The Ironic Ending In The Power Of One

In the novel “Ender’s Game” Orson Scott Card like to use irony. Irony is when the opposite of what is expected happens. The first example of irony is when Valentine is on the nets and she is writing under the name Demosthenes. The reason this is irony is because Valentine is a very loving and comforting person. On the other hand, Demosthenes is harsh and writes radical political viewpoints. Another ironic situation Card uses is Peter on the net writing under the name Locke. Peter is the opposite from Locke. Peter is a violent person and nails animals to the ground and watches them die. Locke, on the other hand, tries to spread the opposite message and fight for what is right and would never support what Peter does. Finally, Ender kills almost

In order to make this reflection as honest as I can, I’m going to have to reveal that my beliefs and idea on reading do not synchronize with those of Perrine and thus it is difficult to incorporate her advice and provide an unbiased reflection that does not conflict with the author's analytical interpretations. What is perhaps the punchline of the text states, “Immature readers seek only escape. Even when they think they are reading for interpretation or some useful moral, they insist that what they read return them always some pleasant or exciting image of the world or some flattering image of themselves” (Perrine 2). While the previous quote may not be completely applicable to me because the text was assigned, I can see myself getting lost within the text and with that, my interpretations. Had I perhaps distanced myself and not been allowed to get “lost” in the text then I would have provided an interpretation for the assigned novels with less emotional bias in it. Perrine then goes onto say an immature reader tends to “make fixed demands of every story and feel frustrated and disappointed unless these demands are satisfied. Often they stick to one type of subject matter” (Perrine 3). While I cannot see any educated individual following this, perhaps to some extent I may have allowed an untidy ending to fix my feelings toward a novel to be relatively

As he develops in his boxing and in his education he begins to take further action to improve life for the African people that he meets. After fighting the son of his former nanny, Gideon Mandoma, Peekay helps add African boxers to the gym he boxes in. This gives a platform to talented individuals to grow their skills and as Peekay grows closer to them as friends he decides to open a night school for them so that he can give them more opportunity. “‘We’re going to start a school for Solly’s black boxers,’” (p444). Despite the fact that trying to open up a school for African boxers could jeopardize his place at Prince of Wales School Peekay is independent enough to still try it because he knows that it is right to give deserving and hard working people an education. Peekay’s insistence pays off in the end, and he is able to open a night school and begin educating not only African boxers but also other African workers in the surrounding area. Peekay’s independent mindset and ideals are the reason he was able to open the school and help so many

In literature, many authors love for throw an unexpected twist as the end. Shirley Jackson is no exception. In the short stories “The Lottery” and “The Possibility of Evil” by Shirley Jackson both take twist that the reader doesn’t expect. In “The Lottery” a small town gathers to draw a winner; however Tessie Hutchinson is not delighted to be the winner. Also in “The Possibility of Evil” another small town has an unexpected villain who resides on Pleasant St. Shirley Jackson uses literary devices to depict twist at the end of her short stories because she used literary devices such as syntax, irony and mood.

The ends of the story are very different from each other in quite a few ways. Let just say there is a good ending in one story and a bad ending in another. Lets go deeper

This surge of emotion then follows through into the conclusion. It clearly and directly states the ultimatum it intends to fulfill.

The irony of each story came to light at the close of the writings. The ending turned out to be something totally different than what it would initially have thought to be, because of how the narratives

Historically, endings to stories are expected to be happy, concise, and with no loose ends. However, in literature there are many stories with gruesome endings or not-so-happy endings. An ending like the one of the play Cyrano De Bergerac written by Edmund Rostand is less than happy and very sad to read. While feelings of self-loathing and inadequacy motivated Cyrano to keep a secret and lock up his feelings, Cyrano’s choice to withhold his true feelings of love for Roxane led to a death and 2 lives wasted. In Cyrano De Bergerac, Cyrano is the protagonist, a man with many extraordinary talents in wordcraft and swordcraft, but an abnormally large nose that makes him self conscience about his appearance and spurs much self doubt. Cyrano is in love with his beautiful cousin Roxane, who happens to be in

When Peekay met Morrie at Prince of Wales School, they become friends immediately. Peekay started boxing there, and Morrie showed Peekay that he could bet on his fights and win a lot of money. This made them become closer, along with them both being outsiders at the school. “‘Are you very good at making money?’ I asked Morrie. ‘About as good as you are at boxing, I reckon’” (333). Morrie was willing to teach Peekay about gambling, but for it to work, Peekay needed to win the matches. Morrie wanted Peekay to become his law partner, but Peekay wanted to stick with boxing, and Morrie respects his

This ending also reinforces the message by making it something that you remember and can’t stop thinking about. Another perk of using it is that it closes things off but isn't unbelievable. In order to understand why the author chose this ending, it may help to look at what other endings there could have been and why he didn't choose them. This ending sends a much darker message than it would have without it. If the book ended with a happy ending I feel it would feel depressing.

