Robb Whites Deathwatch Essays -- Deathwatch Robb White Essays

Robb White's Deathwatch Imagine you've been hired to be a hunting guide in the desert when you?re the guy that is being hunted. Your customer accidentally shot an old prospector whom nobody knows and doesn?t want to go to jail for it. So he makes you take off all your clothes and tells you to try to walk to town, which happens to be 60 miles from where you are. With no food and no water you are forced to walk or do what you need to do, to try to stay alive. So you wander in the desert mountains trying to find water while being watched through a ten-power scope of a .358 caliber Winchester Magnum. Well, that is what Ben had to face when Madec hired him to be a hunting guide in Deathwatch, by Robb White. It all started out when Madec hired Ben because of his field in working in the desert. When Madec saw a white figure through his ten-power scope on his .358 caliber Winchester Magnum, he fired saying he saw horns on it. When they walked up there, Madec confessed that he did not see horns on the animal, and requested to go on hunting and not waste time finding it and bringing it to the jeep. But Ben insisted on either bringing it in to the jeep or to burry it in the desert sand. But Madec had known what he had done, and kept persisting to go on and not waste time because it is a once in a lifetime chance to go hunting for bighorn sheep, and he didn?t want to go home empty handed. So when they got to the body of the sheep, Ben discovered that it was a human. The .358 caliber Winchester Magnum bullet had done fearful damage, blasting the man?s lungs out through his back. Madec was mad that Ben had found out what had happened, and said they should burry the man and never talk about him a gain. But, good ol? honest Ben wasn?t about to make a mistake; he wanted to report the accident to the sheriff. So he went down to go get the jeep, and on his way back up, he heard 2 gunshots. When he got up there, he asked what Madec was doing with the gun and Madec said he was seeing how it was shot. Then Madec went on to the body, and said that the man had been shot before, twice. Madec had tried to cover up his mistake. Then, Madec got mad and said that he didn?t want to go to town to report an accident because he might go to jail. Then he held the gun up to Ben, and told him to take all his clothes off and walk to town. So Ben took off, not knowing what to do. He... ...ngle time, until Madec stopped going for the .358. Then, Ben tied Madec up, and put him in the jeep. He then salvaged the stuff for the car and headed for town. Once in town, he headed directly to the Sheriff?s Office. When he got there he told the sheriff what happened, then they both, Ben and Madec went to the doctor. When they were in the doctor?s office, the doctor examined them both. When Ben went back to the sheriff?s, Madec went to the hospital, the sheriff arrested Ben. Ben told the truth about what happened, but they couldn?t understand what Madec did. They believed what Madec had said. When the trial came along, things were looking badly for Ben. Until the doctor stepped out. The doctor had found Ben?s slingshot, and said that he examined the dead guy, and found that the .358 bullet killed him. Ben was no longer arrested. They took him back to the sheriff?s office, where Ben didn?t report a crime of murder or aggravated assault, he reported an accident. If you really enjoy a fast paced, action packed book with a crazy maniac as the bad guy; if you like to read books about survival in the desert; if you love action books with a touch of death, you?ll love Deathwatch.

Cal by Bernard Mac Laverty †Critical Evaluation Essay

â€Å"Cal† is a romantic-tragedy novel written by the Irish author, Bernard Mac Laverty. It is a fiction story about a young man living in Northern Ireland during the troubles of the 1970s. The writer conveys a number of significant themes through skilful writing and the novel’s plot, such as guilt, hypocrisy and bigotry. In this essay, I will be focusing on the themes of the story, the purpose of why the novel was written and the author’s use of imagery to enhance his writing. The events of this story take place in Northern Ireland in the 1970’s. During the period of time in which this story is set in, Northern Ireland was going through what we would now refer to as being â€Å"The Troubles†. This was a period of conflict involving republican and loyalist paramilitary organisations and included conflicts and violence. â€Å"Cal† is about a young adult named Cal who is living in Northeren Ireland at this time. He is a Catholic living in a Protestant area with his father, Shamie. This leads to him being the victom of many bigotry driven attacks, such as his house being burnt down and to him being insulted on his own street. He starts to fall in love with a woman named Marcella, which, from the very beginning, is a doomed relationship. This is because a year earlier Cal was reluctantly involved in the murder of a Protestant policeman, who was, in fact, Marcella’s husband. Cal becomes closer and closer to Marcella as the novel goes on, and you find out more about the