Vivid Detials

Author's Note: The outstanding use of imagery can drive a story in an entirely new direction. Find out how that impacts "The Sorcerer of the North" by John Flanagan.

After all the tedious lemon squeezing you’ve been doing it is almost time for a delectable glass of lemonade. You pour the glass and get more and more anxious to take that sip. When you finally do you spit it out immediately, you forgot to add sugar. Fortunately in the story “The Sorcerer of the North” (Flanagan) they certainly did not forget the sugar of imagery in the lemonade of the story. The story is about a young spy, Will, and courier, Alice, who are sent to figure out the mystery of the sorcerer in Grimsdell Forest, neighboring Castle Macindaw up in the north containing extremely harsh weather conditions. Without figurative language the plot of the story would change and it would become undesirable to read.

Imagery is often used about the Grimsdell Forest, the haunted burial grounds of a vile sorcerer.  Personification such as “the vines strangled him as he made his way through the brush” (p 94) or “the ancient trees returned a stare of death to Will and Horace as they watched them.” (p 95) really lets you see the evil in the forest. The tone is changed from maybe slightly suspenseful to a much better one. It sets a tone of suspense and creepiness. If the personification was not introduced into this part the reader may not feel disturbed or terrified and may even be viewed as uninteresting. Grimsdell gets the extra kick of interesting it needs from these few simple phrases.

Personification used for the Grimsdell Forest helps us get the extraordinarily disturbed and suspenseful feeling but the Imagery for the gnawing cold climate is no less important. Similes such as “the cold gnawed your skin like millions of ganterbugs.” (p 157) or metaphors such as “the pile of snow froze death into his back.” (p 186) bring you chills, enjoyment and confusion of what a ganterbug may be. These phrases bring the reader entertainment, confusion of what some of the terms are, and may want you to go grab a blanket as well. While it may not be a huge impact on the plot of the story, it certainly does an excellent job of entertaining the reader. Normally reading about climate can be excruciatingly boring.

Imagery used for the dreadful climate created a more enjoyable read for readers and contributes to the overall impact of imagery on the story. If John Flanagan had chosen to leave out this vivid language the story would be somewhat confusing. Will, the main character,  often is reluctant to speak about his journeys to the terrifying Grimsdell Forest. Without that vivid imagery the reader would be very confused about why he hesitates or if they did understand it they would think nothing of it. Even the language about the climate changes the story. Many characters groan and complain about the weather. Likewise, the climate also impacted their actions such as not being able to see signals through the blizzard or having the snow cover their tracks.

The overall impact of the story really makes you wonder why anyone would ever consider not putting vivid imagery in the story. It makes the story much more enjoyable to read and has set up a good plot for the story. With Grimsdell giving off that aura of fear and the climate giving the chill it would in real life the experiences seem life like and enjoying. Likewise, the characters dealing with these emotions changes the plot and can make you attached to the book.

The Benefits of Friendship

Author's Note: It's always better to have more friends than enemies. However, sometimes you need to turn an enemy into a friend for the good of everyone. Learn how this effects the story "The Battle for Skandia."

Your nation is in danger of being destroyed by another. As one of the higher ranking officials in your government you must figure out plan of action. However, you are greatly outnumbered and the faith of your nation’s people dwindles away. The only way to survive is to have an old enemy become your new ally. This is a decision Erak, a high ranking general, must make in the book the “Battle for Skandia” (Flanagan). He and his apprentice, Horace, must team up with a long time enemy and rival, Halt and his apprentice Will. The bonds that these leaders and apprentices

At first, Halt and the senior war leader Erak are fierce enemies. Their nations oppose each other and coming together to join forces without warning isn’t something they’re pleased about. Constantly bickering between each other about what is the better strategy or tactic, they’re anything but friends. However, when Erak’s tactics fail with numerous casualties he takes the time to listen to Halt’s suggestions. As Erak listens closer he finds that they’re well thought out, very simple, and unexpected by their opponents. He takes to liking Halt and with the new respect that Erak has found for him they become fierce allies with an unbreakable bond.

