StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

Theme For English B - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
Published in 2007, Ishmael Beah’s “A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier” is a riveting firsthand account of the civil war that lasted nearly for a decade in Sierra Leone as well as the dilemma of child soldiers caught up in war zones all over the world. The story that…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER97.4% of users find it useful
Theme For English B
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Theme For English B"

Effect of “New York 1998” Published in 2007, Ishmael Beah’s “A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier” is a riveting firsthand account of the civil war that lasted nearly for a decade in Sierra Leone as well as the dilemma of child soldiers caught up in war zones all over the world. The story that opens the book, “New York City, 1998” introduces both the contextual and historical setting of the story narrated in the book; from this story, readers are given an overview of the content in the book.

Readers suddenly become aware that they are about to read a story about a civil war in Sierra Leone, as witnessed through the eyes of a child soldier victim; introduction of the readers to the contextual and historical setting of the story is important because it facilitates interpretation of the unfolding narrative. This story presents the narrator in New York City in 1998, years after he fled the civil war in his country Sierra Leone; the conversation that occurs between the narrator and his friends at school reveals that the narrator has suffered the horror of having to witness things that he shouldn’t have at a tender age.

The story also serves to build suspense and anxiety in the readers to carry on with the story, to unfold the mysteries alluded to in the passage; in other words, this piece of story raises numerous questions in the readers’ minds, which can only be answered by reading the full story. For instance, readers are curious to know that the war was about and the role of the narrator in the war; in that case, readers are anxious to read the entire story, to find out the exact events that transpired in Sierra Leone, forcing the narrator to run for his life finally arriving in New York City.

The first page of chapter one further builds on the effect of this passage by providing details of the stories that were told by passersby about the war in other places away from the narrator’s home. The first page gives a snapshot of the entire story by alluding to the stories of the fleeing refugees, and their horrendous experiences in war torn zones; this page gives an overview of the events that are about to unfold in the next chapters, thereby arousing readers interest. Adults in families fleeing the war zones are described as having witnessed things that plagued their minds because they appeared disoriented and lost in their own thoughts during conversations.

Their kids, on the other hand, were still to recover from the shock they had suffered in their homes, having to witness despicable things in the war torn zones; these stories seem unbelievable to the narrator, whose only experience of war had been in movies and in books. This passage sets the entire story in motion since it provides a context and motivation for action in the subsequent pages and chapters; the suspense built in the opening story is further heightened in this first page of chapter one to the level of raising reader’s interest to read on.

The desire to uncover what exactly happens to the narrator, his family and entire town after the horrendous stories of the passersby heightens the readers’ interest in the rest of the story; readers are particularly keen to find out the fate of the narrator and his town after the passersby have fled.

Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Theme For English B Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words”, n.d.)
Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/miscellaneous/1656278-theme-for-english-b
(Theme For English B Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 Words)
https://studentshare.org/miscellaneous/1656278-theme-for-english-b.
“Theme For English B Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 Words”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/miscellaneous/1656278-theme-for-english-b.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Theme For English B

James, Missy, and Alan P. Merickel. Reading Literature and Writing Argument. 5th

Langston Hughes Theme For English B (1949) uses a combination of pathos and ethos.... Knowledge and Individual Power Q.... What assumptions/generalizations are revealed in your writing?... The broad generalization is that knowledge is the source of everything.... An individual succeeds with knowledge, and absolutely not without....
3 Pages (750 words) Essay

Complete the following on pages 89-90: Exploration 1 and Exploration 2

hellip; I chose the poems “Theme For English B” by Langston Hughes, “Crazy Courage” by Alma Villanueva and “Much Madness is Divinest Sense” by Emily Dickinson which offered evidence to support the claim that having knowledge gives one individual power.... The claim on knowledge and individual power can be seen in Langston Hughes' poem “Theme For English B” written in 1900....
3 Pages (750 words) Essay

Literature. Black American

In "Theme For English B" he articulates the thought that black Americans and white Americans have much in common and also much to learn from each other.... Langston Hughes' voice is undoubtedly the voice of the black American-and singing the song of the black man was as important to him as singing the song of America, or "sing[ing] America", as he put it....
4 Pages (1000 words) Essay

Politics and Structure in Harlem Renaissance Writing

Langston Hughes insists that being American transcends racial background in "Theme For English B.... "Theme For English B.... When the mass media shows images of American heritage and ancestry, the African-American images are predictable:Martin Luther King,Jr.... will make an appearance;possibly Booker T....
3 Pages (750 words) Essay

Analysis of the Theme for English B

This paper presents an analysis of the master piece by Hughes' known as Theme For English B.... The following sections in this research provide detail on the tone and style, and the perception of the poet. The poem Theme For English B is a master piece that describes the feeling of a person who is one of the ignored ones, present in the race to show the ignorant that all are equal in America, all should be equal, and thus, equality should prevail in the state that provides equal rights and shelter to people of various colors....
8 Pages (2000 words) Essay

Driving Lessons by Neal Bowers

?? Theme For English B.... The paper "Driving Lessons by Neal Bowers” will attempt to explore the poem that emphasizes the significance of the background for each person....  According to Bowers, the family is where we start our way and the beginning determines much in our life....
2 Pages (500 words) Book Report/Review

Your Reading Experience

The five works, Othello by William Shakespeare, Everyday Use by Alice Walker, The Lesson by Toni Cade Bambara, Theme For English B by Langston Hughes and I'm Still Here by Langston Hughes are quite different in their story outline but there is resemblance in the themes of the… The themes of isolation and alienation are found in all the five works, the theme of race is also prominent in all the five works, the theme of materialism and monetary value is discussed in three of them, which are Othello, Everyday Use In addition, all the five works take characters that have a background of African origin....
12 Pages (3000 words) Essay

The Writings of African-Americans

Langston Hughes insists that being American transcends racial background in “Theme For English B.... The paper "The Writings of African-Americans" explores authors that sense a loss between the potential and the actual status of the African-American in contemporary society – it would seem that the American identity is somehow muted in comparison with the glory of African ancestry....
1 Pages (250 words) Essay
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us