Major+Works

Title: The Remains of the Day

Author: Kazuo Ishiguro

Date of Publication: 1988

Literary Period: Modern

Genre: Tragedy

Describe the setting and then explain the relevance of the setting.

The book physically takes place in the English countryside as Stevens is traveling in Mr. Farraday's Ford away from Darlington Hall towards Little Compton, Cornwall where Miss Kenton resides. However, Stevens unintentionally spends the trip pondering on the past 20 years of his life. As a result, although Stevens is physically traveling away from Darlington Hall all other senses suggest he hasn't left. Ishiguro subtly develops the English landscape as foreshadow and expression of Stevens' emotional and social situation: "this occurred just after I took a turning and found myself on a road curving around the edge of a hill. I could sense the steep drop to my left, though I could not see it due to the trees and thick foliage that lined the roadside". Without force Ishiguro reveals Stevens tragedy to the reader; he is a man who takes no stake over his own life and has conditioned himself to ever service more "dignified" persons. His issue is that, like the roadside, the power and lifestyles of England "curving around the edge of a hill"/slowly losing its intense world importance and yet doesn't notice.

Themes (These statements should be complete sentences and completely developed ideas)


 * Stevens' constant strive for dignity, loyalty, and greatness result in his isolation from branching out of the world of butlery he is born. Ishiguro explores both a man's inability to accept the way events happen in a life and his attempts to justify his actions in accordance.
 * True dignity involves making one's own mistakes, rather than the blind acceptance of another's opinions. Compliance and lack of conscious choice, in Stevens' case, takes away all traces of his individualism.
 * Actions and choices and a lack thereof will affect how a life is spent, but once all is said and done, the only act left is to enjoy what's left. I can't put it more eloquently than the ex-butler on the bench: "The evening's the best part of the day."
 * Ishiguro parallels Stevens' struggles to cope with his past and how his life has turned out with the rise of the British empire, and it's inability to accept the new power's of the world and move on. Great Britain, like Stevens, has been around for a while, and done it's time - the novel looks at both the old butler and the old country's slow descent into the night.
 * Progress can only be achieved by changing with the world. Old countries fall; new countries arise. With it, come new customs, new ideas, new inventions, innovation. Stevens' provides an example of how the people who don't change transform into this worthless artifact.

Plot Summary (Please do not copy and paste. Simply list the high points of the novel) - Consider creating a visual flow chart or graph and posting it here.


 * After much consideration of a supposed trips usefulness to his master, Stevens accepts Mr. Farraday's offer to take some time off from work. NOTE: Mr. Farraday wants Stevens to take leisure time while Stevens still schemes to justify the professional importance of his break. In reality Stevens is attempting to cover up his long desire to visit 'Miss Kenton' with a more "dignified" reasoning (NOTE: sarcasm).
 * On Day One Stevens is warily realizes his present action and freaks out. He
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">elaborates on the greatness of the English countryside and relates that to the greatness of a butler. He goes on for pages about dignity, loyalty, and greatness, telling the tiger-in-the-kitchen story, and his father's stern-driving-the-drunk-employers story.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">On the morning of Day Two, Stevens' revisits Miss Kenton's letters, and, subsequently, her time at Darlington Hall. She arrives and the two butt heads immediately (she's a firecracker, that one), but he fondly remembers the times they have discussing his father's state of health and his ability to work, one day looking out the window to see him searching the ground for something he lost.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Then he goes on a tangent about this really important political conference in 1923 he has the privilege of butlering. He recounts his father's illness during these tense political meetings between the significant social figures of the major world powers. As his father's health deteriorates, so does the amity among nations. Father Stevens' dies. Stevens' copes by continuing with his duties, because a great butler keeps his cool in situations like that.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Stevens' has to get gas in the present day, and as he gets gas, confers with the attendant, discussing his profession. However, Stevens' denies ever working for Lord Darlington (is he ashamed?). Stevens' also mentions that he believes a butler's greatness also (as well as loyalty and dignity) depends on the greatness (dignity) of his employer.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Stevens' thinks back to the importance of silver and his contributions to the political happenings of the time of his silver polishing days.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">He then thinks back to the anti-Semitism conjectures about Lord Darlington and gives the back story on all of that. Lord Darlington was hanging out with a couple of blackshirts, being a good host and all, and eventually they rubbed off on him. Since all Lord Darlington wants is peace between nations - but more importantly, rest among his guests - he tells Stevens' to fire the two Jewish maids on hand. Stevens' complies. Miss Kenton gets mad and threatens to leave herself.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Then Stevens' starts thinking about Miss Kenton, and how nice their chats by the fireside (completely platonic...........) were. I guess there aren't that close though, or Stevens' really does have the emotional capacity of a well-polished spoon, because when her aunt dies, he really sucks at consoling her.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Back in the present day, Stevens' has nice conversations with the people of the inn he stays at. He hears some differing opinions on politics. One man believes that it is every Englishman's right and duty to be involved in the politics of the country and what goes on.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">And whabam! Stevens' meets Miss Kenton in a hotel. They have nice chats. Lots of beating around the bush by Stevens, but Miss Kenton cuts to the chase. They catch up, and eventually the big question gets popped - does she love her husband? Of course. Much to Stevens' dismay. They say their goodbyes, perhaps the last they'll ever say to one another. It's quite a somber departure.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Then Stevens sits on a bench and reflects on his journey. Like, his actual journey. And he talks to a fellow butler (well, ex-butler) and they chit-chat about life, and Stevens realizes his blindness of following Lord Darlington. Quite upsetting. But this ex-butler-Jesus-archetype character quells his worries and gives the sage advice to stop looking in the past and enjoy the remains of the day.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Ta da, somewhat hopeful ending.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Oh yeah, and Stevens vows to work on his bantering skills as a way to search for true joy in his life.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Oh yeah, and Stevens vows to work on his bantering skills as a way to search for true joy in his life.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Memorable Quotes and their SIGNIFICANCE.