murder as the plot develops. He then lands himself a job at Mrs. Mortons farm, the mother of Marcella’s husband, Robert. This brings him even closer to Marcella and they start to have a relationship with each other. This relationship becomes even more intense when Cal is offered to stay in Mrs. Morton’s outhouse (as his house had been burnt down). He is then arrested at the end of the novel, for the murder of Robert. The ending of the story was very skilfully done. Near the end of the story, Mac Laverty builds up massive tension through certain events in the plot. It is then all concluded in a small, yet effective, paragraph. It tells us enough information to feel satifsfied, yet wanting to know more. It leaves key questions in the reader’s mind such as whether he deserved it or not and what will be his fate. I believe that the plot is a very important aspect of the story as it develops the mood and atmosphere and it is the events which take place which allow the themes to be conveyed. All the characters in â€Å"Cal† have complicated lifes. Most of them have good and bad sides and are all affected in different ways by the troubles. Cal is nineteen years old. He lives with his father and he is a Catholic. He is caught up with the IRA (Irish Republican Party) and takes part in a number of crimes which he does not want to be part of. After he joined, he had to do what they asked, such as when Cal thinks of the things the IRA do: â€Å"They shoot deserters – even deserters who protested that they had never joined in the first place.† This quotation shows that Cal is scared of Crilly and Skeffington (members of the IRA) and that he is in danger. It also shows that Cal never wanted to take part in the violence – making it sound stupid that they would shoot him. This whole section shows that Cal is vunerable. The writer makes out that Robert is a hard working loving man throughout the story. For example, when Marcella is telling Cal about her husband: â€Å"He was so plausible – one of those people that everybody likes in company.† This quote shows that Robert was popular and was a worthy man, and there is also evidence showing that â€Å"he was witty and intelligent†. However, we later find out that he was not all what he was meant to have been, as Marcella confesses to Cal: â€Å"He told lies, Cal. All the time. About his affairs I know he had two or three at least – about his drinking and the money he spent† This is an example of how the characters have both good and bad characteristics. Despite this, Marcella still loved him and was distraught when he was murdered. This also makes the characters more realistic, which lets the reader relate to the different characters in â€Å"Cal†. It also creates the question of ‘who was too blame for The Troubles’ which relates to the theme and purpose of the novel, which I will be discussing later in this essay. All of the characters are affected by the troubles as well, as most of their problems are due to that situation. For example, if it was not for the troubles, then Cal would not have been involved with the IRA and Robert wouldn’t have been murdered, taking problems out of all of the characters lives. All of the characters’ features reflect the themes, such as Cal’s characteristic of being vunerable, leading to his self loathing and guilt. There are many themes in the novel ‘Cal’. One of these themes that I will be focusing on is the theme of hypocrisy. Hypocrisy means the pretence of possessing virtues, beliefs or qualities that one does not really have, especially in matters of religion or morality. One way in which the author displays this theme is via specific characters, such as Crilly. Crilly is part of a gang who are fighting for independence from Great Britain. For example, when Skeffington is talking about Crilly: â€Å"There are not many aspects of our culture which interests Mr Crilly. But he’s a useful man.† This quote shows that Crilly does not care about Irish independence and culture but is only in the gang as he likes the thrill of violence. It also shows that the IRA are not offended about his beliefs – but just want him to help with their struggle. This shows them being hypocritical as they kill people who do not believe or reject their views, but someone who does not care about Irish independence can help with the violence. Another way in which hypocrisy is showing is through thoughts of characters and their dialogue. This is taking from a part where Dunlop (Cal’s Protestant employer) is talking to Cal about the situation in Northern Ireland: â€Å"Would you do the same to the Loyalist prisoners every time a Catholic was murdered?