The Mouse and His Child :: American Literature

The Mouse and His Child, by Russell Hoban, is a melancholy fable about a wind-up pair of tin mice that explore various themes such as hope and perseverance. However, the prevailing lesson taken from this book can be found in the way that Hoban employs his cast of wind-up toys to advocate the importance of the family unit. The story begins with the family together, but it is divided and they go out in separate directions. The father mouse and his child have different views on what to do after the break up of the family. The father's goal of self-winding is a wish for independence, while his child only wishes to bring the family back together. In fact, when the child tells Frog, "I want to find the elephant, I want her to be my mama, and I want the seal to be my sister..." (35), the father is flabbergasted since he was not aware of his child's desire. However, since they are bound together with the father mouse pushing the child along, the father's dream of self-winding/independence takes priority. Hoban cleverly uses the dialogue of the father mouse to show that the family broke up because of differences between the father and mother. In reply to his child's desire to go look for the elephant/mama and the seal/sister, the father says, "I cannot imagine myself being cozy with that elephant." (46) Yet the father humors his child and goes in the direction that they believe may lead them to the seal/sister and elephant/mama saying, "Finding the elephant would be as pointless as looking for her, but since I cannot convince you of that, ... we shall (at least) see something of the world" (47). While the elephant/mama had grown accustom to her royal lifestyle at the dollhouse in the store, she began to be snooty to her family. In replying to why she had been at the store so long she stated, "I'm part of the establishment...and this is my house." (5). It is not until she has been separated from her possessions and the family that she realizes how well off she was when the family was together. When she sees the father and child cutting the tree, she is "completely overwhelmed" (127). Until then she had only thought of herself. She realizes the error of their split as "a world of love and pain was printed on her vision" (128).

