The air was heavy with gloom; the sepulchral gloom of death. ... The one before me had lost the battle of life and was gone forever. ... The wind blew and not another soul could be seen other than the standing corpse of my beloved and her thoughts enveloped me. ... Watered by these tears of sorrow, my thoughts sent off shoots of compassion and remorse to my body and my soul wept with the feeling of being alone. ... I sat there for some time with tears rolling down my face, but then regained my composure, consoling myself by thinking that what is done is done. ...

• Word Count: 532
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

Having made it through the majority of my high school experience already I continue to be amazed at the metamorphosis my life has gone through in such a short time period. Coming into my freshman year with an uncertainty as to what I want out of life, I began my first semester with values focused on popularity instead of academics. ... At the start of my junior year I was so engrossed with making other people happy I began to forget what makes me happy. ... I had been so busy worrying about what other people think that I had lost touch with what was important to me and the ideals that I value....

• Word Count: 748
• Approx Pages: 3

The imagery is symbolic of the death, despair and destruction that inevitably come hand in hand with war. ... The knowledge that these photos show history brings up the idea of the past, of things long gone, or long dead. ... Through these images, Findley is not only able to show the death, despair and the loss that war brings about, but is also capable of drawing the reader into the novel and giving an almost first-hand experience with the casualties of war. ... With the soldiers, it is a living hell that is comprised of the harshness of their environment and the loss of their fellow soldier...

• Word Count: 879
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

However, what Janie did not foresee is that Joe took her away from that life she hated with Logan Killicks and led her into that same life with him. ... As long as Janie is with Joe, she can never live the life she had once hoped for. ... Gone with Joe is everything he represented. ... The funeral is the beginning of a great change in Janie where, with Joe gone, "she would have the rest of her life to do as she pleased." ... The storm's winds become "louder and higher and lower and wider," and it totally engulfs the house. ...

• Word Count: 1219
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

That scene, with all four of my most loved kin there with me, is my idea of heaven. ... They are real good with mustard." ... The school called me to come out and talk with her, but with her deep blue eyes, she even convinced me to go with her to her first class. ... They have gone from a simple word-processing machine, to a voice automated system that controls our everyday life. ... I was so winded, that I don't remember what I said on that bank, but that was actually the story of how Jennifer and I met each other. ...

• Word Count: 1127
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

During her life with Joe, Janie struggles to keep her fighting spirit alive and battles to keep her individuality. ... For a while she thought it was gone from her soul...She was a rut in the road. Plenty of life beneath the surface but it was kept beaten down by the wheels...going about tending the store and prostrating [herself] before Jody, while all the time she herself sat under a shady tree with the wind blowing through her hair and her clothes (72-73). ... She also survives a hurricane with Tea Cake where he rescues her from a rabid dog and gets bitten himself. ... Janie's e...

• Word Count: 944
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School