 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"...looking down at the ground as though he hoped to find some precious jewel he had dropped there" (50).
 * Stevens' father, after he has a stroke and actually notices his deteriorating health, searches for something in this scene. He's doing exactly what Stevens' does the whole novel: searching through the past to justify if it is enough to be satisfied about.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"Gentlemen like our good host still believe it's their business to meddle in matters they don't understand" (102).
 * The drunk-ish American is very wise. Great Britain is a slowly retreating power in the grand scheme of things, constantly trying to smooth feathers in a changing world that wants to embrace the change. Great Britain's efforts all involve appeasement, whereas the Americans are all about self-motivating actions.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"And one has a right, perhaps, to feel a satisfaction. . .of being able to say with some reason that one's efforts. . .comprise a contribution to the course of history" (139).
 * So sad, Stevens...here, he justifies how his silver-polishing has changed the world in his own little way.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"Why, Mr. Stevens, why, why, why do you always have to pretend?" (154).
 * Miss Kenton shoots me right in the heart. Stevens spends his whole life pretending to be this aware, involved butler in the world of politics. However, he is helpless to what goes on by a blind choice.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"You can't have dignity if you're a slave. But every Englishman can grasp it if he cares to. Because we fought for that right" (186)."Other great nations know full well that to meet the challenges of each new age means discarding old, sometimes well-loved methods" (197).
 * Stevens does not exhibit this, whatsoever. In fact, I'd argue that he is a slave.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"A butler who is forever attempting to formulate his own 'strong opinions' on his employer's affairs is bound to lack one quality essential in all good professionals: namely, loyalty" (200).
 * Here, we see Stevens' justifications for never involving himself emotionally in Lord Darlington's decisions, for example firing the Jewish maids. Stevens believes that a truly great butler won't let his own opinions (if he even has those) to get in the way of serving his master.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">[On dignity]: "It comes down to not removing one's clothes in public" (210).
 * Hehehehehehe
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"One can't be forever dwelling on what might have been" (239)."I gave my best to Lord Darlington. I gave him the very best I had to give, and now - well - I find I do not have a great deal more left to give" (242).
 * Ah, Miss Kenton. So wise. This is the theme in a nutshell.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"I can't even say I made my own mistakes. Really - one has to ask oneself - what dignity is there in that?" (243)."The evening's the best part of the day" (244).
 * The above two quotes mark a slight but sure change in our sweet Stevens. Maybe he still justifies his past a little, and maybe remains quite blind to what could've been, but at least his recognizes something unsettling about his past.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"I can't even say I made my own mistakes. Really - one has to ask oneself - what dignity is there in that?" (243)."The evening's the best part of the day" (244).
 * The above two quotes mark a slight but sure change in our sweet Stevens. Maybe he still justifies his past a little, and maybe remains quite blind to what could've been, but at least his recognizes something unsettling about his past.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Describe the significance of the opening scene.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The opening prologue gives much evidence of what kind of character our butler is. Stevens' is quiet, awkward, submissive. The novel opens with Mr. Farraday's casual, but belabored insistence that Stevens' take a few days off. He works entirely too hard. Stevens' won't even hear of it. And he doesn't constantly refuse in one of those chuckle-chuckle-oh-no-I-couldn't-possibly kind of ways. No, he's just really awkward. But from just those few exchanges between butler and employer, we can file Stevens as a socially uncomfortable workaholic. Kind of a Gregor Samsa of sorts. Also in this scene, we see Stevens' quiet obsession with Miss Kenton, a former employee of Darlington Hall that keeps the occasional (and by occasional, I mean like...every couple of years - like Christmas card occasional) contact via letters. Stevens mentions her with a slight bounce in tone, indication that he looooooooves her (seriously, you can just tell with these kind of things), but he won't even admit it to himself. So Stevens' is a lonely, stiff, workaholic, who missed his one true love. Sad. Then, in the prologue, Stevens also assesses his inability to casually banter, something his new American employer enjoys. His lack of social wit is slightly amusing to Mr. Farraday, although Stevens' would never speak ill of his authentic English butler. The prescence of the new American employer also indicates that America is rising as a world power over England. And that's the prologue. Boom.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Describe the significance of the closing scene.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Here, Stevens sits on a bench at a pier, smiling to himself. He has a pleasant conversation with an ex-butler, much to Stevens' delight (hard to find these kind of guys anymore to converse with). Here, as he sits on this bench, watching the beautiful night lights come on, with this random man, we see a shift in Stevens' character. He's honest with himself (as honest as he'll ever be, that is). He remarks that maybe he shouldn't have spent his entire life blindly submissive to his employer...after all, how much dignity lies in a man who "can't even say I made my own mistakes." This is quite a revelation for a man who has spent his whole life with very little original opinion, and who has striven for greatness since he became a butler. The tiny comment, however insignificant or obvious to an American or commoner, is a leap for Stevens. He spends the whole book justifying his reasons for his decisions only to remark at the end that there is little justification in them. So what is there to do? Pick up your stuff and move on! And Stevens' way to lift up his elbows and carry on, his means of impressing his new American employer and keeping up with the times, is through bantering. And however sad a way to end a book as that is, it's all Stevens', as an airtight, realistic character can give us. He can't change overnight. But damn it, if he can, he'll keep practicing his banter! It ends the book on a sort of tragic, but quietly hopeful tone.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Describe the author's style and provide examples from the text.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Ishiguro is a master of subtlety, leaving very little in the dialogue to be analyzed, while the landscape and pastoral passages reveal more about the characters than anything else. Particularly the descriptions of the English countryside ("lack of obvious drama or spectacle that sets the beauty of our land apart" (28), "sense of restraint" (29)) correlate much to Stevens' as a character. Equally as significant, the landscape passage on page 24, that describes "trees and thick foliage" that blinds Stevens' from the "steep drop to my left", followed by his "slight sense of alarm". This nature is parallel to his inability and reluctance to pursue this journey, of analyzing his past, of meeting Miss Kenton, of progressing with the world: "I was perhaps not on the correct road at all, but speeding off in totally the wrong direction into a wilderness" (24). Ishiguro's use of imagery as a symbol of a character's journey continues to the very end, when Stevens' begins to fall apart. He describes a shelter by the train station that bears striking resemblance to both Stevens' outward facade and his inward crumbling: "looked very sturdy. . .Inside, the paint was peeling everywhere" (237). Ishiguro's style is subtle and quietly honest. Little hand gestures and a lack of conversation (what isn't being said) reveal the most about his themes and big picture moments.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">List importance characters and their significance.


