... is one of the most important and most popular themes in literature. The coming of age theme is found in one of the one of the best coming to age stories that have ever been written. Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird is a sensitive touching portrayal of a young boy who grows up through shocking yet realistic events. Although many people are only aware of the coming of age theme through literature and other forms of entertainment, there is also a very realistic part to this event in a person's life which is often ignored. The coming of age is an event which is often celebrated in many different cultures, through ...

... times from death and imprisonment. Thorin- He is the most important dwarf. His father was the king under the mountain of Lonely Mountain. After the fall of his kingdom, the treasure that belonged to his father was lost to the evil dragon Smaug. He leads the other twelve dwarfs in hopes of regaining the treasure and his kingdom. Gandalf- He is the great wizard who helped organize the adventure. At first he travels with the dwarves and the hobbit but leaves them because he has other business to attend to. Beorn- is a large man who can change shapes into other animals. He lives by himself in large house with ...

... the boy's farther told his son to go in another boat. From that on, Santiago worked alone. The boy loved the old fisherman and pitied him. If Manolin had no money of his own, he begged or stole to make sure Santiago had enough to eat and fresh bait for his lines. On the eighty-fifth day, Santiago rowed out to the harbour in the cool dark before dawn. After leaving the smell of land behind him, he set his lines. Two of his baits were fresh tunas which the boy had given him, as well as sardines to cover his hooks. The lines went straight down into the deep sea. As the sun ros ...

... both stories our present civilization had destroyed the earth, as we now know it and had killed most of the humans. The cause of these catastrophes in both stories was suspected to be from nuclear war. These places were the nuclear bombs had supposably hit could not grow food and had no signs of life and were called the forbidden zones. The main people in charge did not allow people to go into these so-called forbidden places. In the story the people in charge were called the high priests. In the movie the planet of the apes the main people in charge were the elder apes and Dr. Zayus. In both storie ...

... read a section of it without having to read it from the start, and yet every story and idea in the book flows right into the next. The sheer simplicity and ease of reading is a pro, but still it is very detailed in every way. Here's one thing though: if you didn't like the style of writing in his previous books, chances are not much will change your opinion on this book from your opinion on the last. The style of writing is very laid back, sort of a Sunday reader or one that you can pick up in the bathroom from time to time. I enjoyed reading this book so much the first time I had to read it again. The second t ...

... Mango Street appears to wander casually from subject to subject—from hair to hips, from clouds to feet, from an invalid aunt to a girl named Sally, who has "eyes like Egypt" and whose father sometimes beats her. But this apparent randomness disguises an artful exploration of themes of individual identity and communal loyalty, estrangement and loss, escape and return, the lure of romance and the dead end of sexual inequality and oppression. The House on Mango Street is also a book about a culture—that of Chicanos, or Mexican-Americans—that has long been veiled by demeaning stereotypes and afflicted by interna ...

... into the night to keep the mail moving. Riviere is also the one who must tell Fabien's wife that her husband is lost. At a different level, the book is an attempt to analyze and explain duty and responsibility one can feel towards his work and his friends and the reasons why people like Riviere and Fabien would persist and continue in their work, despite the very real dangers. When it was first publish the book was very well received and this was the book that made Saint-Exupery famous. Years later, in late thirties, after the rise of Facism, Saint-Ex was criticized for the ideas presented in "". After all, many ...

... of those around him. A great deal of imagery is used describing how aesthetically perfect Billy is. Besides Billy’s stutter, he seems absolutely perfect. Billy is a sailor. His original ship was the Rights-Of-Man but he later was impressed by the Bellipotent. Here he becomes a foretopman. As usual he charms everyone. They even call him “The Handsome Sailor”. On the ship, Billy is respected by everyone except the protagonist, John Claggart. Claggart is extremely jealous and holds considerable amounts of contempt for him. At first he tries to be nice to Billy but soon his true jealousi ...

... the male characters in The Odyssey. By examining the women of The Odyssey one comes to one conclusion about women in Homer’s epic. Homer’s male characters in The Odyssey consistently treated women differently and unequally throughout The Odyssey. Concurrent with the time’s belief that women held a subservient position in society to men, the male characters in The Odyssey often expected certain traits and actions that they didn’t expect from men. Also all the societies and lands Odysseus visited that were inhabited by mortals were dominated by men. In The Odyssey women are unequal, treated d ...

... the quilt represent the two main approaches to art appreciation in our society. Art can be valued for financial and artistic reasons, or it can be valued for personal and emotional reasons. I think that Dee just wants the quilt to hang in her house as a souvenir to show off to her friends, she really does not know the meaning behind it.  While Maggie has always known the meaning, she values them for what they mean to her as an individual. This becomes clear when she says, "I can 'member Grandma Dee without the quilts," (698). This implies that her connection with the quilts is personal and emotional rather than mat ...