... a great piece of American literature. There are many reasons why Cold Sassy Tree is such a good book. The author creates an intricate and compelling novel through the use of setting, conflict, and titles and names. It would take too much time to write all of these elements, here is a breif synopsis on setting, conflict, and titles and names. To begin with, setting is a very intriguing part of ... to a dirty poor person. These are all solid examples of the names in Cold Sassy Tree having meaning. The names really help give the book a flair. Finally, the setting of Cold Sassy Georgia, the...

• Word Count: 807
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... it was "horrible" and "wicked." (pg. 117) Another example of Eleanor's insecurity would be not being able to enter the library because she was "overwhelmed with the cold air of mold and earth which rushed at her." (pg. 103) A final example of Eleanor's insecurity is when she went up ... be haunted is the fact that it seems Luke and Dr. Montague are making the house seem haunted to Eleanor and Theodora to gain money, respect, and fame. One example of Dr. Montague's desire for those needs is that he is a ghost chaser who wants to create a book about a house ... that is truly haunted for "a...

• Word Count: 622
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... time and were accused of being communist, what would you do? Accusations The time of the cold war was harsh. America was at war with another world super power. Life must have been very rough during this time for the common civilian living in the United States. Anyone who was Russian or had communist viewpoints that were living ... in the U.S. was probably shunned and looked down upon. Our country learned to hate the communists. If I happened to be living in the U.S. at the ... of these accusations so that no one would want to do anything bad against me. Being called communist was probab...

• Word Count: 270
• Approx Pages: 1
• Grade Level: High School

... they are. This statement is also fitting in Ishmael Chamber's case. Ishmael kissed Hatsue at fourteen and discussed the controversy of their kiss could cause among the community inside a hollow tree. At this point in time Ishmael feels their relationship will work, but the arrival of war changed everything. After receiving a devastating letter from Hatsue and losing his arm in battle, ... Ishmael could not control his rage and puts the blame on Hatsue and all Japanese. He found himself saying the words, "that fucking ... Hatsue and all Japanese has cultivated a crippling cynicism. It wa...

• Word Count: 340
• Approx Pages: 1
• Grade Level: High School

... diminished piece, in hopes for an entire candle in return. She sacrifices and gives forth her weak emotions in turn for a cold heart, by means of a prayer. This one prayer becomes the root of all deception that was to come but time could only tell if the deceit would lead to life of luxury that was so anxiously yearned for. Many look at ... their desires a bit faster, but most have learned that in the end, nothing is worth having unless it is truly worked for. Lady Macbeth, with her cold heart, was able to push and push for a sense of nobility, by bringing harm to those around her. The ...

• Word Count: 368
• Approx Pages: 1
• Grade Level: High School

... " talks about a little boy who grows up believing luck means money. He secretly rides his rocking horse to help him pick the winning horses in racetracks. Paul knew that his mother did not love him, he saw it in her cold eyes. Growing up in a house where everywhere he turned he heard whispering voices, asking for "more money", Paul came to believe ... . Paul did not understand that no matter how much money he won, it would never end the voices in the house, nor could it bring his mother's love back. All it would do is make things even worse. The voices increased and his mother became gree...

• Word Count: 254
• Approx Pages: 1
• Grade Level: High School

Ross W. Greene defines an inflexible-explosive child as a child who is unable to "shift gears and think clearly in the midst of frustration"(Greene 1998). His book The Explosive Child is a book that gives many examples of many different children who in situations are IE. The book is a good tool for parents or people who work with children who need help when it comes to dealing with ... inflexible and explosive children. The examples he gives throughout the book are good when trying to see what will and what won't work for the individual child. The idea of giving in to these IE children is not...

• Word Count: 289
• Approx Pages: 1
• Grade Level: High School

... on a decaying plantation in Jamaica. When she gets older, she is married to the second son of a noble English family and he takes her with him to England, away from the place where she has lived her entire childhood - a house with a magnificent garden where "the paths were overgrown and a smell of dead flowers mixed with the fresh living smell. Underneath the tree ferns, tall as forest tree ferns, the ... , Antoinette's madness is symbolized by the combustion of the "tree of life", because in the story it leads to the destruction of her life. To summarize, the state of the garden at Coul...