† Dunlop thinks that for any Protestant policeman who is murdered by a Catholic, two Catholics should be shot. This quotes shows that Dunlop is a hypocrite as he would shoot two Catholics every time a Protestant policeman was murdered but not if it was the other way around. This also shows that Dunlop is a bigot, which ties in with my next theme, bigotry. A bigot is a person who is obstinately or intolerantly devoted to their own religion, or opinion. Bigotry is the main cause of fear and violence in the story. One night, Cal and his father receive a note stating: â€Å"GET OUT YOU FENYAN SCUM OR WE’LL BURN YOU OUT. THIS IS YOUR 2ND WARNING, THERE WILL BE NO OTHER UVF† This clearly diplays pure bigotry. Cal and his father are being threatened to leave their home of many years, just because of their religion. This quote also shows how ignorant the UVF are, as they have spelt â€Å"fenyan† wrongly. This leads to Cal and his father being fearful, for example: â€Å"†¦Shamie was putting the gun beneath his pillow and climbing into bed† This shows that Cal’s father has to keep a weapon underneath his pillow as there is a constant threat of violence. Another theme which has been cleverly developed is the theme of guilt. Cal feels guilty about his involvement in the killing of Robert, which leads to his self-loathing. At the start of the novel, the writer makes this very obvious: â€Å"Merde. Crotte de chein. Merderer.† Cal hates himself so much, that he makes up words to describe himself. The word â€Å"merderer† has a possible two meanings; it shows that he is guilty and secondly it shows his self loathing. As he becomes more and more involved with Marcella, his guilt increases: â€Å"Now that he felt safe from the world outside he was being attacked from within his own head† This quote is taken from the section where he is living and working with Marcella. It shows that guilt is eating him up and is destroying him and his life. The author also uses writing techniques to convey the theme of guilt: â€Å"It was as if idleness had allowed dirt to accumulate on his [Cal] soul, to clog his mind, and work moved him through it untouched† Mac Laverty uses this metaphor to show how Cal was brooding over Morton’s death and his involvement. It also shows that he thinks that he deserves to go to hell for what he has done. When Marcella tells Cal about what Robert was really like, it complicates his guilt as he now knows that Robert sometimes brought misery to Marcella, and maybe it was good that Robert was murdered. All of these themes show the writer’s purpose in writing. He shows bad and good sides to both Protestant and Catholic organisations, leading to us to wonder which is the good side in the novel. The story also shows us how difficult and violent Northern Ireland was at that time in history, and how deeply everybody was affected. To an extent, the way the author writes also shows aspects of him being a bit ashamed of his country, due to the negative details and feelings he writes about. Mac Laverty uses a range of techniques to create the mood and atmosphere in the novel. One of these techniques, is his use of imagery. The story starts with this mood with the author describing the scenes taking place in an abattoir: â€Å"It was immediately winched up by one of the hind shanks and its throat cut† The author uses a lot of violence and blood imagery at the start of the novel to set the tone of the book. Other evidence which shows this use of evidence is that there are a lot of deaths and murders mentioned in the novel. An example of this is when Cal and his father are watching the news and the author describes the events that had happened, which were mainly murders and violence, in a way which seemed to be normal. Death permeates the novel as does religion. There are often references to the Bible and to religious symbols throughout the novel. Symbolism is another technique that Mac Laverty uses. There is also symbolism to certain fairytales, such as when Marcella is talking to Cal about her daughter, Lucy: â€Å"Lucy’s favourite story at the minute is Repunzel† This is significant as Marcella feels like she is trapped because she tries to do the right thing. The plot has been structured in a sophisticated way. The story has two climaxes: one in the middle and the other at the end. The first one occurs when the writer tells you about the death of Robert. This is significant as there is a huge tension built up before you find out. The author does this via short clues which are spread out throughout the novel and short sentences. The second climax is done in a similar way, but the paragraph in which it concludes, is quick and snappy and tells of only the most significant point, which is Cal being arrested. The dialogue of the novel is very realistic. The author does this by using Irish forms of slang, such as ‘da’ instead of dad, and explicit language. The writer also uses great techniques to enhance his writing: â€Å"His sin clawed at him, demanding attention† The writer personifies the idea of the sin, describing the feeling of it clawing, to give the idea of Cal’s guilt and how is is destroying him and is eating him up. The verb ‘clawing’ is associated with violence and adds to the imagery that the author uses to enhance his novel and to create the atmosphere. I thoroughly enjoyed reading ‘Cal’. It made me realise how lives can be ruined due to situations which do not even involve them. The themes of the novel also made me more aware about some people’s views and how they can sometimes be full of violence and hatred. It showed me what life was like in Ireland in those days and how we have to try to avoid anything so destructive from happening again.

