Andy Weir's “The Martian” Daniel Defoe “Robinson Crusoe”. Two men who are fighting in different environments, for one thing, Survival. These two action-packed books are survival wise very closely related. Both of the books talk about a man who gets left behind. Both Mark Watney and Robinson Crusoe have a similar way of thinking about problems and coping with isolation.
The only differences is the environment. While Crusoe is on earth surviving on an island with cannibals Mark Watney is on mars having trouble with the amount of supplies that will keep him alive. In both “The Martian” and “Robinson Crusoe” the authors use the theme of isolation and 1st person 3rd person narrator to show that being alone isn’t always bad.
Both Daniel Defoe and Andy Weir use 1st and 3rd person throughout out their pieces. 1st and the 3rd person narrator changes a lot throughout the story. I think both authors use the first-person narrator to pull the reader into the moment and emotions that both Mark and Robinson are experiencing in different scenes ‘I will never, never leave thee, nor forsake thee.’ (page 180) Robinson Crusoe. This gives the reader a feel of what it would feel like to be in the moment. However with 3rd person narrator, it allows the reader to get more perspective and to see the bigger picture. When both authors use the third person it allowed people to pay closer attention to the small details while the first person everything was shown through the characters eyes. The third person was also used to transition between scenes or characters. Andy Weir uses 3rd person to talk about Watney’s “death” (page 50).
Isolation is a big theme that comes across throughout both books. When the main characters are isolated and on their own they can really bring out the best of them, even in the worst conditions. Sometimes this isolation can even make them feel extremely abandoned but with concentration, they can fix things and think better about what might be ahead of them. Robinson Crusoe, Mark Watney both experienced many setbacks throughout the story, no matter if it is sickness or hunger they still manage to survive because of isolation. “I was not - nor could I abide the thought of it, though I was alone.” Robinson Crusoe (page 213). Both Mark Watney and Robinson Crusoe keep a log that they want for someone to eventually read I think this is a major part of the isolation theme because even though the chances of them surviving is weak there might be someone who can read their logs and feel what it must have been like. Throughout the story, characters realize that they have hidden strengths and potential. By uncovering these skills and qualities they manage to survive better and make it back to humanity. “He’s stuck out there. He thinks he’s totally alone and that we all gave up on him. What kind of effect does that have on a man’s psychology?” (page 57).
1st Person narrator can be used to look at the story through the main character's eyes with the third person can be used to look at the bigger picture and the surroundings.The third person can also be used to sum up the story or to change from character to character and also to change scenes. The isolation theme comes up a lot throughout each of the stories. It is used by authors to show how characters can develop new skills and qualities throughout the story. these techniques are used throughout the story to show that In both “The Martian” and “Robinson Crusoe” the authors use the theme of isolation and 1st person 3rd person narrator to show that being alone isn’t always bad.
“The Martian” By Andy Weir, Mark Watney is left on mars stranded alone, whilst his crewmates think he’s dead. But later they find out through the communication of the NASA earth crew that he’s alive. “The Maze Runner” By James Dashner, follows a character called Thomas who is introduced into. The Glade. He remembers nothing at first but soon regains his memories and why he is a subject in The Glade. In both books, there is a recurring theme of; Fear, and friendship, with the use of Symbolism. to give of motivation and curiosity within both of our characters. As well both characters experience curiosity of their environment them in.
During the process of reading “The Martian”, it is evident that our character Mark Watney’s main symbol is the HAB and not only how he uses the HAB as a safe haven but as a place that motivates him to survive. The HAB also proves to make Mark think. Many times we hear read a thought about the HAB from an SOL about how he could do something to it. “Problem is (follow me closely here, the science is pretty complicated), if I cut a hole in the Hab, the air won't stay inside anymore.” A quote from Mark Watney. He also talks about making it feel like home due to his isolation on the lonely planet Mars. “Who am I to talk about loneliness?” A quote by Mark Watney jokingly saying that he can’t talk about loneliness, whilst be stranded on the loneliest planet. Thus creating our character to become curious about what he can do in the HAB.
“The Maze Runner” By James Dashner expresses the recurring themes of, Fear, and Friendship throughout the book on multiple occasions and also uses the craft technique of Symbolism to invoke motivation and curiosity within our character.
The use of symbolism is evident in both books with “The Martians” symbol being the HAB and “The Maze Runner’s” Symbol being The Glade. “I've been shocked and gone to heaven.” When Thomas arrives in The Glade with none of his memory intact. During the first time we learn that Thomas is in The Glade as an experiment because he could survive a virus called The Flare, we immediately realize that our character has no conscious memories and no clue of what The Glade is. Despite All their rage their still just rats in a cage. I believe this metaphor could mix well with a quote that could be linked to The Maze Runner due to our main character being stuck in The Glade. Through the use of two recurring themes; Fear, and friendship, and a craft move of symbolism. The writers give of motivation and curiosity within our characters.
Mark Watney and Thomas. Another theme in both books is Friendship and how both characters are motivated by their to survive and the Fear of losing their peers. The Hermes Crew and Mark Watney all have deep relationships with one another but when Mark Watney is split from the group after they accidentally abandoned him they soon realize the best way that they can help is to turn their ship around and head back to Mars, but they would need new stocks and fuel for a mission like that. The theme of friendship is extremely strong in this circumstances due to the Hermes Crew willing to risk their life for their crewmate Watney, with them also knowing a mission like this could risk their job as an astronaut forever. During this time of the Hermes, Crew deciding whether they should go back and save Watney they also Fear that what they are doing is wrong but they are also fearing for Watneys safety. They often sent Watney jokey type of messages to keep his spirits up but in the meanwhile were fearful for his survival. “There's always hope," Venkat said. [...] "Mark Watney is now an expert at surviving on Mars. If anyone can do it, it's him”. This quote by Venkat shows us how even one of the head of NASA is fearing for Mark Watney.
Before Thomas first arrives at The Glade everyone is living in peace and harmony but as soon as he is subjected into The Glade all the chaos starts. The Maze's creatures (Grievers) start to lay an attack on the population living in The Glade for unknown reasons at the time. This starts to cause conflict between some characters blaming Thomas that the Grievers only started attacking when he came (Which is partially true) but in this case, we also see some strong friendships form and the fear of how losing them could affect our character, Thomas. Using his friend Newt we see that during this tough time of trying to survive the relentless attacks from the Grievers, they become best friends and both fear for one another's lives. Newt plays an important role of being Thomas's friend but also a friend who makes sure Thomas is doing well and fears for his safety.
In Both books "The Martian" and "The Maze Runner" there is a Huge amount of Fear in both of our characters so why not make the essay about how fear tends to rule how we act and survive as a recurring theme. I can simply answer that yes both books do have their aspect of fear during certain parts of the book, but during "The Maze Runner" and "The Martian" Both our characters manage to overcome their fear of their circumstances and with that they manage to conquer their problem. Whether it is managing to escape The Glade on to the next part of a sick game. Or managing to escape Mars's sick isolation.
During the process of reading both books "The Martian" and "The Maze Runner," we learn that not only is their recurring themes but symbols that could mean the same meaning. Both authors were able to use Fear, and friendship, with the use of Symbolism. to give of motivation and curiosity within both of our characters. as well Both characters experience curiosity of their environment them in. Thus, to me, the "The Maze Runner" and "The Martian" are wonderfully written books with big similarities
The Martian Disco Music From The Movie "The Martian"
Andy Weir’s “The Martian” and Douglas Adams’ “The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy” the main character is separated from earth and is practically alone in space. In the martian he is separated when his crew has an emergency evacuation from mars leaving him and all of the remaining gear behind. In HHGTTG Arthur has a friend who gets him off earth seconds before it explodes leaving him in a new world with only the things he had on him. In both “The Martian” and “The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy” the authors use objects from earth to symbolize their main character's connection to the earth.
