General Overview Gregory Maguire's novel, "Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West," allows readers to gain an entirely new perspective on the Wicked Witch of the West that is portrayed throughout L. Frank Baum's "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz." Maguire gives the "wicked" witch a good bit of substance in his book, starting by giving her a name; Elphaba. The story begins with an explanation of her ... for anyone that is different in any which way. While her own identity is troublesome, Elphaba grows to be strong willed character that defies social norms. Indeed, as Nanny profou...

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... he knows that he was fated to do so, but he also knows that it is not his moira to be in Eleusis. Thus, he follows the messages of the gods (mainly Poseidon) and trusts them to lead him when he is unsure of his fate. Though he continually overcomes great obstacles and demonstrates tremendous abilities ... manifestations that make him royal. Royal robes and prestige are not what made Theseus a king, and he shows that he is still a leader when he forms the Cranes. He knows that they are all but slaves in Crete and that his former position no longer matters, but he also knows that they wil...

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• Grade Level: High School

... as a novel that depicts "a deterioration from the past to the present" (PG; Monarch Notes PG). At the time of the writing of "The Sound and the Fury", William Faulkner had made known his beliefs that modern man and modern society were on somewhat of a downhill slide and that harm done to man has been done by man himself. Therefore, "The Sound and the Fury" presents a tale not only of a fractured ... no meaning because time itself is timeless. He lives in the world that Quentin so desperately seeks to find (Monarch Notes PG). Quentin is the representation of the present. His struggle inv...

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• Grade Level: High School

... quality of life, he wrote two poems about them, both called "The Chimney Sweeper". One of the poems was in his poetry collection Songs of Innocence, and the other in the collection named Songs of Experience. To make it easier, I will from now on refer to the poem from Songs of Innocence as poem 1, and the poem from Songs of Experience, poem 2. As stated, both poems are ... stanza, and the first two lines of the third stanza: Because I was happy upon the heath, And smil'd among the winters snow: They clothed me in the clothes of death, And taught me to sing the notes of woe. And because ...

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• Grade Level: High School

... . This sense of terror also included Shukhov even when he was already sentenced to Gulag. Prisoners would wake at dawn every morning feeling a sense of fear at the thought that perhaps it was their last day alive. It was common for prisoners to be shot with absolutely zero justification or warning. It was meant to "enlighten" ... via creating an analogy to the life of political convicts. In conclusion, Solzhenitsyn creates many comparisons within the book that clearly relate to society of the USSR. The book was revolutionary to the Soviet people because it brought the awareness of th...

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... God's words or laws that he gave Moses to spread to the people. The book of Exodus says, "And Moses took half of the blood, and put it in basons; and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar. And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, All that the Lord hath said will we do, and be obedient. And ... Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant which the Lord hath made with you concerning all these ... is shed for many" (Mark 14:23-24 KJV). With this being The Last Supper, asking God ...

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• Grade Level: High School

... that no human is ever satisfied in their life. Humans may enjoy good times and satisfying relationships but as a whole the good times never last, relationships will all come to an end, and the sense of unhappiness is felt throughout life. Buddha specifically said in his teachings "these things are unpleasant: meeting with what you dislike, being parted from ... , enlightenment, Nirvana". This path is the outline for followers and guides them on a path to end all of suffering. This below taken from class notes lists the eight parts of this path; 1. Right Understanding 2. Right Thought 3....

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• Grade Level: High School

... that no human is ever satisfied in their life. Humans may enjoy good times and satisfying relationships but as a whole the good times never last, relationships will all come to an end, and the sense of unhappiness is felt throughout life. Buddha specifically said in his teachings "these things are unpleasant: meeting with what you dislike, being parted from ... insight, enlightenment, Nirvana." This path is the outline for followers and guides them on a path to end all of suffering. This below taken from class notes lists the eight parts of this path; 1. Right Understanding 2. Right Th...

