Good to a Fault by Marina Endicott Essay Example for Free

Good to a Fault by Marina Endicott Essay Take a moment and imagine a family of six traveling from city to city in order to survive, their only home, a car. Suddenly as their driving along a women speeds into them crashing, and wrecking their home. They are all then taken to a hospital, where the family discovers that the mother has progressive cancer in her lymph nodes. After this discovery, the father decides to skip town leaving his wife, three young children and elderly mother homeless. Good to a Fault by Marina Endicott is an exceptional novel. Endicott won the Commonwealth Writers Prize for Best book in Canada and the Caribbean for Good to a Fault. Why might you ask? Each character is so extraordinarily developed and so well described it feels as if you know them yourself. Their emotions, thoughts and actions are so personal that at the end of the novel Endicott has created a wonderful and realistic person. Their conflicts are so profound, that they are crippling to the characters that suffer under them. And a theme that so important that the book is named after it. Like most novels Good To A Fault has a variety characters with an array of personalities, thoughts and behaviors. What sets it aside from others, is the vivid characterization of not only the fundamental characters of the story, but even the characters that are only introduced once. The rotation of perspectives gives the novel a whole new view on each characters true personality and on the conflicts they face. As Mary Jo Murphy from the New York Times said, â€Å"it’s the quieter introspective dramas, provided by Endicott’s skillful rotation among the characters’ points of view, that hold your attention.† Each characters thoughts are described by the author in exact correspondence with their personalities. For example; Paul, who is a pastor, often indirectly makes allusions to faith. Like when he and Darwin are fixing up Claras basement Paul says, Today is a time for rejuvenation pg.153 or when he is speaking to Clara about her generosity towards the Gages he says You sacrificed yourself for others pg.329 Through this, Endicott solidifies Pauls personality, tying him to his religion. Making Paul a symbol of Christianity which brings into question the faith of many characters. Allowing the reader to experience the many sides of faith. Apart from that , appearance and reputation help to build complete characters. Take the protagonist Clara , Paul describes her as single, childless of course, took care with her appearance, fortyish, Christian, and not in good spirits for some time since her mothers death. pg.26. This information helps develop a rounded character. It isnt enough just to say that Clara is a nice person, so that is why she takes care of the Gage family. The author uses her faith, age and relationship status to give reason for her generous actions. It helps the reader gain a better understanding of Claras personality, and accordingly builds a relationship between the reader and the protagonist. Above all things what sets this book aside from any other is the conflicts. Unlike most books the conflict of this story introduces itself in the very first paragraph, â€Å"The other car came from nowhere, speeding through on the yellow, going so fast it was almost safely past when Claras car caught it.†pg. 7. Because of this you would think that there would be no rising action, no excitement and no great lesson for the protagonist to learn, but you would be wrong. This conflict originally appears as if it will have the most impact, but it does not. In fact it stems off into several other conflicts that characters struggle with individually, and as a group. For instance, Lorraines diagnosis with cancer. This leads to her husband, Clayton, struggling to find his family a safe home, which he fails to do on his own. This leaves him bitter because instead of him finding a solution through hard work, he is left to stay with the very women who put them in the situation, Clara. As he says when confronting Clara at the hospital, â€Å"Hard on you? Hard to sit and watch the results of what you did?†pg23. He decides to deal with this by leaving the family. His actions burden Clara with the care of the family he left behind. Leading to Claras guilt of driving the childrens father away and leaving the mother all alone. Ultimately she struggles with the idea that she cares for the Gage family either out of guilt or to fill the empty spaces not only in her spare rooms, but in her life. It only took Endicott one simple incident to create a million other problems throughout the novel. Each conflict faced, allows the reader to understand more about each characters role in the story. Finally molding the novel into the theme. The theme I took from this novel was ; personal satisfaction of goodwill is the only payment for charity,for if its not, the deeds bring no true meaning. However when I contacted Marina Endicott on twitter she described the theme as follows; How the debt of charity is redeemed; Love your neighbour as yourself. After Clara divorces her husband, she is left wounded by their short, detached marriage. Her parents then become ill and she must care for them. But soon they both die leaving Clara alone with all their possessions and burdens. When Clara opens up her home to the Gage family and a friends daughter, she must decide whether her actions are truly pure and for others benefit, or greedy and only being used to fill the void left by her parents and husband. So she questions herself, â€Å"I see what they need, but I am unwilling to help.†pg 25 When Clara takes in the Gage family she originally believes she is doing it to make up for the car accident she caused. As the visit becomes longer Clara grows more and more attached to the family as she brings them into her life. Caring for them soon becomes less of an obligation, and more of a desire as she grows to truly love the Gages like they were her own. She becomes so attached that she does not wish that they leave her home, and when they do she is deeply angered. â€Å"She did not want anything, except Pearce back, and Dolly, and Trevor; except the life she had left this afternoon, to run over and help Lorraine- to help her again!†pg.327 .This theme is a great topic that adds depth the novel. The whole story Clara is faced with deciding whether what she does is out of loneliness or out of good will. It is a topic that we should all consider when we decide to do something charitable. And yet another reason why I believe this is a wonderful piece of litterature. Ultimately this book incorporates everything that makes a good, memorable novel . Its realistic, likeable and relatable characters keep the reader the attached to the story. These characters face conflicts that challenge them physically and emotional but lead them to fulfilling rewards. Finally these elements are all summed up to create a concrete theme of charity versus selfishness, a topic rarely touched on in our society. These elements of the novel piece the story together as a whole and make it strong enough to last the test of time. This is a great novel.

