Gaston By William Saroyan

Thesis: In the short stories The Charmer, Love Must Not Be Forgotten, and The Address, one’s past experiences have a profound effect on their development as an individual.

"The Charmer" by Budge Wilson is a short story about a Canadian family that finds misfortune and conflict within their lives. Conflict being the predominant theme which directly affects all the participants in the family. The story is written in third person and narrated from the young girl Winifred's point of view. Budge Wilson uses Zack's smothered childhood, charming personality and irresponsible behaviour to create emotional conflict between members of the family.

American Translation, the prologue talks about a daughter who invited her mother to check her new bedroom. However, her mother kind of overly reacted when she saw a mirror at the foot of her bed, so her mother puts another mirror, which faced the original one because she thought that this would multiply her “peach blossom luck”.

Parents cling to their children wanting them to stay young forever, wanting endless memories and nothing to change, yet they must be able to part from these feelings to allow the child to grow. In the story “A Private Talk with Holly”, the author, Henry Felsen, uses symbolism to convey the central idea that if you love someone you have to let them go. When Holly, the main character of the story, talks to her Dad about changing her plans, he is faced with a difficult decision, but in the end he allows Holly to chase her dreams for her own good.

The poem Fifteen by William Stafford, describes the ideas of a young teenager and imaginations when he sees a motorcycle at the side of the rail, It tells us of how the main character gets familiar with adulthood and starts getting mature, it gives us changes. The author in his poem describes the ideas and temptations that a fifteen year old would have, and it gives us a message of how when you are blinded of your teenage dreams, at the same time to take and decide the correct paths and decisions.

Bragg’s dejected tone when addressing his father’s latest demeanor is satirical as the Father’s past behavior is anything but celebratory. The author’s conscious decision to compare his memories of the Father to that of a “man” and a “monster” depicts the two emotions Bragg intended to invoke from his readers through the use of tone: contentment and fear. He wanted his readers to share his contentment with his father’s past demeanor, though distressing. In contrast, Bragg hoped his readers share his fear of his father’s past demeanor, despite his innate urge

The memoir of Jeannette Walls had several characters, important people in her life. But, there was one specific character, her dad, that she had a close relationship with. Jeannette Walls grew up in poverty and always moved around. Her family was close, but Jeannette was closest to her father over anyone else. She loved and admired her father and defended him too. Her memoir, “The Glass Castle” is very popular. She is a grown-up now and cares about her parents. She offers to help them out of poverty, but they resist. Jeannette certainly cares for both parents, but her father has a special place in her heart. Jeannette has a special relationship with her father because she admired his heroicness, she got to pick Venus as her star, and he helped her and distracted her from being scared and in pain.

of the father and daughter. “Yes, that’s true, only-But she does not finish what she started.She

Stephen has low self esteem because his father views him as a disappointment. Father son relationships are vital in helping a child form their identity and their view of what it means to be a man. According to Stephen’s father, a man is burly and somber and does not waste their time on childish dreams. By these standards, Stephen “[can] never become a man.” For instance, Stephen’s willowy figure is not capable of achieving the strength the other men possess. More importantly, he is too fascinated with beauty to desire to pursue the life of

In the book, the peach tree can be said to represent Jane’s identity as a woman and her budding sexuality. She compares her change to that of the pear tree blossoming. Like the tree, she could feel that she was now a grown woman and she was of age. The tree growing and blossoming represents how she transforms into a woman who wants to find and experience love as compared to the innocent girl she was earlier on. This can be seen on Page 10 where Hurston says, ‘It had called her to gaze on a mystery… from barren brown stems to glistening leaf-buds… to the snowy virginity of bloom’. As the tree blossoms, she becomes more interested in love and romance, and she even forms views towards these two affairs. Janie gets her first kiss under the pear tree, and the reader can now become aware of her maturing, and she is now a woman who is interested in kissing and romance. From the tree, she experiences sexual desires as seen here ‘…then Janie felt a remorseless pain