 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Stevens: a lonely, stiff, workaholic old chap. In a nutshell. He represents us, people, and our inability to sometimes accept the things we've done (or haven't), and our habits in justifying our actions in the past in order to cope with the present. This also applies to England as a falling world power of the time period - unable to accept that a new age is on the horizon. Quite simply, he spends the whole novel wishy-washing around the past, gloating about his job and his strives for dignity. By the end of the novel the sad realizations hit him, and he feels his own heart break. Stevens' represents one possible solution to dealing with the past - denial and a resolution to do better in the future. He doesn't drastically change as a character, but there is a quiet, subtle overtone of hope as he resolves not to dwell on the past anymore and to better himself for the changing present and future.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Mrs. Benn (nee Kenton): she represents both possibility and regret to our dear Stevens. She is a living example of Stevens' denial (he never even calls her by her married name, rather, sticks to Miss Kenton). However, as much as she is a symbol of regret and possibility and the past for him, she herself has regrets. When she is asked to be married, she loves Stevens. But she is stubborn and wants him to say it back, constantly hinting to him her true feelings. Any high school girl knows that hinting at anything to a guy is utterly futile. But knowing Stevens' character type, he wouldn't have been enough for her had they ended up together. He would devote more to his job than his love. Sure, she marries the better guy and learns to love him and accepts the fate she chooses. She represents another solution to dealing with regrets - she accepts them and moves on.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Lord Darlington: a well-meant man, just a little confused up in the head. He is a man who tries to do the best for his falling country (even though he doesn't actually have any political stance in the matters...just money), but he just makes the wrong decisions. Stevens' never views him in a bad light, and, whether that's him as an unreliable narrator or not, I like to think that L.D. is a righteous dude who, like Stevens' with the past, can't accept the uncertainty of the future and does his best to cope.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Title:Brave New World <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Author: Aldous Huxley <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Date of Publication:1931 <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Literary Period: Modern <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Genre: Science/Dystopian Fiction

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Describe the setting and then explain the relevance of the setting. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">A future where all births are artificial and controlled without the use of a natural womb. People are conditioned to be what the state needs them to be. Racism and caste systems are normal and necessary.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Themes (These statements should be complete sentences and completely developed ideas) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Huxley uses "Brave New World" to express his opinion that thinking for oneself is a natural human right and its dispossession is the dispossession of humanity.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Social designation surpasses individual desire and the "we takes over the 'I"

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Plot Summary (Please do not copy and paste. Simply list the high points of the novel) - Consider creating a visual flow chart or graph and posting it here. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Bernard Marx and Lenina visit the Savage reservation in New Mexico and meet the illegitimate son of the Director. They all go back to England and the shame of the Director being a father destroys his career. The Savage is a celebrity in the eyes of the people but cannot assimilate into the Brave new World. He meets the World Controller who allows Marx and the other Alpha Plus to retreat to an island of other dissenters. Savage is harassed by "soma users" and eventually kills himself.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Memorable Quotes and their SIGNIFICANCE. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"But I don’t want comfort. I want God, I want poetry, I want real danger, I want freedom, I want goodness. I want sin." <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Savage expresses the natural freedoms of humanity: to be able to rise and fall. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"Everyone belongs to everyone." <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Once this happens then no one belongs to anyone. No new thought can be created and no belief can be valued or tested and seen as true.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Describe the significance of the opening scene. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The book opens with a tour of the Hatchery they condition the embryos to become what is needed.This is not hidden. It is seen as the solution to all problems by making people happy with what they have and giving them no other choice.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Describe the significance of the closing scene. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The Brave New World ultimately kills John Savage. John kills himself because he does not want to live in such a world that doesn't give him choices. he sees suicide as the only way to escape such institutionalized and made normal social systems. It is unclear what Huxley is really trying to say? Does he like the Brave New World or is he warning against it?

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">List importance characters and their significance.


 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Bernard Marx: Bernard is super moody, unhappy, and lonely. Which is crazy in a setting in which people are surrounded by people 24/7. But something's different about Bernard. At first, he appears to be the sane one in the novel - annoyed at the peoples' lustful ways, prude in the whole sex-game, hates the Orgy-Porgy. Once he gains popularity, however, he becomes one of them. It reveals him to be a flat character who isn't against the societal ways, just waiting for his chance to fit into them. He yearns for acceptance, whether it's morally sound or not.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">John the Savage: John is so cheerful and chipper when he finds out he gets to go to London...it's so sad to see him let down by the world's new ways. He doesn't quite fit in on the Reservation, but when he comes to London, he doesn't fit in either...he is the definitive outcast, a zoo-animal...because, just like Bernard, the only way to escape being an outcast is to join them.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Helmholtz Watson: the free thinker of the novel. He reads, and he thinks, quite abundantly. He is dissatisfied with the world's government and how the world is run. He specific beliefs are not elaborated on quite, but he is almost relieved and excited to be exiled to an island far away where he will be granted the permission to think and explore freely.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Lenina Crowne: She's annoying, let's just start there. She is the damsel of the novel, the mistress, the temptress, whatever. She's cute, I guess, but shows little depth. She's just an automaton.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Mustapha Mond: He holds all the power. He allows himself to read, and only himself. He has the power to ship people into exile. He has ultimate power over many things. But he doesn't seem ignorant as a leader. He definitely believes in what he believes in, but he's not the hotheaded, dictator type (thinking back to his final conversation with Helmholtz).
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Linda: You'd think she'd learn to be happy living on the Reservation, but she is just as shallow as Lenina and every other female figure in the novel. She hates her life on the Reservation. She hates being old and wrinkly. She hates being fat. She can't wait to go back. But she too finds herself an outcast upon returning to London...she just decides to go the soma route to fix things.

