The children in the settlement received lessons in subjects such as art, carpentry, and cooking, but Anne Tyler also attended a local public school at Harvard. ... The ordinariness of day-to-day life that families encounter is most often the subject matter of Tyler's novels; many critics ascribe her popularity with reading audiences with the fact that her characters are relatable and ordinary but not simplistic (Concise Dictionary ). ... In her 1982 novel, Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant, the tension of the Tull family is seen from the vantage point of each family member, each with th...

• Word Count: 834
• Approx Pages: 3
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Montana 1948, a novel written by Larry Watson and published in 1993, describes an embarrassing recollection of David Hayden happened in a small town called Bentrock. ... However, this decision makes Wes's life very painful and miserable, with further accumulating conflicts between these two brothers. ... With these separate powers combined, they have created a dominant social system along with an invisible aura that people can see. ... A lesson should be learned throughout this novel is that long-time unregulated and centered power existed in a family or a society will definitely lead to ...

• Word Count: 868
• Approx Pages: 3
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

In this first of five volumes of autobiography, Maya Angelou tells the story of her life from age three, when her divorcing parents sent her and her brother to live with their maternal grandmother in Stamps, Arkansas, to age sixteen, when, reunited with her mother in San Francisco, she gave birth to her son. Thus her story begins with semi-orphanhood and ends with motherhood. ... Family life in the store included disciplined study of arithmetic; leisurely reading of novels, poetry, and Shakespeare; and lessons on deportment and avoidance of trouble with whites. ... Louis underworld, with the ...

• Word Count: 1226
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

With the struggle of trying to organize a major life decisions, it's often difficult for a couple to maintain a family-life balance. ... "Gone Girl" is a dramatic film that was created after the novel written by Gillian Flynn. ... At the end of the film, Amy decides to come home and continues to play mind games with Nick. ... This typical romantic comedy ends in a positive way with a big wedding, but left me relating to Toula's overbearing family. ... While this ideal isn't intended to be a negative, it's obstructing Toula's efforts in using the life course a...

• Word Count: 1752
• Approx Pages: 7
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate