live by accident and die by accident, or we live by plan and die by plan. And in that instant Brother Juniper made the resolve to inquire into the secret lives of those five persons, that moment falling through the air, and to surprise the reason of their taking off† (Wilder, 5). This is the wonderful premise behind Wilder’s examination of the connected lives of these five people. Several of them never actually meet, any more than we â€Å"meet† people with whom we happen to ride an elevator but, each of them knows someone who knows one of the other victims. Wilder goes on to clear up the stories of their lives, devoting a chapter to each of the major characters: The old woman, The Marquesa; The young man, Esteban; and the old man, Uncle Pio. (The other two victims, the young maid Pepita and the child Jaime, are not really explored, because they are seen primarily in relationship to the adults they accompany.

Hanging Fire Essay

Self-centered Teen or Thought-invoking Speaker : â€Å"Hanging Fire† by Audre Lorde The speaker in Audre Lord’s poem â€Å"Hanging Fire† is extremely self-centered. Does this limit the poem’s ability to say anything of general value? A simple read of â€Å"Hanging Fire† by Audre Lorde might lead one to conclude that there is no real value in this self-centered poem. However, upon critical analysis, one can obtain valuable insights from the poem. The 14-year-old speaker deals with major issues that plague the adolescent generation such as peer acceptance, race and gender inequality, sexuality, death and communication with parents. In the following paragraphs, I will demonstrate the speaker’s feelings on each of these matters. One issue that the speaker addresses is the pressure to fit in with her peers. The poem deals with such topics as dancing and upcoming parties (â€Å"I have to learn to dance/ In time for the next party†), the importance of fashion (â€Å"I have nothing to wear tomorrow†) and physical appearance (â€Å"Why do I have to be/ The one/ Wearing braces†). These are typical topics that cause teenagers to fear failure in terms of social acceptance. The pressure of not fitting into societal norms can oppress these young individuals, both emotionally and socially and the speaker is quite clear in the poem that she is concerned with these issues. Secondly, the issue of racial and gender inequality is evident in the poem. The speaker appears to be an African American girl. The poem begins with â€Å"I am fourteen/ And my skin has betrayed me†. This line could be interpreted in two ways. First, it could indicate that the speaker is dealing with pimples and blemishes, another example of a teenager’s concern about physical appearance. On the other hand, a more interesting interpretation is that the speaker is indicating that she is black. This reference to race indicates the speaker’s awareness that racism has caused and will cause her many frustrations in life. Another line in the poem states that â€Å"I should have been on the math team/ My marks were better than his†. The use of this incident is very creative because it deals with two issues: racial inequality and gender inequality. The speaker feels the unfairness of discrimination because she believes the spot on the math team should have been for her but, instead, was rewarded to the boy due to her gender and the  color of her skin. This line provides the reader with an example of the oppression and hardships the speaker is suffering as a black girl in school. The speaker later states in the poem, â€Å"There is nothing I want to do/ And too much/ That has to be done†. She recognizes that it will be hard to step forward and join the fight to have society accept equality. In fact, at times the speaker feels the task is too hard and that she does not want to try at all. Her adolescent desire to be accepted in society without ridicule further impedes her efforts to overcome the oppression. The third issue in the poem is sexuality. In the third line, the speaker states â€Å"The boy I cannot live without /Still sucks his thumb / In secret†. It is here that she tells the reader that she is not comfortable expressing her different views about her sexuality. The â€Å"boy I cannot live without† refers to the boy inside her and the reader sees that the speaker is aware that her feelings, emotions, and preference to the female sex must remain a secret for fear of scrutiny and non-acceptance. The secret thumb-sucking may refer to her insecurities of being gay. The speaker feels compelled to live a lie to avoid further shunning by her peers and society. The statement in the poem â€Å"Suppose I die before graduation/ They will sing sad melodies/ But finally/ Tell the truth about me† describes the unveiling of the truth of the speaker’s secret life upon her death and so reinforces the fact that she is not ready to publicly acknowledge her sexuality. Another topic in the poem is the communication problem between the speaker and her mother. Each of three stanzas ends with the same two lines: â€Å"And momma’s in the bedroom/ With the door closed.† It is obvious that the speaker feels that her mother is unapproachable. The door between the mother and speaker represents the lack of communication flowing between parent and child. The speaker, as a teenager, wishes to exercise her independence but still requires guidance in order to deal with adolescent issues such as social acceptance, racism, gender, sexuality and death. However, the conflict between the teenager’s growing pains and the mother’s reluctance to acknowledge her child’s independence has caused their communication to become obstructed. The speaker feels alone in the world and believes that she has nowhere to turn. Lastly, the speaker describes her adolescent fascination with death. The speaker refers to death in each of the three stanzas. As a teenager, the speaker is not only feeling overwhelmed by adolescent problems, but is also becoming aware of the future obstacles in life. The speaker sees death as a way of escaping these troubles. Death would allow her communication problems with her mother to disappear, cause her secret about her sexuality to be uncovered and save her from having to fight against societal oppression to accomplish the acceptance of equality. The speaker is seen to contemplate the common, yet unfortunate, adolescent idea of whether death and suicide is a real way to avoid the pressures of life and growing up. Therefore, if the reader of Audre Lorde’s poem â€Å"Hanging Fire† is able to move past the adolescent’s self-pity and into the substance of the poem, the reader is likely to gain an understanding of the serious topics being contemplated by a 14-year-old black girl. In this poem the speaker considers issues such as peer acceptance, racism, gender, sexuality, death and the importance of parental communication. Even the title, in association with the poem, provides value as it communicates to the reader that the speaker wishes to â€Å"hang fire† or delay dealing with the many pressures and obstacles in her life. Thus, even though the speaker in this poem is extremely self-centered, it does not limit the poem’s ability to say something of general value.

Now Then by John Locke Book Review

Now and Then is an exciting and captivating book by John Locke, a famous author who has written a number of novels and fiction books. The author, whose works and collections have famously been identified as the Donovan Creed, has gained fame across the globe as a result of the attractiveness of his compact content. In this case, I shall give a brief review of the book whose title has been given above with regard to a few aspects of writing and expression of facts. The plot of the book is based on a story which revolves around the life of a reformed criminal. The main character here is a former CIA assassin, a freelance killer who through his crafty ways has succeeded in stealing lump- some amounts of money from some of the most dangerous criminals in the world. After gaining all that, he simply wants a quiet romantic life away from the noisy ever congested environment, a vacation which he chooses to have with the sexy- Rachel. This is another interesting book by John Locke whose contents are both interesting and enjoyable. It is a fresh sadistic twist of the life of an individual who is struggling to balance a cool life with a dirty noisy one, both of which he has been part of. The way the author has been able to arrange the facts and the elements that make up the whole book brings a lot of entertainment to the reader. This is perhaps one of those famous books which keep the readers guessing what is coming next since the author manages to hide it with a healthy portion of suspense at the end of each case. In a nut shell, I would like to say that the book is filled with both action and adventure if not to mention deeds which I can only describe as dastardly. Locke has managed to come up with another intriguing Donovan Creed which will probably leave readers doing it late into the night. Just in case you have never had the pleasure of doing the creed series, it only would be a healthy step to pick up your copy today.