The goal of most stories is to convey a point, or to teach a lesson to the reader. Throughout the short stories “Gwilan's Harp” by Ursula K. LeGuin, “The Washwoman” by Isaac Singer, and “The Last Leaf” by O. Henry, the concept of loss plays a common theme throughout the characters' lives. Loss can be attributed to many things, including people, but in these short stories it is nonhuman things in particular that can serve to teach lessons: the harp in “Gwilan's Harp”, the linens in “The Washwoman” and the vine in “The Last Leaf”. Each of these physical objects takes part in a form of loss that serves to help the characters of each story learn a message, whether it be it large or small.…
I take the knitted red booties from my pocket and let them shelter my little fingers from the cutting wind that’s forcing the leaves from their home and to the ground of the park, where they lay forgotten. The cool metal of the needles sooths me as I…
Most people have a specific item of interest that may illicit these feelings, maybe by holding an old stuffed animal or blanket, and while I have those items as well, the most significant part of my life so far would be characterized by the song “Rainbow Connection.” For a majority of my life, I did not know it was sung by the Muppets—specifically Kermit the Frog—and whenever I would hear it, I’d exclaim, “That’s the rainbow song my daddy sings!” At that time in my life, the song represented family. It was…
“[d]ocumentation is not necessary if a person’s disability is known or apparent. If the housing provider is aware that the person meets the definition of hoarding as stated [above,] then the disability is apparent. If the disability is not apparent or unknown to the housing provider, documentation can be requested from a health care provider. The health care provider can be a primary physician, nurse, nurse practitioner, licensed social worker, counselor, psychologist, etc. The documentation does not need to disclose the nature or severity of the disability.…
Until now only the importance of mementos on a more individual basis has been discussed, but many individuals are looking beyond just the personal survivor stories and looking into exhibiting these objects to educate others. Museums take mementos to tell a survivors story and put them in a place where copious amounts of people can view them. Here are a few examples of powerful mementos to be displayed in a museum. Many people keep a box full of mementos in their attic or basement like baby pictures, ornaments, blankets, cards, etc. Shifra Katz, a victim of the Holocaust, has a powerful story about a blanket that holds a lot of history. Shifra’s daughter Cipora was wrapped in this blanket and handed to her father in November 1942. At the time…
The narration also explains that the blanket gives Ayah positive memories about her mother and grandmother. “She had only been a little girl when her grandma gave her the wooden combs to pull the twigs and burrs from the raw, freshly…
As we age, we forget (parallelism). We forget the joys of being a child. We forget (repetition) how to play, how to laugh (parallelism). We tend to become so fixed on growing up that we forget many of things that we found wondrous as children as they have faded away like the night (simile) as the sun of time rises and illuminates the harsh reality of life. I have found however, one thing from my childhood seems to stick with me even as I have grown up and that is bandaids. This is not because they are something that can easily acquired but instead because of what they represent.…
A hoarder is a person who accumulates things and hides them away for future use according to dictionary.com. In the beginning of the T.V. show Hoarders on A&E the opening line says that three million people are compulsive hoarders. This attention grabber is a great way to intrigue the viewer and inform them of this real problem of hoarding and show them how it affects the lives of two hoarders.…
The necklace that my grandmother gave me when I was roughly nine years old, it holds a lot of meaning. It’s something that I love and cherish and I wouldn’t trade it for the world. This sacred object has helped me to deepen my spirituality by allowing myself to remember the story behind it. Whenever I wear it, I remember my grandmother willing to give up her necklace the second I told her that I liked it. When I was younger I didn’t really understand the importance of her giving up her necklace, but now when I think back to that moment, I finally understand. She showed that she’s willing to sacrifice and give up everything for her granddaughters to make us happy. The necklace was given to my grandmother after coming to Canada, my uncle bought it for her to…
A memorable event Having the feeling of losing a loved one is something that everyone eventually experiences. Losing my grandpa in a car accident is by far the most devastating thing I had to learn to cope with. My grandpa and I were really close. We did many things together until the day somebody decided to have a drink while driving behind the wheel. Not only did the drunk driver pay dearly for his senseless act. He also took my grandfather’s life when he collided into the side of his car. Though my grandfather’s death was five years ago, I still remember him. An image of him is still locked in my mind, but my memories of him are faint. After breakfast on Saturdays, we would play in the park and feed the ducks. I would hold my grandpa’s…
Your memories are your treasures, an accumulated amount of wealth that under extreme conditions remind you of the past and define the present, if it be good or bad. A picture for example, is a frame captured in the moving animation of time and is frequently regarded as being worth a thousand words. If one single frame, one dimension, one moment, something so short it can't even be expressed by time, be valued as a thousand words. Then take into consideration a memory, something which takes into account of all sense, takes consideration to time, mind, emotion and thought, something that has infinite value and is only second to the present and by all means of ever so advancing technology has yet to be mimicked. Yet there is one device that has this ability and has been used for thousands of years, literature. A narrow mined answer would probably be poetry, but even with the extremities of poetry to allow such powerful passages of events; basic literature is still the foundation for every other category including poetry. It works by your mind building the "memory", which in turns becomes yours. Your newly acquired memory is unique in itself and nobody else shares it the same. Something that is felt through William Wordsworth's "I wandered lonely as a cloud" and expresses such extreme emotion but does in such a manner that allows the reader to evaluate there need for such a place, a place to come back to, to look into their mind and to reminisce the past. Such a feat is accomplished through his ever so notable figurative language, poetic diction, imagery and meter.…
I have accumulated so much “stuff” over the years that at first it seems difficult to narrow the important things down to just 4 or 5. However, there are a few things that I could not possibly live without. The items I’ve chosen are things that have made me who I am, have strengthened my relationship with my family, and remind me of a better time. The items I would include in a memory box consist of my stamp collection, my theatre scrapbook, my favorite book The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand, and my iPod. All these things, though seemingly random, hold more value to me than any of my other possessions.…
If my house were to burn down, I would try to save as many valuable things that I could. If I were to only be able to save ten things, I would save the things that mean most to me. The very first thing that I would get would be my photo albums. They are full of pictures that were taken from when I was a little girl, all the way up until now. Each picture has meaning to me, and I would be very upset if I were to lose them. Whenever I look at them, they remind me of the times I had when I was just an innocent little girl, learning how to have fun. My memories are worth defending and protecting until death, because they define who I am and without my memories, then who am I?…
Something that is sentimental to you should hold a special meaning, a memory of some sort that you shouldn’t throw way. But sometime we go a little overboard and things start taking up a lot of space then we intended to.…
Through the years, I have learned that our culture places a great deal of emphasis on owning things such as cars, jewelry, clothes, and shoes. But our most valuable possessions in life may not be things we own. These items are very different from person to person. For me, my most valuable possessions are my family and friends, love, and my memories. Each one has a unique quality that helps me to manage the distractions and stresses that life presents to me.…