Title: Fences Author: August Wilson Date of Publication: 1986 Literary Period: Modernism Genre: Drama

__Describe the setting and then explain the relevance of the setting.__ Fences is set in the 1950's just before the major civil rights movements in the 60's. The characters deal with racism and prejudice that weigh into their every day decisions. This is the era of baseball, which plays a huge role in the book.

__Themes (These statements should be complete sentences and completely developed ideas)__ Coming of Age- maturing (but none of them really do [Troy]). Death- Troy describes death as being a live being Baseball- connects back to father-son game; America's sport; running the bases Sins of the Father- children deal with the consequences made by parents that influence the life of the child Salvation - Gabe deals with the supernatural heavenly beings; he tries to get Troy into heaven

__Plot Summary (Please do not copy and paste. Simply list the high points of the novel) - Consider creating a visual flow chart or graph and posting it here.__
 * Troy and Bono sit on the porch talking and drinking, Lyons comes by asking for money
 * Cory talks about receiving a scholarship and Troy displays his lack of enthusiasm
 * Troy finds out he has been promoted to driver at his job despite not having a license
 * Troy reveals to Bono that he is having an affair
 * Troy reveals to Rose that he is having an affair and that Alberta is pregnant
 * Rose talks about Troy taking and not giving
 * Cory and Troy fight
 * Cory disrespects Troy again and Troy kicks Cory out
 * Raynell is born and Troy asks Rose to take care of her
 * Raynell plays in her garden 8 years later with news of Troy's death
 * Gabriel closes play with the attempted sounding of his trumpet and "tribal" dance

__Memorable Quotes and their SIGNIFICANCE.__ “When the sins of our fathers visit us We do not have to play host. We can banish them with forgiveness As God, in his His Largeness and Laws.” This deals with sins of the father and salvation. God can banish the sins of the father if only one would let go. This is significant because Troy's children experience the sins of their father.

"Some people build fences to keep people out and other people build fences to keep people in. Rose wants to hold on to you all. She loves you." Rose understands that Troy is probably out doing something that he shouldn't be doing and the fence is her idea of keeping Troy at home with her, where he can love her and she can love him.

"Then when I saw that gal [Alberta]...she firmed up my backbone. And I got to thinking that if I tried...I just might be able to steal second.” This plays into the baseball theme; everything that Troy talks about relates back to baseball. Even a girl is a baseball game in his mind. This game mindset gets him into trouble.

__Describe the significance of the opening scene.__ The opening scene is important because it introduces most of the struggles that Troy and his family are facing and gives us insight to things that will be addressed later in the play; This includes the talk of Troy being a driver, Cory and Lyons issues with money and scholarship, introduction of Alberta and Troy and Rose's relationship. It also addresses the race and class issues that are being experienced at that time.

__Describe the significance of the closing scene.__ The closing scene shows Gabe blowing his trumpet. His sudden realization is that he cannot open the gates of heaven for Troy. The mouthpieceless trumpet is Gabe's last hope. With a final blow, he opens heaven "as wide as God's closet" and Gabe, the mentally deficient that Troy stabbed in the back, has saved Troy.

__Describe the author's style and provide examples from the text.__ Wilson writes very realistically, a characteristic of his time period\. His characters face very real problems like race and class issues and during the particular period when Wilson wrote this times were tense and Wilson spoke out on things that people would not dare speak on. His characters also have a way of speaking that are incredibly poetic yet graphic such as the way that Troy recants his relationship with his father or the way Rose talks of Troy taking but never giving. They speak in much more sophisticated ways than one would expect for people of their stature and circumstances.

__List importance characters and their significance.__ Troy- the main character, one who deals with issues of not being good enough and always having to struggle. Troy feels that he never truly had something of his own. He feels bogged down by the responsibilities that thrust upon him by his family and feels that only his relationship with Alberta can save him. Troy is always fighting death, struggling with the idea that Death always seems to shooting for him, waiting for him to be weak.

Rose- is a compassionate person where Troy is harsh. Her relationship with Troy exemplifies the idea that opposites attract. Rose is always looking to plant seeds in her relationships and make those around her better. Troy's betrayal really hurts Rose but she refuses to let that affect Raynell's life.

Bono- acts as a voice of reason for Troy. He is Troy's best friend and attempts to steer Troy in the right direction. Troy is almost a foil to Troy.

Cory- Cory is a strong-headed young man with a bright future. However, his father holds him back. Cory always feels like he is dealing with the shadow of his father hanging over him. He feels that Troy refuses to allow him to be his own man and that affects his choices.

Lyons- the illegitimate child of Troy's past relationships, Lyons refuses to owe Troy anything. Despite asking Troy for money, he makes sure to pay back every penny even when Troy insists he keep it.


