Shells By Cynthia Rylant Summary

“Ashes”, a short story by Susan Beth Pfeffer, shows that when a child may feel stuck in the middle, they may be more vulnerable to confusion and manipulation. The story is centered around a girl named Ashleigh, whose parents recently separated. She lives with her mom, who is a rather sensible woman, and her father who is, as her mom dictates, “an irresponsible bum”, Although it may not always be his fault, Ashleigh’s father seems to struggle with holding his responsibilities and promises, which later creates conflict. The theme that can be generated from the coming of age story, ‘Ashes’, by Susan Beth Pfeffer is susceptibility to manipulation in a separated family.

¨There was a law against luke. Not him personally everyone like him, kids who were born after their parents already had two babies (pg 6)¨. Would you like a law against you? Among the hidden by Margaret Peterson Haddix clearly shows that dictatorship is horrible. In this novel Luke is not allowed to leave the house or be seen. Luke leaves the house in cover and meets a girl the same as him she can't go anywhere so she tries to convince luke to rebel to be like regular people with her but he is to nervous. Luke shows the character traits of brave, jealousy and adventurous as he hides in the shadows.

Michael struggles making friends. one way he does is in paragraph 21-28 it says Michael hadn’t made any friends the teachers barely notice him. This is probably because his parents dead and he is being quiet in class. But one day Michael went to the pet store looking for something small and living and hermit crabs where a dollar. When Michael got home he showed the hermit crab to Aunt Esther. “Where is he” says Aunt Esther. Then some eyes poke out of a shell.

Some call accidents mistakes; others call them luck. But, no matter the accident, something is learned. Think of Dr. Alexander Fleming and his accidental discovery of penicillin in 1928 (Krock). If he would have discarded his old petri dishes without looking, this antibiotic may not have been discovered. That is evidence that any day could bring surprise, and, with understanding, people gain experience through mistakes. The speaker in “A Green Crab’s Shell” by Mark Doty has a similar unexpected discovery with a shell. Doty’s use of contrasting diction allows the reader to understand the speaker’s ultimate discovery of inner beauty. Even though the reader has conflicting ideas on the shell’s exterior beauty, the speaker has his moment of realization after flipping over the shell.

In the search for suspects in the cases, the police are mostly involved in the brutalization of the family members in search of evidence to present in court. The use of physical force is dominant with the police and also there is destruction of property of the suspects who are involved in the police brutality. In the search for the suspects too, the police may involve the people through long interrogation processes which entails issuing of threats to arrest the people, eviction of the people and also threatening to lose their children in cases whereby they want evidence on the crimes. In the search of people with warrants of arrest, the police become brutal in a way which may make them promise things like funerals and also putting the people to emergency rooms for medication purposes quickly (Newcomb, 2014). The higher pressures in arresting the people according to Goffman indicates the failure of the police on the war against drugs which has made them to be brutal in such ways. The war against drugs according to the writer has led many people in prison instead of finding solutions to end the trading of drugs or to end poverty in many homesteads. According to Goffman, the agencies which are entrusted with the enforcement of law and order “address the significant social problems of able-bodied

As life continuously throws obstacles and challenges in life, humans tend to get through it with family members. In fact, most human/ people rely on family members to help them get through obstacles. Sending love to a family member for a hard situation leads to less stress as studies show. Obstacles are a things that happen on a daily basis and love may be the only cure. “Elena” is portraying a huge obstacle taking place, but no help is seeked, Pat Mora knows that this a struggle for others that they face everyday. Challenges vary on size and can have a great or small impact on a person but at the end, the person can overcome the obstacle. In “Elena”, Mora demonstrates love will overcome every obstacle when family is present.

Masculine-focused groups like fraternities or all-male schools are built off the idea of brotherly love. These groups exhibit certain qualities of personalities of their members that differ from the norm of social interactions and love. A possible way of explaining the differences between the love people are generally accustomed to and a love between males in the context of brotherhood groups is science. Barbara Fredrickson, author of Love 2.0: How Our Supreme Emotion Affects Everything We Feel, Think, Do and Become, describes love as a “positivity resonance”, using science to explain how it can be thought of as a connection between individuals through small, positive interactions. Susan Faludi, author of The Naked Citadel, illustrates a

There is a massive difference between wanting to keep a tradition alive and being so avid about living in sameness that it becomes dangerous. Fluidity and being open to revision is necessary in order to survive in an ever changing environment. In The Naked Citadel, Susan Faludi recounts the events that occurred during the period that Shannon Faulkner fought for acceptance to the Citadel, the military college of South Carolina. Throughout this time, the school community experienced utter chaos as a result of mixed emotions about letting a female gain the honor of becoming a cadet. In The Minds Eye, Oliver Sacks shows the necessity of change in order to survive by describing the changes that blind people made in their lives in order to become as successful as they are today. When an individual is forced to change, they are more likely to tackle the situation with an open mind as a method to make the best of that situation. In contrast, when change is not necessary, it can be much more difficult to adapt due to the presence of fear and insecurities.

