The novel Bastard out Of Carolina by Dorothy Allison is an unraveling tale of desperation and need. The story is set in Greenville, South Carolina in the 1950's amongst the impoverished Boatwright family, where the women work hard and the men drink harder. "Poor White Trash" is the most common term used to label this kind of family, but such a novel opens our eyes to a world we may look past or discriminately judge as the latter: "trash.".
We experience the book through the eyes of our narrator Bone as she grows up trying to cope with the existence of abuse. We go through the ups and downs of it all, her anger, guilt, loneliness, desperation, sadness and rationalization of it all. Dorothy Allison's raw exposure of child abuse cuts to the bone and reveals the desperation and suffering behind it.
Bone's stepfather Glen is the abuser; he is desperate and frustrated due to his status as an outcast. He never really fit in, he came from an affluent family and his brothers had all become very successful, one as an attorney the other a dentist. Glen only worked in plants and drove trucks. He didn't belong in his own family, a fact his own father let him know: "We knew that he (Glen) would not have the nerve to leave until his daddy had lectured him on all the things Glen had done wrong in his long life of failure and disappointment"(90).
Glen couldn't keep a job. His quick temper and impatient nature always got him in trouble. "Daddy Glen didn't do too well at RC Cola. He kept getting transferred to different routes or having to pay for breakage there never seemed to be enough money to pay the bills."(p.63.) Throughout the novel Glen couldn't hold a job and eventually had to go work for his malicious and demeaning father.
Glen wasn't like the Boatwrights either and never really fit in with the family. They respected his temper but were weary because he kept a part of himself hidden. "That Glen's got something about him the boy could turn like whiskey in a bad barrel " (p.
Desperation is a mixed feeling of hopelessness and misery. ... Desperation has a way of infuriating insecurities and oppressing expectations. ... Desperation has overwhelmed my desires and shut out my ambitions. ... My mother's desperation has been my determination to finish school. ... Experiences lead to desperation, but desperation can lead to determination. ...
This powerful sculpture conveys defiance and desperation through the use of a Native American man. ... The Native American man displays defiance and desperation in the face of being ridden out of his homeland by the Europeans. ... It is a symbol of desperation and defiance. ... Dallin might of used the Native American man because he felt they represented desperation in a more pure form as they were driven out of their homeland by Europeans. In conclusion, The theme of desperation and defiance in Dallin's "appeal to the great spirit" is clearly shown. ...
The Kite Runner written by Khaled Hosseini, clearly shows how redemption must be achieved in order to go on after times of loss, desperation and agony. ... In the beginning of the novel, Amir is seen as a selfish character through his devious acts such as lying to his father and abandoning his best friend through times of desperation. ... In order to go through times of desperation, Hossini explains that redemption must be sought. ... Also, one could similarly relate the necessity to seek redemption in order to go through times of desperation through Amir and Baba. ... This is how the readers ...
Welcome to Ethan Frome's world - where society's intolerance, his feelings of isolation, and his desperation trap him. ... Next, using the similarities Ethan finds between stability and hope and death, the author implies that Ethan experiences desperation. ... This fantasy expresses Ethan's desperation to be near Mattie forever. Soon after, Ethan again finds himself struck with hope when he sees a cucumber vine haging from the porch that reminds him of a black crepe death streamer; he wishes it truly represented Zeena's death, once more illustrating his sever desperation...
Philbrick has taken a fascinating event in nautical history, the ramming of a whaling ship by an enraged sperm whale (the real life inspiration for Melville's Moby Dick), and written a gripping, informative book about whaling, Nantucket, prejudice, desperation, courage, weakness, redemption, survival and shame. ...
Frank is motivated by his mother's desperation for the lemonade, " I try to find the music in my own head but all I hear is my mother moaning for lemonade... The only time Mrs.McCourt's family extends help is during times of great desperation and the assistance given is meager. ...