 * Title:** Jane Eyre
 * Author: Charlotte Bronte**
 * Date of Publication:16 October 1847**
 * Literary Period: Romaticism**
 * Genre: Gothic/Romance Fiction**

The novel is set in the 1800s in England. This setting provides for most of the conflicts throughout the book: gender, class.
 * Describe the setting and then explain the relevance of the setting.**


 * Themes (These statements should be complete sentences and completely developed ideas)**
 * class conflict: **Jane loves Rochester who is a higher class than her... What shall she do, people don't just jump classes! She is merely a governess!
 * gender conflict: ** In this era, women are not known to create conflict. By running away, Jane abandons all gender roles she has been conditioned to know (Shout out to Brave New World).


 * Plot Summary (Please do not copy and paste. Simply list the high points of the novel) - Consider creating a visual flow chart or graph and posting it here.**

Jane is plain. Plain Jane. And she lives in this house (Gateshead) with a really nasty aunt (sounds like Cinderella) because her parents died and she is an orphan. Well she hates it because her cousins and aunt are mean (but for Bessie the nurse lady) so she acts out sometimes which makes the family think she is some crazy unruly, sassy child who cannot be tamed. She wants to go to school so the family sends her away just to get rid of her. She goes to Lowood school, meets a female Jesus named Burns who dies, hates some teachers, likes some teacher, and she herself eventually becomes a teacher. Her sense of adventure gets the best of her so she gets a job as a governess at Thornfield teaching a French girl named Adele (rollllllinnnnggg in the DEEEEPPP). She meets the master dude (Rochester) and she likes it here. She and Rochester constantly dwell in unresolved sexual tension and strange things keep happening. Rochester asks her to marry her, so she accepts. The wedding day, she discovers Rochester is married to a crazy lady in his attic (Bertha) and that's where all the mysterious stuff comes from (the fire and torn veil and weird laughing). Jane is pissed, she leaves (despite Rochester's insists and begs) and she goes wanders around till she crashes at the door of Moors House where she meets her cousins (but she does not know they're her cousins yet) who take care of her. St. John, her cousin, tries to avoid women so he doesn't get tempted. Well Jane inherits money and shares it with her cousins (now she knows they're cousins because they found out her real name). They all move back to the house (they were poor before so they had to get jobs) and St. John asks Jane to marry him and move to India to be a missionary (married cousins...?). Jane says no and goes back to Rochester. Well Rochester's house is burned down (thanks Bertha) and Bertha jumps off the roof and kills herself despite Rochester's attempts to save her. Rochester loses an arm and his sight. Jane goes and surprises him, marries him, he gets his sight back and they have kids and what not. Not sure how I feel about Rochester still...

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #181818; font-family: georgia,serif; font-size: 14px;">“I am no bird; and no net ensnares me: I am a free human being with an independent will.” - She is wild and cannot be tamed. Here again she disputes any notion that she is less than anyone else because of her class or gender.
 * Memorable Quotes and their SIGNIFICANCE.**
 * "I would rather be happy than dignified" - Here Jane disputes all ideas of changing class; she would rather be plain and happy than of a higher class and miserable.**

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #181818; font-family: georgia,serif; font-size: 14px;">“ //<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #181818; font-family: georgia,serif; font-size: 14px;">I //<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #181818; font-family: georgia,serif; font-size: 14px;"> care for myself. The more solitary, the more friendless, the more unsustained I am, the more I will respect myself.” - She is an independent woman who don't need no man. Jane asserts her independence and again shows to the reader that she needs only herself to be happy, not any restrictions that gender and class roles of the English 1800s put on her.

Jane is oppressed by the Reeds. They treat her poorly and we immediately see that she is a bomb waiting to explode and fight back; she longs for something new, a journey or an adventure.
 * Describe the significance of the opening scene.**

Jane returns to Rochester, who no longer has power over Jane now that he is crippled. We see the validity and care in Jane as she still accepts Rochester despite his physical and emotional maiming.
 * Describe the significance of the closing scene.**

Bronte uses an omniscient narrator to give a more in depth analysis of everything that is going on to Jane.
 * Describe the author's style and provide examples from the text.**


 * List important characters and their significance.**
 * Jane Eyre- ** Jane is the protagonist of the story. She is headstrong and desires to be independent, stuck in a time where to do so was unusual. Jane has a strong moral compass, which is tested in multiple situations. However, "supernatural" experiences provide her with the light to guide her towards purity. Her belief in social and gender equality challenges the perspective of the time.


 * Rochester- ** Rochester is unconventional, ready to set aside polite manners, propriety, and consideration of social class in order to interact with Jane frankly and directly. He is rash and impetuous and has spent much of his adult life roaming about Europe in an attempt to avoid the consequences of his youthful indiscretions.


 * St. John Rivers- ** St. John is cold, reserved, and often controlling in his interactions with others. Because he is entirely alienated from his feelings and devoted solely to an austere ambition, St. John serves as a foil to Edward Rochester.


 * Mrs. Reed- ** Jane's unpleasant aunt, who raises her until she is ten years old. Despite Jane's attempts at reconciliation before her aunt's death, her aunt refuses to relent. She dies unloved by her children and unrepentant of her mistreatment of Jane. Mrs. Reed also helps Jane develop her independent nature due to her forbidding Jane from extended interaction with her kids and eventually shunning Jane away to Lowood.


 * Bessie- T ** he maid at Gateshead who sometimes consoles Jane by telling her entertaining stories and singing her songs. Bessie visits Jane at Lowood, impressed by Jane's intellectual attainments and ladylike behavior. Bessie provides Jane her first and perhaps only look at anything that resembled a mother at all. Jane's lack of a maternal figure contributed to her independence.


 * Mr. Brockelhurst- ** The stingy, mean-hearted manager of Lowood. He hypocritically feeds the girls at the school starvation-level rations, while his wife and daughters live luxuriously. The minister of Brocklebridge Church, he represents a negative brand of Christianity, one that lacks all compassion or kindness.