In both books food and objects symbolize their connection to the earth, “The Martian” has Marks connection increase in frequency towards the end of the book, whereas in HHGTTG Arthur’s connections are mentioned less toward the end of the book. In The Martian, he gains a connection to earth at the same time his potatoes are ready to harvest. But the airlock explodes and over half of his potatoes die. This sets Mark back a lot and reminds him that he is alone on Mars and he needs others to survive. This is proved during this scene on page (136) Andy Writes “Potatoes are now extinct on Mars. So is the soil bacteria. I’ll never grow another plant so long as I’m here. We had it all planned out. My farm would give me food till Sol 900. A supply probe would get here on Sol 856; way before I ran out. With the farm dead, that plan is history.” This quote shows how he will keep planning to gain that connection to the earth. It also proves that his farm was his only option for survival just like NASA.
In HHGTTG Arthur has Tea as his connection to earth but through the book, the tea slowly is mentioned less. During the start, it is mentioned a lot like on page (81) when Douglas says “Arthur blinked at the screens and felt he was missing something important. Suddenly he realized what it was. ‘Is there any tea on this spaceship?’ he asked” or on page (83)when he says “He had found a Nutri-Matic machine which had provided him with a plastic cup filled with a liquid that was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea.” Both of these quotes are within a few pages of each other and it’s mentioned 3 more times in chapter 17 pages (73-79)
Some people might say that the main theme that exists in both “The Martian” and HHGTTG is the theme of exploration. I think that this theme is possible to relate to HHGTTG because he is exploring space and trying to find his bearings in a new world. But in “The Martian” he is forced to explore because he wants to survive. He doesn’t want to discover anything new or learn more about Mars. Whereas in HHGTTG exploration is his motivation. My claim relates to both books and real life.
The Idea that objects connect us to our homes also relates to real life. In real life when someone leaves their home, they need things to remember it by. Sometimes it’s photos sometimes it’s certain foods, sometimes it could even be clothes, it could be anything that gives someone this memory and reminds them of their previous life. In my life, I like to keep a photo of the last place I stayed to remind me what it was like and what experiences I had. This is why the authors made Arthur wear the coat he always wears. This is also why Mark always plays disco. We like to be reminded of our past lives. In both “The Martian” and “The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy” the authors use objects from earth to symbolize their main character's connection to the earth.
Going to school or even writing a book can change people. It might not seem the biggest of step, but it sure is for people like August in the book "Wonder"; And Christopher in the book "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time". Both characters in the texts have a hard time working and being friends with society. They needed a change in their life, their lives before they took action of change was all gray nothing too bad, but nothing too good. Mark Haddon and R.J Palacio both uses acts such as writing a book and going to school - to trigger an act of change.
Firstly, Hark Haddon and R.J Palacio both uses triggering acts as a technique to change their main characters which were their aim. In both texts, the main characters have some kind of disability. Christopher has Asperger's Syndrome and August has an unnatural face. That is why both authors used a small act to lead in the change that it was going to have on them. For instance in "Wonder" by E.J Palacio, August going to school was the triggering act and what he achieved was self-confidence. Another example is from “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time" by Mark Haddon, Christopher writing the mystery murder book was the triggering act and what he achieved was freedom from himself.
In both texts, the characters are at first isolated. August is physically isolated from the society. “I know ordinary kids don’t make other ordinary kids run away screaming in playgrounds” (pg 3, Wonder). As you can probably tell from the text, August knows that he is different from others and knows why people "stare at [him] wherever he goes"(pg 3, Wonder) and “do that look-away”(pg 3, Wonder). On the other hand, Christopher is isolated emotionally. He barely talks to people except the people he knows and are not "strangers". You can see in both texts that they use the same theme of isolation. Isolation in both texts has a connection to the triggering act. August was isolated and seemed like a lone wolf running around to find it's place. That is why he made the decision to attend to school, which was like the wolf joining the wolf pack.
People need someone to support them along, or else they will never succeed. It could be your best friend or your parents. In both texts, there are key characters that support the main characters trigger of change. In “Wonder” by R.J Palacio, Summer Dawson is the key and supporting characters which guide the idea of change for August. Without the help and support from Summer. August would've probably left school would’ve been left out without the help of Summer. “Hey, is this seat taken?” (pg 51, Wonder), these words probably made August feel more comfortable at school. The same could be said for Christopher from “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time”. Siobhan is the key character for “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time” by Mark Haddon. Christopher started to write about the mysterious murder in a book and the first person he showed it to was Siobhan. Christopher’s father says to stop writing the book. Without Siobhan saying that the book was very good and he wanted to read more. Christopher would’ve probably stopped writing. This shows that Siobhan was supporting the trigger point of the change.
Humans are a species that rely on other humans for help and support. When we are alone and isolated, life can become very tough. In “The Martian” a book by Andy Weir, and “Wonder” a book by Raquel J. Palacio both of the main character experience the feeling of Isolation. In “The Martian” astronaut Mark Watney is stranded on Mars after his crew thinks he’s dead. Left alone on the planet, he struggles to survive but eventually makes it off the planet. Similarly “Wonder” by Raquel J. Palacio depicts a boy trying to survive something less perilous than the red planet Middle School. As if middle school wasn't hard enough, August had what doctors called “small anomalies”. Through these two books, we learn how tough can be without the support and help of family and friends.
A common theme in both books is Isolation and how tough life can be without the help of family and friends. In “Wonder” by Raquel J. Palacio, August is a child who has face deformities that make him stand out. After kindergarten, he was homeschooled till he decided that he wanted to go to a real school. However, on the first day of school, he already finds himself without any companions other than Jack. A boy that later abandons him for one of his other friends. The only help and support he had were from his parents and his sister who were not able to help him during school. In “The Martian”, Weir was alone on Mars with no help from earth. He has to find ways to solve many problems without any help from the other crew members. In both texts, the main characters are by themselves, with little or no help from outside. They have to solve their own problems and live without the support from other humans.
Although the two texts both imply how tough life can be without help from other humans, there are slight differences to how they occur. In "Wonder" by Raquel J. Palacio, August decides at first that isolation is the best thing for him. In the start of the book, he believed that isolation would solve all his problems and he would never need to meet real people in his day to day life. It was a choice he could and did make. He chose to be isolated but in the same way eventually, he ends up deciding that he wants to go to middle school. He has no option but to talk and interact with the children in the school. Because of the way he looked, he was ignored and often left alone during the school week. In “The Martian” however, he was not given a choice. He was stranded and had to survive or end up as the first human dead on the planet mars. In both texts, they are made to help themselves during their lives.
In both “The Martian” and “Wonder,” we are shown that the two main characters are alone with no help from other humans. However, unless you are on mars or stranded in the Sahara desert, isolation is almost always a choice. If humans choose to make friends with other people or accept others into our community, we don't need to deal with being isolated. It is always up to us whether we want to survive by ourselves with no help from others or if we let others into our lives to help us through our day.
Before the summer of 15, Cadence Sinclair Eastman's life was perfect. She had the boy of her dreams, Gat- soulful and curious; her two best friends, Mirren and Johnny- sweet and salty; and all the money in the world. However, you could say Cadence was cursed. A series of unfortunate events make you wonder what had she done; and why they were occurring. Some may blame the innocent, but this curse was not authentic. Cadence had somehow done all these things to herself. Karma was coming back for her with a sharpened blade. But we’re still unsure what she had done.
Cadence was the cause of the fatal fire that burned her one love Gat. In both “We were liars” and “I set fire to the rain” tragedy strikes and unplanned events take place, due to the torn relationship of two couples. “We were liars” and “I set fire to the rain” both contrast against each other as there are common symbols which have been created by mother nature. Mother nature has its beauties and wonders yet in some cases these outstanding creations are the painful representation of agony. The symbols, being the rain and fire, are both portrayed as a barrier between the couples and shows how the couple’s love slowly dies out- much like a flame. A common theme across both the novel and the song is this idea that love is not everlasting, you may not always be together as there are many obstacles that may intervene and could potentially break the love apart.
“Sometimes I wake up by the door, That heart you caught must be waiting for you”
The sentence "that heart you caught" is as if Adele is stating that hearts are just like fish in the ocean. "That heart you caught" while I still loved you; "That heart you caught" instead of mine. This line contrasts the love story of Gat and Cadence, when Gat falls for Raquel. The song and the story both represent a lover who has been hurt- a lover who thought their love meant more. When in reality, their love means nothing more than a fish hooked onto a bait.