Michael suffers great depression since his dog Ked died. Most of his family and other colleagues address him to see if he is through with Ked’s death, but really he was depressed all along. “I can't tell how sad i really am about Keds versus how sad i am in general”(Cameron 223). In addition, Michael gets sad of unusual things. “I can picture her eating a banana in her tiny office. This, too, makes me sad”(226). Michael gets depressed about Mrs. Dietrich being alone. Also, Michael gets heartbroken about other little things. “I think of her learning to write beautifully as a child and then growing up to be a guidance counsellor, and this makes me unhappy”(227). Michael is not just depressed of his dogs death, but every little problems in his life.

This is a wonderful monograph by Melissa Archer with a comprehensive study of the theme of “worship in the Apocalypse”. It illustrates various aspects of worship and the role of worship in the Apocalypse. The language of the book and different approaches to the theme are appreciated, because those are simple and clear to understand the theme.

“Belief is nearly the whole of the universe whether based on truth of not.” by Kurt Vonnegut. People live day by day on what they believe whether it is their morals or values, and what people say. We choose to believe what we want to like in all of the Bluebeard variances. Bluebeard is a not as well known fairytales that tell you the grim consequences of disobedience and curiosity that women deal with during marriage. Although, marriages have many secrets, every wife and husband deserves the truth when it comes to dishonestly, disloyalty, and sometimes murder.

Michael was brought up in poor project housing that was consumed by drugs, alcohol, and gangs. He was pushed in and out of foster homes forcefully being separated from his mother and siblings. As the movie showed in harsh flashbacks, Michael is deeply affected by the forceful separation from his mother. This constant absence from the mother or other supportive figures leaves Michael unable to make a secure attachment to any strong base. Erikson’s stage of trust versus mistrust is displayed due to Michael’s inability to count on the kindness and compassion of others which leads him to withdraw from his surroundings (p 248). This abrupt memory in life affects Michael in his idea of family and commitment. The harsh environment also kept Michael from attending school, and the times he did there was no support for him to even try in school.

Ethics is something we all face at some point in our lives and in social work, we will be running into ethical dilemmas on an everyday basis. The Prince of Tides is an insightful movie, every minute of it left me with my eyes glued to the screen. Although, this movie does have some minor problems within the plot. Prince of Tides is a movie about a grown woman named Savannah Wingo and she struggles with suicide and depression. She lives in New York while her brother, Tom Wingo, lives in South Carolina. She attempts suicide once again and the psychiatrist requests that Tom come to New York to visit Savannah. Tom arrives in New York and instantly becomes involved in Savannah’s case and the psychiatrist, Susan Lowenstein. While trying to

We all know that why oceans are important for us and why we need to take actions towards the preservation and keeping our oceans clean from plastic. In article “Our oceans are turning into plastic… are we?” Susan Casey has tried to inform the general audience about the problems caused by plastic in oceans. Susan Casey has strong credentials for writings this article because she already has wrote many works about the oceans and marine life such as The Devil's Teeth: A True Story of Obsession and Survival Among America's Great White Sharks. Furthermore she also worked in editorial tams of two movies Into Thin Air and The Perfect Storm. So this shows that she is well experienced in writing works about oceans and marine life. Using her previous

Unlike animals, humans are able to observe past the mere monochromatic vision of survival. We have an impeccable ability to desire more than just living to breed, and breeding only to someday perish. Thus, we gradually brush this canvas with the colours of ethics, control, and knowledge. Whether the colours fade or become prominent through time, this canvas becomes our perception of normality and we allow it to justify our actions; favorable or harmful. We, as well as the narrator in the short story The Hunt by Josephine Donovan represent this. However, because of the narrator’s difference in perception, self-indulgence, and greed for power, the story introduces a feeling of infuriation to the reader.