Hoppie begins training Peekay in boxing. He introduces Peekay to everyone as “Kid Peekay, the next welterweight contender” (70). Peekay is mesmerized by the world of boxing and develops an actual ambition to become welterweight champion of the world. When he is visiting Doc in the prison, he learns that there is a boxing squad at the prison. He says, “I’ve got to start boxing because I have to become the welterweight champion of the world” (187). When Peekay is a little older, he says, “Mrs. Boxall knew that nothing, not even marriage to Miss Bornstein, was allowed to stand in the way of my being welterweight champion of the world.” (274) Peekay is in love with Miss Bornstein, but he is more in love with the prospect of being welterweight champion. Later in the book, he mentions that he even values boxing over education: “I placed less importance on my intelligence than on my prowess as a boxer" (330). Peekay's heart was in boxing. He says, “The only totally independent thing in my life was my ambition to become the welterweight champion of the world. It was the only thing that couldn’t be manipulated.” (462) Hoppie is always with Peekay through the obsession with boxing he instilled on him. Peekay’s early interests have stuck with him and shaped his identity.

One of Peekay's aspirations is to become a breathtaking boxer. In the process of becoming so, he meets a lightweight boxing all-star, Hoppie, and learns a great deal about boxing that can translate into his life. Peekay describes Hoppies determination as, “He had given me the power of one--one idea, one heart, one mind, one plan, one determination. Hoppie had sensed my need to grow, my need to be assured that the world around me had not been specially arranged to bring about my undoing. He gave me a defense system, and with it he gave me hope”(103). In other words, Peekay now has proven to himself that he is not helpless. Knowing that there is a person who can relate to his struggles gives Peekay a confidence boost. Hoppie gave Peekay a reason to believe that there is a way to overcome his problematic size, which caused for bullying problems in the past. Although this can apply to the boxing ring,

Peekay, as a child, has a greater understanding of the injustice of racism than most adults in the novel The Power of One because of his early life experiences. As his mother is unstable, Peekay is raised by a black Zulu nanny whom he loves. He is introduced to the racial hatred towards blacks because of this relationship, and Nanny describes it, saying, “In the matter of white man’s punishment, the black people already understand that the body can be broken by a sjambok but never the spirit” (Courtenay 14). At age five, Peekay is sent to a Boer boarding school where he is the youngest and speaks only English. Not understanding the tensions between the Boers and British, Peekay describes his reaction to the discrimination he faces, explaining,

There is one word to describe this final passage; closure. This passage sums up the entire book, wraps it in pretty paper and places it under our Christmas trees, or dishes it out on our birthdays for our nonreligious folks. The fact that this excerpt is not the final lines of KING OF ITHAKA is the ribbon on to of our perfectly packages parcels. All to many times have I read books for school, claiming to be phenomenal pieces of literature and been disappointed upon reading the ending. Although you find a gem like this ending at times, nearly every book that I have been required to read ended in a rushed, unpolished ending that I was dissatisfied with because it provided no crumb of closure. Whenever I read a novel, I see it as a serious commitment. Therefore, when I start a novel,with a horrible ending, like I do so often, I feel cheated. I applaud Tracy Barrett for the ending of her book. The ending to King OF Ithaka is

Some say that a true ending to a story does not exist— that the end of a story is just where the author chose to stop telling the story. The novel The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway goes against this belief by providing satisfactory closure— a conclusion — rather than merely an ending or a ceasing. The novel tells the story of a group of of American and British friends travelling internationally from Paris to Pamplona to see bullfights while taking no breaks from their drama-filled night lives. These members of the lost generation spend their days trying to find meaning in their seemingly meaningless lives, and get caught up in love affairs along the way. The conclusion of The Sun Also Rises contains a single line that satisfies the reader by providing enough closure but leaves room for interpretation, which appropriately concludes the work.