Abandoned on an island for a year, he has nothing to do. Nothing? There is always something, not necessarily realized right away, but there is. Despair, hatred, and suicide are one's thoughts when on an island alone, eventually eroding ones self away going through with all of this is too much. This is Cole Matthews and this is his life. There are lessons that are taught along the way and symbolism to be discussed throughout, Touching Spirit Bear.
Cogito ergo sum "I think, therefore I am." This was a statement a unique philosopher René Descartes announced which soon became an element of Western Philosophy. The meaning of this simple phrase is, "If one wonders whether or not he exists, that is, in and of itself, proof that he does exist." This is relative to Cole because when he arrives at the small atoll, this is close to this meaning because he was not able to travel anywhere or communicate outside of the island. One of Coles mistakes was that even though he is a human he still mistaken himself, along with many others, to not be shall we call it "Alive."
Anger. A single solitary word which comes from "Getting caught in a wronged decision." Only getting someone back Cole's decisions caused him to go to the island. What anger is in Cole's eyes is just another emotion, no importance to him. Boosts of testosterone can also come out as anger meaning "A steroid hormone from the androgen, also another steroid hormone, group and is found in mammals," which was an excuse for Cole hitting Peter's head on the gravel.
When a spirit bear strikes pain and anger may be a first reaction. But no matter how mad one gets they still know that it was right for the bear to do this to them to realize that it is also a living thing and eventually someone will stand up for themselves just like the spirit bear did. It comes down to letting that go and moving on to what is going to happen in the future when things are turned around. If what happened didn't then Cole might not have realized that he needs to treat others with kindness and honesty, the way he wanted to be treated all along.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Friday, February 11, 2011
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Monday, January 17, 2011
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Among the Hidden essay response
Imagine yourself unable to leave your house and if you do you have the risk of being shot. In the tragic story of Among the Hidden this is exactly what it’s like for Luke Garner, because families are only able to have two children and Luke is a third child. For this reason his entire life must remain a secret.
In this book the plot line follows that of a tragedy with a tragic flaw, a tragic fall, and in the end passing. The first thing that points out Among the Hidden as a tragedy is the tragic flaw, which is that in the country where Luke lives, there are no families aloud to have three or more children. Secondly a tragic fall comes when Luke meets another third child, Jen, in the house right next door and she plans a rally for all the hidden children but Luke can’t go. Last comes death when at the rally, all of the hidden children that go are shot by the population police. What makes this even worse is that no one even knew about them, outside of their families, until the rally.
Symbolism also did a lot in this book for the tragic plot line. It is an important part of the book from the moment you read the title. Even the front cover starts to tell the story without you even knowing it. For example, on the cover, the attic window is basically Luke’s only window to the world and the attic is one of the few places he can be without being discovered. An additional example is the use of dark colors on the cover that symbolize distress and sorrow which happens throughout the manuscript, like in the beginning when the government takes away the Garners pigs so it is harder for them to make income to pay their mortgage and other bills.
Among the Hidden was a very well written book. Its interesting plot line and use of powerful symbolism simply take over the reader. The use of tragedy was obvious but the book remained unpredictable. Although you suspected something bad was going to happen with all of the twists and turns of the plot the author always kept you guessing.
In this book the plot line follows that of a tragedy with a tragic flaw, a tragic fall, and in the end passing. The first thing that points out Among the Hidden as a tragedy is the tragic flaw, which is that in the country where Luke lives, there are no families aloud to have three or more children. Secondly a tragic fall comes when Luke meets another third child, Jen, in the house right next door and she plans a rally for all the hidden children but Luke can’t go. Last comes death when at the rally, all of the hidden children that go are shot by the population police. What makes this even worse is that no one even knew about them, outside of their families, until the rally.
Symbolism also did a lot in this book for the tragic plot line. It is an important part of the book from the moment you read the title. Even the front cover starts to tell the story without you even knowing it. For example, on the cover, the attic window is basically Luke’s only window to the world and the attic is one of the few places he can be without being discovered. An additional example is the use of dark colors on the cover that symbolize distress and sorrow which happens throughout the manuscript, like in the beginning when the government takes away the Garners pigs so it is harder for them to make income to pay their mortgage and other bills.
Among the Hidden was a very well written book. Its interesting plot line and use of powerful symbolism simply take over the reader. The use of tragedy was obvious but the book remained unpredictable. Although you suspected something bad was going to happen with all of the twists and turns of the plot the author always kept you guessing.
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