Raimond Gaita's Romulus, My Father

The importance of cherishing the invaluable individuals in one’s life is apparent in Matthew Teague’s personal journey of his wife’s battle against cancer and a genuine friendship. “The Friend” depicts emotional appeal, comparisons, and vivid imagery to portray the significance of valuing loved ones. There is no single definition for a loved one. A spouse, children, family, friends, the reciprocated love can build everlasting bonds, but why is it so important to treasure the relationships we have? Just because they are family, it may not signify that we love them; just because they are acquaintances, it does not necessarily indicate that we have a type of love for them either. The pure love we possess for someone is rare and never chosen or obliged, so this valuable love should be nurtured, for people are bound within unpredictable time limits. Nichole’s, Teague’s wife’s, diagnosis of cancer was a realization for him that his days with her were numbered. Along the way, Dane Faucheux, the couple’s friend, was devoted to aiding the Teague family during their struggling time. Faucheux’s undisputed support for Teague and his family surprised him numerous times throughout their experience. This love in the sublime story is seeped with appreciation for those Teague values in his life. The realization and worth of his deep endearment for his family and friend is transferred to the reader, and he or she begins to realize the reality of the given time to value those who are most important.

The first passage reveals the parallel suffering occurring in the lives of different members of the family, which emphasizes the echoes between the sufferings of the father and the narrator. The narrator’s father’s despair over having watched

After contemplating the purpose of a memoir several things came to mind. I believe it can serve to be cathartic for the writer as they can be set free by working through certain events in their life. Furthermore, and perhaps more importantly, I think a memoir can serve as a way to for the writer to tell their story in a vivid way that allows the readers to feel like they are living the experience and perhaps to learn a valuable lesson from their story. Therefore, I chose to analyze two memoirs they were Superman and Me by Sherman Alexie and “Salvation” by Langston Hughes. I concentrated on trying to determine the purpose of each piece in order to indicate what pivotal aspects were employed that either helped or hindered them in achieving that purpose.

Of all the forms of literature, the most interesting might be the fairytales, or the science fiction thriller about robots. However, there lacks the sense of truth, in a way blocking the reader from true connection with the story. Memoir is real, memoir is true, and memoir can range from any end of the ocean in structure and theme.

The theme of friendship courses through Chaim Potok’s book, The Chosen. Potok desires to show the reader what a strong friendship looks like and how it stands up to the test of time. When two people know each other well and spend a lot of time together, there are bound to be misunderstandings, fights, and other trials. Yet God says in His word “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” (New American Standard Bible, Proverbs 27:17) Even when friendships are difficult, they can “sharpen” the people involved in the friendship, like in the case of Danny and Reuven. Danny and Reuven’s friendship lasts through Danny’s irrational behavior, Reuven’s outbursts of anger, and Reb Saunders’s absurd beliefs.

In “How to Write a Memoir” William Zinsser gives very detailed and important advice to writers interested in writing a memoir. He gives the specific advice of “Be yourself,” “Speak Freely,” and “Think Small” (Zinsser, 2, 4, 6). These tips advise writers to not only think about what they want to say in their story but also how they want to tell their story. Many memoir authors choose to follow this advice and write their story using these points, but many do not. In the memoir “A Summer Life”, Gary Soto follows Zinsser’s writing advice through his use of writing from the point of view of a young child, speaking freely about his early life events, and writing about his life in small structure chapters.

Examples that demonstrate style: Certain passages of the memoir depict events of emotional and grueling intensity, in such a vivid way that they convey the surreal manner of life which the prisoners had become forced to endure, and the scenes into which they had been thrown, dreamlike in their fortified connections with the impossible. For instance, during a night of the death march, the prisoners all vied for a place under the meager roof of a hut. They fought for this place, crushing and suffocating others. “I wanted to get up and disengage myself to allow him to breathe. But I myself was crushed under the weight of other bodies…I dug my nails into unknown faces. I was biting my way through…I couldn’t breathe through my mouth or my nose…This was it; the end of the

