After he has faced so many struggles and foes, and fighting for his life against the "bad guys" while trying to hide the whole things from cops who might not appreciate him taking matters into his own hands, it is hard to say if Stranahan is really struggling against individuals or against society as a whole. Despite the fact that the book ceaselessly mocks all sorts of prominent, respectable professions (doctors, tv anchors, lawyers, cops, actors, and wood-chipper-operators) it nonetheless escapes being didactic about its point. It could theoretically be controversial that this book suggests that many doctors and lawyers are corrupt, or seems to justify taking the law into one's own hands. However, the situation is treated with so much humor, and with such disparagement for the "bad guys," that one doubts anyone is actually offended. If there was going to be any controversy about the book, it would probably only be if it were being show to children. There is a lot of graphic sex and violence in the book, and it probably shouldn't be taught to young children. As one might expect from such content, it is difficult to give an answer as to "What benefits can a child...
On the other hand, after some thought I decided that a bright, mature child probably would find the book very amusing. Some of the characters are positively cartoonish, and the violence is often very much like an adult Saturday-morning cartoon. If a child wasn't bothered by the sexual content, and was old enough not to be disturbed by the violence, then they might not only have the benefit of being deeply amused (like I was!) but also learn something about the untrustworthy way of grown-ups. The lessons of this book, hidden under the funny gruesomeness, are that one should be careful before trusting selective surgery which is making a doctor somewhere rich, or before trusting a television host to tell the whole truth, or even before trusting a cop or lawyer who says he has your best interest in mind, regardless of his profit motives. The corruption of people who demand trust is a difficult lesson, and the sooner children begin learning that many grown-ups are only seeking their own best interest, the better.
4) Both the Lovely Bones and Belle Prater's Boy could be very effective in teaching a Social Sciences course on the loss of a family member, and the effect that this has both on the family and the larger community. The sense of identity for the adolescent characters in these books is an essential element and conflict in the story. Family, especially at this age and developmental stage, is essential to
Sentimental vs. Realistic Techniques: Modern African-American Questions Addressed in Contemporary and 19th Century American Fiction Despite critical caveats about literary quality, the use of sentimental techniques in novels that attempt to precipitate social change are ultimately more persuasive than the use of modernist techniques in similarly motivated social activist novels. Therefore, sentimental strategies that encourage readers to identify with idealized characters and familiar, even formulaic plots allow sentimental novels to act
Fiction Messenger Economic Injustice in the Fictional Works of Dickens and Gaskell In his text on human commercial practices and economic behaviors, author James Black diverges from many of the dryer and less nuanced textual considerations of socioeconomic dynamics. He does so by couching his discussion in frequent divergences into iconic and modern works of fiction. These add a humanitarian consideration to many of his discussion points, helping to provide more complex
The massive mollusks still do seem fantastical. Several of the irrational elements of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea seemed more outrageous in the 19th century they do now. However, the novel continues to encapsulate the fantasy and science fiction genres because of its willingness to expand the boundary of what is real. Interestingly, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea did not stretch those boundaries much further than hard science has. On
Yet perhaps no American author embraced the grotesque with the same enthusiasm as the Southern Flannery O'Connor. In "A Good Man is Hard to Find," O'Connor uses the example of a family annihilated by the side of the road by an outlaw named the Misfit to show the bankruptcy of American life. Instead of an evil serial killer, the Misfit is portrayed as a kind of force of divine
Science Fiction A Definition of Science Fiction -- a Frightening realistic glimpse into a probable future "Oh Brave New World! O. Wonder! That Has Such People in it!" This is the poetic exclamation that John the Savage of Aldous Huxley's novel Brave New World utters, upon seeing individuals from 'the future' (really, the present day) in his so-called primitive, native society. When the future individuals seem bemused by John's highfalutin poetic utterance,
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