That Was Then, This Is Now Theme Essay That Was Then, This Is now is a very emotional novel by S.E. Hinton. It centers around Bryon and Mark, two boys who are close as brothers. As the novel goes on, Bryon is becoming more mature and responsible while Mark stays the same by just living life without considering any consequences or repercussions. This puts a strain on their relationship. So when Bryon finds out that Mark is doing something that is indirectly harming the people he cares for, he makes a decision that completely changes their once close relationship, and in general their individual selves. The novel can be interpreted in many different ways, however, one major theme in this novel is the idea of right versus wrong. The theme of right versus wrong is shown greatly throughout the entire book, even in parts of the plot that has not reached the climax. Mark and …show more content…
After an incident involving acid trip and M&M, Bryon’s girlfriend’s little brother, Bryon come home to find drugs where Mark keeps cigarettes. He realizes that Mark is a drug dealer and a “pusher” and was selling drugs to a hippie house that M&M was previously residing in. He believes that what Mark is doing is completely wrong, and that he has “no concept of what was wrong; he didn’t obey laws, because he couldn’t see that there were any. Laws, right and wrong, they didn’t matter to Mark, because they were just words,”(P.147). However, once again, the question about society’s morals and personal morals comes up. Does Mark follow his personal morals, and better yet does he even have any? Also, was it right for Bryon to turn Mark in to the police for doing a “wrong” thing? The novel shows us that there is no real definition of “right” and “wrong”. It is your personal morals that define your actions. However, due to society’s morals, you can often pay the price for your “right”
Clarity Comes with Age In the short story “No Gray Areas” by Mark Johnston, the repetition of black and white imagery reveals that as an adult it is clear whether something is right or wrong, but as a child, that person is unable to differentiate the two and is stuck in a gray area of confusion. This theme is shown through black and white imagery when Johnston tells of his misdirection as a child, and when he reflects on his childhood experiences. One way Johnson reveals the theme, childhood confusion between right and wrong is later clarified as an adult, is by telling of his experiences as a child. He tells of the black and white things around him saying, “The only wall decoration was a black-and-white eye chart; the floor was covered with
Throughout the novel many problems occur. Some of the main problems are racial and equality issues. Events in this book show how prejudice and intolerance can ruin numerous friendships and change lives.
Right and wrong contradict each other, but they both have the aspect of passion and desire to complete their goals. Evil can be disguised or hidden under something so untainted like the White City that it will only go noticed when it is too late. The distinct diversity of good and evil can be found in characters like Daniel Burnham and Dr. H. H. Holmes, and through them, the inevitable conflict between good and evil occurs.
One example of this theme is the book is the battle between Redd and Queen Genevieve. At the beginning of the story soon after learning the the King has been killed, the queendom is attacked by a very vengeful, very violent Redd. Redd’s violence is
In the novel Lord of the Flies, the theme that is most obvious is man vs. man and good vs. evil. Throughout the novel we see the boys slowly drift into different groups. In the beginning we are under the impression that the groups are good and evil, with Ralph being the leader of the good ones and then jacks group going off and created his “evil” group. As we come to find out, both groups start to become savages at the end, with the murder of Simon and Piggy.
throughout the book. Some people believe that the book’s theme has nothing to do with good
The novel " Lord of the Flies" focuses on the conflict that exists between two competing impulses that Golding, suggests exist within all humans; these being the instinct to follow the rules, act in a peaceful manner and comply to moral commands compared to the instinct to act violently in order to gain control over others and to satisfy our own greed and personal desires. The conflict exists within the novel in several forms; law and order vs. anarchy, civilization vs. savagery and the basic term of good vs. evil. Golding uses these themes consistently throughout the novel, clearly associating instinctive savagery with evil and the instinct of civilisation with good. The representation of this lies in Ralph and Jack, the two central
The most obvious of the themes is that of violence, brutality, and torture. Tied into this also is the idea of injustice. Many of these themes are intertwined. Constantly the reader is berated with violent images, or descriptions of violence. These must be on nearly every second page of the novel. A good
John Edgar Wideman’s, “Our Time”, tells the story of how his brother’s mistakes have caused Robby lots of trouble. Many questions have roamed through my head about Robby, John’s brother, and why he turned out the way he was. Why did Robby have to turn out to be the rebel in the family? Could it have been his home town, his family, or his friends? Those are the questions. I feel like it may have been the “ghetto”, Homewood, that influenced him.
Throughout many works of literature, a prominent theme has been “Good vs. Evil';. Many authors base the plot of their novels around “good guys'; fighting the “villain';.Robert Louis Stevenson contrasts good and evil through many of the characters thathe creates.
The main themes of Larson’s book are very clear in his prologue; they include the three main conflicts of good versus evil, daylight versus darkness, and the Black City versus the White City. Throughout the book Larson supports all three theme s with his overall story and characters. For example, he supports his theme of good versus evil seen in Chicago during the late1800s through his story of Holmes; Holmes is seen as a murderer to readers, however, within the story Holmes is blindly seen as a great magical man to many characters. The underlying story of Holmes also contributes to the support of good versus evil because as the fair becomes a great and majestic statement for the United States, Holmes is the contradiction to the good the fair is supposed to be doing because he is contributing to the rate of disappearances and deaths in the greatest city of the time.
Throughout his play, Shakespeare uses a wide variety of themes in order to convey the sense of evil. These themes are omnipresent, and well implemented into the text, as they allow the reader to visually imagine the different occurrences, and how they might lead to a sense of evil throughout. The themes included consist of appearance and reality, guilt, ambition, violence and tyranny and order and disorder. Several quotes are weaved into the text in order to express more clearly the theme Shakespeare is attempting to convey. The themes all come together to enhance the dark symbolism of evil, and how it is actually conveyed.
Theme: Good and Evil Create a SocietyParagraph 1:CENTRAL IDEA: Conflicts heavily arise between the two topics of good and evil. THESIS SENTENCE: Through common stories good and evil are portrayed through both protagonist and antagonist view, creating morals and opinions, and how societies views have changed over time. Paragraph 2:TOPIC SENTENCE: Common stories portray good and evil through both a protagonist and antagonist view.Paragraph 3: TOPIC SENTENCE: Significant morals and opinions are shown in stories made up of good and evil.Paragraph 4: TOPIC SENTENCE: Societies views have changes over time by the reality brought out in good and evil.Paragraph 5: CONCLUSION: Good and evil represented the two different thoughts that occur through
In the essay “Our Time” by John Edgar Wideman he often takes a break from the narrative to address that he has many problems as a writer. He does this to try to consciously address these problems and hopefully solve these problems. He believes that if these problems are not rectified he would destroy any chance he has at telling a truthful account of his brother’s story. To rectify these problems he employs a variety of unique techniques in his writing. Looking at these techniques it is not always 100% clear how these are fixing his problems. It is also evident that the way he is writing may be going against a lot of things we were taught in school about our writing.
One of the themes that exists throughout the book is the power of love, how decisions driven by love, can change a person’s life for betterment. Numerous times in the book, characters are forced to make life-changing decisions. A significant example in The Night Circus is when Bailey faced an extremely