A Comparison and Contrast of Andrew Marvell’s

Andrew Marvell’s To His Coy Mistress and Robert Herrick’s Corinna’s Going A-Maying are poems which both present a familiar theme in literature which is Carpe diem which means seize the day. The poems tell about different situations wherein you have to take advantage of the moment because such instances are not permanent and wouldn’t last long.â€Å"To His Coy Mistress† is about a young man professing his love for a young lady, but the lad responds by being playfully hesitant and demure, as though she was full of uncertainty (Marvell, 1999). But according to the female, dallying as such will not do, because youth will pass them by swiftly, so there is a need for them to take advantage of the situation. He then expounds that if they had the luxury of time, then they could their days idly, admiring each other while leisurely passing time.But for them the reality is that time is not on their side because it s a winged chariot ever racing along, they wou ldn’t know exactly when their youth will be gone, but it is certain that if they don’t seize the moment, the only thing that would await them would be the grave.In â€Å"Corinna’s Going A-Maying†, the narrator urges Corinna to wake up and get up early on the first of May, so that she would be able to enjoy the fun of the day, as well as the beautiful flowers of the month of May (Herrick, 2008). She is also told to hurry her morning prayers so that she can already go out into the fields to enjoy May.The narrator also told her that while she spent her time sleeping, many couples have already been engaged, many had played the kissing game, and several other things that could encourage Corinna to go out. In the end, she is told to go while they’re still in their prime, to seize the opportunity before they grow old and die. With life being short, if Corinna would let the opportunity pass, then she couldn’t turn back the hands of time.The title â €Å"To His Coy Mistress† would mean that the lady love of young man is not an easy catch. It is phrased in a way that the author reports the plea of a young man to his beloved. The title â€Å"Corinna’s Going A-Maying† implies that Corinna would eventually go out and enjoy the month of May, as she is being persuaded by the narrator.Marvell’s poem is written in the first person point of view, though it is presented as a plea of some other person. It reports of what goes on inside the mind of the man, as his thoughts were manifested through the words in the poem.It shows of an impatient young man, who desperately urges the young lady not to waste any more time temporizing and playing hard-to-get. It can be seen as more of a selfish desire for something carnal rather than true love by the man, as he is overflowing with passion, like he can’t contain it anymore. He can be characterized as more of an immature and selfish person than a loving one.On the other hand, Herrick’s poem is also in the first persona point of view that of a narrator. He is an unnamed individual who urges Corinna to get up of from the bed, go out, and enjoy the first of May. The narrator tells more of the events that Corinna had missed while she was spending her time sleeping. It is more of an exposition of the joys that May brings, and what they could expect in the coming times. The narrator is more of a persuasive individual, telling every kind of story just to convince Corinna that she needs to go out of bed already.The setting of â€Å"To His Coy Mistress† is not specified in the poem. There is no scene that presents such a place in which the characters would interact. The young man and the young lady are assumed to be from somewhere in England, as suggested by the River Humber which was mentioned in the poem. In â€Å"Corinna’s Going A-Maying† there is also no specified place of interaction for the people in the poem. It can be assumed that it is in the house of Corinna, wherein she is still in her bedroom, still sleeping.It is evident that for both poems, the speaker or the narrator spoke first of beautiful things before telling about the consequences of not seizing the day or grabbing the opportunity. In the poem â€Å"To His Coy Mistress,† it was shown that if the lady and the man were to have the luxury of time, then they could afford of being idle, praising and adoring each other for hundreds of years to come.In the poem â€Å"Corinna’s Going A-Maying†, the narrator speaks of wonderful things that can be done outside, in order to fully enjoy May. They can pick flowers, interact with other people, and explore love with the opposite sex. However, in the end, the speakers in both poems stated that if they don’t seize the opportunity, then the only thing certain for them is that they would grow old and eventually die, without the chance of enjoying the opportunity that they missed.Andrew Marvell and Robert Herrick’s poems tell the readers about grabbing the opportunity while it is there. We cannot afford to let the opportunity pass us by because we would end up losing it forever. We don’t have the luxury of time, and we would eventually find ourselves aging, and unable to do the things when we were young. This is why we should grab every opportunity and seize the day.References:Herrick, R. (2008). Corinna's Going A-Maying.  Ã‚   Retrieved September 17, 2008, from http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/corinna-s-going-a-maying/Marvell, A. (1999). To his Coy Mistress.  Ã‚   Retrieved September 17, 2008, from http://www.luminarium.org/sevenlit/marvell/coy.htm  

Essay about Violence in America - 2573 Words

Violence in America Beginning with the urban drug wars and the Rodney King riot all the way up the spectacular lynchings in Texas and Wyoming, and now the mass murder/terrorist strike by teenagers in their own high school, the 90s is a decade made numb by civil disorder. In between came the incidents at Ruby Ridge, Idaho, and Waco, Texas, involving dubious law enforcement assaults on separatists, which led to the terrorist bombing at Oklahoma City — the single worst terrorist act in American history. Since then, law enforcement agencies have thwarted twenty-four major domestic terrorist attacks. Shootings and bombings at abortion clinics, the slaying of abortion providers by right-wing fanatics and racial disturbances, some of†¦show more content†¦They are the latest incarnation of a disturbing fact of life. Teenage murders may be unprecedented, but violence is not. The past has followed us right up to today. Several national magazines recently ran alarming stories about the epidemic of criminal and group violence. Rolling Stone in A Pistol-Whipped Nation and both Time and Newsweek ran alarming cover stories about the virtual epidemic of youth violence. Newsweeks Teen Violence: Wild in the Streets, decried the number of young people carrying guns, using them, being shot, and being killed. Accompanying all this was a casual if not blase attitude indicating that, as one expert quoted in Time put it, Violence is hip right now. Several weeks later, Time was back again, in wake of President Clintons crime bill and the murder of Michael Jordans father, with another cover story, America the Violent: Crime is spreading and patience is running out. The writers argued America was in a crime wave characterized by wild violence that was moving into the suburbs, into hospitals, malls, and McDonalds. According to UCLA criminologist James Q. 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