“I set fire to the rain, watched it pour as I touched your face”
Cadence started a terrible fire, a fire that burned her one true love, a fire that turned him into ashes. Compared to the chorus of the song, it is as if Gat is the rain- once “Ambition and strong coffee”. Now dark, gloomy and grey, losing his vibrant colors.
“Well, it burned while I cried”
Clairmont was burning, Gat was trapped inside. He was inside this mess with no escape, no air to breathe- just endless halls of fiery flames. Cadence was alone on the island with no one to contact, and she cried. She cried for Gat. She cried for the loss of their love.
“‘Cause I heard it screaming out your name, your name”
As Gat burned, it was as if the fire was his only way to communicate with Cadence now- it was his cry for help. It also held all of Cadence’s regrets. The moment she burned the house, she had all the power in the world. However, it slowly started to die out- like the fire eventually did. Cadence lost everything. The fire was hitting her hard.
“I threw us into the flames
When it fell, something died
'Cause I knew that that was the last time, the last time”
The fire was an interference, a person died and so did the love along with it. Secretly, Cadence knew inside that this was wrong. They should not be starting a fire in the most valued object on the island, and they should not be setting a fire when there are people inside. However, she was driven to keep the family together not knowing that there would be consequences to come along with it. Cadence secretly “knew that was the last time” they’d ever meet, ever kiss, ever hug, ever laugh, ever cry- ever be together.
In both “We were liars” and “I set fire to the rain” the writers show how roads are always bumpy and you will never have a clear path in a relationship; sometimes it lasts, sometimes it doesn’t. However we cannot let these intervening obstacles affect us- we cannot let them affect us in negative ways which make us go to the extremes.
“We cannot
We cannot
We will not”
source: ""Set Fire To The Rain" Lyrics." ADELE LYRICS. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Mar. 2016.
As human beings, sometimes our thirst for power overwhelms our self awareness and senseful thinking. Author, E. Lockhart and Singer-Songwriters, Of Monsters and Men, share their thoughts on power through their graceful words. In We Were Liars, E. Lockhart wrote about the Sinclair’s struggle with power; their uncertainty on how get it and how to wield it. Similarly, In Dirty Paws, Of Monsters and Men sing about a beast with four dirty paws, which, to them, symbolises power. In both, the character’s greed for power drives them to engage in an act they are soon to regret. Managing power is comparable to making a deal with the devil- it’s precarious. If not handled carefully or misused, power can be extremely dangerous. Aside from attracting the worst people, it can also corrupt the best ones.
The Sinclair Aunts in We Were Liars are similar to the Bees in Dirty Paws. In We Were Liars, the Aunts don’t appreciate the houses they have inherited on Beechwood. They all want one house, Clairmont, and they are willing to fight for it. Their quarrels result in “Bess [crumpling] into tears”, “Carrie [storming off] towards the dock”, and Penny throwing “her wineglass against the side of Clairmont”. Similarly in Dirty Paws, “The bees had declared a war,” because “The sky wasn’t big enough for them all”. If these stories were to be intertwined, the sky would represent Beechwood. The sky, despite being vast, wouldn’t satisfy the bee’s greed. They wanted one particular forest, when they could have any other forest below the sky, anywhere in the world. The bees also would not even attempt to live in harmony with each other or the other animals in the forest. They wanted to be the most powerful beings under the sky, and their search for that power resulted in them losing the forest they spent their entire lives fighting for.
Similarly, the Birds in Dirty Paws are much the same as the Liars in We Were Liars. The Liars, like the birds aren’t much better than the bees, as they accept their war and fight fire with literal fire. When the birds realised they couldn’t battle alone, “they got help from below; from dirty paws and the creatures of snow”. The “Beast with those four dirty paws” would represent power. In We Were Liars, this would relate to the Liars urge to overpower their Aunts. Their surge for power would lead them to burn “Not a home, but a symbol,” of power, “to the ground.” By the end, Cadence loses her fellow Liars in a fire they created because they weren’t thinking clearly, and all they could think of was overpowering their Aunts.
The Bees and the Birds were both overpowered by the Beast. In Dirty Paws, it represents power. The Beast, with her “dirty paws and furry coat,” would run “down the forest slope.” If Clairmont was to be the forest, Dirty Paws provides a clear representation of power meandering through the corridors of Clairmont. The Beast is also the one that “took down the queen bee and her men”. In We Were Liars, it seems as though Cadence burns down Clairmont to most people. However, it is not her as much as it is her thirst for power. Cadence’s yearning for power consumes her and turns her into a different person. Cadence and the Liars thought they were trying to burn their family’s power vessel, Clairmont, in order to restore peace on Beechwood Island. However, they didn’t realise that by engaging in this act, they were fighting for power from their Aunts and Grandfather. Their battle for power resulted in the deaths of Cadence’s only true family members- Gat, Mirren and Johnny. Therefore this made Cadence regret setting the fire almost as soon as she lit it; she has been left truly companionless.
In summary, the Sinclair’s battle for power resulted in several deaths. Similarly, the war between the birds and the bees resulted in uncontroversial decimation. Both of these conflicts were driven by power. Power, when abused, much like the devil, fights back and attacks a person’s life, by clouding their judgment and leading them to engage in an act they will most definitely regret taking part in. E. Lockhart and Of Monsters and Men went through great lengths to convey these messages through their well thought out words. Power corrupts any being that let’s it get inside their head and control their mind. “And that’s how the story goes, the story of that Beast with her four dirty paws.”
Everyone has at least one person that they trust, and for most people, they love that person dearly. However, nobody expects that person that they love and trust so much to betray them, and leave them stuck with internal suffering. In both “The Book Thief” by Markus Zusak and “Goodbye” by Who Is Fancy, these themes of love, trust and suffering are addressed. In “The Book Thief”, the main character, Liesel Meminger, adores and believes Adolf Hitler. However, when she discovers he is filled with malicious intent, she is left suffering. Similarly, in “Goodbye”, the singer loved and trusted somebody, and is left mentally suffering when they learn about the lies they were told. In both “The Book Thief” and “Goodbye”, we learn that people should be careful who they give their love and trust to, and that people should make sure that they do not get hurt by the people that they loved and trusted.
A common theme in both texts is that people should be careful of who they give all of their love and trust to, as sometimes they may end up being hurt by the people who they cared about the most and trusted the most. In “The Book Thief”, Liesel Meminger clearly loved the Fuhrer, Adolf Hitler. Not only that, but she also trusted him with all her heart, and didn’t question anything he said or did. However, when she finds out that her dearly beloved Hitler is filled with maliciousness and greed, she is deeply hurt by how he acted and the lies that he told. Similarly, in “Goodbye”, the singer sings, “You were my first love, You were my only one, I can’t believe your lies”. In this text, the singer loved and clearly trusted the person they were singing about, and was also very hurt as a result of the evident betrayal by the singers subject.
Another common theme across both texts is that the characters go through suffering after being betrayed by who they loved and trusted. In “The Book Thief”, Liesel separates from Hitler, and her feelings towards him change. This is shown in the book with Liesel declaring, “I hate the Fuhrer [...]. I hate him”. This proves that Liesel’s opinion changed and that she was mentally suffering, as hate is often used as a very strong word. The fact that Liesel uses this word twice towards the most powerful man in the world really proves that her thinking is muddled by her internal suffering. In the song “Goodbye”, this theme is shown by the singer singing, “Once we were a fire burnin’, now you’re just a lesson I’m learnin’”. This illustrates how in the beginning, the singer and the subject of the song were everything to each other. However, after uncovering the lies that they were told, the singer suffers from the dishonesty. Furthermore, the singer learns from this experience, and it is up to the listener to decide as to whether or not this experience was positive or negative for the singer.