• Word Count: 854
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

Silver on the Tree Susan Cooper Characters: The characters of this book are Will Stanton, the last born of the Old Ones and keeper of the Light; Bran Davies, a helper tied to the Light for eternity; the Drew kids, Simon, Barney, and Jane, friends and helpers of the Light; Merriman, a powerful and old wizard for the Light. The other characters are Caradog Lewis, a helper of the Dark trying to kill Will and the other kids; John ... Rowlands, a man that works for Merriman and another helper of the light. Setting: The setting in the Welsh hills around the 1940's to 1950's. Theme: The theme of the...

• Word Count: 292
• Approx Pages: 1
• Grade Level: High School

... had set their wives free" (108). Robert does not want to do something wild and unacceptable to society. In a situation parallel to that of Edna's, the only bird that understands the parrot is the mockingbird (Reisz) that "[is] whistling its fluty notes upon the breeze with maddening persistence" (1). Because the parrot continues to shriek, people move it away from their society, "[Mr. Farvial] insisted upon having ... the bird removed and consigned to regions of darkness" (23). Society wants to hide the bird in darkness, as it wants to do to Edna, in order to keep the ... Edna's streng...

• Word Count: 1017
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... , you always want more, or you want what you can't have. For example, Kuglemass wasn't happy with his life so he went to Persky for a change. In the end he had wish he wouldn't have went that one last time because he got himself into a big mess he would never escape. People are always looking for a change ... . When someone changes their life they are just asking for something to go wrong, of course unless their life is bad and they change for the good. In this story, Kuglemass was not happy with his life so he changed it. He was worried his wife would find out he was having an affair ......

• Word Count: 317
• Approx Pages: 1
• Grade Level: High School

... drips off every page. Although we sense that something is fishy at the firm of Bendini, Lambert & Locke, we"re still fascinated - is that how tax lawyers really act? Are they really that corrupt?. The answers are worth the read. This book achieves its one clear aim - it places the hero, Mitchell, in a moral dilemma and we, as readers, wonder what would we have done ... in his situation? One page has a way of dissolving into the next, and you can feel Mitch's despair and confusion right along with him. I wasn't that pleased with the ending of the novel, because once again it leaves you t...

• Word Count: 253
• Approx Pages: 1
• Grade Level: High School

... , he discovers that war is not so great and becomes real unsure of himself. Henry then meets up with his friend Jim. Then halfway through the book he confronts his cowardice and gains a sense of duty and responsibility. When the novel ends he has conquered his fear., and he is able to prove to everybody that he is really not a coward. Later in ... the book, Henry meets Wilson, the loud solider, who I think represents the two sides of human nature. Wilson is a mean and tough guy that no one likes and then towards the end of the book he finds that he really cares about Henry. While Henry i...

• Word Count: 445
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

Book Report summary of, "Bless the Beast and Children" By: I enjoyed reading Bless the Beast and Children by Glendon Swarthout. The story takes place in Presscot, Arizona, where six boys were sent to a camp to make them into men. The six main characters are Goodenow, Teft, shecker, the two Lally brothers, and Cotton. The story had many twist and turns. During the boys time at camp, they were assigned the nickname, "The bed wetters", because of their poor hletic abilities. The boys devised a plan to escape from camp, steel one of the camp's vehicles and drive it to a special ranch and free tons...

• Word Count: 190
• Approx Pages: 1
• Grade Level: High School

... arranged by innings and this is a very clever move on King's part. Because of this chapter setup, King moves the story along at about the same speed of a baseball game. Just as in most baseball games, the suspense builds as the innings progress. The beginning of the book is not very suspenseful; just Trisha getting lost in the woods. But as the story progresses, Trisha's fear and continued misfortune create ... of tires on pavement" (242). On the way to freedom she will have to confront the "special thing" in a final showdown. Along with characterization and suspense, King uses detail t...

• Word Count: 624
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... and his experiences in the death camps during the holocaust. Is Night a story of hope or despair? Night is a story of despair because throughout the book Elie lost so many things that it brought him down. Elie continually prayed before entering the death camps. He prays because "Man raises himself toward god by the questions he asks him" ... (Wiesel 2). He prays also because he has hope that god will stop the war that is coming ... and tried to escape their prison of death. They would try many different ways to accomplish this but every one was very unsuccessful. The prisoners that tri...

