... girlfriend. "I love you," he told her. "By the time you get this, I will be gone" (Bailey). The Department of Defense has yet to confirm his death because of a policy of a 72-hour waiting period after notifying family members (Grondahl). Jones' death falls close to the one-year anniversary of the death of Staff Sergeant Amy Seyboth Tirador. Tirador was shot in the back of the head while walking to her evening shift ... on a US military base Camp Caldwell. After investigating, the Army closed the case as a suicide, although her mother is still working hard to challenge this. "I'd gently ...

• Word Count: 539
• Approx Pages: 2
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... market and mortgage lender meltdowns, two-paycheck families are busting the budget on necessities. Even conservative spenders are growing weary. During a recent small group discussion, a mother of three held back tears as she described the effects of the dollar's weakening buying power. She and her husband both work and have been steadily employed for the last twenty years. Three years ago, they felt financially secure ... . They could afford to eat out occasionally or shop at the mall. They bought into a timeshare in Florida. Now ... her husband looking for part-time work because he dri...

• Word Count: 398
• Approx Pages: 2
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... , Patrick D. Smith's historical fiction novel gives a fictional, albeit accurate account of the history of Florida from its pioneer days in 1868, shortly after the American Civil war to 1968, arguably one of the most tumultuous years in the history of American culture. The story is that of a family (The MacIvey family) through three generations, a family emigrated from Georgia into the wild and untamed lands of Florida. They start out eeking out a living from ... condition. No one is perfect. Everyone is flawed. Those we think are perfect are still susceptible to the forces of nature and...

• Word Count: 399
• Approx Pages: 2
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

In the essay "The Jacket" by Gary Soto, the author is trying to illustrate what a son would do for his family. There are many examples throughout the essay that prove this point. In the story there was a young boy who had asked his mother for a leather jacket, because he wanted to fit in with the other kids. His mom had gotten him a green jacket that was too big for him. Although he didn't like it, he still dealt with it. He had to wear it for three years. He still showed his mom that he appreciated it by saying thank you to her. Despite him not liking the jacket, he still wore it and got tort...

• Word Count: 185
• Approx Pages: 1
• Grade Level: High School

... allaw them to do what they want,however,what they do must not against law and not make trouble to other people.I think the couples who live together before marriage have the right.They do not do anything wrong because they did not make any trouble to anyone. It is about 2 people loving ... that they are mature enough and have responsibility. Live-in relationship is the good way to get to know each other.I think when people love each other,they have the idea of getting married but they will never know whether they are the perfect match or not.In order to get to know each other ... better...

• Word Count: 353
• Approx Pages: 1
• Grade Level: High School

David Herbert Lawrence wrote many important stories. Many of them were part of his life. In several of his stories he uses symbolism, secrecy, and sexuality in families. In the story "The Rocking-Horse Winner" he mostly used symbolism in the whole story. The story has a very significant part to demonstrate how the parents are bad to their children. In this story the Lawrence describes the surroundings in sight, smell, noise and physical ... sight, a little noise and emotional sense. He used many different objects to be symbolizes. Some symbols that might define as lucky and money are used in ...

• Word Count: 265
• Approx Pages: 1
• Grade Level: High School

... and symbolic. Jamaica Kincaid showed us the complexity of this character through symbolism, especially using water. The water is a symbol of the wish for love, nurturing, healing, and protection, which all people desire. Water also is used to demonstrate danger of being overwhelming, separating, and eliminating things that characters are not completely ready to let go of, like the people in the photos, and the separation from her mother at Rat Island ... . In the end, water is a vehicle Annie uses to leave the ... ...

• Word Count: 1549
• Approx Pages: 6
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... Pilate seems to coincide with her father, Macon Dead's, opinion. Ironically, though, Pilate is a good person and is murdered in the end, just as Jesus was by Pontius Pilate. Another important character in the novel who portrays a great deal of symbolism is Guitar, Milkman's best friend. Guitar is named after something that he is ultimately unable to attain. "I saw it when my mother took ... . He makes Milkman feel older and more grown up. Also, Guitar is the only person who Milkman doesn't mind being called his nickname by. He says that when Guitar says it, "it sounded clever, grown up."...