While the bond of Erak and Halt affects the story greatly, the bond of their apprentices Will and Horace is just as strong and important. The two youthful men have been acquaintances for a duration of time but only because of the competitive spirit that each of them has. Each of them always trying to surpass the other has pushed them to be lethal warriors. However, the term acquaintance is too weak of a word once Will saves Horace’s life. Horace takes a vow that if Will is in need he will be there for him no matter what. Thus a true bond of companionship is made and their ideas put together prove to aid many in the upcoming battle.

These two bonds of friendship remind me of many stories but one that I could relate this to very well was the Lord of the Rings series. For example, Frodo and Sam were friends while they had normal lives in the Shire. But Sam is determined to protect Frodo on his perilous quest and their bond of friendship grows stronger throughout the story. Another example is the friendship between Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas. When they first meet up they are not very fond of each other. However, throughout the story they take place in many battles and encounters that strengthen each other and their friendship.

The pacts of friendship made changed  the outcome of this story. By befriending others and learning their strengths they were able to win their battle and become prosperous allies. In our world today this needs to happen more if we are to succeed at keeping our life of peace and plenty. We could achieve greater standards if all our nations joined forces.

Sadness, Happiness, and the Meaning of Life

Here’s the thing about my life, I’m a guy who has everything and nothing. My parents died before I was six and I was raised in the care of my  dreadful uncle. A stubborn man as he may be he posses  the title “multimillionaire”. Living with a person who has money to burn would be a dream come true for most people. For me this is a prison without bars. My uncle has never been fond of me. Taking me in after my parents died he warped me to be his slave.

“Get up boy!” he snarled, “Get up and get my coffee!”

Clumsily and wearily Will got up and tumbled out his room and down the main staircase. He reached the kitchen and started his morning routine.

“Hurry it up now boy, I ain’t got all mornin’!”

“Yes, uncle.” Will grunted in reply.

Will reluctantly handed the mug over to his uncle, who merely grunted in reply. He was about the leave and get prepared for school and wake up the chauffeur, Jay, when his uncle called him back over.

“Go get ready for school and tell Jay to take the day off, you can walk through the rain.”

Will stood there paralyzed, partly because of fear and partly because of anger. It would be a nearly seven mile walk in the midst of a thunderstorm. He was about to unleash a frenzy of complaints and then shrugged off the urge to do so. It was a miserable journey for a miserable life he thought.

Only 2 miles out Will was already chilled to the bone and soaking wet. As raindrops danced on the top of his head he thought about his life. He recalled the precious few times he had smiled, the precious few times he had laughed, the precious few times he had enjoyed life. The more he considered this the slower he walked and eventually Will stopped. He fell to his knees and prayed, he prayed for a sign. A sign that would reassure him his life would get better. Suddenly he felt warmth on his face. Will opened his eyes to see a crack of light in the wall of death that ruled the sky.

It lit up what seemed to be a pathway starting at Will and ending at the doors of the BP on the side of the street. Without questioning or thinking Will got up and walked on a new path of hope. He opened the door and walked up to the counter.

“Can I help you lad?” The man behind the counter asked.

Author's Note: Some people are very ungrateful for the basic essentials in life. They mistake food, water, family, and shelter for essentials that will always be there. However, some people actually understand it.

Will shook his head. “Just looking.” He stated.

The man nodded several times and went back to restocking lottery tickets.

“Wait, would it be alright if I bought a scratch-off?”

“Umm… if you can pay for it I guess.”

Will gave the man money for the ticket and started scratching. His first symbol was a pineapple, one of the jackpot symbols. The second was also a pineapple, as well as the third, fourth, and fifth. Will stared at this ticket. He stared at it until his head hurt. With the money from the jackpot he could get away from his uncle and set up a new life for himself. No more pain or slavery to his cruel uncle. No more sorrow or suffering. Will let a smile escape from his lips. These thoughts could soon be his future. He felt awkward as if he were committing a crime. Then he realized he was. He took the ticket and ripped it into several pieces. After he cast the pieces to the ground he started to laugh. He just kept laughing harder and harder, so hard he almost lost his balance.

