How does the character of Stanley Yelnats change in "Holes"?
How does the character of Stanley Yelnats develop within the novel? Throughout this essay I am going to show how Stanley's character develops within the novel. 'Holes' is about a boy called Stanley who is sent to a Young Offender's Institute, wrongly accused of stealing a pair of trainers. During his stay lots of things happen like making new friends, running away and even finding some treasure. Also digging lots of holes! At the beginning of the novel, we find out early on that Stanley is overweight, because it is mentioned that , "He was overweight and the kids at middle school often teased him about his size." Because of this, he is very sensitive and self-conscious. Later on in the book, however, the reader discovers that Stanley has lots a lot of weight by the time he has found Zero under the boat. We know this because Louis Sachar writes, "A couple of months ago, he would never have been able to fit through. He'd lost a lot of weight." This shows that his experiences digging holes and eating smaller meals from cans have made him thinner and fitter. His fitness has improved throughout the novel. Stanley and his father have always been very discouraged with luck, sometimes so much that they became, "so discouraged that they actually started to believe in the curse." Stanley relies on the curse as an explanation for all of his bad luck. The curse has
Shadow of the minotaur essay
Shadow of the Minotaur Critical Essay 'Shadow of the Minotaur' is an adventure novel written by the author Alan Gibbons. In this essay, I will be writing a descriptive analysis about two of the books characters, writing a short summary of the book, a plot analysis and a writers craft. Summary: 'Shadow of the Minotaur' is about a schoolboy named Phoenix who loves Greek legends. He finds himself experimenting with his dads new work project, 'The Legendeer' and Phoenix and his dad soon find themselves literarily sucked into the game along with his best friend, Laura and his school bully, Steve Adams. There is no way out and they find themselves in ancient Greece slaying both the minotaur and Medusa and after being trapped in 'the game' for days, they find their way home after facing death many times and leave Steve Adams behind. The main character in the book is a boy named Phoenix. At the start of the novel, he is not a very strong character; he gets bullied at school, he doesn't have many friends and the only thing that cheers him up is when he is playing guinea pig of 'the game': "Nobody would believe me when I told them what a freak of nature you are. Now they've found out for themselves... Go on free knickers, give us all a laugh. 'The name,' Phoenix growled, 'is Phoenix." This shows how bad he gets bullied in school and he is not strong enough to fight back. He may
Opinionative review on 'The Curious Dog in the Nighttime'
'Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time' "No-one is a stranger, that the people we turn away from in the street are more like us than we dare admit, that the things we have in common will always outweigh the things which separate us." Mark Haddon Everyone is different - it may just be the colour of their hair or it may be their race, religion or intellectual and emotional capability. No matter what, everyone should be treated equally. In the end, we are all human beings. This point of accepting diversity is just one message that Mark Haddon conveyed in his compelling book, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time. It is clear through his portrayal of characters living their day to day lives, that he wanted us to recognise that everyone is different and that we should accept them as they are. People shouldn't feel the need to change their opinions or feel any disadvantage because of the views or likes of others, nor should they be ridiculed for their choices and lifestyle. Just because a person has a disability or a different skin colour, doesn't mean they should be treated differently to others; they should be accepted as the unique human being that they are. Throughout the book, Haddon effectively used the most diverse characters to convey his messages. Haddon uses Christopher, a teenage boy suffering from autism, to convey his messages to the reader.
Discuss Nick Hornby s presentation of Marcus in chapters 1-10 of About a Boy
Discuss Nick Hornby s presentation of Marcus in chapters 1-10 of 'About a Boy' Nick Hornby's novel, 'About a boy' is a story about two boys. A 12 year old, named Marcus, who has a suicidal mother. And a 36 year old child-like-man called Will Freeman. Will, has never worked in his life, he was been living of the royalties of a song that his father had wrote for Christmas, over 70 years ago. Marcus is very much a 'mummy's boy.' He is so close to his mother that his taste in music and clothes are identical. When he starts his new school, he realises that he is an easy target for bullies as his hair is cut 'dodgy' by his mum and he has a tendency to sing aloud in class.... When we see Marcus in chapter one, we see a naive teenager. On the very first page of the book, Marcus' mum Fiona suffers from a break up. "Have you spilt up now?" This very quote shows the naivete of Marcus. This childish questions, suggest that Marcus has not developed any level of maturity and has no means of comforting his mother. However, with this in mind, Marcus has a very logical way of thinking, and there are there are two valid reasons for this bold statement. When we do see the break up incident, Marcus realises that when people begin to do things together (almost like a family) they should gel and stay together. "He'd once shared a toilet with Roger, when they were both busting for a pee after a
Religion in Life of Pi
Religion is a fundamental set of beliefs generally agreed upon by a number of people. People pray to and praise the gods and figures of their religion. Religion helps people get through struggles and problems in their lives. Religion has always been a fundamental part of the world. This importance is stressed in the novel Life of Pi by Yann Martel. In this novel there are many underlying tones that emphasize religion, like making the story more believable and a deeper meaning, by Pi's belief in a "leap of faith", and by Pi's ability o survive. Martel shows in this novel that religion makes stories more believable and gives them deeper truth. He uses two contrasting stories in Life of Pi to show the importance of religion. One story describes a trial of struggle and determination to survive, involving human-like animals, while the other describes a horrific tale of death and cannibalism between people. The second story is a story of "dry, yeastless factuality" (Martel 64). He shows that people who have faith will choose the fanciful story. By using the two different stories it becomes apparent that the fantastical version makes a better and more beautiful story. Pi tells the story of the animals so he can cope with the reality of the horrific truth. Martel asks, "...which story do you prefer?"(Martel 317). Martel wants there to be a choice between the two stories. Martel
Dramatic Impact in Act 3 of The Crucible
Explore how Miller creates dramatic impact in Act III of the Crucible. There are many different ways/techniques in which miller creates dramatic impact in act 3. It all starts in the beginning when the play is set off-stage, 'The room is empty', which creates an air of mystery and make people hear and listen hard to what is going on. It also makes the audience/reader wonder who the new voices are (Hathorne and Danforth). Then when Giles roars into the court, 'I have evidence for the court', the audience who are so concentrated on hearing will immediately jolt and get a fright from the noise and there starts the drama. The dramatic structure of this act plays a key role in the dramatic impact/tension of the act. It starts off with a bang, then goes down in tension, then rises to another climax, continuously. An example of this is: in the beginning Giles roars into court, then this is questioning and explaining, 'Your Excellency, I only said she were readin' books...' which lowers the tension then Fransis shws his deposition and the tension and expectation rises again. Most of the act rises and falls in this manner. This technique emphasizes the dramatic points in the play because it sort of isolates them between parts that aren't so dramatic. All the little high drama points in the act are leading to the main one in the end. The 3 depositions, Nurse's, Giles's and Mary's,