Peter Camerons Homework Analysis

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“Homework”

        A man named Charles Darwin once said, “It is not the strongest that survives, or the most intelligent; it is the one that is most capable of change”. Its significance melds its way through a story of about a young boy and his depression after his dog’s death. The story goes through a period of recuperating from his depression, and readers understand the mysteries and question that shroud the boy’s path of life. Peter Cameron’s “Homework” suggests that in order to go through life, one must go through a path of life to overcome hardships and tribulations that shroud the path. Numerous literary devices such as characterization, conflict, and especially symbols assist in portraying the theme.

        “Homework” uses the direct characterization of Michael Pechetti, the antagonist, and his family in order to further emphasize the theme. First, Michael’s sister, characterized by Michael as a person who desperately attempts to be beautiful, is an example of this. The sister desperately tries to be beautiful, even hurting herself in the process and using many of the family’s resources such as eggs (1). This shows that the sister has an inner struggle that she must eventually face to overcome. Even in our modern world today, beauty is something that determines someone’s place in society. Another reason characterization is utilized to emphasize the theme is of Michael’s relationship with his father. Their father and son relationship is dropped with holes and mistrust, as Michael characterized his father who likes to let subjects drop. Michael’s dad attempts to convince Michael to try to go back to school, to no avail (1). Evidently, this shows that the relationship is weak and that this problem has to be resolved by both of them to restore a sense of peace and trust in the family. These direct characterizations, especially ones portrayed in family, allow the reader to feel a strong connection between Michael and the reader, creating a stronger story overall.  All in all, the troubles in family show the numerous amounts of difficulties that the theme portrays you must overcome.

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        “Homework” also uses a ‘self vs. self’ conflict as an inner conflict that really expresses the resolve needed to overcome the troubles that are faced in the world. First, Michael, after experiencing the death of his beloved dog, is plagued by a bout of depression and follows it by an abstinence from school.  “I was unhappy and did not feel able to attend school” (2) was the excuse for him to skip school. This quote is literal denotatively, but is strewn with deeper connotations. Throughout the day while he misses school, he lives life in a different way. He continues ...

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