Although both texts are very similar in terms of themes and underlying meanings, there are differences as to how those themes and meanings are delivered. In “The Book Thief”, Markus Zusak uses lots of examples to get his message across. This can be shown with several examples, including Liesel declaring her hate for Hitler (p. 115). Another example occurred on page 20, where Death writes, “She was listening contentedly to the torrent of words spilling from his mouth. His sentences glowed in the light”. In this scene, Liesel is dreaming about going to a Hitler rally. The contrast of these two scenes display how her feelings towards him have changed, and this was Markus Zusak’s way of showing this. Contrastingly, in “Goodbye”, Who Is Fancy uses repetition to get their message across. One such example of this can be found in the lyrics: “Goodbye, Goodbye, Losin’ my mind, Goodbye”. These words are repeated three times throughout the song, fully ingraining the message into the listeners’ minds.
In the texts “The Book Thief” and the song “Goodbye”, both authors show how placing your love and trust in a person who may betray you will cause you internal suffering. After studying both the song and the book, readers might conclude that it’s up to us to decide whether or not this is a good thing and can teach you a lesson, or is a bad thing and will just cause suffering. Though we all may have loved and trusted someone the same way that both authors describe, it is our decision as to whether or not we will suffer.
Many people judge others on stereotypes but people aren’t the stereotypes that society give them. In “The outsiders” Ponyboy and his friend Johnny try to fight the stereotype of being a greaser. In “We Aren’t What We Seem” the author speaks about how people are wrongly stereotyped and how we stereotype someone by their appearance. In “The Outsiders” and “We Aren’t What We Seem” we learn people aren’t the stereotypes that we give them.
A common theme both the book and the song is people are judged based on their appearance. We learn People are misunderstood and stereotypes are incorrect. In “The Outsiders” Soc ‘Cherry’ refers to Ponyboy as “Just not....dirty” Cherry is surprised by Ponyboy since he is a Greaser but he is kind to her and doesn’t use grotesque language since Greasers have a reputation of being “White trash.” Ponyboy is different from other Greasers and he is trying to show his community not all Greasers are bad. Before Cherry met Ponyboy she thought all Greasers were dirty and you should not talk to them. In “We Aren’t What We Seem” a clear message is People judge others without knowing who they are and this is easier. “You see us walking down the street, but we never meet. You look at us and see what you want to. Taking time out of your day is too difficult, so we go on with our lives,” In “We Aren’t What We Seem” a theme is we are judged because we are misunderstood and we are never given a chance. In both texts the characters are being judged or stereotyped because they are misunderstood. We learn people are stereotyped wrongly and not everyone is the same, many people are just misunderstood.
In Both texts we learn people must break out of stereotypes and try to fight the expectations set for them. In “The outsiders” Ponyboy tries to break the stereotype of being a Greaser by saving the children from the church. He laters talks to Randy and says “Being a Greaser doesn’t have anything to do with it.” He is try to show even a Greaser can be a Hero and can do good in the world. He wants to show Randy being a Greaser doesn’t affect the person he is as an individual. In “We Aren’t What We Seem,” a line is “It’s your turn to make a difference.” This line shows how we must change these stereotypes and show society we aren’t the stereotype we have been given. Both texts try to show how we must change the way society judges people based on a stereotype and we must be the ones to break it.
Lastly in both a shared theme is people are a lot more complex than a stereotype. In “The Outsiders” Ponyboy is viewed by society as a greasy-haired hood like most greasers however after the children are saved from the church he asks a man “Are the kids alright?” This shows how many people are more than just a stereotype and how he is empathetic and wants to help others. In “We Aren’t What We Seem” the person is regarded as “A “try-hard,” Who are they really? They get the best grades,” This shows how people are more complex than we think and not just shallow stereotypes. It is trying to tell us stereotypes are wrong and only show one part of who the person is. We learn stereotypes are only show part of a person. People are more than just brands we give them. There are many sides to people we don’t know.
In “The Outsiders” and “We Aren’t What We Seem” We learn people are more complex than just stereotypes, people must try to break out and fight stereotypes and people are stereotyped because they are misunderstood. We also learn that people are always the stereotype that you give them. People must understand a person and learn to know them but people are not bothered to do so. Next time you see someone talk to them and get to know them as a person before branding them as a loser or a freak.
In this world different classes exist, and that tends to ultimately defines us. Many of the higher class people don’t want to feel related to the poor, as they believe that their status allows them to forget about the poor. On the other side of the spectrum, the poor are doing whatever they can to survive, and even if they do not want to beg the rich, they have no choice. What either class doesn’t know is how and why they are benefiting from the other class. This message is portrayed in the books “Trash” by Andy Mulligan, and in “The Outsiders” by S. E. Hinton. In “Trash” the poor need the rich’s waste so they can sort and sell what can still be used for money. In “The Outsiders” there are two classes, the Greasers and the Socs, but at a specific scene we learn that because you are human you are connected to everyone, no matter what economic group you come from. In both “Trash” and “The Outsiders” we can see how classes are related, and how they unintentionally work together to keep society running.
In “Trash” by Andy Mulligan the Behala Boys sort through trash everyday. Without trash they would most likely be dead. They need to sort out the trash to keep the dumpsite from overflowing, and to make money. In the case of the overflowing, the rich need the poor too because if the dumpsite overflows then land will be needed for more trash, and that will result in less land for people to live in. If there is less land then there will be more people living in poverty as housing prices would rise. This is a chain reaction of atrocious events. After writing about this in my long write, I discovered a system that is looped forever. Later when re-reading critical scenes I see that Ponyboy says, “Everything turned, cleaned, and bagged up - cycled down to the weighers, weighed and sold. Onto the trucks that take it back to the city, round it goes” (Pg 6). This evidence clearly explains the system. The rich send their waste to dumpsites, the poor sort it out, and then their findings are sold to buyers and recycled. Each person gets what they want in this system, and that’s what makes it so efficient. The rich would hate to admit it, but without the poor things would really fall apart, and in a system when one part is faulty, it affects the other parts.
In “The Outsiders” the scenario is much more different but it still relates to the theme of a society system in “Trash” massively. Ponyboy claims to be a Greaser, the low economic class. Everything is normal until he meets Cherry Valance. Cherry is a Soc. In the book her class is of a higher economic status. They are not supposed to be talking together, however towards the end of their conversation, Ponyboy says, “It seemed funny to me that the sunset she saw from her patio and the one I saw from the back steps was the same one. Maybe the two different worlds we lived weren’t so different. We saw the same sunset” (Pg 41 [1991 Paperback Edition]). This piece of text holds lots of valuable information, which points to several different things. Once broken down I see what Ponyboy was trying to say. This text is significant because it shows how we are often stereotypical about people. There are rich who care for the poor, and there are poor who care for the rich. Ponyboy doesn’t want to be a Greaser, and Cherry doesn’t want to be a Soc, they exist in their own, fight-free class. How does this connect to “Trash”? In this sunset scene we see how Ponyboy and Cherry care for each other, despite their classes. The sunset brings them together. Similarly in Trash, each class secretly cares for the other, because without each other they would not be able to function. If they did not care for each other, then the system would collapse on itself.
At this point some might argue that stereotypes, being human, or caring for each other is not important, and instead might believe that greed, power, money, and corruption have created the relationship between the books. This however is not reliable and completely true. It is a definitely a true claim in “Trash”, as it has been mentioned countless times that Senator Zapanta is corrupted, and the entire book is held in a third-world country, however, in “The Outsiders”, the economic differences do not create any of these things. Yes, the Socs are the rich kids in madras shirts, but throughout the book it was never mentioned that they used their money to their advantage. This is why this statement isn’t entirely reliable.
In the books “Trash” and “The Outsiders” many themes unfold themselves into the hands of the reader. A very strong, deep and significant theme is society & class. After writing and thinking about the relation of these two books, I found out how classes are intertwined, and how they work together to keep society in shape. They are connected to one and other, and they also work together. In both these books we can find and see how society & class has shaped our world. In both these books we see how your economic background determines your class. In both these books, we see a relation.
In this society, we often judge people based on how they look, dress, behave, or where they come from. The Outsiders by SE Hinton and The Ballad of East and West (TBEW) by Rudyard Kipling both show how this bias can lead to misunderstanding and conflict between groups of people. The two main characters in TBEW, Kamal and the Colonel’s son, and the some of the members in the Greaser and Soc gangs in The Outsiders, show how if people take the time and risk to understand each other, they find that they have much in common as human beings. This is not a new message. The Outsiders was written in 1967, but TBEW was written by Kipling in 1889; more than a century ago.