An Analysis Of John Steinbeck s The Chrysanthemums

Cynthia Gardner Richard Courtney ENG 1110 December 22, 2016 An Unsatisfied Life John Steinbeck’s â€Å"The Chrysanthemums† is a short story about a woman named Elisa and her unhappiness with her life. She is a woman living in a man’s world in the late 1930’s. Elisa and her husband, Henry, are childless. She is confined to a lonely life where she cares for her husband, their farm house, and her precious chrysanthemums. Throughout the story Steinbeck indicates Elisa’s struggle as a woman who wants more out of her life and feels she is stuck in the role society has chosen for her. At the beginning of the story Elisa is tending to her chrysanthemums. Henry is speaking to two businessmen across the yard. It appears Elisa is interested in their interaction as she glances in their direction several times. When the two men leave, Henry walks over to Elisa and compliments her on her award winning chrysanthemums. The compliment brings out her pride as is shown in her facial expression. She puts a lot of her energy into her chrysanthemu ms. He then tells her that he wishes she could use her skills in the orchard to grow big apples. Hearing this, Elisa perks up at the idea of helping with the business of the orchard. She is smart and capable, and she is desperately looking for more fulfillment in her life. Unfortunately Henry quickly drops the subject as he wasn’t serious, the business of the orchard is man’s work. â€Å"Her interest in the business side of the ranch goes unnoticed, herShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of John Steinbeck s The Chrysanthemums 1256 Words   |  6 PagesComparative Essay In â€Å"Chrysanthemums† john Steinbeck, the author, focuses on Elisa Allen, one of the main characters. She is presented as weak in that her daily activity consisted of tending her garden of chrysanthemums; Steinbeck focuses on how they provide insight into Elisa and how she relates to them, religiously. He implies that even though she fits a weak character, there are places in the narrative at the beginning that suggest some strong points and her longing towards the end. There areRead MoreAnalysis Of John Steinbeck s The Chrysanthemums 1532 Words   |  7 PagesJohn Steinbeck’s short story â€Å"The Chrysanthemums† shows a time when women are controlled and restrained to a traditional lifestyle. It portrays a struggle for equality that is played out through the eyes of the third person narrator. In telling the story, the narrator depicts the story through speech, actions and appearances of the main character, Elisa. Her place in the story is that in a w orld of masculinity during the times of the Great Depression and a fight to keep a bit of her happinessRead MoreThe Chrysanthemums By John Steinbeck982 Words   |  4 Pagesâ€Å"The Chrysanthemums† is a short story written by John Steinbeck. The story was originally published in 1937 before later being released as a part of his The Long Valley collection. This is an important story as it expresses women in a way that is more realistic, showing their true boredom, ambition, and capabilities. Some scholars interpreted this story differently, but C. Kenneth Pellow interprets it as â€Å"radically feministic.† The Great Depression was finally ending and women’s rights were risingRead MoreEssay on Analysis of The Chrysanthemums1139 Words   |  5 PagesAnalysis of The Chrysanthemums The short story The Chrysanthemums gives insight into the life of its author. John Steinbeck was born on February 27, 1902, in Salinas, California. The locale of the story is of key resemblance to the Salinas in which Steinbeck was born and bread. Salinas was a typical American small town, [differing] only in location and a few distinctive features (McCarthy 3). The protagonist of this story, Elisa Allen, also resembles Steinbecks first wife. SteinbeckRead MoreSymbolism in The Chrysanthemums by John Steinbeck Essay1547 Words   |  7 PagesSymbolism in The Chrysanthemums by John Steinbeck The Chrysanthemums, one of John Steinbecks masterpieces, describes a lonely farmers wife, Elisa Allen. Elisa Allens physical appearance is very mannish yet still allows a hint of a feminine side to peek through. John Steinbeck brings symbolism into play to represent Elisa Allens frustrations and hidden passions. Isolation is another representation through symbolism found in The Chrysanthemums. Elisas failing detached marriage is representedRead More The Chrysanthemums Essay1649 Words   |  7 PagesJohn Steinbeck’s, The Chrysanthemums, was published in 1938 in a book of short stories, entitled The Long Valley. The Chrysanthemums has been a rather powerful draw for scholars because of its wide gap for interpretations and analysis of its main protagonist character, Elisa Allen and also the unique descriptions used to portray the deeper meaning behind the setting of the story. Themes of sexuality, oppression of women, as well as other numerous types of conflict portrayed in this rather somberRead MoreJohn Steinbeck2062 Words   |  9 Pagesminiature versions of books or novels, where an author takes a tale and crams it into a ten to twenty page story. John Steinbeck is not only a well-known novelist, but also writes short stories like â€Å"The Chrysanthemums† and â€Å"Flight†. In Steinbeck’s â€Å"The Chrysthemums† Elisa Allen is married to a negligent ranch owner. While her husband works on the ranch, Elisa tends to her chrysanthemum garden daily. One day while tending to her garden, a charming tinker man pulls up to her in his wagon and tries toRead MoreEnglish All Semester 26504 Words   |  27 Pages| noun | literature that emphasizes a specific geographic area that reproduces the speech, behavior, and attitudes of the people who live in that region | sibilant | adjective | of, characterized by, or producing a hissing sound like that of (s) or (sh): | tableau | noun | a vivid or graphic description: The movie was a tableau of a soldiers life; a striking incidental scene, as of a picturesque group of people | tall-tale | noun | an outrageously exaggerated, humorous story that