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• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... . Night after night I had passed the house (it was vacation time) and studied the lighted square of window: and night after night I had found it lighted in the same way, faintly and evenly. If he was dead, I thought, I would see the reflection of candles on the darkened blind for I knew that two candles must be set at the head of a corpse (The Sisters) The boy describes his game with ... the candles in a very lighthearted tone as he includes a side remark of "it was ... of "arguing with her husband and daughter, gesticulating them", refraining from giving up, even until the last moment ...

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... of freaked me out. When we were having breakfast my, while having breakfast my dad was reading articles about immigration with Green Card and he was taking notes, I felt the same thing that what I felt for my mom. They were hiding something from us, I was pretty sure. After all, that is done, we ... bad. They wanted us to sit and wait for them, my mom looked like going to cry, she was so sad. I didn't get what was going on, what were they doing, almost no idea about anything. I was asking lots of questions to myself mostly like "why am I here?". After all these ... won, we won" than she...

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• Grade Level: High School

... to our society as our world is a colourful place, and by reinforcing the symbol throughout the novel Zusak has continually expressed humanity on a colour spectrum of life and death and how that is relative to mortality. The second symbol I found unmissable in The Book Thief was Hans Hubermanns accordion and the way it reinforces the idea of hope and distraction in this horrific period of time. This symbol ... and distracting children. This is seen through Zusak's characterisation of Liesel and the way music distracts her from her environment. The accordion brought life back to Liesel wh...

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• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... abortions are made by mothers who already have had children, and that economic difficulty is one of the reasons why abortion is needed. She encourages all the women who have had an abortion to stand up for themselves instead of being ashamed of what they did. She references to two book sources, in order to justify her position even further. First, she credits ... the author Katha Pollitt, for her works in pointing out the contradictions in the pro-life group's arguments, and agrees with Pollitt's statement that not being able to afford raising a child is ... to have an abortion. That i...

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... , Esther finally finds a doctor she can open up to named Dr. Nolan. Dr. Nolan is the person in Esther's life who helps her have many realizations and who eventually leads her down the right road and puts her on the path to recovery. At this point in the book we see the mother-daughter relationship complex come back into play because it is indicated that Esther trusted ... . After hearing that Joan had committed suicide, Esther has a revelation that the death of Joan symbolized the death of her old depressed, suicidal self. Finally after being trapped in a hypothetical bell jar throughout ...

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... values. His response to life is an absurd, benign indifference. However, at the end of the first part of the book, Meursault's life and character change. After getting mixed up in his neighbor's affairs, Meursault ends up killing an Arab. He says that the shots he fired where like "knocking four quick times on the door of unhappiness"(59). This is where it all started; everything changed ... going to die, it's obvious that when and how don't matter."(114) When the prison priest visits for the last time and asks Meursault to repent, we see Meursault show emotion for the first time. He se...

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... , which in this case symbolizes life itself; by himself and has no help on his journey. He struggles greatly to catch the marlin and when the old man finally brings his catch back to shore he discovers that all that remains is a skeleton. He looked at the marlin as his last attempt to find meaning in life and in his case no one had been ... are Life & Death, Bullfighting, Sex, and War. He had always been fascinated by Bullfighting and even made an attempt at becoming a bullfighter. He devoted a book to his at the sport called. "Death in the Afternoon". The main point of this book was to ...

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... his biography and the definition of "scholarship boy," based on Hoggart's definition. As readers, we're easily able to see that Rodriguez is not the only person who has struggled with loss, confusion, loneliness, and nostalgia, but is actually just one boy in a sea of many "scholarship boys. " During his last year as ... a graduate student, Rodriguez traveled to London, and was with many other scholars. When he finally feels as if he has found a community that he belongs to, he realizes that he has joined a "lonely community " (530), filled with "the faces of young men and women ... him ...