TBEW starts off with 2 groups of people, a group of dacoits (bandits), and a company of troops of the British Indian Army. The head dacoit, Kamal steals the mare of the Colonel of the Army, and is chased into his own territory by the Colonel's son. The troops and the dacoits can be compared to the Greasers and the Socs. The Socs and the troops are in the elite class of society, while the Greasers and the dacoits are on the margins. In both the book and the poem, each group on one side of the social divide thinks that the other is inferior in some way. The Greasers think that the Soc girls act like “they’d like to spit on us if given a chance”. Similarly, in the poem, among the troops, “ there was not a man but carried his feud with the blood of the mountaineer” ( referring to the dacoits). And when Kamal tells the Colonel’s son that he could feed him to the jackals and kites if he wanted, the Colonel's son literally screams “ Howl dog, and call them up,” referring to the fact that the dacoits in his eyes had the same value as a dog. Therefore we can establish that Kamal’s men are the outliers in society, or rather the outsiders.
However, later in the ballad, as Kamal and the Colonel’s son come face to face at the end of the chase, they discover that they had wrong opinions of each other, and start to develop respect for the bravery they share. The Colonel’s son knew that he was entering enemy territory where “the length and the breath of that grisly plain is sown with Kamal’s men”, but he continued the chase bravely. Kamal respects this, and faces the Colonel’s son alone, though he could have asked his men to shoot at any time. Also, when the Colonel’s son calls Kamal a dog, Kamal replies, “ No talk shall be of dogs, when wolf and grey wolf meet”. This suggests that though they had a different way of life, and were on the opposite sides of the law, they were both brave like wolves. Then, Kamal he sends back his own son back with the Colonel’s son to protect him, and the two youngsters take the “Oath of the Brother in Blood.”
The scene between Kamal and the Colonel’s son can be compared to the scene in The Outsiders between Randy and Ponyboy. Ponyboy is confronted by Randy, and Randy talks about how his best friend Bob was not the person the Greasers thought he was. “He was the best buddy a guy ever had. I mean he was a fighter and tuff and everything, but he was a real person too” He then continues to talk about the hard life Bob had with his parents and the freedom they gave him. We start to see that both the Greasers and the Socs have similar lives with friendships and problems of adolescence. The characters themselves starts recognizing this, just like Kamal and the Colonel’s son in the poem. At the end of the conversation Randy says “Thanks grease. I didn't mean that. I meant Thanks, kid.” And when Ponyboy says “He ain't a soc, he's just a guy.” They see that both of them are human, and all of conflict between their gangs is because they see differences easier than similarities.
Both the books also have a symbol in common, the Idea of the separation because of East and West. In the TBEW, the troops are from the west, and the dacoits are from the East. Similarly in The Outsiders, the Socs are from the West side and the Greasers are from the East. In TBEW, Kipling talks about how “East is East and West is West and never the twain shall meet,” but. later shows that the East and West actually can meet, and although they may be separate, they can still learn to respect each other. Similarly Ponyboy and Cherry realize how the beauty of the sunset is the same for both of them, though they are from opposite sides of the social divide.
However, there is an important difference between the book and the poem. In the book, the misunderstanding leads to violence and death before the characters can recognize their similarities, and the futility of the conflict. On the other hand, in the poem, Kamal and the Colonel’s son recognize their shared bond of bravery in time to avoid any unnecessary conflict, and actually develop a deep respect for each other.
This need to dig deeper and understand others better goes way beyond the book and the poem, and is as important today as it was fifty or a hundred years ago. Many, many people are wrongfully judged in today's society. The caste system in India is one example. Having a different surname, and being poor from birth does not make you an untouchable, or someone who is less of value in society. People from lower castes and higher castes can have the same skills, and maybe the same values, and we need to have the ability to take the risk and time to recognize each other's importance in society. Another example is the conflict in the Middle East where religious differences has been causing violence for a long time. In Myanmar, where the government does not recognize the validity of certain religions, many people are forced to flee their homes to survive. Looking back at history, we can see how Slavery and segregation in the U.S. was wrong. Eventually, American society changed its ways to treat all races equally. They saw that a colored person was equally smart, brave and strong as someone who was white. It did take time and risk, but has benefited their community and society.
Both the book and the poem convey this important message of the need to understand our shared humanity so that we can look beyond our differences, and avoid misunderstanding and conflict. The book serves as a caution of what can happen if we only look at our differences, and the poem inspires with a vision of what can happen if we look beyond those differences to see the person we really are:
“There is neither East nor West, Border nor Birth,
When two strong men stand face to face, tho’ they come from the ends of the earth.”
Humans are social creatures, and that is common knowledge. We cooperate and communicate with others to form relationships but when all paths are severed and our back is against the wall. We get desperate, even for something as simple as communication. Andy Weir, the author behind “The Martian” and Orson Scott Card, the author behind “Ender’s Game” explore the idea of isolation creating the need to communicate.
The idea of isolation is clear across both books as Watney and Wiggin are both isolated from the people they know and love and from the start they both react negatively with Watney starting his first entry with “I’m pretty much [screwed]” and Wiggin defending himself after being alienated for losing his monitor. As the book progresses it's clear that they both are getting desperate for communication and their psychological state deteriorates as while “The Martian” progresses, there appear to be more and more logs created by Watney while Wiggin also struggles psychologically.
However. Both characters cope extremely differently. For example : Watney creates logs, presumably for no reason other than to maintain his sanity, this idea is strong as when Watney lacks communication with NASA there are much more logs created while Watney adopts a comedic tone in his logs. Watney also tries to hold on to memories by using the crew’s belongings like Johanssen’s disco music. Whereas Wiggin also tries to cope by attempting to reestablish communication with Valentine by writing letters but not after experiencing several mental breakdowns : “He felt a sob rise in his throat” Card describes after the first few days of being separated from the rest of his family.
Some can argue that the isolation in these two books were not meant to communicate the need to communicate with other people and rather the methods that the characters cope with isolation in the books and there is a lot of evidence as Wiggin and Watney experience stressful situations alone and have to cope on their own but the need to communicate claim is stronger as Watney and Wiggin both have strong psychological swings that only happen when they are isolated. Like Wiggin having a mental breakdown for sacrificing everyone to achieve a rudimentary goal, because of that breakdown he spiraled into depression which was solved once he was reunited with Valentine. Watney also experiences psychological pressures, however this isn’t clear as Watney’s segments are written in a “vlog” style but he does have some emotional segments for example the final sentence spoken by Watney, the one that ends the book : “This is the happiest day of my life” . upon being reunited with the rest of his crew on approximately Sol 549, who Watney had not seen since Sol 5.
In the end, the idea of isolation is a common theme across many genres of books but books like “Ender’s Game” and “The Martian” makes these themes central and explores what does isolation cause. Weir and Card eventually found one common theme from their respective books and it is the one that is most important to us as a species.
Everyone has denied the truth at some point or another, and it often works to save us from the harshness of reality. Not only does the song “Rich Youth” by Hayley Kiyoko reflect the actions and the inner-thinking behind the novel “We Were Liars” by E. Lockhart, but they both share the common theme of denial - especially when it comes to the truth. In “We Were Liars” we see how Cadence denies the reality of the accident so that she does not have to deal with the pain and guilt of what really happened. However, we see that as the story progresses, the lies only build up and in the end it is even more difficult for Cadence - they take over her life until it all comes crashing down. This is similar to the meaning behind the song “Rich Youth,” which similar to the book begins with lies and moves on to show denial of the past. Finally, it ends by talking about how that same denial is growing and becoming worse until it seems to take over. In both texts, we learn that over time denial can grow and consume us and turn into something negative and hurtful to ourselves and others.