“You OK over there, lad?” The man behind the counter asked.

Will recovered from his laughter and said “Yes sir I’m alright.”

He realized that he was fortunate to live with a wealthy man, fortunate to have a wealthy uncle who can give him food, shelter, and pay for his education. The way his uncle acts towards him was just the weight on the other side of the scale to make sure his life was balanced with happiness and despair. 

Pain and Beauty

In the story “Ribbons”, by Laurence Yep, the grandmother shows signs reflecting the culture she is used to living in, the Asian culture. For example, she treats Ian, her grandson, better than her granddaughter, Stacy, because in the Asian culture boys and men are everything. Women have little to no rights and receive little attention. Also, when Stacy attempt to show her the dancing she does with ribbons on her shoes the grandmother loses it. In her culture ribbons were used to bind young Asian girls’ toes behind their foot. It was considered to be “beautiful” in the Asian culture. The Grandmother was disgusted by them because that is what happened to her when she was a little girl. She was ashamed by them and never spoke of them and told people who knew never to speak of it. When Stacy found out she didn’t know what to feel. A mixture of sadness and awkwardness overcame her when she found out the whole story. She was not used to the culture, being born in America. She later tells the grandmother she feels sorry and shows how beautifully she can dance with the ribbons to prove that they don’t only bring pain.

Reverse-Racism

In the story Mrs. Wilson is acting overly nice to her son’s friend Boyd. This is a reverse-racism situation. She has assumed that since he is black he has no money, home, or food to eat. As you read throughout the story you find that Boyd has father who possibly makes more money than Mrs. Wilson’s family does and that others in his family are finding success. When it states that “Mrs. Wilson felt defeated” it means that she felt awkwardly that she was wrong about Boyd. She then tries to overwhelm Boyd with a very large offer of clothes they don’t wear for free as if she were almost forcing him to say he was poor and needed them. When Boyd rejects the offer and mentions he has plenty of clothes Mrs. Wilson starts getting angry. She thinks that just because she saw someone who is black living on the streets that all of them must be poor. 

The Challenge of Enjoyment

Author's Note: The challenge that pleasure and enjoyment bring is more than often worth the hard work that is needed.

 Have you ever had that one thing in life that felt challenging but exciting? For me that is what  physical activity is. It’s the challenge in life that brings you big rewards, brings you excitement, brings you closer to your friends. It is life’s way of saying challenges can be hard but you should try and make the most out of it whether you win or lose. Physical activity provides challenges and enjoyment.

The challenge that physical activity brings is what it is all about. You’re always trying to push yourself to meet your goals and improve on your previous progress. The whole point of training and practicing is to beat a time, a height, or a distance. It’s about putting in a large amount of time and effort so that a large reward can come out of it. If minimal time is put into achieving goals then very little can be brought out of the experience. It seems that if physical activity were taken away there would just be a big gap in most people’s lives because they lose the enjoyment and encouragement that this brings.

Challenging as physical activity may be it can also provide lots of social interaction. Many people are persuaded by friends to sign up for sports so they can talk and enjoy the sport even better. A friend may just want another friend to come workout with him so that they can keep a conversation going or push each other to do better. Both of these experiences have happened to me and it helped me to enjoy physical activity and encouraged me to more sports and workout more. Now I always try to encourage my friends to join sports and activities that I’m doing or considering doing.

Physical activity may provide you with more social interaction but also enjoyment in general. My overall mood is changed because of physical activity. I feel that I am a healthier person and generally feel good knowing that this is my lifestyle. With one of the goals of physical activity being to stay healthy or get healthier I feel very accomplished. This accomplishment makes me enjoy myself and encourages me to do better at other things such as my education. I accomplish more things there and just enjoy myself that much more.

With the enjoyment, socializing, and challenges that physical activity brings it would be ridiculous to not give it a shot. It is a great activity that could improve your lifestyle in more than one way. Who knows, you may find that along the journey you find something even more like a new friend or renewed friendship between old friends. No matter what happens that outcome of physical activity will always bring a smile to your face.