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• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... Fire and Water" is the inscription found on the grave stone of Robert Ross (page 190). As the novel ends with Robert Ross' passing on, these words attempt to sum up his life. This inscription not only signifies the protagonist resting place, but also gives a final clue to the hidden myth. Not only are these the four basic elements, but also the four stages in the 'trials' of a hero. In ... can also be seen as symbolising fire because of the way it negatively affected the soldiers. In the life of Robert Ross the element of fire is an obstacle. On his tombstone is the phrase "Earth and Ai...

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... a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms - to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way." In such concentration camps, people were on the verge of death. However, the fact that they would die wasn't the main point, the fact that one can choose their ... death is inevitable, he is ultimately free as he chooses his own decisions. Throughout the novel Camus introduces the idea that if one accepts death, one will be free because one will have nothing to fear. In the opening of the book, Monsieur Meursault finds that his mother has recently pa...

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... a feeling of relaxing and calm. Also, by looking at a painting or sculpture in a book cannot fully experience the artwork until I really see the real painting held within its walls. So, Last week I visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Museum opens the door to a world of fantasy and colorful. Entering the doorway stand by two security guards, they are very humorous and politely ask ... brave and courageous. What I learn about philosophy is that a philosopher often deals with knowledge of deep thinking. They often focus on the life, which is quite unlike any other stud...

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... me die with a restorative." Referring to her death as "restorative", she admits to herself and the audience in these last moments that she will only feel worth in life again when she is dead with Romeo. Opting out on the rationality of all the wonderful things that have yet to happen in her life, Julia is a classic case of a woman thinking and ... care of herself. Bella is shown a weak woman whom should only be doing actions for her men and needs her men in order to survive life. Another popular book called Chat Room, written by Kristin Butcher, displays a female who needs a man to be h...

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... novel. It was first published in the Lippincott's magazine on July 20, 1890; later Wilde changed and added few more chapters. The story is set in London, England, in late Victorian period and it reinterprets the Faust myth, a story about a man who sold his soul to the devil. The book has been criticised from the very beginning for its immorality; the Victorian society did not like how Wilde ... Basil to the angel sitting on Dorian's shoulder and Harry to the devil, who in the end wins. The paradox is both are responsible for Dorian's fall. Thanks to the angel's painting and the devil's ...

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... from claims of gambling to associating herself with older, married men. Finally, overcome by all the rumors, Lily slips into a brief depression. After visiting Seldon, one last time, to destroy some papers of his that she had that could potentially spark rumors, she sat in the park contemplating on her life. Lily was then greeted by a woman who had known her because Lily financed ... a trip for her to a clinic when she was ill through a women's club that Lily sponsored with the money she had received from ... died in her sleep. Although several lessons can be drawn from this story, one...

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... when he and his friend, Johnny Cade, are attacked in the park one night. Profoundly affected by the events, the protagonist decides to tell his story in an essay for his English class that becomes the base for the story. Darry and Pony are a prime portrayal of loved ones looking after each other. In the book, the protagonist tells the readers, that his parents have died, and Darrel made ... always yelled at him because he was another month to feed and he was just plain mean. Later in the book, the lead character understands why his brother was always yelling at him and working him too h...

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... believe this or not. Besides once they do grasp on to the fact that some of these 'things' are what many teens do on a regular basis, what difference does it make if they just read about in a book, watch it on T.V. or in a movie. Many of them main arguments when it comes to as of why the book should be banned, back to what I said earlier ... , is because the book tends to deal with either too much sexual content, drugs ... , alcohol, homosexuality, and/or bestiality. Which shouldn't really matter due to the fact that students will see it ... ...

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... should have some significance in my life or cause me to reflect on a certain time or emotion in my own life. Out of my three selections, the book that reflects mostly on my life and personal emotions is Into the Wild, by Jon Krakauer. This book is both an extreme and powerful teller of pride and many ... body needs and my pride ends up driving me to complete my goal. This in of itself, is a double edged sword because on the one side I'm getting to my goal, yet on the flip side, I'm neglecting other needs that I have. True determination can get you to your goal. My second literary work t...

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• Grade Level: High School