In the beginning of the song, Hayley Kiyoko says “I’m giving all my energy, I’m making my own history,” and it connects easily back to the novel. In order for Cadence to avoid the pain and guilt of reality after the accident, she created her own alternate history; Which was that she had hit her head on a rock whilst swimming in the ocean and therefore suffered migraines and could not recall summer 15. She forced herself to believe that the liars were still alive, almost like ghosts living alongside her. The fact is that she is conflicted between wanting to accept reality and remember the truth, and wanting to shun the truth and force herself to forget it. She is putting all of her energy into it - and it is giving her migraines and only ends with more suffering where the only way for Cadence to stop thinking so much about everything is to overdose her pills.
Another similarity is the lines in the song that go “Living, falling in too deep.” Which in the context would show Cadence’s hallucinations. It represents that Cadence is falling too deep into her own world she has created for herself, an alternate reality of what she wants to believe and not what she knows is true. The following line “Got no time to meet their needs,” seems to present the expectations of her family to hold themselves as perfect and to always act normal as her mother is constantly telling her. The fact that she is falling into her own world; Talking to people who are not there, overdosing on pills and in aspect going crazy is the complete opposite of what they want from Cadence. This line as well as the last lines of the paragraph support that; “Oh my god, let me be free.” This showcases the end of the book where Cadence discovers the truth of summer 15 and she can’t deny it anymore - despite her parents wishes. She “wasn’t a Sinclair, and couldn’t try to be one, any longer.” She “couldn’t smile, couldn't lie, couldn't be part of that beautiful family in those beautiful houses.” (pg.5) Just as her dad said in the beginning, at the time when the reader could not understand what motivation there could be to leave.
Most importantly comes the chorus of the song, which seems sum up the entire book in the first person narration of Cadence. “I'm no ghost” gives insight to the end when she realises that the liars have all along been ghosts; That they were never really there and had only lived in her imagination. When she sees them dive into the ocean at the end of the book, never to return, her only wish is to probably go with them. “No fool,” clearly states the most important and memorable quote in the entire book, mentioned in the introduction and ending line of the book that states “I suffer migraines. I do not suffer fools.” The following song line “Rich youth,” shows that after everything is lost (her friends, family, possessions, etc) - all she has is her wealth. And this may also be what the book is trying to say, it might explain why everyone else in her family is money-obsessed and has nothing else going on for them but their wealth. Because like Cadence at the end, it is all they have left. No friends. No family. Finally the chorus states “Brand new.” This could represent Cadence’s change in personality and perspective after the fire, as fire is usually a common symbol to show re-birth, and that she became an entirely new person. The chorus of the song all adds up to form a big question about the ending of the book; Does Cadence turn out like the rest of her family? Selfish and power-hungry?
This denial is also clear in the last phrases of the song. “We make something out of nothing, we keep climbing, climbing.” Because it is basically creating a false reality out of nothing, building up lies which keep climbing higher and higher. And the higher you climb, the higher the stakes are to get back down into reality for Cadence. In both the song and the book, we can see the danger of denial and that in the end we have probably built it up so much that we have made the problem even worse.
In both “We Were Liars” and “Rich Youth,” the common theme of denial takes many twists and turns. However, in the end we see that no matter what, holding onto denial will only build up and the consequences will grow worse. It is not uncommon for us as humans to want to deny things, especially small ones that make us feel better simply because we can avoid the consequences of feeling down or facing our guilt. But in the end, we need to make sure we are not falling too deep into lies we create for ourselves instead of what is reality, because we can not live in our imaginations forever. And sometimes we need to do what we alone feel is right, to ignore the expectations and others who pull us down, even if it means accepting the consequences.
Letting go of someone or something is probably one of the hardest things anyone will have to do in their life. All of us have people we love, and seeing them change, and watching them slowly drift away kills us inside. The book “A Monster Calls” By Patrick Ness, showed how Conor faced challenges like these and how he overcame his worst fears by being true to himself. The song “Demons” by Imagine Dragons is a song which was about how your pain becomes your nightmare and the monster you are most afraid of. “A Monster Calls” and “Demons” both demonstrate how eventually we all have to let go of our loved ones, no matter how much it hurts.
In the book, Conor, the protagonist’s mother has cancer. His mother suffers throughout the book, from her illness, and the chemotherapy stops working on her. His mother tried to protect Conor by stating that she will get better when she clearly was losing faith in herself slowly. The monster from the book comes to help Conor find his peace, with all the chaos going on. Conor knew deep down inside that his mother was going to go eventually. In his ‘Nightmare’ The one we don't get to know about until the end, he lets go of his mother. He regrets everything, but he wanted her to go because he couldn't see her suffer, and his mother’s illness isolated him from everyone else and got him bullied. In “Demons” the line, “I wanna hide the truth, I wanna shelter you” resembles the situation Conor was in, where he wanted to hide his true feelings as he thought they would hurt his mother more. The song explains how he wants to protect the feelings of his loved ones.
Everyone has their own pain and suffering that they keep to themselves, and in the song, there is one like that goes, “It’s dark inside, It’s where my demons hide”, The demon could symbolise the pain that we hide inside, which later turn into your worst fears. In “A Monster Calls”, The Monster in his nightmare, the one which swallows Conor’s mother, is the thing Conor is most afraid of. The monster could be a symbol of what was happening to him in his life. His mother was being pulled into the darkness by a monster - Cancer, and his mother is hanging on to Conor, when he lets go - Wanting her to go, so he won't have to see her suffer anymore.
Conor in the book faces issues such as being a victim of bullying at school. He was bullied because of his mother’s condition and used the thing that hurt him most, against him. This lead to him pushing people away, just to avoid getting hurt. His former friend Lily, who told the whole school about his mother, actually wanted to get close to Conor again, to help him get through this hard phase in life and be by his side when times get hard. But unfortunately, Conor hadn’t forgiven her. And so he kept pushing her away. He blamed Lily for everything and said, “It’s your fault, It's all your fault”(25). Conor couldn’t think straight because of all the problems going on in his life.
The Yew Monster from the book was a very big part of the plot. The Monster appeared at exactly 12:07, to meet Conor and tell him tales. He says in the beginning that he will come and tell him 3 tales, and Conor will have to tell him the fourth one. And the fourth one is the ‘Truth’. The truth turns out to be the one thing Conor is most afraid of. And the monster tries to help Conor tell the truth. Conor couldn’t let go unless he was true to himself. The pain inside had to be set free in order for him to move on and get the weight off his shoulders. The line “So they dug your grave and the masquerade, will come calling out at the mess you’ve made”, could mean how the monster reminded him of his sins, that had to be set free, for Conor’s benefit. The mess you've made could also imply on all the trouble he caused to other people. He completely destroyed his grandmother’s antique living room, he destroyed his friendship with Lily, even when he had the chance to fix everything. He made himself ‘Visible’ and made everyone see what he really was on the inside.
In the song, there is one part where the person says, “I need to let you go”. This relates to Conor, and how he had to let go in order for him to have a chance to be happy again.
In both “Demons” and “A Monster Calls” the author/writers show how when we love someone, we need to learn to let go, so we can learn to move on with our life. Personally, a death in my family took a huge toll, but eventually, I learnt to let go. It may hurt a lot, but the important thing is to move forward and not dwell too much on the past. These texts leave us thinking if we are better off grieving for pain than hiding the pain inside.
Over 3 billion people lead miserable lives and live in filthy conditions. For them, the days go by unknowingly, because they are living in such confusion. The character(s) in “Trash” by Andy Mulligan and “Life Through My Eyes” by Tupac Shakur both share the same difficulties. However, in “Trash” the characters are very determined to make a better life for themselves. Whereas, in “Life Through My Eyes”, it implies that the character is only relying on fate to help fix the circumstances. In both texts, we learn that we must work our very best, rather than relying on destiny in order to achieve what we want.