The African Athena Controversy Essay -- Ancient History

With the absence of certainty, competitive plausibility is a realistic approach to trying to determine the influences that the Egyptians and Phoenicians had on the Ancient Greeks. Since the publication of the Bernal’s Black Athena volumes I and II, a great debate has surfaced. There is no question that the Egyptians and Phoenicians had an influence on the Greek culture, the questions that are being disputed is the exact nature of the relationship and what period of time this relationship existed. After reading the three articles presented, I have come to agree with Martin Bernal and his Revised Ancient Model of Greek origins. At one time Egypt was accepted as European, but that status began to erode and in the 1790’s Egypt was regarded as an African Nation. Prior to the 1820’s the most widely accepted theory of the origins of Greece was the Ancient Model. In this model, primitive tribes, Pelasigians, and others inhabited Greece. In certain regions of Greece, the Egyptians and Phoenicians settled, built cities, and civilized the natives. The Phoenicians were credited with having introduced the alphabet while the Egyptians taught the Pelasgians about irrigation (Bernal, p. 7). It was during this period, the Northern European scholars began to cast doubt on the colonization of ancient Greece by the Egyptian and Phoenicians and their cultural development of that time (Bernal, p. 7). â€Å"Historiographical developments cannot be linked to the availability of any evidence† (Bernal, p. 7). Sadly, there were some great discoveries found after the models changed, but they were ignored, like Jean-Francois Champollion findings, he had begun to decipher the hieroglyphics during 1820’s, the decipherment of cuneiform, and the first arc... ...ilization and led me to agree with Bernal’s Revised Ancient Model. References Berlinerblau, J. (1999). The Aryan Models. Heresy in the University: The Black Athena controversy and the reponsibilities of American intellectuals [Portfolio reading set]. Retrieved from University of Massachusetts at Boston: http://www.UMB.edu Bernal, M. (2001). Introduction Black Athena writes back [Portfolio reading set]. Retrieved from University of Massachusetts at Boston: http://www.UMB.edu Lefkowitz, M. R. (1996). Ancient history, Modern Myths. Black Athena Revisited [Portfolio reading set]. Retrieved from University of Massachusetts at Boston: http://www.UMB.edu The African Athena Controversy [Portfolio reading set]. (2012, June). Retrieved from University of Massachusetts at Boston, CEHD, CLA, CPCS, CSM, and CNHS Writing proficiency evaluation (WPE): http://www.UMB.edu The African Athena Controversy Essay -- Ancient History With the absence of certainty, competitive plausibility is a realistic approach to trying to determine the influences that the Egyptians and Phoenicians had on the Ancient Greeks. Since the publication of the Bernal’s Black Athena volumes I and II, a great debate has surfaced. There is no question that the Egyptians and Phoenicians had an influence on the Greek culture, the questions that are being disputed is the exact nature of the relationship and what period of time this relationship existed. After reading the three articles presented, I have come to agree with Martin Bernal and his Revised Ancient Model of Greek origins. At one time Egypt was accepted as European, but that status began to erode and in the 1790’s Egypt was regarded as an African Nation. Prior to the 1820’s the most widely accepted theory of the origins of Greece was the Ancient Model. In this model, primitive tribes, Pelasigians, and others inhabited Greece. In certain regions of Greece, the Egyptians and Phoenicians settled, built cities, and civilized the natives. The Phoenicians were credited with having introduced the alphabet while the Egyptians taught the Pelasgians about irrigation (Bernal, p. 7). It was during this period, the Northern European scholars began to cast doubt on the colonization of ancient Greece by the Egyptian and Phoenicians and their cultural development of that time (Bernal, p. 7). â€Å"Historiographical developments cannot be linked to the availability of any evidence† (Bernal, p. 7). Sadly, there were some great discoveries found after the models changed, but they were ignored, like Jean-Francois Champollion findings, he had begun to decipher the hieroglyphics during 1820’s, the decipherment of cuneiform, and the first arc... ...ilization and led me to agree with Bernal’s Revised Ancient Model. References Berlinerblau, J. (1999). The Aryan Models. Heresy in the University: The Black Athena controversy and the reponsibilities of American intellectuals [Portfolio reading set]. Retrieved from University of Massachusetts at Boston: http://www.UMB.edu Bernal, M. (2001). Introduction Black Athena writes back [Portfolio reading set]. Retrieved from University of Massachusetts at Boston: http://www.UMB.edu Lefkowitz, M. R. (1996). Ancient history, Modern Myths. Black Athena Revisited [Portfolio reading set]. Retrieved from University of Massachusetts at Boston: http://www.UMB.edu The African Athena Controversy [Portfolio reading set]. (2012, June). Retrieved from University of Massachusetts at Boston, CEHD, CLA, CPCS, CSM, and CNHS Writing proficiency evaluation (WPE): http://www.UMB.edu