 * Helen Burns- ** Upholding the extreme Christian doctrine of tolerance and forgiveness at all costs, Helen serves as a foil to both Mr. Brocklehurst, with his cruel lack of Christian compassion, and Jane, with her anger at those who mistreat her. Helen espouses a Christianity in which faithfulness and compassion are rewarded in Heaven.


 * Mrs. Fairfax- ** The kindly housekeeper at Thornfield. Distantly related to the Rochesters, Mrs. Fairfax is extremely welcoming to Jane upon her arrival to Thornfield and serves as another surrogate mother for Jane in the novel. She warns Jane against marrying Mr. Rochester because she is concerned about the differences in age and social class.


 * Diana Rivers- ** Jane's cousin and the sister of St. John and Mary. Charismatic and independent, Diana is forced to work as a governess in a wealthy household because of her family's financial difficulties. Along with her sister, Diana reveals the injustice of society's treatment of well-bred, intelligent women who are unmarried.


 * Mary Rivers- ** Jane's cousin and the sister of St. John and Diana Rivers. A strong and independent woman, Mary is forced to work as a governess after her family's loss of wealth. Despite their misfortunes, Mary is kind and compassionate, particularly when Jane begins to live with them at Moor House. Mary and her sister both exemplify the type of independent woman that Jane desires to become.


 * Rosamond Oliver- ** The beautiful and angelic Rosamond is the benefactress of Jane's school and is overcome with love for St. John. Although he secretly returns her love, St. John cannot allow himself to marry her because of their differing circumstances and his intention to become a missionary.


 * Title: A Doll's House **


 * Author: ** Henrik Ibsen


 * Date of Publication: ** 1879
 * Literary Period: ** Realism
 * Genre: ** Realistic drama

1870 Norway in a wealthy family's mansion. This was during the Victorian Era, a time of uncertainty and social upheaval
 * Describe the setting and then explain the relevance of the setting. **


 * Themes (These statements should be complete sentences and completely developed ideas) **

People are not "dolls." People can change (a common theme of the Victorian Era) in their predetermined social role. Woman should not be treated as a commodity in times of well being, just to be the butt of blame during bad times.


 * Plot Summary (Please do not copy and paste. Simply list the high points of the novel) - Consider creating a visual flow chart or graph and posting it here. **

Nora is a flirtatious, silly, childish woman who is married to Torvald. They have playful conversations about everything, and Nora is constantly referred to as a songbird. Mrs. Linde reveals to the reader that Kristine's husband died a few years ago, leaving Mrs. Linde looking for a job. Nora offers her a job at Torvald's bank. Nora reveals she borrowed money by foraging her father's signature to take Torvald to Italy to save him. But Torvald is oblivious to this. Krogstad, the source of the money, is worried for his job so blackmails Nora, threatening to tell Torvald if Nora does not save his job. She fails, and Krogstad writes a letter to Torvald telling him the truth. Nora tries to prevent him from reading the letter, but she eventually gives in and wants him to read it. Torvald is upset and hates on Nora, who, tired of the way she is treated as a "wife" leaves the family.

NORA: "How painful and humiliating it would be for Torvald […] to know that he owed me anything! It would upset our mutual relations altogether." (Act 1) A husband is supposed to help his wife through everything; a marriage is about ownership to each other. This just means that they are not a true marriage, Nora is an object. HELMER: "The child shall have her way." (Act 2) He refers to his wife as a child...hmmm... KROGSTAD: "My sons are growing up; for their sake I must try and win back as much respect as I can in the town. This post in the Bank was like the first step up for me--and now your husband is going to kick me downstairs again into the mud." The only thing that Krogstad works for is his family name, which ironically is the only thing that Torvald has worked for. "The wonderful" - the hope of Nora that her husband Torvald will galliently sacrifice his reputation for his love "The door slam" - Nora slams the doora; implies a finality to her decision; implies a forboding tone: Nora is walking into a very critical society (critical of her woman; she has done the wrong thing ethically both in the forgery and in walking out leaving her children)
 * Memorable Quotes and their SIGNIFICANCE. **

The opening scene is the room where Nora and Helmer live. This room shows the wealthy, upper class socio-economic status they are in. Torvald is shown as a controlling husband who uses degrading pet names as they discuss money very playfully. Nora appears very flirtacious and childlike, the way she is treated.
 * Describe the significance of the opening scene. **

The closing scene is where Nora walks out and leaves behind her wealth, husband, and kids. She knows she is not her own person, she is an object, a doll, to Torvald. She wants to find herself. She wants to find the role that she as a woman fills in her society.
 * Describe the significance of the closing scene. **


 * Describe the author's style and provide examples from the text. **

Ibsen, the father of realism, writes a lot about the social problems of every day life. He provides natural conversation and a progressive plot. He aims to show common problems of society: control, dependence, deceit, and greed.


 * List importance characters and their significance. **
 * Nora - the sheltered protagonist. She is very sheltered and dependant of her husand. She is flirtacious and conforms to the role she thinks a woman should play. She takes out a loan, again making her dependant on a man. So she leaves to become independant. The end.
 * Torvald - quite concerned with morality and characer; patronizing, but dearly in love with his wife. However, he is unable to overcome his pride and "stoop" to working things out. He has to maintain the veneer of masculine control
 * Dr. Rank - Dies. He is corrupted physically, which leads us to believe there is a slight moral corruption and that he suffers from guilt that is not his (probably his father's)
 * Krogstad - willing to use unethical means to achieve his own success.
 * Mrs. Linde - a hard worker and pressed for money, Mrs. Linde is practical and wants to see the truth come out. Her sensible wordview contrasts Nora's somewhat childish outlook
 * Annemarie - she (the lower class) sacrifices a lot (her family) to make a living. When Nora makes this same decision, to give up her family, it is controversial


 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Title: **<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">The Poisonwood Bible

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> **Author:** Barbara Kingsolver

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> **Date of Publication:** 1998

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> **Literary Period:** Contemporary

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> **Genre:** Fiction


 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Describe the setting and then explain the relevance of the setting. **

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> The Congo: the poverty of the Congo directly contrasts the Georgian (the other place of setting) money. The Congo is simple and primitive, unlike the Price family who seems to always be in need of what is a commodity to the people of the Congo.