Throughout “Trash”, Mulligan provides how each character feels about situations. From this, he reveals their quality of life. He describes all the actions and thoughts of the character in great detail. Raphael, Gardo and Rat live in a dumpsite. They rarely get a meal that is filling enough for their age. Raphael, Gardo and Rat were rubbish boys and they picked “through the stuff the city threw away”. They spent their days picking up trash all over the dumpsite. They were surrounded by people who were confused and angry, because of where they lived. There were often unnecessary fights since the people there were very unsettled. These children were even exposed to murder, “An old man killed his wife - slit her throat and left her bleeding down the walls to the shack underneath” which suggests how unsafe and filthy the place they lived in was. The statement Raphael makes, describes how violent people get because of all the frustration in their minds. “Life Through My Eyes” is a poem that recites the thoughts of a pauper living on the streets. He feels imprisoned by his status. Since he lived on the streets, he too was exposed to “poverty, murder, violence”. He also states that “my heart will not exist”, until something changes his fate. This could be interpreted as to that he is a living ghost disguised as a human. By saying this, he is directly comparing himself to a ghost revealing that he is pale, lost and baffled.
In “Trash”, the 3 boys try their very best to get out of “Behala” and they perform such actions that could potentially get them arrested. In the end, Raphael, Gardo and Rat were able to escape from their past in Behala and live a peaceful life where they would “fish forever and live happy lives”. In order to achieve this, they would get into situations that were “bad, bloody and oh so dangerous”. There were times when they were mistreated only because of their status. And yet, they weren’t afraid to get caught, because they were completely determined to make their lives worth living. They had to work extremely hard so that they could wind up with what they wanted. They did not stop for anything, instead they kept going through all the hardship that came across them. However, the speaker in “Life Through My Eyes”, does not perform any sort of action that could get him out of his situation. He is also living in similar conditions as Raphael, Gardo and Rat. He rarely gets to have any peace and even when he does, he is not fully immersed in the moment. This is significant because, he always thinks about his status rather than doing something to fix the unlucky circumstances he has been placed in. The speaker does not say anything that assures the reader that he is trying to do something to fix his position in society. “Unless my destiny comes through”, makes the reader consider that he is only depending on chance and circumstance. Therefore, it can be believed that there is a very faint possibility of him getting a better life.
The style of writing and the language choice are very identical in both texts. This is relevant because, it plays a significant role in making the characters very realistic. The characters don’t use a lot of descriptive words to describe their surroundings. Both writers do this, to show that they are not fortunate enough to be attending a good school where they would receive important information that would help them in the future. The characters in both texts do not have the time and the privilege to have experienced this. Therefore, both writers use words that reveal their underprivileged life. Both writers also make the decision of making the character(s) narrate the story. This is a very effective technique because the reader is seeing the story through the characters eyes, rather than someone who is above watching the whole story. This allows the reader to visualise all the horrible situations they get into and the surroundings they live in.
On a conclusion, the character(s) in “Trash” by Andy Mulligan and “Life Through My Eyes” by Tupac Shakur both live similar lives and have to go through the same pain everyday. Both texts highlight the negativity of poverty and also raises awareness about the massive chunk of unfortunate people in the world. It also makes readers aware that we must work very hard to achieve what we want in life, rather than just depending on unreliable things like fate and destiny.
Sometimes the simplest of things mark the newest of beginnings. Mark Haddon uses the symbol of different pets and Palacio uses the symbol of a braid. These symbols show that the simplest of things mark the newest of beginnings.
In both “ Curious Incident” and “Wonder” both authors try to show the theme of new beginnings with different things. Mark Haddon uses Chris’s dog Sandy, and Palacio uses the Padawan’s braid to show new beginnings. Another common theme of the two books is Isolation. Both of them are very different from others, and both of them are isolated. However, Chris wants to be alone almost all the time, while August wants to make friends.
However, there are many differences between the two books. As I said earlier the symbols both the authors used are different. Palacio uses hearing aids and August’s padawan braid. The hearing aids came out when they were in camp and he lost them. After he did, Amos and Henry were both trying to
help him, this marked a new beginning for August because he found new friends and slowly but surely. This was all because he lost his hearing aids and faced a few bullies from another school. After that Amos and Henry both said “ It was cool how you stood your ground, little dude ”
Another symbol in “Wonder” is the Padawan Braid. In page 57 he said, “ That night I cut off the little braid on the back of my head.” This might seem like nothing that all he wanted to do was cut it because it looked weird. However, in Star Wars, all Padawans have braids. They cut it off when they become a Jedi knight. So, metaphorically when August cut off his braid, he felt that he found his place. He felt that he could survive middle school.
Also, Palacio used allegory to show Augusts place in their family. In page 83 Via explained “ August is the sun. I and Mom and Dad are planets orbiting the Sun. The rest of our family and friends are asteroids and comets floating around the planets orbiting the Sun.” This can be portrayed in two ways in a bad way for Via that Via is completely powerless and hardly gets any attention. This can also be portrayed in a good way. August is the light of Via’s life, in fact, he is the light to the whole Pullman family. Via also said “ But this year there seems to be a shift in the cosmos. The galaxy is changing. Planets are falling out alignment” She said this because Chris is finally out of homeschooling and gone to middle school. Also, Via is in high school. Both Via and Auggie are having trouble in school. So, this is why she said this. She is telling us that chaos is coming.
There are also a few craft moves and symbols in “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time.” One of them are the pets that Chris has owned. From the beginning of the book Chris was never living in comfort, he was not living at all. He was struggling to survive. This is what his rat, Toby had symbolised. Toby was a constant reminder for the readers of what Chris had gone through. This is why Haddon had chosen a rat as his first pet. He wanted to show the struggle that Chris had gone through. This is why Chris he left Toby in Swindon when he went to London. He only scattered from his father, so he got away from his old life, to get away from the terrors that lay in Swindon. He wanted to get away from his old life. So, when he went to London he left Toby with Mrs Alexander. When he came back he forgot about Toby. This is because he wanted to leave him there, he wanted to leave his old life behind. Right, when Chris gave Toby to Mrs Alexander he said: “ Can you take Toby and look after him?” He never said that he was going to take Toby back when he came back. So, this means that he doesn’t want Toby anymore he wants to leave him with Mrs Alexander. He wanted to leave his terrors with Mrs Alexander.
He also used the craft move of first person narration, to empathise with Chris. We empathised with him because we could see everything in his eyes, and we can see his opinions on things. He also used this move to show the characters motivations. This is because if the book was written in the third person we could not be able to see why he ran away, we would just know that he ran away. However, in first person narration, we can see his emotions about his father and his realisations about his father.
Also in “ The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time” another symbol is Sandy, the dog that Chris got from his father. As we know dogs symbolise loyalty and cooperation. Right before his father gave Chris Sandy he said on page 265 he said moments before he gave him Sandy “ Let’s call it a project, a project we can do together. You have to spend more time with me” Now what do we need in a project, we need cooperation. That is why he gave him a dog. Not only because Chris liked dogs, but because dogs symbolise cooperation and that is what Chris and his father need to do.
Some people might say that August only cut off his braid because it looked weird, and he wanted to be normal. While this may be true, it doesn’t explain why he did this on the first day of school, and during the school day, nobody said it looked weird. So, the only explanation of Auggie cutting off his braid is that he finally found his place with Jack and Summer. He was ready.
Sometimes the simplest of things mark the newest of beginnings. Mark Haddon uses the symbol of different pets and Palacio uses the symbol of a braid. These symbols show that the simplest of things mark the newest of beginnings. So, have you ever wished that you could start over? You should always remember that the simplest of things mark the newest of beginnings.
Everyone has had painful experiences and has felt like it was the worst thing that could have happened to them. Markus Zusak and Suzanne Collins use this common feeling across the world in both “The Book Thief” and “The Hunger Games”. In “The Book Thief,” Liesel has been faced with constant suffering with her loved ones leaving. In “The Hunger Games,” Katniss is forced to play a game for the entertainment of others and ripped away from the ones she loves as well. In both books, we learn that in life, everyone feels pain and suffering, but in the end learning from that experience is what matters the most.
A common theme that both text share is that sometimes pain and suffering is good because of the things you can gain from the experience. In “The Book Thief,” Liesel is constantly losing the things she loves the most. First, she loses her brother to Death, then her mother and then a fair bit later she loses the closest person she had to a father to the war. “Saliva was triggered. It was the urge to vomit. “What is this?”. Markus Zusak uses the craft technique of description to give readers a vivid image of exactly how Liesel was feeling. In “The Hunger Games,” Katniss is repeatedly going through pain. “Trying to remember how to breathe, unable to speak, totally stunned,” thinks Katniss at the most impactful moment of her life. In both texts, the characters are faced with extreme pain in the worst possible ways.
