Brownsville is a story collection based around the people and experiences Oscar Casares grew up around. RG is about a man who lends his neighbor a hammer. Year after year, he thinks about this hammer that has yet to be returned, but he refuses to ask for it back. In the particular short story, RG,…
Chango is a story about a man named Bony, who found a dead monkey’s head and begins to take the monkey head around him. Although this is perceived to be strange, the true meaning of the story comes out when you examine the relationship between Bony, the dead monkey, and his late friend Mando. Viewing…
In Oscar Casares’ collection of short stories, he explores many topics including grief. Domingo is a story about an older man that finds himself working in America, as an illegal immigrant unable to go and visit his wife on a day of significance to them. The day was the birthday of their only daughter, who…
In An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge, the theme is evident. The story is about the peril of a man, Peyton Farquhar, a white farm owner in the South during the Civil War. At the beginning of the story, he finds himself about to be hung and it explores how he got there and his…
“Mid Term Break” by Seamus Murphy is a poem in which the speaker gives an account of the aftermath of a family tragedy. In this poem, he expresses feelings of grief. As well as these feelings, Heaney also comments on ideas such as various emotions including sadness, anger, detachment, and the responses of his family…
What is the role of apparitions in Macbeth? Throughout the play, Macbeth sees various apparitions, each at an important point in his story. The apparitions can be perceived as a visual manifestation of his declining mentality. When Macbeth feels most guilty and remorseful of his actions, he hallucinates, and these visions symbolize his compunction. When…
“Disabled” is a Poem about a Soldier who lost his limbs in World War I. It was written by Poet Wilfred Owen in 1917 during World War 1. “Out Out” is about a Boy who loses his life because of a tragic accident with him having his hand cut off. “Out Out” is based on…
Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado,” is a sinister tale of revenge. Betrayal and retaliation are horrific ways to express anger toward friends, but what happens when they lead to a painful death? “I must not only punish, but punish with impunity” (Poe 328). This is how Montresor explained the importance of killing his…
Oxymoron – a figure of speech in which contradictory terms are used in the same sentence/ subject. “I must be cruel, only to be kind” (Hamlet; 3; 4; 180) Hamlet is speaking to the ghost of his father and himself. He is talking about being cruel to others, more specifically his mother, in order to…
The soldier is highly revered when he dies for his country. He is labeled as a “true patriot”, a man that went to ultimate lengths for his nation. While the term “patriot” is used ubiquitously, its meaning remains in fluctuation. According to renowned former first lady Eleanor Roosevelt, “[t]rue patriotism [is the] belief in the…
Obsession: it is an amazing curse. When one is obsessed over a project, it can become an all-consuming focus to the exclusion of anything else. However, that single mindedness, if allowed to control one, can be harmful and eventually bring ruin. Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel Frankenstein tells the horrific tale of the struggles between a…
If you are looking for a story portraying undying love and a completely unexpected finish, Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens is the place to go. Published in 1859, it is set in the late 18th century with the background ofthe French Revolution. This serial novel depicts the lives of characters from two different…
What is a hero? While many envision a muscular man wearing a cape with super powers, the definition of a hero is much simpler. According to the Merriam Webster Dictionary, a hero is “a person admired for achievements and noble qualities.” Bilbo Baggins was the hero introduced in The Hobbit. This adventurous story, by J.R.R.…
Theme: Vivid imagery & Religion Type: Six quatrains of rhyming couplets Background Made of questions Addressing the tiger, the speaker questions its creation Often interpreted to deal with issues of inspiration, mystical knowledge and God Blake contemplates about what kind of God could design and create such an awesome creature First verse – clearly evokes…
Theme: Prejudice/discrimination & How people learn hard lessons Type: Blank verse Background Written by Wole Soyinka – first African to win the Nobel Prize for literature The poem is about a man trying to rent a flat from an English landlady Her attitudes towards him change when she hears he is African She is clearly…
Type: Dramatic Monologue Background Written by Gabriel Okara Addressed from a father to his son in a relatively straightforward style Father is dismayed by the insincere forms of communication developed Wants his son to “unlearn” these false ways The poem is about people changing, becoming falser and more untrustworthy; also influence of Western values on…
Theme: Childhood Type: Free Verse Background Tells the story of an incident in a young boy’s life – told to stay back in class as punishment for “Something Very Wrong” he had done Forgetting is another key theme of the poem The boy knows the important times of the day (to him) – doesn’t think…
Theme: Love & Loyalty Type: Sonnet Background Shakespeare is Britain’s most famous poet/playwright Sonnet suggests that love is forever -this didn’t conform with the idea of the time – instead of obedience/subservience it focuses on faithfulness, forgiveness and equality Language Compares (simile) love to the North Star – eternal and unchanging Paradox – he says…
Theme: Love (obsessive, the enchantment of being in love rather then enduring love), Death, Abandonment, Sad/sentimental Type: Ballad Background Written by John Keats – one of the Romantic poets The title means “the beautiful lady without pity” Sees a knight on the verge of death because of his romantic encounter – showing the dangers of…