Friendship opens our minds to different views and perspectives and change our perceptions. It has the power to change people’s views on life in a positive way. True friends will do anything to keep their friendship alive, no matter the barriers. Potok proves through the friendship of Danny and Reuven that friendship can be achieved no matter the barriers. He proves that friendship is a key value to life through his motif

In the reading, “Writing About Yourself: The Memoir” by William Zinsser, the author uses organization, examples, and direct advice to develop the purpose and message of the selection. The message of this piece is that writing about oneself and delving into what has made the author who they are gives the writing individuality and distinction. Like the message, the purpose is to encourage writers to write about themselves and what has shaped them without hesitation. To begin with, the author uses a pattern of organization where he introduces an excerpt of a memoir by stating a quality that makes this memoir exemplary. After the excerpt, he will further comment on what makes this memoir memorable for him. For example, the author states, “One secret of the art [the memoir] is detail… a sound or smell—as long as it played a

Friendship describes the mutual pledge to help reveal the innermost workings of a person, bringing out the hidden attributes and validity of one’s characteristics. Subsequently, the bonds and struggles of friendship are a central cause for unveiling identity as the relationship one makes contributes to long-lasting change. The acceptance of a person’s differences conveys an importance for the development of strong bonds. Moreover, hardships accompanying relationships establish times to reflect on oneself and lead to positive outcomes for growth. Furthermore, the memorable journeys embed an area in one’s mind that will change the way self-perspective is seen. Through the characters of Lewis in If I Ever Get Out Of Here by Eric Gansworth and

One such value of friendship that is demonstrated to be of major importance throughout the novel is loyalty, and how important it truly is to a friendship. Furthermore, the novel also demonstrates how vital support is as a value of friendship, and how it can both amend and create them. On top

Perhaps this means that the living friend begins to do more reflection on the experiences shared while both were living; perhaps this means that the living party carries on with conversing with their friend who has passed on, either not expecting a response or crafting one that they think their friend might have offered as a response in life. The new kind of friendship is more introspective, but the connection needn’t die because one of the friends did. Whyte also postulates that, “all friendships of any length are based on a continued, mutual forgiveness. Without tolerance and mercy all friendships die” (Whyte 71). It seems that, to Whyte, forgiveness and understanding are the cornerstones of a successful friendship. Not only is an authentic friendship strengthened over time because of the numerous chances for one’s mistakes and the other’s resultant forgiveness, but also, time strengthens it by desensitizing the two people from each others’ downfalls. In a lasting and meaningful friendship, the downfalls are acknowledged, but they are not something upon which the friends dwell; in place of dwelling on errors, the friends focus on encouraging the positive aspects of each other’s humanity. Whyte supports this claim in saying, “…to remain friends we must know the other and their difficulties and even their sins and encourage

Two people of different ages and genders can form solid friendship, which becomes their spiritual dependence and compensates their lacking of emotional care. Also, the end of friendship further demonstrates the importance of it. This paper will focus on Okyō and Kichizō’s friendship in “Separate Ways,” by Higuchi Ichiyo, and Park So-nyo and Lee Eun-gyu’s friendship in Please Look After Mom by Kyung-sook Shin, to analyze the form and end of their friendships.

The short-story “A Conversation with My Father”, by Grace Paley, combines several themes and the author uses the elements of abandonment, denial, irony, humor and foreshadowing, to bring this emotional story together. This story is mainly about the relationship between a parent and his child. The primary characters are a father, and his child. There is no mention of whether the child is his daughter or son. The tone of the story and the conversations made me believe that the old man has a daughter, and hence I will refer to the child as his daughter.

Imagine being away from love ones and not knowing anything about them. What if they not doing well or they are in danger? Being far away would be hard because one won’t know if his or her love ones are safe or not. Kindness helps to improve a friendship no matter what people can be kind to one another. In “When Mr. Pirzada Came to Dine” Jhumpa Lahiri presents the idea that kindness can be helpful for a person that needs it. No matter what situation one person can be in always be kind it can make them feel better.