Although in both texts, the characters are faced with such extreme pain and suffering, there are many things that readers do not take into account when reading which is the knowledge you can learn and gain from the experience. In “The Book Thief,” one of the most noticeable moments of pain for Liesel was Hans being “drafted into the German army”. This was an extreme moment of pain for her because Hans was probably the person she loved the most, at least, that's what readers comprehend but when you look at it again with a different lens you can see how this event caused Liesel to grow and mature as a person. She learnt and gained from this experience through the pain. She learnt the harshness of war and not to take anything for granted. Her thoughts and views on the world matured as she was no longer a little girl but “half a woman now” not oblivious to the raging war around her.
The same common theme goes for “The Hunger Games” that with pain and suffering comes advantages and everything bad happens for a reason which is that you can learn from. In “The Hunger Games” when we fast forward to the ending when Katniss is split into two sides, one being if she should steal the victory and take the prize of winning the Hunger Games for herself or standing up for what's right and to not cooperate with the Capitol and give them what they want, she learns the true intentions of the people she thought she knew. She learn’t that President Snow and the Capitol, rather than being on her side, were actually against it. From this event, and the events afterwards, she learnt the true intentions and gained an understanding of the people around her. This shows that there is actually an advantage of pain and suffering - which is that you become more aware of your surroundings and in this case, the people you thought you knew.
Although in “The Hunger Games” and “The Book Thief” the theme of learning from harsh experiences is evident, both the texts share differences that, as readers, it is important to notice and take into consideration in our real lives. One of the most important differences to notice is how the characters in both texts reacted. Liesel in “The Book Thief” took to reacting in a more calm, silent way whereas, Katniss in “The Hunger Games” reacted in a more severe way in which she was determined to fight back the person, President Snow, who caused this pain to be inflicted on her. These books act as a reminder that it doesn’t matter how you react or the type of person you are, what matters is that you learn from the experience.
In both “The Book Thief” and “The Hunger Games”, Markus Zusak and Suzanne Collins teach readers the important message of no matter how bad you think an event or experience is, what you learn and gain from it is the most important thing. After analyzing both books, readers can conclude that ultimately it’s not the situation but how you react and respond to it is important and we as people, don’t have to let that those experiences get the better of us.
Everyone has experienced grief or suffering ranging from a wide variety of problems, it’s just that some people cope with those feelings in different ways. In the beautiful, thought-provoking novel by Patrick Ness, the yew tree monster from “A Monster Calls” often reminds Conor of his its reason as to why it came. The monster tells Conor that he had called out to it, and Conor would often tell the monster that he called it to save his mother. The monster then tells Conor that it came walking, not to heal Conor’s mother, but to heal Conor himself. In the melodic song “This Is A Call” by a band named Thousand Foot Krutch talks about two people, a girl and a boy, who are suffering from different problems. The girl, much like Conor, has a mother at home who has cancer and she’s scared of her mother dying. The boy suffers from the feeling of not fitting in, similar to how Conor was isolated for his mother’s condition and was even bullied because of it. “A Monster Calls” by Patrick Ness and the song “This Is A Call” by Thousand Foot Krutch both give the audience the message that when some people are suffering from their problems, they subconsciously call out for help, even while they choose to push everyone away.
A common theme in both pieces is being isolated. In the second verse of the song “This Is A Call” talks about a boy who lies about his life to make it appear more interesting. The lyrics are, “He tells everyone a story, because he thinks his life is boring, and he fights, so you won't ignore him, because that's his biggest fear,”. Conor, from page 146 to 152 starts to feel even more ignored and invisible than ever. His bully, Harry, tells Conor that he sees nothing. Everyone acts like Conor is invisible, like Conor doesn’t even exist. Conor starts to fight to just become noticed and ends up sending Harry to the hospital in an effort to feel less isolated and alone. The boy in the song “This Is A Call” also fights to be noticed, just not in a physical way. He chose to change himself to appear more interesting just to fit in so he wouldn’t have to suffer from his loneliness. Conor on the other hand, was bullied for being different and he often changed himself into a more angry, yet quiet person.
Another common theme in both the song and the story is the theme of hiding your true feelings in front of other people. The first verse of “This Is A Call” is about a girl who shares something in common with Conor. “Her mother lies there sick with cancer, and her friends don't understand her,”. Whilst Conor doesn’t really have ‘friends’, he had Lily until she told the entire class that his mother had cancer. “She fooled all of her friends into thinking she's so strong, but she still sleeps with her light on, and she acts like it's all right on, as she smiles again”. Nobody really understands Conor and all the struggle he’s going through because, just like the girl in the song, they try to fool people into thinking that they aren’t suffering. Patrick Ness even uses Conor’s main bully, Harry, to point this out. “Conor O’Malley,” he said, his voice growing poisonous now. “Who everyone’s sorry for because of his mum. Who swans around the school acting like he’s so different, like no one knows his suffering.” (page. 151). Both of them felt like falling apart in the end. They both felt like nobody understood the struggles they were going through of having a mother that had a high likelihood of dying. In the end, they would pretend that nothing was wrong, that they were completely fine. Conor would do this by pushing everyone away and cutting them off, insisting he was fine. The girl would do this by pretending she’s happy, especially around her friends.
While everyone has their own different situations, they also have different ways of coping. It’s human nature to find a coping mechanism. There are many coping mechanisms known to us, for example, the boy in the song uses music as his coping mechanism. “So he hides behind the music, 'cause he likes it that way.”. A lot of people choose music as an escape from their problems, whether it’s just listening, playing, or both! Others tend to use art as an escape, illustrating their feelings onto a paper, canvas or screen. The girl from the song “This Is A Call” coped by acting, well not professionally at least. She would pretend everything is alright by hiding behind a probably highly convincing smile, after all it did fool all of her friends. Conor would cope with his situation by pushing everyone away, as discussed earlier. However, despite the differences between all three characters, they all are subconsciously trying to get out of the situation as their coping mechanisms aren’t working. To get out of their situations, they’re calling out to anyone or anything that is willing to help them, though they may not admit it themselves.
In the song, the lyrics of the chorus are literally, “She’s/He's calling out to you, this is a call; this is a call out, 'Cause every time I fall down, I reach out to you, and I'm losing all control now, and my hazard signs are all out, I'm asking you, to show me what this life is all about.”. The chorus states that every time they fall down (basically whenever they reach that point where they feel like they can’t go lower) they reach out to someone to save them. The thing Conor had called out to was the yew tree monster. When people subconsciously call out to a person or something else, they’re actually calling out to save themselves and not anyone else. ““If I called you,” Conor said, his face boiling red, tears he was hardly aware of streaming angrily down his cheeks, “it was to save her! It was to heal her!”” (page. 172). Conor was a stubborn person in general, which was why this reaction was expected of him. He tried to trick himself into believing that he didn’t care about himself and only about his mother, because his true wish was for his mother to die so he could feel better. The yew tree monster gives Conor a quick reply, saying, “I did not come to heal her, I came to heal you.”. After exchanging angry words, the monster tells Conor that it is time for the fourth tale, the tale where Conor is forced to admit the truth. In the end, after doing what the monster asks it to (admitting the truth), Conor ends up feeling a lot better, and he can rest easily once again. The monster was right, it did come to heal Conor, and not his mother.
In both “A Monster Calls” by Patrick Ness and “This Is A Call” by Thousand Foot Krutch, both the author and the band show readers and fans that regardless of how people cope with their situations, they subconsciously call out to people or the unknown for help, regardless of whether they push the people around them away. Anyone who has ever reached that point in their life where they’ve wanted to given up, such as Conor from the story and the two people from the song, call out for help without knowing, as it is human nature to want to live happily once more, to return to how things used to be.
The Song : "This Is A Call" by Thousand Foot Krutch (There wasn't any official video. Sorry!)