• Word Count: 890
• Approx Pages: 4
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... with Leroy" (1). In the end of the story, all the signs of Norma's responsibilities as a wife are disappearing. She shows no sign of love or dominance toward Leroy or her mother any more. Symbolism in the story is used to show Norma Jeans feelings and emotions. The dust ruffle that the mother makes represents the hiding of things in Norma's life, things that she "sticks under the bed". Another use of symbolism is how the sparrow closes its ... eyes when it falls. This shows how Norma accepted the fact of marriage because of her pregnancy and closed her eyes and lived ... ...

• Word Count: 581
• Approx Pages: 2
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... heroic. Thus, proving his critics wrong. First of all, Aeneas exhibits amazing loyalty to his family. For instance, when he finally sees his family, he holds his father and holds his son's hand. Yet, later when his wife is missing, Aeneas "turns back alone into the city" seeking his wife. Aeneas can be seen ... tell him that she was dead and to go on. Thus, Aeneas would have not ceased his search, if the ghost had not appeared. The most important factor that classifies Aeneas as a true hero is the fact that he leads his people to a new home. While being a leader for his people, Aeneas h...

• Word Count: 240
• Approx Pages: 1
• Grade Level: High School

... . Brother makes him touch it, by threatening to leave him alone if he doesn't. In response to the threat, Doodle cries, "Don't leave me, Brother," (p 3) and touching the casket, screams. Brother uses fear to control his younger brother, forcing him to do cruel things. In the other story, Paul also is controlled in family relationships. His mother puts great strain on him by being ... financially irresponsible, and living beyond their means. Paul feels the strain, and is influenced by it to take the pressure away. Also, Paul's mother did not love him. This is a controlling ... hurt you. ...

• Word Count: 322
• Approx Pages: 1
• Grade Level: High School

... both stories that convey irony, theme, and symbolism. The irony in A Good Man is Hard to Find is that the grandmother reads about the Misfit in the newspaper and tries to stop the family from driving to Florida because she wants to go to Tennessee. She goes on and on about the Misfit and warns them that he's on the loose. When she does not get her way ... do not know how you will react until your put in a particular situation. The grandmother was a lady brought up in a well-mannered society therefore she only knew of the good in the world. She had no insight of the bad things that could...

• Word Count: 516
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... together like France, Spain, and Florida. Everyday was like spending a whole day in the middle of a happy fictitious book. We never got in each other's hair and we were never bored with each other. Our parents were the same way. They were like oil and vinegar. They had many things in common. Our fathers were both stockbrokers and loved to spar and exchange ideas ... think to myself, "How could my parents do this to me?". Personally, I was really starting to get acrimonious at my parents. The things they would say about her family, unthinkable things, just to try to make me understand th...

• Word Count: 537
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... Arrow. Upon his arrival, a blissful welcoming awaits him, showing he has been missed, especially by his father. The Indian tribe goes on a hunt to kill white men. When a canoe comes to the shore, where the Indians are waiting to attack, Johnny pushes them away for he thinks of his white family. Now Johnny will be either burned or left alive for his wrongdoing through ... the eyes of his Indian people. Although he is spared his life, Cuyloga knows his son was now white. Cuyloga ... agreed with Half Arrow that he would no longer speak to True Son. They each parted ways, True Son to the w...

• Word Count: 259
• Approx Pages: 1
• Grade Level: High School

... However, that's only what he thinks. It turns out tha True Son isn't Indian and is a white boy. True Son is brought back to Pennsylvania. On the way, True Son's two Indian friends, Half Arrow and Little Crane, talk to him about how dim-witted white men are and how uc more superior Indians are ... . Nevertheless, they had to go away because the white soldiers would have killed them otherwise. When True Son arrived in Paxton County, he was immediately brought to his parents, Harold and Myra Butler, his Aunt ... white name is John C. Butler. When "John" sleeps in his bed, he feels too far aw...

• Word Count: 422
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... to trust in the Lord. The action comes to a head when the preacher's alcoholic jazz musician husband, Luke, shows up. He is sick and dying, yet their son, David wants to follow in his long-absent father's footsteps. David wants to delagate his piano playing occupation in the storefront church to someone else in order to pursue his dreams with his father. Of course this ... is entirely antagonistic to his mother's wishes. The story flows back and forth between the church and the apartment, with church services and some gospel music interspersed. Stong voices are needed to ... make this ...

• Word Count: 402
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... -class population" (Cardullo 161). Each of the siblings has a different opinion of the cramped living quarters. To Laura, her home is a safe haven from a society she has failed to fit into. To Tom, the prison-like feel of the family apartment weighs heavily on his need for freedom. Another literary element that Williams presents throughout The Glass Menagerie is symbolism. The title itself gives the audience a glimpse into Laura's personality ... . Like her figurines, Laura is fragile and delicate. The glass unicorn, notably her favorite, represents her abnormalities. The unicorn is diffe...