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">The west is culturally ignorant to all other cultures. <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Pantheism is superior to other forms of religion because it is more inclusive and hopeful. <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">People must live with the burden of guilt. How must we do this?
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Themes (These statements should be complete sentences and completely developed ideas) **

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Nathan drags his 4 daughters and his wife out of Murica and takes them to the Congo for a good ole’ Baptist mission trip. Well all the girls, though differing in most viewpoints, agree that they are bringing with them a culture far superior than that of the Congo. This superiority begins to waiver when Crazy Nate goes and plants a garden all wrong even after the African lady tells him to do it right. No fruit grows and he realizes that Africa doesn’t grow fruit. Some kind of personal stab at the fertility of Africa? Possibly. Mama Tataba then furiously explains to Nate the Great as to why the Congoese do not want to be baptized in the river: the croc attack in the water. Makes sense. The women slowly grow accustomed to everything, but Nathan remains strong headed with his misguided endeavors. The chief approaches Nathan about the moral decline due to Christianity, and that pisses off Nathan. So Nathan clings harder to his message, even after the stay becomes dangerous. Orleanna goes to bed and stays there for a while, like most high school students want to do. When she gets out of bed, she speaks her mind to Nathan for once; she actually stands up to him. Leah loves Anatole, Rachel loves herself but pretends to love Axelpoop so she doesn’t have to marry the chief, Adah loves silence, and Ruth May gets sick with malaria. A severe drought hits the village and and a hunt is organized. Eventually Leah is allowed to go. After the hunt, Nelson gets scared, wants to stay inside, but isn’t allowed. The girls stay out with him, and spread ashes to catch whoever is putting the snakes in the coop. Well it’s some six toed guy, and the snake he puts in there bites Ruth May and dies. And I cry. Orleanna then leads the girls out, Leah gets sick with malaria, and Anatole takes care of her so they get married. Duhh. Rachel flies out with Axelpoop and marries a bunch of different guys… Adah goes to school and becomes a doctor and adopts science as religion. Orleanna eventually forgives herself for the death of Ruth May.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Plot Summary (Please do not copy and paste. Simply list the high points of the novel) - Consider creating a visual flow chart or graph and posting it here. **


 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Memorable Quotes and their SIGNIFICANCE. **
 * "One **** has **** only **** a **** life **** of **** one’s **** own." ** Orleanna, pg 8. - Orleanna claims she has her own life. She uses this as a submission of guilt, that her husband has taken everything but her life


 * "We **** are **** supposed **** to **** be **** calling **** the **** shots **** here, **** but **** it **** doesn't **** look **** to **** me **** like **** we’re **** in **** charge **** of **** anything, **** not **** even **** our **** own **** selves." ** Rachel, Pg 22. - Rachel quickly realizes the truth of her situation: in Africa, and especially with Nathan, you don't even own yourself.


 * "In **** Congo, **** it **** seems **** the **** land **** owns **** the **** people." ** Leah, pg. 283. - back to the thinking that you don't own yourself; you are a slave to the land. The land demands attention that the Americans are not used to giving.


 * "Not **** my **** clothes, **** there **** wasn’t **** time, **** and **** not **** the **** Bible-it **** didn’t **** seem **** worth **** saving **** at **** that **** moment, **** so **** help **** me **** God. **** It **** had **** to **** be **** my **** mirror." ** Rachel, 301. - Rachel essentially saves herself; she tries to go against the Congo and "own" herself by saving the mirror. This just goes to show her priorities and vanity.


 * "My **** baby, **** my **** blood, **** my **** honest **** truth: **** entreat **** me **** not **** to **** leave **** thee, **** for **** whither **** thou **** goest, **** I **** will **** go. **** Where **** I **** lodge, **** we **** lodge **** together, **** Where **** I **** die, **** you’ll **** be **** buried **** at **** last." ** Orleanna, pg. 382. - Orleanna dies with Ruth. Now Ruth owns Orleanna's life, and the Congo owns Ruth's life. This is a submission of Orleanna's guilt, an additional burden she must carry - the death of her daughter

The four girls are innocent. This is the first and last time they are seen as not a part of Africa. They are guilt free, like in the Garden of Eden before Adam and Eve were kicked out. Africa is the fruit of knowledge that kicks the girls out of the innocence of the garden.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Describe the significance of the opening scene. **

The book comes full circle: the girls in a line. But there are only three this time, and there is no innocence to be lost, as they are now completely and fully a part of Africa.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Describe the significance of the closing scene. **

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">The author uses a narrative shift, going between the 4 daughters and the mother, but never letting Nathan tell his side of the story. Evidence is all over the book but would be difficult to type here.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Describe the author's style and provide examples from the text. **


 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">List important characters and their significance. **
 * Nathan**: a Baptist missionary who drags his family to the Congo. He is driven, self-centered, and misguided on the idea of religion. He is very pompous and inflated, thinking he is above his wife and 4 daughters. He has no interest in truly understanding the Congo people, rather he wants only to make them Christian by name.
 * Orleanna**: Nathan’s husband. She was bright, vibrant and beautiful. Until she met Nathan. Then she succumbed to his domineering nature and assumed the role of a willing slave to Nathan’s “Christian” teachings.
 * Rachel**: The oldest of the Price children. She is conceited (but not in an egotistical sense like Nathan), but she survives and does whatever she needs to do so.
 * Leah**: the eldest of the two twins, she is the first to truly understand the Congo. She seeks the approval of her father and believes in his mission.
 * Adah**: Leah’s twin. The right side of her body is paralyzed, and she sees the world backwards. She uses her disability as an art form and sees opportunities from a very unique perspective.
 * Ruth May**: the youngest Price, but she understands more than people give her credit for. She represents innocence, and upon her death, it is lost.