• Word Count: 551
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... regarding characters and events as religious symbols or ideas. The representation of important religious leaders and ideas are prominent throughout the book, depicted by the main characters. Lord of the Flies is an allegory showing the fight between Christian and Pagan values. The strongest representation of Christianity in the novel is Simon. Seen as the Christ-like figure, he gives up his own life ... and rituals, and eventually committing murder (138-139). Satan, the root of all evil, is portrayed by the Lord of the Flies. The title of the book itself, Lord of the Flies, is a transl...

• Word Count: 1095
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... acrimonious attitude towards the man by manipulating the tone of the piece. Steinbeck convinces us, through use of powerful word choice and vivid imagery, that the tractor driver is a soulless extension of the destructive machine atop which he sits. Steinbeck strips the driver of his humanity, first by ridding him of his visible features. All areas that would normally be exposed are obscured by cold, sterile, protection ... equipment, implicative of his relationship to the tractor. With his hands gloved, his eyes ... goggled and a dust mask over his face, he loses all of the things that...

• Word Count: 431
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... 126-page book takes place in the Arctic north of Alaska in 1849 during the time of the gold rush and tells the story of Buck, a dog abducted from his home and thrust into the merciless world of an Arctic north consumed by a quest for gold. To survive on the outer edges of civilization, Buck must endure many hardships, including bitter cold, the savagery of a life rules by the laws of ... club and fang, and the lure of a strange age-old call. I think that The Call of the Wild is an exciting book ... that keeps the reader glued to the book in suspense waiting to see what may happen next ...

• Word Count: 541
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

The book I read was called The Magic Circle by Donna Jo Napoli. The main character was a kind, but hunchbacked lady. She was called the Ugly One. The setting was were the Ugly One lives, which is deep in the woods. She had a daughter named Asa which was the center of her universe. She also had a friend called Bala. These two people were her only companions. The book The Magic Circle, is really just ... the classic story "Hansel and Gretel". However, the story is being told from the witch's point of ... view. The Ugly One helps people in difficult births. Then one day she was encouraged by a ...

• Word Count: 253
• Approx Pages: 1
• Grade Level: High School

... 's and An-Mei's stories. An-Mei's mother was abused by Wu Tsing because her mother was too weak to resist. Ted also did the same. Both men also hide their true self from their wives. Wu Tsing, and his rich merchant lifestyle with his big mansion cloaked his evil ... that his marriage with Rose is still in one piece when he is already courting another woman. Also, An-Mei realizes that Rose is suffering the same fate her mother suffered, that is, not standing up for what is right. After much advice from her mother Rose stands up to ... the traditions of China. There are many descriptions of...

• Word Count: 295
• Approx Pages: 1
• Grade Level: High School

... Standing in awe, cold air permeated through my hair. The smell of fresh and minty pine scent complimented the beautiful vantage of the wilderness. With my boots wedged in the snow, a shiver took over my body. This is was a place of peacefulness and tranquility. Never before had I been so close with nature. Facing the north was the vast forest. To the left and right, only the crystal white snow ... was visible. While looking up, I caught a glimpse of the old ski lift, the solo apparatus which was my passport to this great adventure. All that could be heard was ... of birds nestled upon ...

• Word Count: 334
• Approx Pages: 1
• Grade Level: High School

... every meeting of your voice stuns my heart into a breathless trance that could not be broken for the world. And at every meeting of your voice that yearning is revitalized. This I want you to now, because you are the beauty of my life; that gives me the vigor to move through my day with an up beat heart, knowing that I will hear you ... ...

• Word Count: 243
• Approx Pages: 1
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... to look past society and be their true selves, and he wants to do that also, but he does not want to be in complete isolation. He feels that the cause of phoniness is being in group situations and feeling like you need to be good enough for everyone else. What he really needs is affection, but he there ... he died. Holden is worried that if he gets to close to anyone else that they will die and he will have to be sad all over again. Towards the end of the book, Holden begins to get better because Phoebe helps him. By refusing to let him run away without her, she is essentially saying, "I ...

• Word Count: 639
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... beheld it shine, And he knew that it was mine -   And into my garden stole When the night had veiled the pole; In the morning, glad, I see My foe outstretched beneath the tree. A poison tree is a poem about the growing anger. Just from reading this poem it seemed as Blake Williams poured his whole heart into ... Anger took a toll on him and there is no room for space. Tears may symbolize as pain he suffered. I believe when people are angry they cry at times and there tears keep coming down which in this case those tears are used watering the tree instead of regular water from the pipe. ...

• Word Count: 963
• Approx Pages: 4
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School