• Word Count: 559
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

Challenges and obstacles are things that everyone has to face. But, in the book Chinese Cinderella Adeline, faces different kinds of challenges help her be a better person. Adeline"s challenges benefit her. Some of those challenges benefit her. Some of challenges are: Adeline's has brothers and sisters mistreat her, she's left everywhere without parents or guardians, and her whole family discriminates against her. First, Adeline is treated ... cruelly by her siblings. They tease her and abuse of her. But she never pays attention to them. That way she never gets hurt when her classmates tease ...

• Word Count: 293
• Approx Pages: 1
• Grade Level: High School

The Kitchen God's Wife by Amy Tan The novel, The Kitchen God's Wife is a true-life story told in flashbacks, by a mother (Winnie) to her daughter (Pearl). She relates the incidents that had occurred in her life when she was in China. The story begins with the memories of a six-year old, about her mother who she loves intensely. At such a tender age she experiences the pangs of separation when her mother suddenly disappears from her life. Till her marriage to Wen Fu, Winnie lives in Tsungming Island where her treatment is no better than that of an orphan. Despite all the sufferings that Winnie ...

• Word Count: 136
• Approx Pages: 1
• Grade Level: High School

... temptation and flaws causes everyday living to be a struggle in balancing the good and evil. O'Connor's use of characterization, symbolism and the theme, "a good man is hard to find" reveals the breakdown of respect and discipline in American society. Grandma represents the past with her southern hospitality heritage. The Misfit's character is the result of the breakdown of humanity, family values and values that have been lost in today ... a bit prejudice when referring to African Americans; she said, "Oh look at the cute pickaninny!"(O'Connor 1, 424) She also speaks of how she could hav...

• Word Count: 890
• Approx Pages: 4
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

...  each other apart because they just don't understand each other and don't approve of each other's lives. But this love also binds them together and, after a long journey apart, brings them back together as a family. James Baldwin's short story "Sonny's Blues" presents a family theme through the use of symbolism, tone, and first person narration. Jazz music is a very big symbol in "Sonny ... 's Blues." Jazz represents how different the two brothers are, for jazz means something different to each of them. For the narrator, jazz represents all things bad. The music itself isn't what make...

• Word Count: 876
• Approx Pages: 4
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... is the only mention of love in the entire of the film and oddly enough, it came from one of the children. By the end of the night Mikey was found dead, killed by a fallen power line. At this point the two families come together and realize the importance of a strong family relationship. This film, at first glance, seemed to be a simple story of family problems. After looking further into the plot and symbolism is can ... be seen that it is much more than that. It is a story mainly about the ... ...

• Word Count: 969
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... for companionship is something that all men can identify with. No one wants to be an outcast of society. Franz Kafka's novel The Metamorphosis deals with this theme of alienation. Gregor Samsa, transformed into a giant vermin, is isolated from the rest of humanity. Kafka uses symbolism to emphasize Gregor's alienation from outside society, from his family, and even from his own humanity, demonstrating ... how modern society estranges man from his fellow beings, preventing friendship and intimacy. Gregor's job initially isolates him from all of these considerations. Gregor's consuming an...

• Word Count: 975
• Approx Pages: 4
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... upgrade. He becomes so compiled with ravenousness, lust, and extreme desires that he has developed into the very thing that he used to sneer at in the first place, the greediness of the previous rich old master in The Great House. Things are quite different for The Count of Monte Cristo. He is well known throughout many societies, wealthy, but not arrogant as some. His faults nevertheless are vengeance ... materialism. Another example of symbolism is displayed when Wang takes O-lan's two pearls, that she kept wrapped up next to her heart, and gave them to Lotus as gifts. "And he answere...

• Word Count: 2979
• Approx Pages: 12
• Grade Level: High School

... hit me. The moral of this story is through all the darkness, enlightenment always emerges. The two had a very poor relationship, until one day, through an event so small such as this, the boy realized that his mother really did care about him. They came to grips with each other, just like every mother/son combination should. The mother tried so hard to get things to work ... out between the two ... , and it completely surprised me that an incident so small could bring out so much good. And thus emerges my opinion that this work of Salinger, was the best in the book....

• Word Count: 326
• Approx Pages: 1
• Grade Level: High School