 * Title: Slaughterhouse Five **
 * Author: Kurt Vonnegut **
 * Date of Publication:1969 **
 * Literary Period: Postmodern **
 * Genre: Fiction **


 * Describe the setting and then explain the relevance of the setting. **
 * Time**: all over. It is focused mainly during the war period but jumps from his childhood to his death in 1976
 * POW Camp**: This emphasizes the anti-war attitude. The Britts think the Americans are pigs, the Americans think the Britts are pretentious (not much has changed).
 * Dresden**: This is the epicenter of the war, but not necessarily the only place Billy fights. Here is where most of the action takes place. Billy is sent into the war as a baby but he loses his childhood and his innocence here. Dresden is then firebombed while Billy is in a meatlocker.
 * New York**: This is where Billy lives after the war with his wife he doesn't love. The war, along with the abductions to Tralfamadore, changed him so he goes through life accepting of everything that happens to him. His wife dies? So it goes.
 * Tralfamadore Zoo**: he is captured and put on display for the aliens to witness human life. This mirrors his time in the POW camp where the British people are "higher class" than the lowly prisoners. In the zoo, he is with a pornstar who he reproduces with. He is content with living there. Is this part of his imagination? Or is this just the life he has accepted because he cannot change it (no free will)? He seems to be much more introspective.

War is a horrible destructive device that kills children. Free will is an illusion; our past and future are connected in the fourth dimension and we cannot escape either.
 * Themes (These statements should be complete sentences and completely developed ideas) **


 * Plot Summary (Please do not copy and paste. Simply list the high points of the novel) - Consider creating a visual flow chart or graph and posting it here. **

Billy Pilgrim does reasonably well in high school then gets drafted for the army where he is a Chaplain's assistant in South Carolina. Billy's father dies, and Billy is shipped to the Battle of the Bulge where he and 3 others is taken prisoner behind German lines, but right before the capture, he has his first "time travel" and sees most of his life, from beginning to end. Billy is then transported in a rail car to the POW camp where some other well-treated British prisoners give them a feast and put on a show for them. Billy gets all weird and gets some morphine, causing him to time lapse again. He and the rest of the Americans are then transported to Dresden, where they work for the Germans. The city is then fire bombed, killing thousands, save for the Americans who survived in an air tight meat locker. When they emerged form the meat cave, they see the entire city destroyed and start retrieving corpses from the ruins.. Soon after, the Russians take the city and the prisoners are freed. He then goes back to New York, finishes optometry school, and gets engaged. After a nervous breakdown, he admits himself to a mental ward where he is introduced by another patient to works of the science fiction author Kilgore Trout. After he gets out, he gets married and gets rich. He is living the American dream: a wife and 2 kids, a Cadillac, a suburban house. On his 18th wedding anniversary, he realizes the band triggers memories of Dresden. He then reveals that after his daughter's wedding, aliens that look like toilet friends (or whatever Ms. Lakly called them!) took him to their home planet where he was put on display in a zoo and made to mate with a pornstar (which Billy displays no protests). He is explained and adopts the idea of the alien's time: that when someone dies, they are dead in the moment, but live on in the past. Much happier than the normal human death ("So it goes..."). Billy returns to earth and is planed off to some eye doctor conference but the plane crashes and surprise the protagonist never dies so Billy is alive but needs some surgery and once his lovely wife gets wind, she races down to the hospital all crazy like she dies because she crashes because she's a bad driver and the carbon monoxide gets to her. Well Billy doesn't care. Go figure (or so it goes). Well Billy goes back home under the care of some nurse but he knows he must get his message out and that it will eventually be accepted (he sees the future kind of like Dr. Who but not really) so he sneaks off to a radio station and then the paper. His daughter gets pissed because who wants a crazy pop and the Papa Pilgrim makes a tape recording of the prediction of his death; that it will happen in 1976 after Chicago has been Hydrogen bombed by the Chinese and a man he knew from the war will hire someone to kill him. Sad day. So it goes.

"So it goes." - said when someone dies; the Tralfamadorian's laissez faire view on death ("it happens; the deceased is still alive in the past")
 * Memorable Quotes and their SIGNIFICANCE. **


 * Describe the significance of the opening scene. **


 * Describe the significance of the closing scene. **


 * Describe the author's style and provide examples from the text. **


 * List importance characters and their significance. **
 * Billy Pilgrim** (obviously): protagonist, but a joke of a soldier. Frequently becomes "unstuck" in time and goes from past to future to present and back again on command. Accepts death like a Tralfamadorian (which could be a coping device created by Billy to help rationalize the death he has seen; he dignifies the deaths by saying "so it goes," like it is a normal thing [which it is]). His name "Billy," is the childish version of William (children are sent to war). His last name "Pilgrim" could refer to the journey and pilgrimage through time that Billy seems to experience.

**Kurt Vonnegut**: the author periodically inserts himself into the novel. He himself was a POW during the bombing of Dresden. His presence adds ethos, or makes the book seem less fiction (more historical fiction maybe?). He inserts himself possibly to lend to the idea that everything in the book IS real in the sense that all the crazy elements (visits from Aliens) might all be the result of a traumatized mind (PTSD).

Most of the other characters don't have enough of a role to be well developed but here goes --


 * Roland Weary**: stupid guy. A soldier taken prisoner with Billy. A brute who considers himself a god of war. Saves billy only to be a hero.

The Poisonwood Bible Slaughterhouse Five A Doll’s House Fences Jane Eyre Hamletinclude component="page" wikiName="teambadchick" page="Major Works" title="The Poisonwood Bible"