The parents’ different views and outlooks on the world influence their daughter’s decisions and alter how she reacts to Gaston throughout the story. One difference between the parents is their financial status. While on the phone with her mother, the mother said she was, “sending the chauffeur to pick her up…” This dialogue from the mother illustrates that she is wealthy. Earlier in the story, the girl was describing her dad saying, “He was at home. She was with him in his home in Paris, if you could call it a home.” The girl’s opinion demonstrates how different her life is at home. The opinion also shows how the dad’s house is not nearly as nice as her home. These quotes portray the differences in the financial aspects of the two parents’ lives. Another demonstration of the distinction between the parents is how they react to the bug. When the dad sees the bug, he proceeds to name it and defend it. The girl says, “Everybody hollers when a bug comes out of an apple, but you don’t holler or anything.” The dad replies by saying, “Of course not. How should we like it if somebody hollered every time we came out of our house?” This conversation implies that the dad is creative and accepting things that are odd. In contrast, when the mom sees the bug she immediately rejects it. The mom says, “Somebody gets a peach with a bug in it, and throws it away, but not him. He makes up a lot of foolishness about it.” These words

“But, I 'm already resigned to this fate / Looking over my life, I recall / If it hadn 't been / for the loneliness / I 'd have no companion at all. ” This stanza from “Loneliness”, by Lora Colon evokes the negative impact a lonely fate has on a person. Words like “resigned” and “loneliness” establish a sense of depression and resignation. During the times of the Great Depression, many people felt similar feelings of melancholy and stoicism. Jobs were hard to come by, and realistic dreams of success were scarce. John Steinbeck’s novel, Of Mice and Men, allows readers to see the life of the Great Depression. The two main characters, George and Lennie, search for jobs, like many other migrant workers. They dream of owning their own land, however, Lennie’s habit of getting in trouble prevents their dream from being reality. After he accidentally causes more trouble at their new job, George is forced to kill him out of mercy. Throughout the novel, Steinbeck shows that even if one meticulously plans out the road to their American Dream, fate will inevitably intervene and lead one to desolation and loneliness.

During Christmas Jeannette’s father Rex would give his kids stars as a present. Jeannette describes Rex as an intelligent, loving and smart father that she admired a lot. The term father reflected Jeannette’s overall admiration for her father because her father is brave enough to face the cold. As the author quotes, ‘the cold never bothered him” (39). In other words, Rex Walls has the potential to make Jeannette feel special. Specifically, Jeannette describes her father in a very simple way that explains the entry experience and structure of the story. In the book Jeannette repeats that “Dad said” several

Claire Standish or “the princess” portrays the stereotypical popular teenage girl in The Breakfast Club. She is in detention with everyone else because she decided to skip class and go shopping, which also plays into the stereotypical teen girl image. It can also be assumed that she is spoiled and rich since her father tried to get her out of detention but failed, and she mentions to the group that her parents only use her to get back at the other one. She brings a fancy lunch of sushi while the other teens either have nothing or the standard lunch one’s parents might pack for them. There are a couple of times in the movie that she brings up her social standing and could even be considered as looking down on those who are not as popular as her. Even closer towards the end of the movie she informs the others that if they were to say hello to her in the hallway in front of her friends, she would have no choice but to ignore them. By the end of the movie, she has opened up to everyone else about her fears of letting her peers down and has formed a close relationship with Bender.

In the novel, The Stranger by Albert Camus, Meursault the protagonist, becomes drawn into a “senseless” murder that has to face the absurdity of life and because of his actions, Meursault is presented as a danger due to his lack of “morality” to society. Meursault who is not able to take control of his life but respond to what life offers him believes in the simplicity of life. He tries to understand the living through logic and objectivity, which ultimately turns futile, as he himself cannot maintain proper control over his thoughts and emotions. From the interactions between Marie, to the murder of the Arab, and the meeting with the Chaplain, Meursault overcomes his indifferent views to form an opinion about what life really means. The central theme presented by Camus is how the threat of mortality becomes a catalyst for understanding the significance of life.