Billy Elliot †Film Review Essay

Recently I watched a film entitled Billy Elliot. I personally thought that the film was great in several ways, scripts, film techniques .etc. Every aspects of the film were thought out with detail. The film was set in 1984 when the miners’ strike took place. The unique setting adds to why I like this film so much. Billy Elliot was directed by Stephen Daldry, and 1st published in the year 2000. Today this film still remains popular as a family movie. The story was told from the main character point of view, that is Billy Elliot (Jamie Bell). Billy was an eleven year old boy who has a dream to become a ballet dancer, after inheriting his mother’s love for dance and music. Unfortunately, Billy’s dream was opposed by his father, Jackie (Gary Lewis) and his brother (Jamie Draven). Every member of Billy’s family were coal miners and expected Billy to follow the same footsteps. However, this does not shatter Billy’s dream. Billy, supported by his friend, Michael (Stuart Wells), chooses to attend ballet classes outside his family’s knowledge. The film’s setting was in 1984 when a yearlong strike took place in Britain. Billy’s parents happen to be the coal miners involved in the strike. Throughout the film, the family’s struggle through the strike was filmed with much detail. Meanwhile Billy Elliot hopes to be a dancer. Billy’s father has already had enough struggles with the strike, and is enraged when he finds out the Billy has been attending classes without him knowing, and forbids ballet. Billy still remains firm and continued to pursue his dreams. Would Billy achieve his dream? Watch the film and find out. The main theme of Billy Elliot is mainly family issues and stereotyping. The film was set in the 1980s when stereotyping was done often. This affects Billy who wants to become a ballet dancer. Unfortunately, it was not only the public who stereotyped but Billy’s family too! After neither Billy nor his family are giving in to either accept Billy’s wish or to give up, family issues occur. The harsh struggle during the strike means even more family issues. If you pay attention various film techniques were used such as: music, the lightings or the camera’s angle. An example would be the image of the sky representing that the world is opening up as Billy is leaving for London. Sad moments include when everybody else is indoors celebrating Christmas as on the contrary, Billy’s father has to destroy the piano for wood to burn. The movie Billy Elliot is directed towards any age group, however it is not recommended for children under thirteen due to inappropriate aspects such as swearing or violence. Overall I give the film was great and I give it four out of five stars.

Greek Mythology - Original Writing Essay - 917 Words

I was sitting at the table waiting for my grandmother tells me the story of Greek mythology. My grandmother asks me: â€Å"Have you ever heard how the four seasons were created?† I say â€Å"No† to her. She says: â€Å"It all started with one young goddess named Persephone. Her father was Zeus the king and ruler of the Olympians and her mother Demeter who was the goddess of the harvest.† It was a beautiful day with bright and sunny morning in the Olympus, the harvest goddess of Demeter said goodbye to her daughter Persephone. â€Å"I will be back for dinner.† Demeter said. Because Demeter was the goddess of the harvest, which she took care of all the plants in the world. The weather was always nice and there were harvests all year long. Demeter had hidden Persephone from gods so that no one would be able to marry her because her daughter was beautiful. After her mother had gone, Persephone and her friends went to pick flowers outside. She’s trying to find the best daisies. Persephone ran away from her friends and was soon on her own. Suddenly, Persephone heard some noise and she looked up into the sky. She saw a chariot pulled by four black horses, driven by Hades, who was the god of the underworld. Because Persephone was very beautiful and innocent goddess, Hades instantly fell in love with her and trying to abduct her. Hades also knew that Demeter would not allow anyone to marry her daughter. Before Persephone could scream, Hades dragged her into his chariot and raced away. As they racedShow MoreRelatedMythology by Edith Hamilton Critical Analysis837 Words   |  4 PagesMythology by Edith Hamilton Edith Hamilton: Mythology is a collection of Greek and Roman myths retold by Edith Hamilton. It is rewritten in a way that more readers could comprehend its content. The book was published in 1999 by Grand Central Publishing in New York, New York. Edith Hamilton believed that Greek myths show how high the ancient Greeks rose above ancient filth and fierceness. 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